Final Manuscript Preparation Guidelines for Journal of Threat Intelligence and Incident Response
This document provides details on typesetting and layout requirements pertaining to final manuscript submission to Journal of Threat Intelligence and Incident Response.
Format and style of main manuscript
For the main manuscript, submit a single file that includes all figures and tables. Supplementary material should be submitted as a single separate file in .docx or PDF format. LaTeX users should either convert files to Microsoft Word .docx or submit a PDF file.
Manuscripts should be in the following order:
Abstract
The Abstract should explain to a general reader why the research was done, what was found, and why the results are important. It should contain a brief background of the topic, an explanation of the objectives and methods, and a summarization of the findings. Do not include citations or abbreviations in the abstract. The abstract should be 150 words or less.
References
Any references to in-press sources at the time of submission should be cited. We do not permit citation of personal communications or unpublished references. We do allow citations of non-academic papers and media publications, however they cannot be used solely as the basis for findings or conclusions related to the subject matter being presented.
Use Chicago Style citations with footnotes
Acknowledgements
The acknowledgments section is used to acknowledge non-author contributions as well as provide significant information relevant to others seeking to extend the research or reproduce the findings.
Funding: include complete funding or sponsorship information, including the name of the employer if the research was done as a part of employment.
Data availability: Any restrictions on information or materials used as part of the research and analysis must be declared. If all data is in the paper and supplementary materials include the sentence “all data is available in the manuscript or the supplementary materials.”
Supplementary materials:
Begin each figure caption with a label, “Fig. 1.” for example, as a new paragraph
Begin each table caption with a label “Table 1.”, etc. as a new paragraph
Provide a link to any publicly available software/scripts used in the analysis (Github, etc)
Formatting Requirements
Indent all paragraphs except those following a section heading. An indent should be at least 2 em-spaces. Do not insert extra space between paragraphs of text with the exception of
long quotations, theorems, propositions, special remarks, etc. These should be
set off from the surrounding text by additional space above and below. All text should be left-justified (i.e., flush with the left margin—except where indented). Where possible, it should also be right-justified (i.e., flush with the right margin). "Where possible" refers to the quality of the justification. For example, LaTeX and TeX do an excellent job of justifying text. Word does a reasonable job. But some word processors do a lousy job (e.g., they achieve
right justification by inserting too much white space within and between words).
We prefer flush right margins. However, it is better to have jagged right margins than to have flush right margins with awkward intra- and inter-word spacing. Make your decision on whichever looks
best.
Authors should use proper, standard English grammar. The Elements of Style
by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White (now in its fourth edition) is the "standard"
guide, but other excellent guides (e.g., The Chicago Manual of Style,
University of Chicago Press) exist as well. Because this journal publishes electronically, page limits are not as relevant
as they are in the world of print publications. We are happy, therefore, to let
authors take advantage of this greater "bandwidth" to include material that they
might otherwise have to cut to get into a print journal. This said, authors should
exercise some discretion with respect to length. Set the font color to black for the majority of the text.
We encourage authors to take advantage of the ability to use color
in the production of figures, maps, etc., however, you need to
appreciate that this will cause some of your readers problems when they
print the document on a black & white printer. For this reason, you are
advised to avoid the use of colors in situations where their translation to
black and white would render the material illegible or incomprehensible. Please ensure that there are no colored mark-ups or comments in the final version, unless they are meant to be part of the final text. (You may need to "accept all changes" in track changes or set your document to "normal" in final markup.) Whenever possible use italics to indicate text
you wish to emphasize rather than underlining it. The use of color to
emphasize text is discouraged. Except, possibly, where special symbols are needed, use Times or the closest comparable font available. If you desire a
second font, for instance for headings, use a sans serif font (e.g., Arial or Computer
Modern Sans Serif). The main body of text should be set in 12pt. Avoid the use of fonts smaller than 6pt. Whenever possible, foreign terms should be set in italics rather
than underlined. Headings (e.g., start of sections) should be distinguished from the
main body text by their fonts or by using small caps. Use
the same font face for all headings and indicate the hierarchy by reducing
the font size. There should be space above and below headings. The font for the main body of text must be black and, if at all possible,
in Times or closest comparable font available. Whenever possible, titles of books, movies, etc., should be set in italics
rather than underlined. Footnotes should appear at the bottom of the page on which they are referenced
rather than at the end of the paper. Footnotes should be in 10 pt. Times or closest comparable font available, they should be single spaced, and there
should be a footnote separator rule (line).
Footnote numbers or symbols in the text must follow, rather than precede,
punctuation. Excessively long footnotes are probably better handled in an appendix. All footnotes should be left and right-justified (i.e., flush with the right margin), unless this creates awkward spacing. To the extent possible, tables and figures should appear in the document near where they
are referenced in the text. Large tables or figures should be put on pages by themselves.
Avoid the use of overly small type in tables. In no case should tables or figures be in a
separate document or file. All tables and figures must fit within 1.5" margins on all sides (top, bottom, left and right) in both portrait and landscape view. Roman letters used in mathematical expressions as variables
should be italicized. Roman letters used as part of
multi-letter function names should not be italicized.
Whenever possible, subscripts and superscripts should be a smaller font
size than the main text. Short mathematical expressions should be typed inline.
Longer expressions should appear as display math.
Also expressions using many different levels (e.g., such as the fractions) should be set as display math. Important definitions or concepts
can also be set off as display math. Equations should be numbered sequentially. Whether equation numbers are
on the right or left is the choice of the author(s). However, you are expected to
be consistent in this. Symbols and notation in unusual fonts should be
avoided. This will not only enhance the clarity of the manuscript, but it will
also help insure that it displays correctly on the reader's screen and prints correctly
on her printer. When proofing your document under PDF pay particular
attention to the rendering of the mathematics, especially symbols and notation
drawn from other than standard fonts. Additional Recommendations
Indenting, Line Spacing, and Justification
Language & Grammar
Article Length
Colored text
Emphasized text
Font faces
Font size
Foreign terms
Headings
Main text
Titles
Footnotes
Tables and Figures
Mathematics