Table of Contents
Index
Glossary
Table of Contents
Index
Glossary

   
Meta-information (m1)

• In order to present the meta-information about the article, compose a compound module Meta-information consisting of five compulsory constituent modules (Bibliographic information, Lists of physics index terms, Map of contents, Abstract and Lists of references) and one optional constituent module (Acknowledgements).

The editorial board or the publisher will have to specify what meta-information is precisely required, in what format, and who is responsible for it - the author or the publisher. The different types of metadata and their manipulation are discussed from the angle of SGML.

• At the level of the compound module Meta-information, provide a table of contents of the constituent modules.
• If you have created mesoscopic and/or macroscopic modules in conjunction with the article, also provide the meta-information about those modules. Connect each mesoscopic and macroscopic module to a module Meta-information that consists of at least a constituent module Bibliographic information and a Map of contents that provides a graphical representation of these modules and the modules connected to them. The other constituent modules of the Meta-information are optional.
• Either compose a module Meta-information for individual mesoscopic or macroscopic modules, or, if you have created (an addition to) a coherent set of mesoscopic or macroscopic modules, link each module to a Meta-information that is valid for all of these module.

Bibliographic information (m1a)   Give in this module:

• the full title of the article; The title should be informative, so that readers can select articles that are relevant to their needs by browsing titles. In the domain at hand, scattering plays such an important role that the type of scattering reaction under consideration usually should be mentioned in the title.
• the name of the journal in which the article is published, the name of the publisher of the journal, and the unique identification of the article as assigned to it by the publisher, which encodes the journal in which the article is published.

The unique identification has to be standardised for all publications in a wide area. It would be handy if that unique identification could tell the expert something about the article, for example, by encoding the journal name, the date and the type of module. Currently, there are various initiatives to assign a unique identification to publications [#!DOI!#].

• the family name and either the initials or the first name of each author. If applicable, specify which author is responsible for which module. In addition, provide the names and addresses of the institutions each author was associated to at the time the research was performed. If available, include the current address where each author can be reached. These addresses can include an e-mail address, the address of a home page and an address for postal mail.

The editorial board or publisher of a particular modular journal should provide specific rules for these bibliographic data in order to standardise them. Author names, for example, may cause many problems in practice. In general, each author's family name and first names should be provided in a particular format: first names first or first names last, in full or in terms of initials. Things get complicated when authors have non-standard western names, for instance, without a specific first name. Even if the structure of the author names has been determined, the spelling and in particular in transcription of non-western alphabets, can vary. In for instance [#!Bor92!#], these problems are discussed in detail. The format of the addresses should also be specified: how to present the address for surface mail, for example, and whether the address for `traditional' mail, the e-mail address and the URL of a home page are compulsory or optional. The current addresses must be updated when authors move and they must be removed when authors can no longer be contacted. This kind of update can be organised by way of databases of universities, learned societies or publishers.
The publisher has to provide the date of the publication of the article. If modules are modified after publication, the date of the modification has to be included, specified by module. The date when the publisher first received the manuscript may be included, as well as the date the publisher received a revised version and the date of acceptance, if these dates are made explicit by the publisher. These metadata can be standardised over a wide range of journals. Lists of physics index terms (m1b)  

• List for each module in the article the keywords, classification codes, or other terms derived from controlled lists that characterise that module (e.g. materials index terms).
• If the index terms are derived from a standard classification system (e.g. PACS codes), indicate which system is used and provide a link to the full thesaurus.
• Make sure that any overlap between the physics labels is not caused by the fact that each module carries the characterisation of the entire article.

'Map of contents' (m1c)  

• Provide a graphical representation of:
  • all main modules in the article;
  • all constituent modules contained in these main modules;
  • all links between the modules, in particular the links expressing the sequential paths.
• Present the graphical representation in such a way that at least all main modules are visible at first view, with only the essay-type sequential path connecting the visible modules, and in such a way that the reader can make the other modules and links visible on demand. (see figure A.1)
• Provide a link (carrying at least the label `To contents') from the graphical presentation of each module to the contents of the presented module. In each module of the article, a link (carrying at least the label `To meta-information') has to be provided to this map.

Abstract: (m1d)  

• Give a textual summary of the main issues and the main lines of the article, in which information represented in each main module (or its constituent modules) is summarised.

Specific guidelines can be given for the process of composing and evaluating an abstract. See [#!VdT99!#].

• Provide a link from the abstract (carrying at least the label `To contents') to each main module (or directly to the relevant constituent module). In each module of the article, a link (carrying at least the label to `To meta-information') has to be provided to this module.

Lists of References (m1e)  

• List for the article as a whole, all modules and other representations of information units outside the article that are referred to from any module in the article. When a segment of a module is referred to, that module as a whole is included in the reference list. Specify the module in which the reference was made.
• Also list for each individual module in the article all modules and other representations of information units outside the article that are referred to from that particular module. Specify the characterisation of the referring links.
• Add to each reference in the lists an administrative link to each (segment of the) module in the article where the reference was made.

The editorial board or publisher of the particular journal normally prescribe a specific style for standardising the references in these lists, as well as the way the references are denoted in the discourse in the modules. An example of an existing style is given in the Chicago Manual of Style [#!Chicago!#]. Acknowledgements (m1f)  

• If there are non-author contributors to the article, give their names and roles (e.g. acknowledge the contributions of technicians in the construction of the experimental set-up and the useful discussions with other scientists).
• If the work has been financially supported by an institution, other than the affiliations of the author(s), give its name and address (for surface mail and where available for e-mail and home page). If that financial support is channelled through a project with a number, specify that number.