Types of papers

Forum geografic publishes original scientific papers around 6,000-8,000 words (this word count does not include abstract, tables and references). We recommend following the classical structure of a research paper, namely Introduction, Methodology, Results, Discussions and Conclusion. More details are provided below.

Article format

All manuscripts must be edited entirely in English; Romanian speaking authors are required to add the Romanian translation of the paper’s abstract. The submission should only have a basic semantic format.
Download the article template and fill the contents as specified. Please observe the following rules:

1. Do not apply any formatting to the text content. Emphasis should be used sparingly and only by applying the Emphasis style, not by formatting text as Italic;
2. Use only the default styles for Title, Heading 1, Heading 2, and Normal text;
3. Heading styles below the depth of Heading 2 (i.e. Heading 3, Heading 4…) are not allowed;
4. Provide the mandatory information regarding authors, abstract, acknowledgements, author contribution, and references;
5. Follow the APA 6 reference style, as specified.

The editorial board may reject any submissions that do not follow the above rules. For any further information, please contact us.

The expected reference style and citation format is APA 6th edition (for more details, consult the documentation available at www.apastyle.org).

We strongly advise you to use a software reference management solution – e.g. Microsoft Word 2007 or later citations and bibliography functions, Zotero – a free product able to collect, organize, import in Microsoft Office Word, cite, and share the bibliographic information, Mendeley – a free reference manager and academic social network.

Article submission

In order to disseminate the research results in the field, researchers, scholars and professionals are welcome to submit an electronic version of the manuscript (in Microsoft Office Word format) by email at forum.geografic@gmail.com and also to one of the executive editors at oana.ionus@edu.ucv.ro (Geosciences) or liliana.popescu@edu.ucv.ro (Human Geography and Social Sciences).

Submission checklist: To submit an article for publication to Forum geografic, please send the manuscript using the existing template, together with a cover letter to the editor and an Authors’ declaration, signed by all the authors.

Submission requirements: To submit an article for publication in our journal it is required that the article has not been published before, nor it is being considered for publication in other journals. Authors are responsible for the content and the originality of their contributions. In order to be published, articles must be thoroughly researched and referenced.

Copyright statement: By submitting a scientific work to Forum geografic the submitters agree to declare the following:

1. the submitted work belongs exclusively to the declared authors;
2. the submitted work represents original scientific research;
3. the submitted work has not been published or submitted for publishing to another journal;
4. if the submitted work is published or selected for publishing in Forum geografic, the authors waive any patrimonial claims derived from their authorship for the submitted work; the authors retain the moral rights for their submitted work, as granted under the Romanian applicable law; also, the authors agree to refrain from ulterior submitting of the work to other journals.

The submitters agree to be solely held accountable in case of breaching the above terms and to defend the representatives of Forum geografic in the event of a lawsuit related to the submitted work.

Funding

All sources of funding of the study should be disclosed. Clearly indicate grants that you have received in support of your research work.

Author contribution

For research articles with several authors, a short paragraph specifying their individual contributions must be provided. Authorship must be limited to those who have contributed substantially to the work.

Conflicts of interest

Authors must identify and declare any personal circumstances or interest that may be perceived as influencing the representation or interpretation of reported research results.

Review process

Articles submitted to Forum geografic are subject to an initial review and subsequently a double-blind peer-review.

Initial review

Selected Editor(s) from the Editorial Board (based on the topic of the paper) will check if the paper is appropriate for publication in Forum geografic, mainly if:

• it is in line with the Aims and scope of the journal,
• it is an original contribution,
• check for methodological rigour,
• there is a proper use of the English language.

At this stage, manuscripts are either rejected (if they are either outside the aim and scope of the journal, insufficiently original, have scientific flaws or are expressed in poor grammar/English) or sent for further review (blind double review). This initial stage usually takes between 2 to 4 weeks.

Double anonymized review

Manuscripts that pass the initial review undergo a rigorous peer-review process by at least two anonymous referees. Reviewers should not have published with any of the co-authors during the past three years and should not currently work or collaborate with any of the co-authors of the submitted manuscript. Reviewers are selected based on the type of expertise and specific aspects needed for the paper. Multidisciplinary studies are assigned to reviewers from different disciplines. Authors of accepted papers in Forum geografic may be requested to review in their area of expertise. This stage usually takes between 12 to 15 weeks.

Based on the feed-back of the reviewers, the editor(s) will decide on:

• Accept (either in the current form or after Minor Revisions):
  The paper is in principle accepted after revision based on the reviewer’s comments. Authors are given 2 weeks for minor revisions.
• Review again after Major Revisions: the paper requires substantial changes in order to be considered for publication. This resolution provides no guarantee that the revised version will be accepted for publication. Revised manuscripts are sent back to initial reviewers and additional reviewers may be invited to review it. The revised version of the paper must clearly respond to all the reviewers’ and editor’s comments and recommendations. Authors are required to send the revised version within three months. The acceptance of the manuscript would depend on the revisions. Only one round of major revision iteration is allowed.
• Reject: In case a major re-write is required (the paper is in line with the aims and scope of the journal, is scientifically sound, but it lacks important information/ structure), the paper is not accepted for publication.

Proofreading

To facilitate proper peer-reviewing of your manuscript, it is essential that it is submitted in grammatically correct English. Forum geografic provides minor English editing for all accepted papers, free of charge. However, if the paper needs extensive English editing, it may face rejection at an early stage.

Article processing charge

Forum geografic does not charge any fees for the process of reviewing, publishing or posting online articles.

When submitting a paper the authors are required to print, fill and send a scanned copy of this declaration.

Apart from the above conditions, the works published on forumgeografic.ro are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International.

Privacy statement: The submitted personal data, such as names or email addresses, are used only for the declared purpose of the Forum geografic journal (publishing original scientific research).

Manuscripts are received at all times. However, in order to have your article published in the current year’s issue, the manuscripts must be submitted until the 15th of September.