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Guidelines for Multimedia Submissions

Submit Podcast and Video

Submission Preparation Checklist

  • The submission has not been previously published nor is it forthcoming for publication. The submission is not currently under review at another journal.
  • Please prepare cover page information (title of work, author names, author affiliations, author contact information, and author ORCID IDs) to enter directly in the online submission system.
  • Please prepare abstracts and keywords to enter directly in the online submission system.
  • Please prepare acknowledgements to enter directly in the online submission system.
  • If applicable, please prepare a short statement about funding sources and conflicts of interest for your project. This statement will be entered directly in the online submission system.
  • All multimedia submissions are formatted following TC’s Guidelines for Multimedia Submissions.
  • Images must have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.
  • Podcast submissions (audio or video) will be no longer than 45 minutes.
  • Supplemental video submissions (short supplemental videos and video abstracts) will be no longer than 10 minutes.
  • Accepted video file formats include 3gp, asx, avi, f4v, flv, mkv, mov, mp4, mpg, wmv. Accepted audio file formats include aac, ac3, aiff, flac, m4a, mp3, wav, wma.
  • If you are submitting a video, please include closed captions with your submission following TC’s Accessibility Standards in the Guidelines for Multimedia Submissions.
  • If you are submitting an audio file, please include a separate transcript document with your submission following TC’s Accessibility Standards in the Guidelines for Multimedia Submissions.

Types of Multimedia Submissions

Multimedia pieces like podcasts, infographics, and video abstracts are an important part of sharing research and evaluation that supports community-led change. We accept a range of multimedia formats for submission to the journal. If you have any questions about multimedia submissions, please reach out to one of the Multimedia Editors via email.

Podcasts

We publish peer-reviewed podcasts that share new research findings, data-informed practices, and evaluations of current issues affecting community well-being. TC also welcomes podcasts that tell us about promising outcomes from community projects. Podcasts should consider a wide audience, including researchers, practitioners, and community members and leaders. Podcasts submissions may contain audio or video media. We only accept individual podcast episodes for publication. Completed podcast episodes may be submitted directly through the journal’s online submission system. We also encourage authors to submit podcast episodes that are currently in development using the Podcast Proposal process outlined below. For all podcast submissions, please follow the Accessibility Guidelines below.

Infographics

We publish infographics that provide research findings on issues that impact communities and/or guidelines for data-informed practices and interventions impacting community well-being. Infographic submissions should aim to reach a wide audience with clearly presented information. We accept infographics as image files or with video content. Please follow all Accessibility Guidelines that apply to your submission content.

Supplemental Media

We encourage authors to submit supplemental media with their manuscripts. Supplemental media give journal users an opportunity to engage with the information presented in a manuscript in a different way. This is especially valuable for sharing research findings with a wide audience. Supplemental media are peer reviewed together with the manuscript submission. Types of supplemental media accepted for submission include video abstracts, short videos, and photograph series.

Podcast Proposals

We have a proposal process for podcast episodes that are currently in development. The proposal will be reviewed by an assigned Multimedia Editor with final approval by the Editor-in-Chief. Podcast proposals are designed to outline the purpose and content of the proposed podcast episode. The proposal process also allows editors to evaluate the fit of the proposed podcast episode within the journal’s aims and scope and to provide early feedback to authors. After a podcast proposal is accepted, authors may submit their podcast episode to the journal once it is completed. Upon submission, podcasts undergo peer review. Please note that recommendations based on the peer review process may include requests to revise and edit the podcast episode.

If you are interested in submitting a podcast proposal to TC, please contact the Editor-in-Chief or one of the Multimedia Editors via email about the podcast proposal process. Podcast proposals are submitted online through the journal’s website. For your podcast proposal, please prepare the following information:

  • Title of podcast episode
  • Authors name(s), affiliation(s), and contact information
  • Abstract that is no more than 250 words in length
  • Outline of the podcast episode’s content
  • Expected length of the podcast episode in minutes (no more than 45 minutes)
  • Proposed project timeline for podcast development and submission to TC

How to Submit Multimedia Works

Infographics

Please submit your infographic submission using the online submission system on the journal’s website. To submit, click on the “Submit Manuscript” link on the side menu. You will be prompted to provide author information and upload your file(s). Before you begin, please go through the Submission Checklist. Please have the title of your work, abstract, keywords, and media file(s) ready to enter and upload. You can submit multiple media files in a single submission. Please note that recommendations based on the peer review process may include requests to revise and edit the multimedia work.

Podcasts and Videos

Please submit your infographic submission using the online submission system on the journal’s website. To submit, click on the “Submit Podcast and Video” link on the side menu. This will take you to the TC Podcast and Video Series site.

