Submissions

Author Guidelines

Important Notice

During the online submission process, authors must carefully complete all metadata fields in the journal platform and upload the following mandatory documents as separate files:

1. Manuscript (prepared using the official journal template)
2. Cover Letter
3. Author Statement

The Manuscript Template, Cover Letter, and Author Statement are official journal documents and must be used during manuscript preparation and submission.

Authors should also consult the Extended Author Guidelines, which provide supplementary formatting instructions and reference examples. These guidelines complement the information on this page and should be used together with the official manuscript template.

Submissions that do not include all mandatory files, or that do not comply with the journal requirements, may be returned to the authors before editorial evaluation.

Download Journal Documents

• Manuscript Template (Word)
• Cover Letter (Word)
• Author Statement (Word)
• Extended Author Guidelines (PDF)
• Nova Journals Harvard Style (Zotero CSL)

Before Submission

Authors should read the following journal policies before submitting a manuscript:

• Focus and Scope;
• Section Policies;
• Procedures;
• Peer Review Process;
• Publication Ethics;
• Use of Generative AI;
• Open Access Policy;
• Copyright Notice;
• Publication Fee.

Submission of a manuscript indicates that all authors have approved the work and agree to comply with the journal’s editorial, ethical, copyright, licensing, and publication policies.

Manuscripts that do not comply with the journal’s scope, scientific standards, ethical requirements, or technical instructions may be returned to the authors or rejected before external peer review.

Online Submission

Manuscripts must normally be submitted through the journal’s online submission system.

Email submission is considered only when specifically authorized by the Editorial Office.

The corresponding author is responsible for:

• completing all submission steps;
• entering accurate metadata;
• uploading all required files;
• confirming that all authors have approved the submission;
• ensuring that author names, affiliations, email addresses, and ORCID identifiers are correct;
• communicating with the journal during the editorial process;
• distributing editorial correspondence to all co-authors;
• coordinating revisions and proof corrections.

Required Submission Files

Authors must upload the following files separately:

1. Complete manuscript in Microsoft Word format, prepared using the official journal template;
2. Cover Letter;
3. Author Statement.

Additional files may be required, where applicable:

• high-resolution figures;
• Supplementary Material;
• permissions for third-party material;
• ethical approval documents;
• response to reviewers;
• marked or tracked-changes manuscript;
• clean revised manuscript.

The journal may request additional documentation during editorial evaluation.

Complete Manuscript

The manuscript must be prepared using the official journal template.

The complete manuscript should include:

• title;
• full author names;
• affiliations;
• corresponding author details;
• email addresses;
• ORCID identifiers;
• abstract;
• keywords;
• main text;
• tables and figures;
• required declarations;
• references;
• supplementary information references, where applicable.

Authors submit a complete manuscript containing identifying information. Before external peer review, the Editorial Office prepares or verifies an anonymized review copy and removes identifying information from the manuscript and file properties, where necessary.

Authors may be contacted if additional changes are required to ensure appropriate anonymization.

Cover Letter

The Cover Letter should state briefly:

• the manuscript title;
• the contribution type;
• the main scientific contribution;
• the novelty and relevance of the work;
• why the manuscript fits Nova Geodesia;
• confirmation that the manuscript is original;
• confirmation that it is not under consideration elsewhere;
• confirmation that all authors approved the submission;
• disclosure of related manuscripts, preprints, conference papers, or overlapping work;
• any ethical, legal, or conflict-of-interest matters requiring editorial attention;
• suggested or opposed reviewers, where applicable.

The Cover Letter should not contain exaggerated claims, personal appeals, or requests for guaranteed acceptance.

Author Statement

The Author Statement should confirm, as applicable, that:

• all authors meet the authorship criteria;
• all authors approved the manuscript and submission;
• the work is original;
• the manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere;
• all required permissions have been obtained;
• ethical approval and informed consent were obtained where required;
• funding and conflicts of interest have been disclosed;
• data and results are accurate to the best of the authors’ knowledge;
• generative AI use has been disclosed where required;
• the corresponding author is authorized to communicate on behalf of all authors.

Authors must use the journal’s official Author Statement form.

Contribution Types

The journal publishes:

• Research Articles;
• Review Articles;
• Notes;
• Editorials.

Research Articles, Review Articles, and Notes are subject to external peer review.

Editorials are normally commissioned, prepared, or approved by the Editor-in-Chief and are evaluated editorially.

