Guidelines for Authors
by David L. Herendeen
Dr. Everett L. Parker
719 Moosehead Lake Road
Greenville, ME 04441
U. S. A.
Tel: (207) 695-3163
Fax: (207) 695-3163

E-mail the Editor at; eparker@hughes.net



These guidelines for British Caribbean Philatelic Journal (BCPJ) authors were originally developed by Michel Forand during his tenure as editor from 1992-1998. I have updated these to reflect the greater level of automation now available in the publishing field, and to define a number of techniques used to make our journal more consistent in both content and form.

Subject Matter

All aspects of British Caribbean philately, including topical or thematic philately, are acceptable as subjects of articles in the journal. Articles submitted for publication in the British Caribbean Philatelic Journal must not at the same time be offered to any other journal or publication.

The BCPJ does, however, consider reprinting articles of general interest to the membership when they have appeared in obscure sources which may be difficult for members to obtain. Please contact the editor to determine if a reprint is appropriate.

Formality

While the BCPJ is not a completely formal, refereed publication, it is intended to be of archival quality for those who follow our research efforts. As such, the tone of research articles should be reasonably, though not ponderously, formal. Things to avoid:

– Over-personalization:
"John Doe did a great job of studying this issue in 1952."

Instead: "A comprehensive study of this issue was first performed by Doe."1

– In-line References:
"John Doe's work, presented in the Journal in May 1952, was..."

Instead: "Doe's work,2 was...", or "as shown in Ref. 2, ..."

– First Person Familiarity:
"I think this means that ..."

Instead: "The evidence shows that ..."

– Categorical, Unsubstantiated Assertions:
"This is the only cover showing this usage."

Instead: "This usage has not been reported by previous researchers,1, 2 and a survey of active collectors has failed to locate any other examples."
Note that the Journal does also publish articles that may be completely informal. Examples include reports of new findings, calls for information, and works-inprogress that may present speculative hypotheses for which comments are solicited.

Logical Flow

If you wish to convey your information to others who may not be experts in your field, it is necessary to have a strong logical flow to your article. For this purpose, I propose the following simplistic definition of the basic sections that every research article should have: The Intoduction sets forth in a clear, concise manner the overall purpose of your article. It may often include a summary of previous relevant research upon which you have relied. The Thesis then defines the things that you intend to show and prove in the article. This includes new findings and conclusions that extend the body of knowledge in your research area- This is followed by the Support for your Thesis. Here you present your new discoveries, indicate why you are deviating from previous conclusions, and indicate the new evidence used to synthesize your hypotheses. Finally, the Summary describes what you have shown in your article.

Remember, these are logical sections of the article, not headings. However, almost every article should have headings to help guide the reader through the development.

Presentation

When submitting an article, please type it if possible. The preferred method is to use a computer-based word processor for this purpose. The Editor has access to virtually all word processing software. Files may be sent electronically by anyone having an e-mail facility on their computer. A hard copy may be required if there is any problem in capturing the file electronically. Those without e-mail may send their files directly to the Editor on floppy disk. You may use both your word processing format (e.g. DOC or WPD files) and a clear text (ASCII) file.

There is no need to create any fancy formatting in your document because this will be changed when it is inserted into the Journal. It is far more important to craft the content of the article than to worry about aesthetics.

If the article is handwritten, please ensure it is legible, preferably double-spaced. Finally, please review your article before sending it, to make sure there are no missing words or obscure sentences or references.

Style

If you need guidance on writing your article, Elements of Style,1 is a standard reference. As for style rules (for punctuation, abbreviations, etc.), the standard is the Chicago Manual of Style.2 Both of these books are usually available in any public or university library.

Citing References

When using previous research results and other references, credit must be given at the end of an article in a special section. Each citation must be complete, allowing others to find them easily. Examples of the most commonly used reference forms are given below:

Books

1. Wilson, J., The Royal Philatelic Collection, Dropmore Press Ltd., London, 1952.

Articles in Books and Anthologies

1. Herendeen, D.L., "The Evolution of Colonial Postage Due: 1874-1909," The Congress Book 1998, Barth Healey (ed.), The American Philatelic Congress, Inc., 1998, pp. 119-140.

Journal Articles - Individual

1. Elias, P.C., "Status of St. Vincent and Grenadines Post Offices," British Caribbean Philatelic Journal, 38(3), 1998, pp. 81-86.

Journal Articles - Series

1. Johnson, D.Q., "A History of Caribbean Stamps," British Caribbean Philatelic Journal, 35(3), 1995, pp. 81-86; 35(4), 1995, pp. 101 - 106; 36(2), 1996, pp.54-59.

Auction Catalogs

1. British Empire Stamps and Postal History, Spink and Sons, Ltd., London, 16 July 1998, Lot 103.

Private Correspondence

1. Doe, J., letter to author, 10 January 1990.

Reference Books

1. Encyclopaedia Brittanica, 20th ed., s.v. "Grenada."

Note that s.v. (sub verbo) indicates that you looked up the information under the indicated word(s).

Other Uses

Note that the method used in the BCPJ for references and endnotes is the superscript, as:

Doe's definitive work7 has proven this conjecture.


The use of the scholarly notations Ibid., op. cit, loc. cit., etc. is discouraged because they are both overly formal and not well-known to most casual researchers. If you feel that it is necessary to amplify the location of a particular research source within a book, the preferred manner is to use a linear reference in the text. For example:

"Doe notes that only one cover has been seen (Ref. 1, p. 605), but Smith illustrates two in his definitive work (Ref. 7, Chapter 9)."

