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Guidelines for Manuscript Submissions

Submit Article

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 (manuscript title, author names, author affiliations, author contact information, and author ORCID IDs) to enter directly in the online submission system. A cover page is not included with the manuscript.
  • Please prepare abstracts and keywords to enter directly in the online submission system. Abstracts and keywords are not included in the manuscript.
  • Please prepare acknowledgements to enter directly in the online submission system. Acknowledgements are not included in the manuscript.
  • 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.
  • Manuscripts are formatted following TC’s Guidelines for Manuscript Submissions and the Publication Manual of the APA, Seventh Edition. Manuscripts are submitted as Microsoft Word files (.doc and .docx).
  • Tables and figures will appear at the end of the manuscript after the reference list. Please format tables and figures following TC’s Guidelines for Manuscript Submissions and the Publication Manual of the APA, Seventh Edition. Images must have a resolution of at least 300 dpi.
  • Supplemental media are submitted separately from the manuscript document. 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. Accepted image file formats include tiff, jpeg, bmp, png, gif.

General Guidelines

Our goal at TC is to share community-engaged research and evaluation focused on providing evidence-informed solutions and meaningful change processes that support community well-being. We welcome a wide variety of submission types, including traditional research articles, reviews of books and multimedia, literature reviews, research notes, white papers, commentaries, case studies, policy briefs, fact sheets, and multimedia pieces like podcasts, infographics, and short videos. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the year.

Types of Submissions

Reviews

TC publishes reviews of books, podcasts, websites, and other media sources that contribute to providing knowledge about current social problems, evidence-informed solutions, and/or meaningful change processes that support community well-being. Books considered for review may address issues related to any discipline or field of practice, including social work, sociology, psychology, public health, nursing, civic and community engagement, public affairs, public policy and administration, education, anthropology, environmental planning, and other relevant fields. Media sources considered for review must present new research or evaluate current research, projects, issues, or learning experiences related to research and practice affecting community well-being. Reviews will be no more than 1,000 words in length (12-point font, double-spaced) and aim to

  • provide a summary of the reviewed work,
  • evaluate the work’s main argument,
  • assess the work's relevance to current social problems, evidence-informed solutions, and/or meaningful change processes that support community well-being,
  • and reach a wide audience by clearly explaining concepts and reducing jargon.

For guidance on writing reviews, please see the Book Reviews handout developed by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Writing Center.

Research articles

TC publishes full-length research articles that share new research findings and apply innovative approaches to studying social problems and interventions that impact the well-being of communities. Preference is given to research that is community-engaged. Relevant disciplines include but are not limited to research in social work, sociology, psychology, public health, nursing, education, anthropology, civic and community engagement, public affairs, public policy and administration, and environmental policy. Research articles submitted to the journal should be previously unpublished and no more than 3,000 words in length (12-point font, double-spaced), excluding the reference list, tables, and figures. Research articles published in TC aim to

  • concisely summarize previous research relevant to the topic (please omit a comprehensive literature review section);
  • develop evidence-informed solutions and/or change processes that address community issues and seek to improve community well-being;
  • and communicate research findings to a wide audience of academics, practitioners, and community rights holders and stakeholders by clearly explaining concepts and reducing jargon.

Literature review articles

TC publishes literature review articles that synthesize research focused on evidence-informed solutions and meaningful change processes that support community well-being. Literature review articles are no more than 2,000 words in length (12-point font, double-spaced), excluding the reference list, tables, and figures. Literature review articles are written to reach a wide audience of readers. As such, articles should clearly explain concepts and reduce jargon. For more information on writing literature review articles, please see the Literature Reviews handout by the UNC Writing Center.

Research notes

Research notes are short descriptive reports of no more than 1,500 words in length (12-point font, double-spaced), excluding the reference list, tables, and figures. Research notes aim to

  • present preliminary community-engaged research or evaluation findings and describe their contribution to improving community well-being
  • or
  • inform readers about a current research project that offers new approaches and insights relevant to improving community well-being.

White papers

White papers published in TC are short, well-researched reports designed to inform a wide audience of readers about a current issue affecting community well-being. White papers submitted to the journal should be no more than 2,000 words in length (12-point font, double-spaced), excluding the reference list, tables, and figures. White papers aim to

  • provide a concise background on the current issue,
  • propose a new evidence-driven approach to addressing the current issue,
  • and inform a wide audience of readers about this approach by clearly and concisely explaining concepts and reducing jargon.

For more information, please see Purdue OWL’s guidance on writing white papers.

Commentaries

These submissions are an opportunity to provide perspective and critical observations on issues impacting communities. Topics may include social problems, policy issues, professional dilemmas, problematic or promising methodologies, and more. These are not merely opinion pieces. Their purpose is to shine a light on successes and challenges affecting communities in order to spark constructive conversations that lead to progress and change. Commentaries may be editorial in nature, but submissions should be succinct and provide a critical analysis of the presented concern or issue. Commentaries are no more than 750 words in length (12-point font, double-spaced), excluding the reference list. References demonstrating the relevance of the topic and connections to current research and other credible literature are required.