Authors should consult the Section Policies before selecting a contribution type.

The journal may reclassify a submission into a more appropriate category after consultation with the authors.

Language

Manuscripts must be written in clear and grammatically correct English.

Authors are responsible for language quality before submission.

The journal may request language revision where poor English prevents reliable scientific evaluation.

Language editing does not guarantee acceptance.

Scope and Scientific Relevance

Submitted manuscripts must fit the journal’s scientific profile.

Interdisciplinary manuscripts must include a substantive component related to geodesy, surveying, positioning, mapping, GIS, remote sensing, photogrammetry, LiDAR, spatial analysis, land administration, or another relevant geospatial field.

Local or regional case studies should demonstrate broader scientific, methodological, comparative, or practical relevance.

Purely descriptive reports, routine technical applications, institutional reports, or manuscripts with limited scientific contribution may be rejected during preliminary assessment.

Originality and Exclusive Submission

Manuscripts must be original and must not:

• have been published previously, except in an acceptable preliminary form such as an abstract, thesis, dissertation, conference presentation, or preprint;
• be under consideration by another journal;
• substantially duplicate another published or submitted work;
• include unattributed text, data, figures, tables, images, or ideas;
• contain fabricated, falsified, manipulated, or misleading material.

Authors must disclose any related manuscript, preprint, conference version, report, thesis, dataset publication, or overlapping work.

Where overlap exists, the relationship between the works must be explained clearly.

Preprints

The journal may consider manuscripts previously posted as preprints, provided that:

• the preprint is disclosed at submission;
• the manuscript has not undergone formal journal publication;
• the authors retain the necessary rights;
• the preprint record is updated with the final citation and DOI after publication, where possible.

Posting a preprint does not guarantee acceptance.

Manuscript Structure

Research Articles should normally include:

• Title;
• Abstract;
• Keywords;
• Introduction;
• Materials and Methods;
• Results;
• Discussion;
• Conclusions;
• Authors’ Contributions;
• Ethical Approval, where applicable;
• Informed Consent, where applicable;
• Acknowledgements;
• Funding;
• Conflict of Interests;
• Data Availability Statement;
• Use of Generative AI, where applicable;
• References.

Results and Discussion may be combined where scientifically justified.

Review Articles should describe the literature-selection or review method transparently.

Systematic reviews should follow an appropriate reporting guideline where applicable.

Notes may use a more concise structure but must provide sufficient methodological, analytical, ethical, and interpretative information.

Title

The title should:

• be concise and informative;
• reflect the manuscript accurately;
• avoid unnecessary words;
• avoid unsupported or overly broad claims;
• avoid excessive abbreviations;
• identify the main subject, method, or study context where useful.

Scientific names should be italicized where applicable.

Abstract

The abstract should summarize:

• the objective;
• the main methods;
• the principal results;
• the main conclusion;
• the scientific or practical significance.

The abstract should avoid citations unless essential, undefined abbreviations, and claims not supported by the manuscript.

Keywords

Keywords should:

• reflect the subject, methods, and applications;
• improve discoverability;
• use internationally recognized terminology;
• avoid excessive repetition of words already present in the title;
• avoid terms that are excessively broad or vague.

Introduction

The Introduction should:

• explain the scientific context;
• summarize relevant literature;
• identify the research gap;
• state the novelty and significance;
• define the objective, research question, or hypothesis;
• avoid an excessively long general review.

Materials and Methods

The Materials and Methods section must provide sufficient information to allow scientific evaluation and, where possible, replication.

It should include, as applicable:

• study area and coordinates;
• study design;
• sampling strategy;
• instruments and sensors;
• software and versions;
• data sources;
• acquisition dates;
• processing workflows;
• algorithms and parameters;
• calibration and validation procedures;
• statistical methods;
• accuracy assessment;
• ethical approvals;
• permits and licences;
• data exclusion criteria;
• uncertainty analysis.

Previously published methods may be cited, but essential details should still be provided.

Study Area, Maps, and Geospatial Information

Maps should include, where appropriate:

• geographic location;
• scale bar;
• north arrow;
• coordinate reference system;
• legend;
• readable labels;
• data source;
• administrative or geographic context;
• appropriate resolution.

Authors should report, where relevant:

• datum and projection;
• sensor type;
• acquisition date and conditions;
• ground sampling distance;
• point density;
• positional accuracy;
• control and check points;
• calibration method;
• error metrics;
• validation procedure;
• uncertainty;
• software and processing settings.

