Author Instructions

Relevant manuscript topics include systematic monographs, cladistic analyses, ecological studies, analyses of patterns of biodiversity or biogeography, catalogs and checklists of taxa, descriptions of extant and fossil taxa, studies of palaeontological faunas and floras or geologic processes, and other topics that increase our understanding of both extant and extinct organisms. There are no limits on the lengths of manuscripts.

Manuscripts that are accepted for publication may be published on the Internet or by both the Internet and CD or DVD. There are no page charges for papers published solely by the Internet. Modest charges will be assessed to cover the costs of publication by CD or DVD.

Manuscript preparation

  1. Major manuscript components. All paper should provide a descriptive title, abstract (1000 or less words unless the listing of new taxa and changes of taxonomic status require greater length), up to 10 alphabetically arranged key words and a list of references cited. The abstract should include the names of all the taxa and should list all changes in taxonomic status of organisms. The names of authors should be arranged alphabetically by last name. For each author provide a footnote with his/her address. List e-mail addresses when they are available. For manuscripts by more than one author indicate which would correspond to should be addressed to. Other manuscript components depend upon the topic of the manuscript and frequently include introduction, materials and methods section, and results.
  2. Taxonomic names. The names of genera, subgenera, species and subspecies should be in italics. The author of a species name should be provided the first time a taxon is mentioned.
  3. References. Publications cited in the text should consist of the name of authors or authors followed by the year of publication, Jones (2002), Andrews and West (2003), Smith, Jones and Andrews (1999). For more than three authors provide the name of the first followed by et al. and the publication date, Andrews et. al. 2001 . Alternatively, references in the text may be placed in a parenthesis (Andrews 1999; Andrews et. al. 2001; Jones 2002; Smith, Jones and Andrews 1999). When several references are cited together in the text, the references should be arranged alphabetically by last name of author. The references or literature cited section of the paper should list all publications mentioned in the text. The full name of journals should be provided rather than abbreviations. If the current name of a journal differs from a previous name, cite the current name followed by a parenthesis with the name of the journal as of the publication date. Follow the following format.
    Journal paper
    Author or authors, publication date, title of paper, full name of journal, volume number, and pages.

    Jones, A., Smith, L. P., Williams, A. N. and Andrews, R. S. 2003. Phylogenetic, cladistic and biogeographic analysis of the Palaearctic species of the genus Anisodactylus Dejean. Coleopterists Bulletin, 33: 121-175.
    Chapter in a book
    Author or authors, publication date, title of chapter, pages of chapter, editor or editors of book, book title, publisher and name and location.

    Johansson, S. R. 1999. Biogeography of montane Carabidae (Coleoptera) in North America, p. 25-80. In Edwards, L. F. and Smith, A. F. (eds.). Biology of North American Carabidae (Coleoptera). Science Press, New York.
    Book
    Author or authors, publication date, title of book, publisher and name and location, pages.

    Edwards, L. F. and Smith, A. F. (eds.). 1999. Biology of North American Carabidae (Coleoptera). Science Press, New York. xvi + 531 p.
    Internet publications or resources
    Author or authors, publication date (when indicated), title of web site or resource, Internet address, date of access.

    Jones, A., Smith, L. P., Williams, A. N. and Andrews, R. S. 2003. Phylogenetic, cladistic and biogeographic analysis of the Palaearctic species of the genus Anisodactylus Dejean. Insight, 33: 121-175. (PDF file at www.mpm.edu/insight/2003. Accessed July 10, 2003).
  4. Illustrations. Images should be of high quality. The use of color is encouraged when appropriate and does not incur charges. Use GIF or PNG formatted files for images that are primarily composed of lines and dots. For photographs or other images that rely on smooth gradients use the JPEG format. Color images should generally be at 300 dpi while black-and-white ones may require a higher dpi. Carefully examine your images both on a computer monitor and after printing with suitable high-quality printers such as a photo-quality inkjet.
  5. Manuscript submission. For manuscripts composed of text and graphics the preferred submission format for peer review is a PDF file with the graphics and their legends incorporated into the manuscript in the places where the author wishes them to be published. If you do not have access to software to generate a PDF file, the next preferred choice is a Microsoft Word file for the text and individual graphics files for the illustrations. The final choice is rich text with individual graphics files for the illustrations. Unless prior arrangements are made, authors are responsible for producing the final publication quality PDF file for manuscripts composed of text and graphics. Manuscripts composed primarily of a database should be submitted as a Microsoft Word file for the text (alternatively rich text) and the database.

    Submission of manuscripts should be to the appropriate editor based on topic. If possible send the manuscripts by e-mail. Manuscripts may also be submitted on disks sent through the mail.

    Peter Sheehan
    Associate Editor, Insight
    (414) 278-2741
    Milwaukee Public Museum
    800 W. Wells St.
    Milwaukee, WI 53233
  6. Peer review. Include with the initial submission a list of at least five potential reviewers for the manuscript. The editors will select reviewers from this list and from other sources.
  7. Submission of revised manuscript for publication. For manuscripts composed of text and graphics the preferred final submission format for peer review is a PDF file with the graphics and their legends incorporated into the manuscript in the places where the author wishes them to be published. Your editor will send you a Microsoft Word file into which you may paste text and graphics. The file sent you will include a title page and header settings to identify the paper as a publication of Insight. If you do not have access to software to generate a PDF file, contact your editor for instructions. Authors of manuscripts composed of text and graphics should also send a Microsoft Word file or a rich text file with the text portion of the final manuscript. The text files will be put onto the Insight web site so that Web indexing programs properly index the article for retrieval through standard Web based search engines.