Guidelines for paper submissions

This workshop will be structured around oral presentations (20 minutes duration), in which the author should preview the subject (see suggested topics, below). The presentation can be supported by poster and/or computer demonstrations to provide the participants with more detail and understanding. To improve the meeting's usefulness, we will provide each participant with a proceedings volume containing a brief paper that summarizes each oral and poster presentation.

(The on-line version of the proceedings volume and summary for the past 3 years workshops are available at http://ncgmp.usgs.gov/pubs/of97-269/, http://pubs.usgs.gov/openfile/of98-487/, and http://pubs.usgs.gov/openfile/of99-386/). If you have any questions about the instructions, or the content of your proposed paper, please call or e-mail Dave Soller at the address information given below.

(1) Deadline:
April 3 - papers are due (exceptions certainly can be granted - please call Dave Soller).

(2) Suggested topics:
(please see the online versions of DMT '97 , DMT '98 and DMT '99 for the range of topics presented in past years.)
* Field data capture techniques
* Geologic map data model implementation, and database management (your agency's data model, or experience with the draft AASG/USGS standard data model)
* Three-dimensional mapping and visualization techniques
* Summary of activities of the National Geologic Map Database project
* Digital map production, plot-on-demand, hardware/software issues, and publication costs
* Data capture techniques (methods, progress, problems, software, contractors, costs, etc.)
* Technical details of a specific aspect of your method(s) that you feel is unique or controversial

(3) When writing your paper, please:
* Minimize jargon, and assume the paper will be read by someone in another state or agency, with a different background
* Describe the overall method or a specific aspect of that method succinctly, and support it with figures as appropriate
* Consider describing the geology to which this method is applied in your agency, and reflecting on whether the method is applicable to a wide range of geologic terranes, or limited to a specific geologic setting (e.g., flat-lying sedimentary rocks). Assume the reader doesn't know the geology or the constraints that a particular geologic terrane or mapping approach impose on the data capture method
* consider these questions:
  - Why do you use this method?
  - Is the method time-intensive?
  - What is your agency's objective for digital mapping?
  - What are your products?
  - Who uses your products, and for what purpose?

(4) Papers:
Oral presentations should be roughly 5 pages in length, single-spaced. Longer submissions are not discouraged, however. Please refer to previous DMT proceedings for examples. Poster presentations should generally not exceed 5 pages in length and may be significantly shorter if desired. If the poster supports an oral presentation, the author may choose not to submit a paper. See the poster presentations in DMT '99 for examples. Also, authors might want to provide online versions of their posters at their home Websites (for example, see J. Ross's poster from DMT '98, at http://pubs.usgs.gov/openfile/of98-487/ross1.html).

All papers must be formatted according to the template (provided below and available in Word and WordPerfect format, for Windows and Mac). We suggest that you download the template and use it to construct your paper. Adhering to the template and the instructions below will greatly reduce the editor's workload! Please submit your paper to Dave Soller, both as a paper copy (mailed or faxed) and a digital file (preferably e-mailed, or on a Windows or Mac floppy disk) in a common word-processing format, preferably Word or WordPerfect. Please specify the document type. Figures and simple tables are encouraged. If the document's figures are very large, arrange for Dave Soller to ftp the file from your machine.

(5) Figures:
For the DMT '99 proceedings, unlike for previous years, the entire proceedings were assembled digitally. Therefore, please send Dave Soller an electronic version of each figure, as specified in the template provided below. Also, fax him a copy of each figure, for comparison.

(6) Tables:
Please keep them simple, using tab delimiters rather than the table capabilities of your word processor.

(7) Posters/computer demostrations:
Poster specifications are available at this Web site, and you can indicate your intentions and your hardware/software needs when you register. If you have further questions about the facilities for posters or computer demostrations, please contact Warren Anderson at the number provided below.

Thank you for participating. We will strive to make this a productive event!

General questions or submittal of papers:

Dave Soller
U.S. Geological Survey
908 National Center
Reston, VA 20192
phone: (703) 648-6907
fax: (703) 648-6937
email: drsoller@usgs.gov

Questions about workshop facilities, posters, or computer demos:

Warren Anderson
Kentucky Geological Survey
228 Mining and Mineral Resources Building
University of Kentucky
Lexington, KY 40506-0107
phone: (606) 257-5500
fax: (606) 257-1147
email: wanderson@uky.edu