BCRA > Publications > Speleology > Guidelines

See also Summary Info for Authors | Copyright

What is Speleology magazine?

The British Cave Research Association (BCRA) has published a 'bulletin' since its foundation in 1973. Initially this was called the 'BCRA Bulletin' then, from 1979-2002, it was published as Caves & Caving (ISSN 0142-1832). In 2003 the title was changed to Speleology (ISSN 1478-999X). After the creation of the British Caving Association (BCA) in 2005, Speleology started to receive funding from BCA, and it is now sent to all BCA inidivdual members, as well as to BCRA members.

Speleology is now billed as the 'Bulletin of British Caving', although it remains a BCRA publication. Article deadlines are the beginning of February, June, October. Short news items can be accepted up to a month after these dates.

Content of the Magazine | top

The magazine covers a broad range of topics, as follows

• UK Exploration. Articles describing UK cave exploration and caving trips. Not primarily 'news' items, but 'background'. Also, historical reports.
• Expedition reports. The Ghar Parau Foundation is a sub-charity of BCRA that funds expeditions, which can report their expedition results in the magazine.
• Regional Focus. We have a number of 'regional correspondents' who are encouraged to submit news and articles.
• Environmental / Conservation / Legal issues
• Reviews. Book and journal reviews
• Photographs, Advertisements, Letters. Photo portfolios and letters are invited; also caving clubs may place free adverts for their accommodation, journals etc, if space is available. (Paid advertising is also accepted, with a special 1/8th page rate for caving clubs).
• BCRA Special Interest Groups. Reports of SIG activities. Reviews of SIG publications. Articles based around SIG activities, e.g. Cave Surveying, Cave Electronics, Cave Archaeology. In addition, there are a number of non-BCRA-based groups that could loosely be described as 'special interest', e.g. for Photography and Art. We welcome articles and reports from these groups too.
• BCRA Research Fund reports
• Science. Articles at a 'popular' level - i.e. not peer-reviewed academic papers.
• Technology. Equipment reviews, bolting, rope testing.

We have said that the magazine will contain 'popular science', but it is important that authors note that this does not mean 'bad science'. Although there will be no formal peer review, there will be consultation on the scientific content of articles.

Ephemeral news and BCRA or BCA membership matters will not usually appear in Speleology. Instead, these matters will appear in the BCRA or BCA newsletters.

Deadlines for Submissions | top

These are flexible, but are nominally the beginning of February, June, October. Short news items can be accepted up to a month after these dates.

Use of Submitted Material | top

We cannot guarantee to use any item that is contributed for publication, even if the article was solicited in any way. We reserve the right to edit contributions to conform to our house style or to fit the space available, or to request such alterations from the author. It will not normally be possible to issue page proofs to the author for checking.

Payment will not normally be made for any contribution, but it may be possible to make a small contribution towards any expenses incurred.

Letters to the Editor | top

Letters/emails should be sent to the editor. We reserve the right to edit items for clarity and style; and we reserve the right to reproduce published letters in any future reprints and editions in any medium. Also, in accordance with common practice, all letters/emails are assumed to be for publication, unless stated otherwise.

Copyright | top

Copyright of text, photos, and graphics that appear in this journal will not be assigned to the Association but the Association shall retain, in perpetuity, a non-exclusive licence to reproduce this journal in any medium. (See Speleology Online below). This licence shall extend to the separate publication of individual articles in this journal, but not to any other use of the author's material. The Association shall consider any restrictions that the author wishes to apply to this licence, and such restrictions may only be agreed in writing.

BCRA does not seek to own the copyright in an author's contributions. This means that you are free to use your original material elsewhere; however we request that you acknowledge that the material has been published by BCRA. Contributors must confirm that the contribution is your original work, and will not, to the best of your knowledge, infringe any existing copyright.

Some important information about copyright licensing is given on our copyright page, which you are recommended to read.

Copies for Author's Use | top

Please ask if you require any additional free copies of Speleology containing your published article. (In addition, of course, to your subscription copy, if you are a member of BCA).

Speleology Online | top

Under 'copyright' above, it stated that we ask you to agree "a non-exclusive licence to reproduce this journal in any medium". In practice, this means that we would like to make Speleology available online, and we ask you to agree to this. The online version will be a PDF download, and the file will be assembled as follows...

• Photographers may provide a special version of their photos - e.g. watermarked - for the online edition.
• Generally, photos and graphics will be output at 150 pixels/inch and 'medium' JPG quality. The pages will NOT be locked against copying.
• The cover and portfolio pages (featuring the work of cave photographers) will be output at 100 pixels/inch and 'medium' JPG quality and the pages will be 'locked'. However, you should be aware that merely disabling 'copy' in a PDF does not prevent screen dumps.
• Cave surveys and other vector graphics, being vectors, will be output at full resolution. If, for copyright reasons, you wish to reduce the resolution of your graphics in the online version, you must contact us to discuss this.
• BCRA members and subscribers, and anyone in possession of a valid BCRA login id will have unrestricted access. Non-members will be able to register for a month's free access, or pay for an annual subscription. The server will log each download. Items downloaded from BCRA's web site remain fully copyrighted unless the download page indicates otherwise. (For example, some papers in Cave & Karst Science may have a Creative Commons licence - see example- if indicated on the download page).

Guidelines for Submissions | top

We have prepared some notes covering the preferred format for text, graphics and photographs. (see detail).