Publishing on grid

We welcome proposals for contributions that relate to the themes of grid. Please send them to the editorial team at redaktion@gridisnotajournal.de.

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Sections and Contribution Formats

Impulse: Contributions in the Impulse section present exciting results in a concise and pointed format for both academic and non-academic audiences. They may provide insights into new research projects, methodological experiments, or research-oriented essays on current societal issues. Contributions should be between 2,000 and 3,000 words, excluding references. Each submission must include at least one visual element (image, graphic, or video).

Discussion: The Discussion section features multiple interrelated contributions that address, contextualize, and discuss current trends and developments in the relationship between society, space, and digital technology. A debate typically consists of three or more impulses (see above) from at least two different authors. Contributions can be published simultaneously or at different times.

Digital Tools: In the Digital Tools section, we present and review digital tools that may be of interest and use for work in digital geography in the broadest sense.

Open Format: We welcome suggestions for contributions that do not fit into one of the above categories. Possible formats include video recordings, curated chat transcripts, annotated datasets, applications, and more. Creative formats may also be accompanied by a written text. We are happy to support authors with the technical implementation!

Review and Publication

Submissions go through a simplified review process: For each manuscript, an external review is requested, which will recommend either for or against publication on grid. A negative review will result in the rejection of the contribution. A positive review may include suggestions or requirements for revision. The contribution will then be revised in consultation with the responsible editor, though a second review typically does not take place. Contributions are published under a CC-BY license and assigned a DOI.

Style Guide

Submitted manuscripts should follow these linguistic and typographical guidelines:

• File format: Manuscripts can be written and submitted in any text editor. For publication, we will convert the manuscript into a plain text file (Markdown) with references in BibTeX format. Authors who wish to do so can submit their manuscript already in this format.

• Titles: Titles and subtitles should be separated by a colon, with the first word of the subtitle capitalized. For English titles, please avoid Title Case. Example:

  • grid: A new online magazine for society, space, and digital technology

• Headings: Please use only one level of headings for structuring the manuscript and do not number headings.

• References and bibliography: References should be provided in-text using the format (Author Year, Page) or in BibTeX format. Longer quotations should be written as a new paragraph. Foreign language quotations should be translated wherever possible. Omissions, alterations, and additions in quotations should be marked with square brackets. A bibliography is not required. Instead, a file exported from a citation manager (BibTeX, Zotero, Citavi, Endnote, etc.) containing the cited sources should accompany the manuscript.

• Figures and other media content: Figures and other media elements should be submitted as separate files in common formats (e.g., .jpg, .png, .mp3, .mp4, etc.). The manuscript may contain references to the appropriate position for each element.

• Gender-neutral language: To promote inclusivity and avoid gender bias, please use gender-neutral language where applicable. Avoid unnecessary gender-specific terms such as ‘he’ or ‘she’ when referring to people in general, and opt for neutral alternatives like ‘they’ or ‘the person’. Where appropriate, use terms such as ‘chairperson’ instead of ‘chairman’ or ‘firefighter’ instead of ‘fireman’.

• Foreign language terms: Common foreign language terms or phrases, such as Ubuntu, Savoir-vivre, or Assemblage, do not need to be translated but should be italicized.

• Specialist terms: Specialist terms are not marked for emphasis. To ensure accessibility to scientific debates, consider briefly explaining also familiar concepts, such as “place,” “digital twin,” or “black box” when their academic connotations are important.

• English: English contributions should consistently follow either British or American spelling.

• Quotation marks: Double quotation marks are used for direct quotations or scare quotes. For nested quotations, single quotation marks should be used for the inner quote.

• Emphasis: Words or phrases can be italicized for emphasis (do not use quotation marks for emphasis).

• Footnotes/parentheses: Please avoid using footnotes. Parentheses can be used for insertions within the text, but nested parentheses should be avoided:

  • (as Smith (1999) has argued)
  • (as Smith 1999 has argued)

• Double punctuation: If a quotation ends a sentence, omit the period at the end of the quote:

  • She argues that “complex spatial configurations emerge.” (Smith 1999).
  • She argues that “complex spatial configurations emerge” (Smith 1999).

• Numbers: Numbers are usually written as digits. Numbers between one and twelve may be spelled out. Please use language-appropriate separators (German: period for thousands, comma for decimals; English: comma for thousands, period for decimals).

• Abbreviations: Avoid abbreviations where possible. Abbreviations for longer organizational names or commonly used abbreviations in the field can be used, but should be introduced at first mention (full name followed by the abbreviation in parentheses). Percentages and currencies should also be written out.

• Dates: Please spell out the month in date references.

• Source code: Excerpts of source code from various programming languages can be included in the text. Please use Markdown formatting, i.e. enclose code in backticks (single backticks for inline code, three backticks for multi-line code blocks).