Claims of accuracy must be supported by appropriate validation data.

Copyrighted basemaps or other third-party material must not be used without appropriate attribution and permission where required.

Statistical Analysis

Statistical methods must be appropriate for the study design and data.

Authors should report, where applicable:

• sample size;
• number of replicates;
• experimental unit;
• assumptions;
• significance level;
• exact or threshold p values;
• confidence intervals;
• effect sizes;
• model diagnostics;
• software and version;
• multiple-comparison procedures;
• treatment of missing data;
• data transformations.

Statistical significance should not be presented as a substitute for scientific relevance.

Results

The Results section should:

• present findings clearly and logically;
• avoid unnecessary repetition of tables and figures;
• report relevant positive and negative findings;
• distinguish results from interpretation;
• include appropriate measures of uncertainty;
• avoid unsupported generalization.

Tables and figures must be cited in chronological order.

Discussion

The Discussion should:

• interpret the findings;
• compare them critically with relevant literature;
• explain similarities and differences;
• discuss limitations and uncertainty;
• avoid repeating the Results section;
• avoid unsupported speculation;
• explain scientific or practical relevance;
• relate the findings to the stated objective or hypothesis.

Conclusions

The Conclusions should:

• be supported by the results;
• answer the study objectives;
• avoid repeating the abstract;
• avoid introducing new data;
• avoid exaggerated claims;
• identify broader implications where justified;
• distinguish demonstrated findings from future possibilities.

Tables

Tables should:

• be numbered consecutively;
• be cited in chronological order;
• have concise, self-explanatory titles;
• define all abbreviations;
• include units in column headings;
• explain statistical symbols and letters;
• avoid unnecessary duplication of figures or text;
• be editable rather than inserted only as images;
• use consistent decimal places;
• explain whether values represent means, standard deviations, standard errors, confidence intervals, or ranges.

Very large tables may be moved to Supplementary Material.

Figures

Figures should:

• be numbered consecutively;
• be cited in chronological order;
• have self-explanatory captions;
• include readable labels;
• have sufficient resolution;
• use consistent fonts and symbols;
• include units and legends;
• avoid misleading visual scaling;
• comply with copyright, privacy, and image-integrity requirements.

Composite figures should identify panels consistently as (a), (b), (c), and so on.

Authors may be asked to provide original editable or high-resolution files.

Cover Image (Featured Artwork)

Authors of accepted articles may optionally submit a Cover Image (Featured Artwork) for possible use in connection with the publication and promotion of their article.

Submission of a cover image is voluntary and has no influence on the editorial decision or acceptance of the manuscript.

The image should be directly related to the published research and may consist of:

• a compelling photograph;
• a clear scientific or geospatial visualization;
• a map-based composition;
• a remote-sensing or photogrammetric image;
• a carefully prepared collage related to the study.

The artwork should be visually attractive, clear, and uncluttered. Extensive text, complex legends, dense graphical elements, and unnecessary annotations should be avoided.

The preferred format is widescreen (16:9). Images should normally be submitted as PNG or TIFF files with sufficient pixel dimensions and resolution for high-quality online and promotional use. A minimum resolution of 300 dpi is recommended.

Authors must provide a concise one-sentence description of the image. This description may be used as alternative text and related web metadata to support accessibility and discoverability.

Copyright and Permissions

The submitted artwork must be original or lawfully reusable. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all photographs, illustrations, maps, satellite imagery, aerial or UAV imagery, graphical elements, datasets, basemaps, or other materials incorporated into the image may legally be used and published.

Where third-party material is included, all necessary permissions, licences, or other rights must have been obtained before submission. Appropriate attribution must be provided where required.

The cover image must not infringe copyright, privacy, trademark, database rights, contractual restrictions, or other third-party rights.

By submitting a cover image, the authors grant Nova Geodesia and its publisher a non-exclusive right to reproduce, resize, crop, technically adapt, publish, archive, and use the artwork in connection with the journal and the promotion of the associated article. Copyright ownership otherwise remains with the respective rights holder.

A cover image is intended as a visual feature and does not need to reproduce the function of a technical Graphical Abstract.

Submission does not guarantee publication of the artwork. Final selection remains at the discretion of the Editorial Office and may depend on editorial relevance, visual quality, technical suitability, and available space.

