Author Guidelines for Australian Institute of Family Studies publications

Author Guidelines
for Australian Institute of Family Studies publications

Institute publications are designed to appeal to a broad cross-section of readers. Papers should be accessible and engaging to our informed and interested audience. A clear, concise, straightforward writing style, using direct language and with a minimum of specialist jargon, is preferred for all Institute publications. Please note the Commonwealth of Australia holds copyright to all articles published in Institute publications (see Copyright information).

For guidelines for specific publications, see the following:

Submission schedule for Family Matters

Issue no.	Theme	Submissions sought	Submissions closing date	Publication date
80	Work and family	Now	13 Aug 2008	13 Dec 2008
81	TBC	Jul 2008	29 Sep 2008	5 Feb 2009
82	TBC	Sep 2008	1 Dec 2008	30 Apr 2009

Guidelines for writing for Family Matters

Family Matters is the flagship research journal of the Australian Institute of Family Studies. It reports on the research and related activities of the Institute, as well as on the work of other Australian and overseas family researchers and organisations. Family Matters is published three times a year.

Family Matters aims to present contemporary research and debate on issues affecting families and promote high standards of reporting and writing that will appeal to a broad cross-section of readers with interests in family-related research, policies and programs.

Acceptance of all Family Matters articles is subject to a formal review and assessment process and/or relevant experts as required.

Family Matters has been assessed by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations as as satisfying the refereeing requirements for the Higher Education Data Collection (HERDC) and has been included on the Register of Refereed Journals.

Readership

Consistent with the Institute's charter to disseminate family research and information as widely as possible, Family Matters is designed, in its content and appearance, to appeal to a broad cross-section of readers who have an interest in the work of the Australian Institute of Family Studies, in other family-related research, and in activities and policies that promote the social and economic wellbeing of families and family life.

Family Matters subscribers include: federal, state and local government policymakers; libraries, schools and universities; health and welfare organisations; church and legal organisations, practitioners in family-related professions; media personnel; and individuals interested in keeping up-to-date with research and debate concerning families in Australia.

Family Matters is essential reading for those who work with families or want to understand and keep abreast of family research and of changes in policy, trends and issues affecting families.

Family Matters reflects diverse perspectives and analyses of family research and policy in Australia and overseas.

The contents of each edition comprise a mix of:

papers reporting findings from current Australian Institute of Family Studies research;
papers reporting other relevant family research;
shorter articles, such as a family-related "viewpoint" column, a family law update, a family trends column, and a relationships trend column; and
regular features, including Institute Activities, Institute Seminars, Book Notes.

In this document, material in categories (a) and (b) are named "research articles", and material in categories "c" and "d" are referred to as "general articles".

In an issue, a cluster of several research articles may reflect a particular theme selected by the Publications Committee. Each issue has an Executive Editor of the academic papers, designated by the Publications Committee, who co-ordinates the edition, acquires papers and liaises with authors, in consultation with the Publishing Manager and the Publications Committee.

Copyright

Authors should note that all Australian Institute of Family Studies publications are copyright to the Commonwealth of Australia. Once submitted papers are accepted for publication, the authors are required to confirm their agreement with the copyright conditions by completing the copyright agreement form.

Authors intending to use copyright material in their own publication - including Commonwealth of Australia copyright material - must seek prior permission from the copyright holder, and should not wait until close to the time of publishing, as it may take over a month to receive an answer. To avoid delays in the publishing schedule, permission should be sought as soon as the material has been identified and intended for use.

The Commonwealth Copyright Administration (CCA) is responsible for the management of copyright in published materials on behalf of Commonwealth agencies. Authors are required to seek permission from the CCA to reproduce their Institute-published work in other journals and elsewhere. Requests can be submitted online through the Commonwealth Copyright Request Form on the Attorney-General's Department website.

General style

Submissions should conform to the style prescribed in the Australian Style Manual: For Authors, Editors and Printers (6th edition, 2002). The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th edition, 2001) provides useful guidance for particular issues such as the representation of statistical information.

Australian legal, parliamentary and governmental terminology should conform to the Australian Style Manual: For Authors, Editors and Printers (6th edition, 2002). Spelling should conform to the Macquarie Dictionary (4th edition, 2005).

Referencing style

Both in-text referencing and reference lists should conform to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. For more information on the APA style, go to http://apastyle.apa.org

Writing style

All Institute publications should be accessible and engaging to our informed, interested but usually non-specialist audience. Please use a clear, concise, straightforward writing style, direct language with a minimum of specialist jargon.

Where articles contain complex research and statistical terminology, brief definitions should be provided for the terms used.