General Formatting for Multimedia Works

Podcast submissions (audio or video) are no longer than 45 minutes. Supplemental video submissions (like short supplemental videos and video abstracts) are no longer than 10 minutes. For accepted media file types, please see the Submission Preparation Checklist above. All multimedia submissions are peer reviewed. Please note that recommendations based on the peer review process may include requests to revise and edit. Video and audio pieces accepted for publication will be published in the online journal using an embedded media player. Video publications will also appear on the Transforming Communities YouTube channel to broaden impact and reach.

Accessibility Standards

Transcripts for Audio Files

Audio-only files (like audio podcasts) must have a text transcript for accessibility. There are several ways to create a text transcript for an audio file, including manually transcribing your audio content into a text document. Please check with your institution about available transcription services. There are also several affordable transcription services available online, including TranscribeMe, Scribie, and GoTranscript. If you use an automatic transcription service, please edit your transcript manually for accuracy and meaning.

Closed Captions for Video Files

Closed captions must be included in video files for accessibility. Please check with your institution about available closed captioning services. It is free to create automatic closed captioning for a video on YouTube, although YouTube-generated closed captions require manual editing for accuracy and meaning. Please refer to the following YouTube guides for adding subtitles and captions and editing or removing captions.

Images, Tables and Figures

Please provide alt text/text captions for images that include a brief description of the image. Check that all content has appropriate color contrast for visibility. WebAIM’s color contrast checker is a free resource to use.  For screen reader accessibility, all tables, graphs, and charts need to be formatted appropriately for their content. Please do not format them as images. For accessibility guidance, please see WebAIM’s Creating Accessible Documents article.

Manuscript

Please ensure that manuscripts adhere to the guidelines outlined in this section. First, use the formatted headers in word processing systems. These headers are used for screen reader navigation. Second, ensure tables, graphs, and charts are formatted appropriately with headers and accurate reading order. These should not be formatted as pictures. Third, any links need to be descriptive. Fourth, all images and figures need alt text/text captions. Lastly, all content has appropriate color contrast. No images should rely only on color to convey content. For additional guidance on each of these accessibility requirements, please see WebAIM’s Creating Accessible Documents article.

Bias Free and Inclusive Language

TC is committed to anti-racist practices in peer reviewing and editing (Anti-Racist Scholarly Reviewing Practices, 2021). We use bias-free and inclusive language standards according to the American Psychological Association’s guidance in the APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition (2020) and Inclusive Language Guidelines (2021).

Authorship

TC follows the Publication Credit guidelines found in Section 8.12 of the APA’s Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. For more guidance on determining authorship order, please refer to the APA’s (2015) Tips for Determining Authorship article.

 

Turnaround Timelines

For turnaround timelines on podcast proposals and multimedia submissions, please see TC’s Open Peer Review Procedures page.

Ethical Policy

Ethical policy for authors, reviewers, and editors at TC follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and Guidelines for Research Conduct developed by Utah State University’s Office of Research. Please note that TC is not a member of COPE. Authors should read and refer to TC’s Ethical Policy page.

 

Open Access Policy

TC is an open-access journal. We believe that new research in community-based and community-engaged work should be easily accessible and widely shared to facilitate use by researchers, practitioners, and community rights holders and stakeholders working toward community well-being in diverse fields. All TC publications are available for immediate open access on the journal website without any fees to authors or readers. TC archives all publications and issues on the journal’s website. Public archiving is provided by Utah State University’s Institutional Repository and the Internet Archive.

Copyright & Licensing Terms

Authors publishing with TC retain copyright to their work and grant the journal right of first publication. Authors are permitted to freely deposit preprints, accepted works, and published works online. Authors publishing with TC agree to use a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0) license that allows readers to share and adapt an original published work for any purpose as long as the author and original journal source are cited.

References

American Psychological Association. (2022). Publication practices and responsible authorship. https://www.apa.org/research/responsible/publication.

American Psychological Association. (2021). Inclusive language guidelines. https://www.apa.org/about/apa/equity-diversity-inclusion/language-guidelines.pdf.

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association 2020: The official guide to APA style (7th ed.). American Psychological Association.

American Psychological Association. (2017). Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. https://www.apa.org/ethics/code#812b.

Anti-racist scholarly reviewing practices: A heuristic for editors, reviewers, and authors. (2021). https://tinyurl.com/reviewheuristic.

COPE Council. (2017). COPE core practices. https://publicationethics.org/core-practices.

Office of Research, Utah State University. (n.d.). Research conduct. https://research.usu.edu/ur/guidebook/research-conduct.

WebAIM. (2023). Contrast checker. https://webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker/.

WebAIM. (2023). Creating accessible documents. https://webaim.org/techniques/word/.

YouTube Help. (2023). Add subtitles & captions. https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734796?hl=en.

YouTube Help. (2023). Edit or remove captions. https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2734705?hl=en&ref_topic=7296214#zippy=.