Publishing in the scientific series of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland: a handbook for authors and editors. Publications Committee: Report No. 5

The standard of GEUS publications is the foremost mark of the esteem and professionalism with which our institution deserves to be held. Presentation is an important part of the standard.

The responsibility for the Survey's international scientific series lies with a publications committee, assisted by an editorial secretary. The members of the committee are all research scientists involved ·in editing part-time. If GEUS is to publish at international standards in English regularly, the onus is clearly on authors (in effect, on departments) to prepare manuscripts that not only meet international scientific standards but are also of comparable technical quality.

The end-product of scientific research is not just the published account; it is the reader's understanding of the intended messages. Transfer of information is the basic reason for scientific publication; effective writing and clear presentation are paramount. To meet this, professional associations and scientific publishing houses, academic institutions and editors' organisations have established standards for scientific publishing. It is precisely through scientific style and standard nomenclature that unstructured texts and questionable terminology - that lead to difficult reading and misunderstandings - can be avoided. Too rigid style and strict control of language are undesirable; they lead to sterile text and lack of individuality.

This handbook deals with the basics: forget pedantry and perfectionism. It is designed to help authors prepare manuscripts in GEUS style and to ensure editorial consistency. In the long run, it is a contribution to increased efficiency at GEUS in scientific writing. In the short term, preparing a manuscript after GEUS standards will minimise the time it takes to publish; manuscripts that do not follow 'in-house' style will be returned to the author. A positive frame of mind of authors (and departments) towards manuscript preparation and any changes requested by editors is a key to minimising publication time.