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Submission Preparation Guidelines

Audience

The readership of the Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet consists of health workers, academics, policy makers, educators, and members of the general public who are interested in the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is an open-access journal that exists in digital format only.

Formatting Requirements

Please read this information carefully. Manuscripts that do not meet the formatting and referencing requirements for this Journal will not be accepted for publication.

General

  • Manuscripts should be submitted in American Psychological Association (APA) 7th edition style. Please refer to the information below and the APA website for guidance
  • Page size should be standard A4 (21 cm x 29.7 cm)
  • Use a single-column layout
  • Do not include page numbers, headers, footers or any identifying author information
  • Submit your file as a single document (Microsoft Word) with figures, tables, and appendices included in the document.

Font:

  • Font style and sizes
    • Text: Arial 11-point
    • Figures: Arial 8 to 14-point
    • Footnotes: use default font settings
  • Font colour should be black.

Line Spacing:

  • Double-space all parts of the manuscript - including text, block quotations, table and figure numbers, titles, notes and reference list
  • Exceptions include:
    • Tables (body cells)
    • Figures (words within the image section of a figure)
    • Footnotes and equations
  • Do not add extra space before or after paragraphs.

Margins:

  • Use 1-inch (2.54 cm) margins on every side of the page, including those with tables and figures.

Paragraph Alignment and Indentation:

  • Align the text of the paper to the left margin
  • Indent the first line of each paragraph of text 0.5 inches (1.27 cm) from the left margin. Note: this is generally the default setting for Microsoft Word and can be achieved by pressing the “Tab” button.
  • Exceptions include:
    • Block quotations: Indent block quotations 0.5 inches (1.27 cm) from the left margin and following paragraphs within a quotation a further 0.5 inches (1.27cm)
    • Reference list: Reference list entries should have a hanging indent of 0.5 inches (1.27 cm).

Headings:

  • Headings must be double spaced and used in the following order of style numbers:
    • Level 1 – centred, bold, title case heading
    • Level 2 – left aligned, bold, title case heading
    • Level 3 – left aligned, bold, italic, title case heading
    • Level 4 – indented, bold, title case heading, ending with a period
    • Level 5 – indented, bold, italic, title case heading, ending with a period
  • Do not:
    • Include an “Introduction” heading
    • Label headings with numbers or letters
    • Add blank lines above or below headings.

Tables and Figures:

  • Please refer to the APA website for information on formatting tables and figures
  • If figures are included, use high-resolution graphics (preferably saved in ‘.eps’ file format)
  • Tables and figures should appear in the document near where they are referenced in the text, unless they interrupt the flow of the document, in which case, place them after the references
  • A table or figure may take up an entire page, or if it is short, text may appear on the same page. In this instance, place the figure at either the top or bottom of the page rather than in the middle
  • When possible, there should be no pages where more than a quarter of the page is empty space.

Article Length

Unless otherwise agreed with the editors, articles should follow the below word count:

  • Original research articles: 4,000 - 8,000 words
  • Reviews (evidence summaries, literature reviews and systematic reviews): 4,000 - 8,000 words
  • Brief reports (of innovative health promotion or preventive health programs or research): 2,000 - 4,000 words.

The abstract should be between 100 - 250 words. The abstract should not contain any undefined abbreviations or unspecified references.

Style Preferences

  • Abbreviated terms should be spelt out at first use and followed with the abbreviation in parentheses. Avoid overuse of contrived abbreviations. If necessary, include a glossary at the end of the article before the references
  • Whenever possible, use italics to indicate text your wish to emphasise rather than underlining it. The use of colour to emphasise text is discouraged
  • Whenever possible, titles of books, movies, etc., should be set in italics rather than underlined.

Guidelines for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Terminology

The Journal of the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet prefers use of the term ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’ when referring collectively to Australia’s original inhabitants. Please avoid the use of "Indigenous" and "First Nations" where possible, and do not use the abbreviation “ATSI”. For more information on terminology, please view The Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet guidelines for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander terminology.

Citations and References