On-Line Fact Sheets: Instructions for Authors

IPM Webmaster contact information: Karen English, kje7@nysaes.cornell.edu, 315-787-2624.

NYS IPM fact sheets generally are written by Cornell University faculty or staff who are affiliated with Cornell Cooperative Extension. The NYS IPM Program provides support for fact sheet design, layout, and web publication. Authors are expected to identify their own sources of funding for photos, artwork, and scanning. We encourage the following process:

1. Plan your publication. For help in planning and developing your fact sheet, refer to the IPM Fact Sheet Planning Grid.

2. Contact the IPM Program. Send the title (and, if possible, an outline) to the appropriate IPM coordinator:

Juliet Carroll, Fruit

Gary Couch, Acting Coordinator, Ornamentals

Jennifer Grant, Community

Curt Petzoldt, Vegetables

Keith Waldron, Livestock & Field Crops

3. Fact Sheet Text. Write in a simple, straightforward style, in paragraphs that are two to three sentences in length. For guidance on writing to your audience’s reading level, consider readability information from the Plain Language Center. Several word processors also have built-in formulas.

Format. Fact sheets on diseases and insects traditionally include the sections below. IPM fact sheets on vertebrate pests, weeds, slugs, and disorders should include comparable sections.

Fact sheets on plant diseases: Introduction; Symptoms and Signs; Disease Cycle; Conditions for Infection; Management; a black and white disease cycle illustration

Fact sheets on arthropod pests: Introduction; Adults; Eggs; Larvae; Pupae; Damage; Monitoring; Management; a black and white life stages illustration (to scale)

Edit. Use other IPM fact sheets as a guide for scientific style. (See also the Chicago Manual of Style or the CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers)

Review. Have your fact sheet reviewed by at least two independent reviewers. Our preference is two to four peers and/or stakeholders.

Photos & Illustrations. Scan at 300 dpi; save as TIF images. Number figures sequentially (in the image file names, not the images themselves). Send digital photo and illustration files via email or on disc to the IPM webmaster. Credits will be placed adjacent to the photos and illustrations.

Links. Authors and IPM coordinators are encouraged to develop or identify additional photos, videos, sound files, PowerPoint presentations, Word, PDFs, html documents, or other supporting material that can be linked to text in the fact sheet. Indicate the position of any links with blue text or highlighting and provide the URLs.

Checklist for text:

1. Approximately 1500 words in length (not including title and authors).

2. Save as a Word document.

3. List the names and departments of authors.

4. Indicate placement of links with blue text or highlighting and provide the URLs.

5. List key words to assist search engines.

6. Include captions for photos and illustrations; number figures sequentially.

7. Include the names of contributing editors, photographers, illustrators, etc., for credits.

8. Include credits and/or acknowledgements for funding sources.

9. List any permissions in accordance with the person or institution granting permission. For example, “The sampling map on page 2 reprinted with permission from ... .”

10. Do not include any pesticide information; refer to the Cornell Guidelines series.

11. Product disclaimer, if you name a product: “No product discrimination is intended by the authors and their institutions. No endorsement of any products mentioned or criticism of unnamed products is implied.”

4. Submission and Posting. Send your fact sheet Word document (including title, author names/affiliations, key words, links & URLs, figure captions, credits, disclaimers) to the appropriate IPM coordinator for final review. The IPM webmaster will then create a draft version in pdf format (including links, figures, and captions) and prepare the fact sheet for posting. After final approval is received from the author(s) and IPM Coordinator, the IPM webmaster posts the fact sheet to the IPM website.

5. Get the word out. Brainstorm ways to advertise your new fact sheet via email lists, websites, newsletters, and other media. The IPM Program will announce the new fact sheet on its Home Page.

6. Citing your IPM fact sheet. Each new fact sheet will be given a distinct number. Citations of online publications should include the author names, year of online publication, title, IPM fact sheet number, publisher (NYS IPM Program, Cornell University), and the url for the fact sheet location.

Example: Turechek WW,  Carroll JE,  and Rosenberger DA. 2004. Powdery Mildew of Apple. Tree Fruit Disease Identification Sheet No. 102GFSTF-D4, NYS IPM Program, Cornell University,
http://www.nysipm.cornell.edu/factsheets/treefruit/diseases/pm/apple_pm.pdf