Case studies

Case studies discuss the context, relevance, and impact of a particular case regarding a social problem, evidence-informed solution, and/or meaningful change process that supports community well-being. Case studies are no more than 2,000 words in length (12-point font, double-spaced) and are written for a wide audience of readers by clearly and concisely explaining concepts and reducing jargon. For more guidance, please see the Writing a Case Study guide by the University of South Carolina (USC) Libraries.

Policy briefs

TC publishes policy briefs on current policy issues that address community needs. Policy briefs are no more than 1,000 words in length (12-point font, double-spaced), excluding the reference list. Policy briefs aim to share evidence-driven information about policy change processes with a wide audience of readers by clearly and concisely explaining concepts and reducing jargon. For more guidance, please see the Policy Briefs handout by the UNC Writing Center.

Policy Analysis

Policy analysis papers are reviews of policies that address social problems on a macro level. Policy analysis papers submitted to the TC journal should be 1,000-2,000 words in length (12-point font, double-spaced), excluding the reference list, tables, and figures. Policy analysis papers aim to

  1. Discuss the social need/condition, including:
    1. Examine how the problem or need was defined and documented
    2. Discuss how values and self-interest shaped the definition and documentation
  2. Analyze the policy, including:
    1. Latent and manifest goals
    2. Benefits and services provided
    3. Eligibility rules; service delivery systems
    4. Financing; attention paid to social justice/equity issues

Evaluation and recommendations for policy modifications/changes. Be sure to include the degree to which the policy is strengths-based, and strategies or recommendations to make it more reflective of the strengths approach.

Fact sheets

Fact sheets aim to share research or evidence-driven information on promising practices relevant to the issues that impact communities and/or approaches that shape community-engaged work. Fact sheets are no more than 500 words in length or one page (12-point font, single-spaced) and typically include figures, tables, and/or image content. For guidance on writing fact sheets, please see the Communication Tools: Fact Sheets guide by the University of North Dakota’s Center for Rural Health.

Multimedia works

TC accepts several multimedia formats for submission, including podcasts, infographics, and supplemental media like short videos and video abstracts. For more information on multimedia submissions, please see TC’s Guidelines for Multimedia Submissions.

How to Submit a Manuscript

Please submit your manuscript 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 manuscript file. Before you begin, please go through the Submission Checklist. Please have your cover page information, abstract, keywords, and acknowledgements ready to enter and your manuscript file ready to upload. For multimedia submissions, please see TC’s Guidelines for Multimedia Submissions.

Manuscript Formatting

Manuscripts are submitted as Word files (.doc and .docx). Please do not include page numbers as these will be automatically added by the online submission system. Cover page information, abstracts, keywords, and acknowledgements are entered separately in the online submission system. Please do not use endnotes, footnotes, or appendices. Manuscripts will follow APA style according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition, which provides guidance on writing style and mechanics, using bias-free and inclusive language, and formatting for paper elements, references, figures, and tables. Please refer to the accessibility standards below.

Cover Page Information

Please prepare the following cover page information:

  • Title of manuscript
  • Author name(s)
  • Author affiliation(s)
  • Author contact information
  • Author ORCID ID(s) (if applicable)

Abstract

Please prepare an abstract that is no more than 200 words in length. For more guidance on writing abstracts, please refer to the Publication Manual of the APA, Seventh Edition and see the Abstracts handout by the UNC Writing Center.

General Formatting

The manuscript will be formatted with:

  • 12-point Times New Roman font
  • 1-inch margins
  • Double-spaced and left-aligned text
  • Headings in APA style
  • Tables and figures in APA style that appear at the end of the manuscript after the reference list

Accessibility Standards

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.

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.

Bias-Free and Inclusive Language Standards

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 Timeline

For turnaround timelines on manuscript submissions, please see TC’s Open Peer Review Procedures page.

Editorial Policy

Editorial 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 Editorial Policy page.

Open Access Policy

Transforming Communities is an open-access journal. We believe that new community-based research involving 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 and fully open access on the journal website without any fees to authors or readers. TC archives all publications and issues on the journal’s website. Long-term 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. (2015). Tips for determining authorship. https://www.apa.org/science/leadership/students/authorship-paper.

American Psychological Association (2017). Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. https://www.apa.org/ethics/code#812b.

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

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.

Purdue Online Writing Lab. (n.d.). White paper: Purpose and audience. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professional_technical_writing/white_papers/index.html.

The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n.d.). Abstracts. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/abstracts/.

The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n.d.). Book reviews. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/book-reviews/.

The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n.d.). Literature reviews. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/literature-reviews/.

The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (n.d.). Policy briefs. https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/policy-briefs/.

Center for Rural Health, University of North Dakota. (2023). Communication tools: Fact sheets. https://ruralhealth.und.edu/communication/factsheets.

University of South Carolina Libraries. (2023). Writing a case study. https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/assignments/casestudy.

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

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