Endnotes

Rather than using footnotes in the BCPJ, we use an Endnote section. To simplify the numbering system, the endnotes and References are merged into a single list. This list combines the reference citations with the actual author's notes. For example:

Endnotes and References

1. Elias, P.C., "Status of St. Vincent and Grenadines Post Offices," British Caribbean Philatelic Journal, 38(3), 1998, pp. 81-86.

2. Rare World Stamps and Postal History, Jones and Co., Ltd., New York, I May 1956, Lot 72.

Four examples of the same markings in the authors' collection certainly dispute the contention that only two exist!

3. All of the references to the Organic Laws were confirmed by the author's personal trip to the archives during a week-long trip in 1996.

4. Doe, J., letter to author, 10 January 1990.

Figures

Nearly all articles dealing with philatelic subjects will have figures. Because the BCPJ is composed with desktop publishing software, all of its components, text and figures, are kept in electronic form. Therefore, the best results will be obtained if authors can scan their items and deliver computer files directly to the editor. The following guidelines are useful for scanning:

If scanning black and white line art, such as documents, cancels and manuscript markings, you scan at the highest resolution possible, but not exceeding 600 dots per inch (dpi), using the black and white (sometimes monochrome) setting of your scanner.

Covers and stamps may be scanned in 30-bit color, 24-bit color or gray-scale, depending on the capabilities of your hardware. Since the Journal does not publish color illustrations, there is really no reason to scan in color unless you are saving the files for your own use. If the editor receives color scans, they will be converted to gray-scale prior to insertion in the Journal.

There is no need to scan continuous-tone images of covers and stamps at a resolution greater than 196dpi UNLESS you will be enlarging a small portion of the image. Best results are obtained if you compute the resolution based on the enlargement factor you will use. For example, if you are enlarging a portion of a stamp to be twice actual size, then you scan at 392dpi so that upon expansion the portion of the picture shown still has a resolution of 196dpi.

The editor can accept any format of graphics file (e.g. TIF, BMP, GIF, PCX, etc.) The preferred format is TER Under no circumstance save the file in JPEG format. This file format is "lossy", that is, although it has a high level of compression, some data may be lost. While this may be the best format for Internet applications, it is not the best for publishing.

NOTE: Many potential authors may not have scanners. The editor will scan appropriate hardcopy figures as described below. It is heartily recommended that all computer-literate philatelists have a scanner. It allows one to keep detailed records of their stamps, and allows the creation of figures to be used in writing papers for the BCPJ. Scanners may also be used to keep customized photo albums, to make copies of important documents, and to perform many other handy functions. Prices for perfectly acceptable scanners have fallen below $100 - less than the cost of even today's cheap printers!

For those without scanners, photographs or photocopies are acceptable. In the case of stamps, either color or blackand-white photo prints provide good reproductions. Never send negatives - they are not useful in the digital world. If you cannot send photographs, photocopies are acceptable, but please observe the following guidelines:

When photocopying a stamp, a proof, or a cover in black and white, ALWAYS place a piece of black paper behind it in order to make its contours visible, especially if the item is made of white paper. After making photocopies, examine the results to make sure the illustrations are not too dark or too light, fuzzy, etc. Photocopies done in the black-and-white setting of color photocopiers (e.g., the Canon Laser Color Copier) are usually crisp and very realistic; they are a bit more expensive than regular copies, but the results are worth the additional cost.

Hard copy illustrations should be submitted separately from the text. Also remember to send copies of the scanned image files - DO NOT EMBED THEM IN YOUR COMEPUTER DOCUMENT. Never use adhesive tape of any kind on the front of illustrations to hold them in place on a sheet of paper. The best approach is to submit photocopies of stamps, proofs, covers, etc. on a full sheet (i.e., 8.5" x 11" or A4 size); a half-sheet will do if only one stamp or cover is being shown. Several illustrations may be copied on the same page, but please ensure there is a reasonable amount of space between them ( 1" or more) and they are fully cross-referenced to the text or to a separate list of captions so that they can be properly identified (e.g., Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc.). Hardcopy of figures should always be mailed FLAT. When photocopies are scanned, a fold in the paper is highly visible.

Tables

It is often possible to create tables of data which result in a more logical, and concise, presentation of information. A perusal of articles in the BCPJ should provide you with examples of both format and use. A generalized tabular format is also appropriate, in many cases, to represent timelines. Again, examples can be found in the BCPJ.

Help Available

If you are not certain whether you can meet these guidelines, or if any of them pose a problem for you, please contact the editor. We will look for alternative solutions. The editor can also provide advice for scanning stamps and covers, a sometimes tricky business!

Review and Editing

The editor reserves the right to reject or edit any article; and a copy of the revised text will be sent to the author if this is deemed necessary. Usually, there is not enough time to allow drafts of articles to be reviewed by the author or outside readers. There is one major exception to this - authors who have e-mail addresses. e-mail allows virtually instantaneous (free) communication anywhere in the world. Authors with e-mail should also have one other important software product: the Adobe Acroba® Reader. This program, which is available from the Internet at no cost, is used to view published documents in the same form as they will appear in print.

Copyright

Under U.S. and worldwide copyright rules, copyright protection is automatically extended to the authors of articles. The Braitish Caribbean Philatelic Study Group has copyright over the layout and selection of articles in the journal, not over their specific contents.

References

1. Strunk, W. and White, E.B., Elements of Style, Third Edition, Allyn and Bacon, 1979.

2. Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition, University of Chicago Press, 1993.



A SAMPLE OF TOPICS DISCUSSED IN
BRITISH CARIBBEAN PHILATELIC JOURNAL IN RECENT YEARS