About this journal

Aims and scope

Journal of Maps (JoM) is a fully open access, inter-disciplinary journal for researchers to publish maps and spatial diagrams across the physical and social sciences.

Journal of Maps research examines social and physical processes that take place on a geographical scale, using maps or spatial diagrams to advance understanding. Topics could include, for example, footfall in retail marketing, the spread of bird flu or location of geological faults. Maps submitted must make a substantial contribution to knowledge in the field that is likely to be of broad interest to readers.

Research published in the Journal of Maps demonstrates a unique line of enquiry that requires the use of maps or spatial diagrams, collects new data or adds significant value to existing data and presents and communicates findings that adhere to high cartographic standards.

Origins

Journal of Maps has its origins in the geological and geographical journals of the late-1800s and early 1900s. The investigative research during this period was based strongly around fieldwork and the observation of phenomena. After observation, interpretation could be applied and then presented at a society meeting. The "proceedings" of these lectures were then published, often with extra plates of photographs and maps of the original fieldwork. As a result of these early pioneers, we now have a permanent record of this work which can be referred back to. This is important as we not only have the interpretive conclusions, but also the original data upon which the work was based. Therefore, JoM seeks to offer a forum for academics to present the geospatial products of their research.

Multi-Disciplinary and International

As a discipline, "geography" traditionally covers a wide range of subject areas due to its spatial nature. Maps and mapping science were often incorporated within geography; however spatial data are now widely used in many disciplines. JoM is intentionally multi-disciplinary and wants to draw upon and present work from all subject areas. Not only has this built an increasing archive of mapped data for future researchers to draw upon, but also fosters inter-disciplinary contexts.

The Journal of Maps operates an open peer review policy.

All articles are made freely and permanently available online through gold open access publication.

Journal metrics

Usage

  • 459K annual downloads/views

Citation metrics

  • 1.9 (2023) Impact Factor
  • Q2 Impact Factor Best Quartile
  • 2.1 (2023) 5 year IF
  • 4.3 (2023) CiteScore (Scopus)
  • Q1 CiteScore Best Quartile
  • 0.900 (2023) SNIP
  • 0.570 (2023) SJR

Speed/acceptance

  • 73 days avg. from submission to first decision
  • 89 days avg. from submission to first post-review decision
  • 18 days avg. from acceptance to online publication
  • 77% acceptance rate

Editorial board

EDITORS:

Dr Mike Smith , Editor-in-Chief
Editor: JoM Science
Ulster University, UK
BSc (Wales), MSc (UBC), PhD (Sheffield)
Research interests in palaeo-glaciology, geomorphometry and spectroscopy

Professor Nigel Walford, Editor: JoM Social Science
Professor of Applied GIS, Kingston University, UK
BA (Sussex), PhD (London)
Research interests include contemporary and historical applications of GIS relating to population dynamics, people-environment interaction and land use change in rural and urban areas



SCIENCE:

Dr Gina Cavan, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK
Research interests include the application of GIS to assess urban ecosystem services, climate change risk, vulnerability and adaptation across the UK, Europe and Africa

Dr Chi-Wen Chen, National Taiwan University
BSc (NTU), MSc (NTU), PhD (The University of Tokyo)
Research interests include slope disasters, engineering geology, and geospatial information analysis

Dr. M. Scott Harris, P.G., College of Charleston, USA
BS (William and Mary), MS (University of Virginia), Ph.D. (University of Delaware)
Research interests include marine geology, coastal plain and continental shelf evolution, and geoarchaeology.

PD Dr Tobias Heckmann, Senior Lecturer, Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt Dipl. Geogr. (Heidelberg), Germany
PhD (Eichstaett), PD (Eichstaett)
Research interests include geomorphological systems analysis in alpine areas (sediment budgets, natural hazards, environmental change)

Dr Martin Margold, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
MSc (Charles University), PhD (Stockholm University)
Research interests include glacial geomorphology, paleo-glaciology, quantitative geochronology, and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions

Prof. Jasper Knight, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa
BSc (Anglia), PhD (Ulster)
Research interests include Quaternary climate and environmental change, geomorphology and sedimentary systems

Dr Jan-Christoph Otto, University of Salzburg, Austria
Dipl. Geogr. (Bonn), PhD (Bonn)
Research interests include alpine geomorphology, sediment budgets, human impact on natural systems, environmental change and geomorphological mapping

Dr Paolo Paron, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, the Netherlands
MSc (Roma Tre), PhD (G. D'Annunzio)
Research interests in GIS / Remote Sensing, Physical Geography, River Geomorphology and Groundwater

Dr Tommaso Piacentini, Department of Engineering and Geology, University "G. D'Annunzio" Chieti Pescara, Italy
BSc (Rome La Sapienza), PhD (Roma Tre)
Research interests include tectonic geomorphology, landslides, geomorphological hazards, geomorphological mapping

Dr Monica Pondrelli, Università d'Annunzio, Italy

Prof. Dr Claudio Riccomini, University of São Paulo, Brazil
BSc (São Paulo), MSc (INPE), PhD (São Paulo)
Research interests include tectonics (Neotectonics), basin analysis and geological mapping

Prof. Uwe Ring, Stockholm University, Sweden
Dipl. Geol. (Darmstadt), PhD (Tübingen)
Research interests include the formation and destruction of mountain belts using geologic/tectonic mapping, structural geology, metamorphic petrology and geochronology.