 

Image Integrity

Images must not be manipulated in a way that misrepresents the data.

Adjustments should be applied consistently and must not obscure, remove, duplicate, create, or alter scientifically relevant information.

Any image processing that affects interpretation must be described.

The journal may request original, unprocessed image files.

Units, Symbols, and Nomenclature

Authors should use:

• SI units;
• standard scientific notation;
• internationally accepted terminology;
• correct symbols and superscripts;
• consistent abbreviations;
• correct scientific nomenclature.

A space should normally separate a numerical value from its unit.

Examples include:

• mg L⁻¹;
• kg ha⁻¹;
• cmol kg⁻¹;
• m s⁻¹.

Scientific Names

Genus and species names must be italicized.

The full scientific name should normally be provided at first mention.

Cultivar names should not be italicized and should normally appear in single quotation marks.

The spelling and taxonomic status of scientific names should be verified using an authoritative source.

Abbreviations and Equations

Abbreviations should be defined at first use and used consistently.

Non-standard abbreviations should be avoided where possible.

Equations should:

• be editable;
• be numbered where referenced;
• define all variables;
• use consistent notation;
• include units where relevant.

References

References must be accurate, complete, and consistent with the journal style.

Authors are responsible for verifying:

• author names;
• publication year;
• article title;
• journal or book title;
• volume and issue;
• page range or article number;
• DOI;
• URL;
• access date where required.

Every reference cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and every item in the reference list must be cited in the text.

Authors should prioritize relevant primary literature and avoid unnecessary or inappropriate citations.

Excessive self-citation, coercive citation, citation padding, and citation manipulation are not permitted.

Journal titles should be written in full unless otherwise specified by the journal style.

Authors should consult the journal template and recently published articles for detailed reference examples.

Data Availability

Authors should include a Data Availability Statement.

The statement may indicate that:

• data are available in a named repository with a persistent identifier;
• data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request;
• data are included in the article or Supplementary Material;
• data cannot be shared because of legal, ethical, privacy, contractual, security, or third-party restrictions;
• no new data were created or analysed.

The statement must reflect the actual availability of the data.

Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material should:

• be directly relevant to the manuscript;
• be cited in the main text;
• be clearly labelled;
• use stable file formats;
• avoid unnecessary duplication;
• comply with ethical, copyright, and privacy requirements.

Authors remain responsible for the accuracy and legality of supplementary files.

Authorship and Contributions

All listed authors must meet recognized authorship criteria and must:

• have made a substantial contribution to the work;
• approve the final version;
• agree to the submission;
• accept responsibility for their contribution;
• cooperate in resolving questions concerning the integrity of the work.

Individuals who contributed but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged with their permission.

Gift, honorary, guest, and ghost authorship are not permitted.

The manuscript should include an Authors’ Contributions statement based on relevant CRediT roles.

The statement should conclude with:

All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Changes in Authorship

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must:

• be explained;
• be approved by all authors;
• be supported by a revised contribution statement;
• be submitted before acceptance whenever possible.

The journal may reject unjustified authorship changes.

Changes after acceptance or publication are considered only in exceptional circumstances.

Affiliations and ORCID

Affiliations should identify the institution where the work was conducted or where the author was formally affiliated during the research.

Institutional names should be written in their official form.

Affiliation indices should be assigned in chronological numerical order.

All authors should provide a valid ORCID identifier. ORCID identifiers must belong to the named authors and must not be created or entered for another person without authorization.

Funding

All financial support must be disclosed.

The Funding Statement should include:

• funder name;
• project or grant number;
• recipient, where relevant;
• role of the funder, where necessary.

Where no funding was received, authors should state this clearly.

Conflict of Interests

All authors must disclose financial, personal, professional, institutional, academic, or other relationships that could influence or appear to influence the work.

Where no conflict exists, authors may state:

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval and Informed Consent

Research involving humans, animals, personal data, protected areas, cultural heritage, biological materials, or regulated fieldwork must comply with applicable ethical and legal standards.

Authors must provide, where applicable:

• ethics committee name;
• approval number;
• approval date;
• informed-consent statement;
• animal welfare statement;
• permit or licence number;
• access authorization;
• relevant data-protection information.

Ethical approval must be obtained before the research begins where required.

More detailed requirements are provided in the Publication Ethics policy.

