Journal Policies, Instructions, Review Process & Guidelines
Contents
- Author Instructions
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- Who Can Submit?
- General Submission Rules
- Formatting Requirements
- Rights for Authors and ScholarWorks at WMU
Author Instructions
The first step for author(s) in the submission process is to create a new account on our website with a valid email address and password. This can be done by clicking on the My Account tab. After setting up an account profile, author(s) will click the 'Submit Article' tab located on the left side of the page highlighted in brown. Once there, author(s) will be guided through four simple steps to submit:
- Read and accept the Article Submission Agreement
- Provide information about yourself
- Provide information about any additional authors
- Upload your article and related items
Specifically, author(s) will be asked to have: (a) a title; (b) an abstract of 250 words or less separate from the submission/article body; (c) keywords (no more than 5); (d) a Microsoft Word or RTF formatted document. All articles must be submitted without a title page or page numbers attached to the document body. For further policies, see below. If author(s) have additional questions not covered in these instructions, please click on the contact us page and email us with your questions.
Who Can Submit?
Anyone may submit an original article to be considered for publication in GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy provided he or she owns the copyright to the work being submitted or is authorized by the copyright owner or owners to submit the article. Authors are the initial owners of the copyrights to their works (an exception in the non-academic world to this might exist if the authors have, as a condition of employment, agreed to transfer copyright to their employer).
General Submission Rules
Submitted articles cannot have been previously published, nor be forthcoming in an archival journal or book (print or electronic). Please note: "publication" in a working-paper series does not constitute prior publication. In addition, by submitting material to GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy, the author is stipulating that the material is not currently under review at another journal (electronic or print) and that he or she will not submit the material to another journal (electronic or print) until the completion of the editorial decision process at GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy. If you have concerns about the submission terms for GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy, please contact the editors.
Formatting Requirements
GrandFamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy adheres to the American Psychological Association (APA, 7th edition) style formatting general rules for articles upon initial submission. There are, however, rules governing the formatting of the final submission. See Final Manuscript Preparation Guidelines for details. Although bepress can provide limited technical support, it is ultimately the responsibility of the author to produce an electronic version of the article as a Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or RTF file that can be converted to a PDF file.
It is understood that the current state of technology of Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) is such that there are no, and can be no, guarantees that documents in PDF will work perfectly with all possible hardware and software configurations that readers may have.
Rights for Authors and ScholarWorks at WMU
As further described in our submission agreement (the Submission Agreement), in consideration for publication of the article, the authors assign to ScholarWorks at WMU all copyright in the article, subject to the expansive personal--use exceptions described below.
Attribution and Usage Policies
Reproduction, posting, transmission or other distribution or use of the article or any material therein, in any medium as permitted by a personal-use exemption or by written agreement of ScholarWorks at WMU, requires credit to ScholarWorks at WMU as copyright holder (e.g., ScholarWorks at WMU © 2024).
Personal-use Exceptions
The following uses are always permitted to the author(s) and do not require further permission from ScholarWorks at WMU provided the author does not alter the format or content of the articles, including the copyright notification:
- Storage and back-up of the article on the author's computer(s) and digital media (e.g., diskettes, back-up servers, Zip disks, etc.), provided that the article stored on these computers and media is not readily accessible by persons other than the author(s);
- Posting of the article on the author(s) personal website, provided that the website is non-commercial;
- Posting of the article on the internet as part of a non-commercial open access institutional repository or other non-commercial open access publication site affiliated with the author(s)'s place of employment (e.g., a Phrenology professor at the University of Southern North Dakota can have her article appear in the University of Southern North Dakota's Department of Phrenology online publication series); and
- Posting of the article on a non-commercial course website for a course being taught by the author at the university or college employing the author.
People seeking an exception, or who have questions about use, should contact the editors.
General Terms and Conditions of Use
Users of the ScholarWorks at WMU website and/or software agree not to misuse the ScholarWorks at WMU service or software in any way.
The failure of ScholarWorks at WMU to exercise or enforce any right or provision in the policies or the Submission Agreement does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any term of the Submission Agreement or these policies is found to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Submission Agreement and these policies remain in full force and effect. These policies and the Submission Agreement constitute the entire agreement between ScholarWorks at WMU and the Author(s) regarding submission of the Article.
Manuscript Review
To ensure manuscripts are reviewed in a fair and unbiased manner, manuscripts are reviewed under a blind review process. Manuscripts are sent to 2-3 reviewers from the journal’s Contributing Editors list, who have expertise related to the subject matter or methodology in the manuscript. All reviewers are provided with a blind copy of the manuscript, a review guide, and a rating sheet. Reviewers have 45-60 days to complete the review and return the rating sheet to the editors. Upon completion of the review, authors will receive a copy of the rating sheet with comments. Editors review manuscripts when there is a tied decision or some other occurring matter that requires a decision by an editor.
Subscription Schedule
GrandFamilies online issues are published bi-annually.
Submission Guidelines
Manuscript submissions must adhere to the instructions and guidelines of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Each research article manuscript must include a title page, abstract (250 words or less), contact information for authors, references, and separate pages for tables, figures and diagrams. Full manuscript cannot exceed 20 pages, including references, and other materials; one-inch page margins on all sides must be adhered to. Any program or study involving children or other vulnerable groups (e.g., incarcerated parents) must include a description of the informed consent process in the manuscript. When submitting policy, practice, or research briefs, the same guidelines apply except the submission length must not exceed 7 pages, including references, and other materials.