Dr Fleur Visser, University of Worcester, UK

Dr Brent Ward, Simon Fraser University, Canada
BSc (Alerta), PhD (Alberta)
Research interests include sedimentology, stratigraphy, paleoenvironmental reconstructions, surficial mapping, drift prospecting and landslides

Prof. Yichin Xie, Eastern Michigan University, USA

SOCIAL SCIENCE:

Dr Alistair Geddes, Univesity of Dundee, UK
BSc (Edinburgh), MSc (Edinburgh), PhD (Pennsylvania State University)
Research Interests: GIS applications focussed on contemporary and historical population-environment relations; socio-spatial inequalities 

Dr Piraye Hacigüzeller, University of Antwerp, Belgium
BSc (Middle East Technical University), MA (KU Leuven), PhD (UCLouvain)
Research interests include computational archaeology, digital humanities, and map art

Prof. Haosheng Huang, Ghent University, Belgium
BSc/MSc (SCNU), PhD (TU Wien)
Research interests include location-based services, navigation systems, spatial cognition, urban analytics, mobility, and GeoAI 

Dr Paul Holloway, University College Cork, Ireland
BSc (University of Nottingham), MSc (University of Nottingham), PhD (University of Texas at Austin)
Research interests include movement science, geocomputation, geoprivacy and applications of GIS to a variety of topics

Dr Izabela Karsznia, University of Warsaw, Poland
Research interests  include automation of cartographic generalization with the use of Machine Learning, Deep Learning and Graph Theory, map design and visualization, application of maps and spatial analysis in other disciplines (e.g. UAV studies; historical hydrography; land use changes).

Dr Marynia Kolak, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, USA
MS, MFA, PhD
Research interests include spatial epidemiology, spatial econometrics, and the application of GIS to assess the influence of place on health and the production of social, spatial, and racial inequalities on driving health disparities

Dr Yang Yu, Renmin University of China
BSc (Tianjin University, China), MSc (Tianjin University, China), PhD (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Research Interests include urban governance, Chinese urbanisation, application of GIS in urban studies


CARTOGRAPHIC EDITORS:

Ms Jessica Baker, Ordnance Survey, UK

Dr Giedre Beconyte, Centre for Cartography, Vilnius University, Lithuania

Mr Steve Bernard, Financial Times, UK

Dr Bieke Cattoor, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), the Netherlands

Juliane Cron, Institute of Cartography and Geoinformation, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Chandra Jayasuriya, Cartographer, School of Geography, University of Melbourne, Australia

Mr Andrew Lynch, Cartographer

Prof. Dr Menno-Jan Kraak, International Institute of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation, University of Twente, the Netherlands
BSc & MSc (Utrecht University), PhD (Delft University of Technology)

Dr Chris Orton, Department of Geography, Durham University, UK

Prof. Makram Murad-al-shaikh, University of Wisconsin, Madison; ESRI, Inc.- Educational Services, USA
Research interests include GIS and cartography

Dr. Jirí Pánek, Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic

Dr Vit Paszto, Palacký University Olomouc, Czech Republic

Dr Thomas Pingel, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA

Mike Shand, GIS Cartographer, University of Glasgow, UK

Mike Siegel, Cartographer, Department of Geography, Rutgers University, USA

Dr Luis M. Tanarro, Department of Geography, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain


SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR:

Tim Prestby, Pennsylvania State University, USA


Updated 29 April 2024

Abstracting and indexing

Indexing

  • Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
  • Science Citation Index Expanded
  • Scopus

Open access

Journal of Maps is an open access journal and only publishes open access articles. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research.

Why choose open access?

  1. Increase the discoverability and readership of your article
  2. Make an impact and reach new readers, not just those with easy access to a research library
  3. Freely share your work with anyone, anywhere
  4. Comply with funding mandates and meet the requirements of your institution, employer or funder
  5. Rigorous peer review for every open access article

Article Publishing Charges (APC)

To publish open access in this journal you may be asked to pay an Article Publishing Charge (APC). You may be able to publish your article at no cost to yourself or with a reduced APC if your institution or research funder has an open access agreement or membership with Taylor & Francis. Discounts and waivers may also be available for researchers in selected countries when publishing in open access journals.

Use our APC finder to calculate your article publishing charge

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Journal of Maps and our publisher Taylor & Francis make every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the "Content") contained in our publications. However, Journal of Maps and our publisher Taylor & Francis, our agents (including the editor, any member of the editorial team or editorial board, and any guest editors), and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Journal of Maps and our publisher Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Journal of Maps and our publisher Taylor & Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to, or arising out of the use of the Content. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions .

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