Length

The length of research papers depends on various factors. Usually, however, from 2,500-4,500 and not more than 6,000 words is a satisfactory length. (There are 800-1,000 words per printed page, depending on number and size of headings, graphics and photographs.)

Title page

The title page should contain the following information:

title of the article, which should reflect the scope of its contents and should be as concise and informative as possible;
name(s) of author(s), including first name, middle initial (if applicable) and last name;
primary position, title and/or affiliation;
name of institution(s) and/or department(s), if any, to which the work should be attributed;
disclaimers, if any; and
name, address, email and telephone number of primary author.

Abstract

The author information should be followed by a short, paragraph-length abstract, featuring the main aims and highlights of the paper (maximum 200 words).

Text

The text should be divided into sections with descriptive headings and subheadings.

Graphs and tables

Graphs and tables should be numbered consecutively and each given a brief, appropriate title. Each graph or table should be inserted in the text in the appropriate position. When referring to graphs and tables in the text, avoid using positional references, such as "see the table below"; instead use the graph/table number, such as "see Table 3".

Graphs, tables and figures should be used only when necessary to clarify important points but not to duplicate information in the text. They should be used sparingly and must be succinct, uncomplicated and accessible. Any jargon such as research or statistical terminology should be explained or defined.

The data for graphs should be provided in an Excel spreadsheet. Illustrations and diagrams should be submitted electronically in Illustrator, PDF or EPS format. Photographs should be supplied electronically as high-resolution (300 dpi) TIFFs or high-quality JPEGs.

Appendices

Appendices are not typically included in Family Matters articles.

Presentation

All submissions should contain minimal formatting. Any electronic styling will be stripped out, so it is not necessary to apply them.

Providing the article

Please email contributions in a Microsoft Word or RTF document to aifs-editor@aifs.gov.au, or post to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, Level 20, 485 La Trobe Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000. For further information contact Lan Wang, Editor, Family Matters, phone (03) 9214 7838, fax (03) 9214 7839.

Review process

Acceptance of all Family Matters material is subject to a formal review and assessment process by the Institute's Publications Committee. The review process will reflect the twin requirements of high reporting standards and general accessibility.

Each article is reviewed by a selection of members from the review panel and, on a case-by-case basis, by other Institute or external readers who have expertise in a particular area.

Overall, consideration will be given to whether research articles and general articles are clearly written, jargon-free, accessible and of interest to the broad range of informed lay readers that constitute the Family Matters readership, and whether articles are consistent with the Institute's "author guidelines".

The following criteria will be particularly addressed in the course of the review process.

Criteria for acceptance of research articles

Subject matter
- Timeliness of topic
- Significance of the research
- Originality of the argument
Style
- Clarity of stated aims and research propositions
- Adequate and appropriate use of literature and other research
- Clear presentation and logical organisation of material
- Quality, cogency and balance of the discussion/argument
Data
- Appropriate methodological information
- Adequacy of the quality of data
- Adequacy of data analysis
- Adequacy of data interpretation
Conclusions
- Conclusions substantiated by convincing analytical argument
- Balance and relevance of policy implications and recommendations

Criteria for acceptance of general articles

Subject matter
- Timeliness of the topic
- Significance of the topic
- Originality of the argument
- Topic is of national relevance, i.e. it is not solely focused on one Australian state's and/or territory's experience
Style
- Clear presentation and logical organisation of material
- Cogency and clarity of the article
Evidence
- Factual accuracy
- Arguments are supported by references or expert observation/experience
Conclusions
- Conclusions substantiated by convincing analytical argument
- Quality and balance of the argument or information presented
- Balance and relevance of any policy implications drawn

Providing the assessment

On receiving a manuscript the author(s) will be sent an acknowledgement that it has been received.

The manuscript is then sent to the Institute's review panel for assessment.

Authors will be informed as to the outcome of their submission. The reviewers' comments and suggestions for changes concerning articles that are accepted for publication subject to minor or major revisions will be sent to authors to assist in their preparation for suitable revision.

Upon acceptance of their submission author will be required to complete a Copyright agreement form.

Publishing process

The accepted manuscript will be copyedited and any queries will be directed to the key author for resolution before being typeset.

Once typeset, the proofs are emailed to the key author for final corrections, but not for introduction of new or different material. The final proofs (PDF) will be sent to the key author for approval before printing. Approval can be in the form of an email acknowledgement. The article will not proceed to print until it has been approved by the key author.

The key author is provided with a PDF version of the final version of their article and all listed authors are each sent five copies of the printed issue.

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