Keywords in JCSE

Keywords and phrases play an major part in the journal publication process, and it is important that authors take care in the selection of keywords. As well as the more normal use of keywords to assist readers in selecting papers of interest to them, keywords are used to guide the selection of editors and reviewers for papers. Authors have a free choice of keywords for their paper, but in order to provide a consistent set of the more common keywords that can be used to help readers locate papers, and to match papers to editors and reviewers, a sub-set of keywords are preferred, and authors should select from these where possible.

Guidelines for the selection of keywords

  • When entering keywords, once two characters have been typed a list of suggestions will be displayed; these will include preferred keywords that will be marked with an asterisk. You can select a keyword from the list by clicking with the mouse or by using the down-arrow key and pressing Enter. As you select keywords, these will be added to a fragment of text that will be suitable for pasting into your paper; click the Copy Keywords button to copy the text to the clipboard.
  • If you do not see a keyword that you wish to use you can finish typing the complete keyword or phrase and press Enter to complete the addition of the new keyword.
  • As JCSE is specifically concerned with corrosion, 'corrosion' is assumed as a keyword, and need not be included, although it should included as a part of the definition of types of corrosion (e.g. use 'pitting corrosion' rather than just 'pitting').
  • Since it is relatively awkward to include subscripts and superscripts, chemical formulae are best avoided, so for example use 'nitric acid' rather than 'HNO3'.
  • In general use singular terms (e.g. 'acid' rather than 'acids') which are taken to include the plural.

Formatting of keywords

Keywords are generally stored in lower case, but abbreviations up to four characters in length will be stored and displayed in upper case, providing they are typed in upper case when first entered. JCSE Administration may modify the formatting of keywords if necessary, but this will not change the format in copies of papers. Authors may adjust the formatting in their paper as they see fit, but should use the same keywords as they have selected in the paper submission process.