5JOURNAL OF CAVE AND KARST STUDIES STYLE: A GUIDE FOR CONTRIBUTORSMalcolm S. FieldOffice of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C. 20460Preparing a paper for publication in the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies requires that the author(s) preparing the manuscript conform to the guidelines set down by the National Speleological Society. This document illustrates the basic manuscript form required for consideration for publication in the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies. Journal text is typeset using Roman type in the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies which requires that journal names, such as the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies or a biological species name, be in italic type. For example, the biological species name for the blind cave fish, Amblyopsis rosae, must appear in italic form when text appears in Roman form so as to set off the scientific name from the rest of the text.INTRODUCTIONThe National Speleological Society serves the karst community and society at large in several ways, among them by publishing the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies which presents the results of investigations. The Journal of Cave and Karst Studies is a multidisciplinary journal devoted to cave and karst research that seeks original, unpublished manuscripts concerning the scientific study of caves and/or karst features. Authors do not need to be members of the National Speleological Society (NSS), but preference is generally given to manuscripts of importance to North American speleology. The Editor of the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies has the responsibility for maintaining the Journal quality and for reviewing and accepting papers submitted for publication.These guidelines derive from the Journal Editors, Associate Editors and Advisory Boards definition of the standards of quality for scientific research and its publication in the Journal, and from the karst communitys desire and need to have a high-quality journal dedicated to karst scholarship. The guidelines that follow are intended to provide prospective authors with clear instructions and an example for developing manuscripts suitable for publication in the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, by ensuring proper grammatical and aesthetic quality and by ensuring that the highest ethical standards are adhered to at all times.BASIC FORMAT OF EVERY PAPEREvery paper submitted to the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies must follow the basic format. The accepted format is a standard form used by all scientific journals. To assist authors with manuscript preparation, this MS Word template may be used. Although subheads are not shown, it is expected that authors will clearly distinguish first-, second-, third-, and fourth-level heads in their manuscriptORDER OF PARTSThe order of parts in a paper is title page, abstract (except in comments or discussion, replies, and corrections), text, notation list, appendixes, endnotes (or notes), acknowledgments, references, figure captions list, tables, and figures.Title PageAuthors and Co-Authors AddressesAbstractIntroductionMaterials and MethodsResults and DiscussionSummary and/or ConclusionsNotations ListAcknowledgmentsReferencesAppendicesFigure CaptionsTablesNot all headings will be used in any given manuscript. For example, manuscripts with no equations or very few equations will not need a Notations List. Other papers may have heading names different than those listed. For example, a Materials and Methods heading may be replaced by one or more appropriately named headings.Note that the interdisciplinary nature of the Journal of Cave and Karst Studies will necessarily require that the Editor accept papers that may vary considerably from the headings listed above. However, the basic form must be adhered to at all times.Below is a basic scientific style that should be loosely followed. It is intended to be a basic guide while recognizing that scientific articles often require some variances from a standard form.Title PageManuscripts should begin with a concise informative title. The title should then be followed by the name(s) of the author(s), affiliation(s) and address(es) of the authors, and e-mail address, telephone, and fax numbers for communicating with the author(s).AbstractEvery paper must be preceded by an abstract of not more than 250 words. Abstracts should concisely summarize research methods, results, and conclusions, but not include citations to references.IntroductionThe introduction should consist of a brief discussion of the nature of the problem, relevant literature review, and the purpose of the paper. The length and level of detail included are subject to the authors discretion, but will likely depend on the extent of the problem and the authors sense of how much introductory material is needed to define the problem.Materials and MethodsMaterials a