Acknowledgements

The Acknowledgements section may recognize individuals or organizations that contributed but do not meet authorship criteria.

Permission should be obtained from named individuals.

Editorial, statistical, technical, language, or other assistance should be disclosed where appropriate.

Acknowledgements should not be used to imply endorsement.

Use of Generative AI

Authors must comply with the journal’s Use of Generative AI policy.

Generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

Authors remain fully responsible for:

• accuracy;
• originality;
• citations;
• data integrity;
• confidentiality;
• copyright compliance;
• ethical compliance.

Substantive use of generative AI in drafting, translation, coding, analysis, image generation, or other scientific work must be disclosed as required by the journal.

Routine spelling, grammar, or formatting assistance does not normally require detailed disclosure when it does not alter substantive scientific content.

Confidential manuscripts, unpublished data, personal data, review reports, or editorial correspondence must not be uploaded to unauthorized public AI systems.

Reviewer Suggestions

Authors may suggest qualified reviewers.

Suggested reviewers should:

• have relevant expertise;
• be independent;
• not belong to the same institution;
• not be recent collaborators;
• not have a close personal or professional relationship with the authors;
• not have a relevant conflict of interest.

Authors may identify opposed reviewers and provide a brief reason.

The journal is not required to use suggested reviewers or exclude opposed reviewers.

False reviewer identities or fabricated contact details constitute serious misconduct.

Peer Review and Editorial Decisions

The journal uses double-blind peer review for Research Articles, Review Articles, and Notes.

Manuscripts selected for external review are normally sent to at least two independent experts.

The journal seeks to obtain two or more substantive reports whenever possible.

Reviewers provide recommendations and do not make editorial decisions.

The Editor-in-Chief has overall responsibility for the editorial process and makes all final decisions regarding acceptance or rejection.

Possible editorial outcomes include:

• acceptance;
• request for revisions;
• invitation to resubmit for further review;
• rejection.

A request for revision does not guarantee acceptance.

Revised Manuscripts

Authors submitting a revised manuscript should provide:

• a clean revised version;
• a marked or tracked-changes version, where requested;
• a detailed point-by-point response;
• a clear explanation where a recommendation was not followed;
• updated supplementary files and declarations, where necessary.

Responses should be respectful, specific, and complete.

Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain copyright.

Published articles are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Authors grant the journal and publisher a non-exclusive right to publish, distribute, archive, preserve, and disseminate the article.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permissions for third-party material.

Further information is available in the Open Access Policy and Copyright Notice.

Publication Fees

The journal does not charge:

• submission fees;
• article processing charges;
• review fees;
• page charges;
• colour charges;
• supplementary material fees;
• publication fees.

Proofs

The corresponding author receives proofs before final publication.

Proof corrections should normally be limited to:

• typographical errors;
• formatting errors;
• metadata errors;
• minor factual corrections;
• production issues.

Major scientific changes, new analyses, new authors, or substantial additions are not normally accepted at proof stage.

Authors must carefully verify:

• author names;
• affiliations;
• ORCID identifiers;
• title;
• abstract;
• tables;
• figures;
• equations;
• references;
• funding;
• acknowledgements;
• declarations;
• DOI and metadata.
• Authors of accepted articles may also submit an optional Cover Image (Featured Artwork) at the proof stage. Requirements concerning format, copyright, permissions, and editorial selection are provided in the “Cover Image (Featured Artwork)” section above.

Submission Checklist

Before completing submission, authors should confirm that:

• the manuscript fits the journal’s scope;
• the correct contribution type was selected;
• all authors approved the submission;
• the manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere;
• the complete manuscript, Cover Letter, and Author Statement were uploaded;
• the manuscript follows the journal template;
• the language has been checked;
• author names, affiliations, email addresses, and ORCID identifiers are correct;
• the title, abstract, and keywords are complete;
• tables and figures are cited in order;
• figure files are readable and of sufficient quality;
• references are complete and consistent;
• all in-text citations appear in the reference list;
• authorship contributions are stated;
• funding is disclosed;
• conflicts of interest are disclosed;
• ethical approval and consent are reported where required;
• data availability is stated;
• generative AI use is disclosed where required;
• third-party permissions have been obtained.

Related Policies

• Focus and Scope
• Section Policies
• Procedures
• Peer Review Process
• Publication Ethics
• Use of Generative AI
• Open Access Policy
• Copyright Notice
• Publication Fee
• Privacy Statement