Instruction for authors

On Line Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts for RFG should be submitted online at:

https://www.editorialmanager.com/geotech/

Authors must submit their texts and all associated files to the editorial office via the web and follow the necessary points in the editorial process.

Ethical submission policy

Submission of a manuscript implies that the work has not been published and is not submitted for publication anywhere else. Publication must be approved by all authors. For ethics in publishing consult Committee on Publishing Ethics COPE: https://publicationethics.org/

Non-compliance with these instructions will have the following consequences: immediate and definitive rejection of the article, notification of the editorial offices of the journals concerned and a 2-year ban on publication in the RFG.

Important points

Accepted articles should be accompanied by a concise and clear statement about the novelty or originality aspects of the scientific work and explaining why it would be of interest to the readers of this journal. This statement should point out the original features of the work, not just say that it is new. This text must be uploaded as a separate Word file to the editorial management system. These "Important points" will be published in the online table of contents along with the title and list of authors.

Manuscripts

Manuscripts must not exceed 20 pages (including tables, figures or images), with a total of 7 printed pages (one printed page corresponds to 5,000 characters including spaces).

Manuscripts should be prepared according to the following order:

  • The first page contains the full title in English and French, the names of the authors and their affiliations.
  • The second page contains: the summary in English and French (maximum 300 words each) and 5 keywords in English and French for referencing purposes.
  • The introduction begins on page 3
  • Acknowledgments should be short
  • Conflict of interest declaration
  • References
  • Tables (one per page) with explanatory captions in English and French
  • Figures with captions in English and French

Authors List and Affiliations

The authors are designated as follows:

  • First name (written in full),/li>
  • Middle name, if any
  • Last name

The format for affiliations: complete address information including city, and country. At least one author should be designated as the corresponding author, and his (her) email address included at the end of the affiliation section.

The list of co-authors may not be modified between submission and the editorial board's decision, except in the case of a revision of the article: addition of a co-author who has contributed to the revisions, or deletion of a co-author subject to written consent from the co-author.

Abstract

The abstract describes the main objectives of the article (ideally in 150-200 words). It should be informative and mention the main results and conclusions. The abstract must be written in English AND French.

Keywords

Five pertinent keywords need to be added after the abstract. Keywords must be provided in English AND French.

Introduction

The introduction provides a background that places the manuscript in context and enables readers outside the field to grasp the issues at stake and the place of the work presented. The introduction presents the problem addressed and explains its importance.

Conventions and abbreviations

Abbreviations are defined in brackets the first time they appear. Units, symbols and nomenclature must comply with international conventions. Standard units will be used without being defined.

References

It is important to check the relevance of the references cited. In the online version, hyperlinks will allow the reader to access the source cited. If the references are incorrect or incomplete (no author's name or an error in volume or pagination, for example), the associated hyperlink will be defective, which may reduce the interest of publishing your work online.

An in-text reference must include the author's name followed by the year of publication, for example: (Smith, 2002), according to Smith (2002), (Smith and Davies, 2002; Davies, 2003; Smith, 2005; Smith et al., 2007). All references must be cited in the text.

List of references

The names of journals must be indicated without abbreviation and written in italics. The following practices must be observed:

Journal:
Romero E, Gens A, Lloret A, 1999. Water permeability, water retention and microstructure of unsaturated compacted Boom clay. Engineering geology 54: 117–127.

Book:
Steinberg M, 1998. Geomembranes and the Control of Expansive Soils in Construction, McGraw-Hill, New York.

Internet:
AuthorAID Resource Library. Available from http://www.authoraid.info/resource-library (last consult: 2013/23/03).

Tables:
Each table should be referred to in the text as follows:

“There are about twenty different varieties (Tab. 2).”

The tables are numbered successively (Table 1, Table 2, etc.). Each table must be accompanied by a short legend in English AND French located directly below the table. Each table is presented on a separate page.

Figures:
When an author reproduces a figure from another publication, he or she must mention the source and also obtain permission for reproduction from the publisher concerned. Each figure must be referred to in the text as follows:

“There are about twenty different varieties (Fig. 2).”

Each figure must be accompanied by a short caption in English AND French located directly below the figure describing it.

There is no limit to the number of figures. However, authors must ensure that their illustrations are relevant, non-redundant and clear.

Colour figures are published in colour in the online version, but please ensure that in the B&W version for the paper version the figures are still legible.

Initial evaluation

The editors reserve the right to decide whether an article should be submitted to the reading committee. They may also reject a manuscript that does not meet the criteria for publication (poor presentation, inappropriate subject, error). An article must be:

  • Fundamentally right and appropriate;
  • A significant advance and not just a minor advance on previous work;
  • Accessible to the entire readers of the journal.
  • A scientific and/or industrial development in the field.

The following questions will be addressed to the members of the reviewing committee to support their opinion:

  • Does the subject correspond to the fields covered by the journal?
  • Does the article contain sufficient original results to justify publication?
  • Does the subject correspond to the fields covered by the journal?
  • Does the article contain sufficient original results to justify publication?
  • Is the article technically correct and error-free?
  • Is the work presented clearly and concisely? Is it well organised?
  • Are the industrial applications sufficiently developed?
  • Are the scientific developments sufficiently explored?
  • Does the title clearly and sufficiently reflect the content?
  • Is the abstract informative? Does it contain the main results and conclusions?
  • Is the scientific discussion honest and not misleading?
  • Are the illustrations of good quality, appropriate, relevant and understandable?
  • Does the bibliography provide an overview of the state of the art in the field?
  • Are the language and writing skills satisfactory?
  • Does the article need to be shortened (irrelevant or redundant content)?
  • Will the article have a significant impact?

Peer review

Reviewers are asked to give their report within 6 weeks.

phe Editor generally obtains two independent opinions. Despite concordant opinions, the publisher may reject or accept a manuscript on the basis of a single review report.

An expert may also be appointed to act as arbitrator between the reviewing committees.

Review deadline

A revised version of a manuscript must be returned within three months of the editor's decision. A resubmission after this date is considered to be the submission of a new article. However, if the revision requires more time, an extension may be granted by the editorial office.

Withdrawal of an article / authors' retraction

An article may be withdrawn from the journal after submission provided that the request is accompanied by a letter of explanation giving the reasons for the withdrawal. After withdrawal, the article file is immediately closed and the letter of explanation sent to the editorial board. Publication in another journal of an article that has been improved after the comments of the Reviewing Committee is contrary to the editorial and ethical policy of the journal.

Appeal

In the case of disagreement, if the complaint is well-founded, it is possible to appeal against the journal's editorial decision. The publisher reserves the right to accept or refuse to consider the appeal.

ORCID

From October 2024, only authenticated ORCIDs will be published in this journal. Any ORCIDs included in the manuscript files or provided outside of the authentication process outlined below will not be included in the published article. Corresponding authors can link their own ORCID to their profile at the time of submission. They should also enter their co-authors details (names and email addresses) in the system at this time. Co-authors listed this way will be automatically invited to confirm that they are co-authors of the manuscript, and to validate their ORCID. This must be done before article acceptance. See also EDP Sciences ORCID policy here.