Californian Journal of Health Promotion: Author Guidelines

Manuscript Preparation

You may find these guidelines are lengthy. However if authors follow these directions thoroughly from the beginning, it will save them considerable time in preparing and revising their manuscript. Manuscripts not meeting the specifications below will be returned without review. All manuscripts must be prepared for blind review, a journal policy.

General Format (Instructions for Specific Types of Manuscripts are also provided below)

1. Create the manuscript in Microsoft Word or save as a .doc file. Use 12-point Times New Roman font. The manuscript should be double-spaced with 1-inch margins on all sides.

2. Manuscripts should follow the recommendations of the 2001 Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA, fifth edition).

3. Leave the right-hand margin ragged (unjustified). Number pages in numerical order beginning with the title page.

4. The manuscript sections should be organized in the following order:

a. Title page
b. Abstract

c. Key Words
    d. Text
    e. Acknowledgments (if any)
    f. References
    g. Tables and Figures

a. Title Page

Prepare a title page that contains:

1. The title of the article;

2. Authors’ names with degrees;

3. The affiliation of each author, including the department at the time the work was done;

4. The mailing address, work telephone and fax number, and e-mail address of the corresponding author;

5. The running head containing not more than 60 characters, counting letters and spaces;

6. To facilitate blind review, author(s) should be identified only on the title page. The title page and acknowledgements page will be removed by the editor prior to the review process.

b. Abstract

All manuscripts must include an abstract containing a maximum of 200 words typed on a separate page. The abstract should be concise and complete in itself without reference to the body of the paper, and should contain a brief description of purpose, design, subjects, measures, analysis, primary results in quantitative form, and conclusion. Do not cite references in the abstract.

c. Key Words

A list of 4 to 6 key words short phrases is to be provided directly below the abstract. Key words should express the precise content of the manuscript, as they are used for indexing purposes.

d. Text Outline

Include the following headings and subheadings:

1. Introduction: literature review and research purpose;
2. Methods: Study design: (randomized trial, quasi-experimental, non-experimental, qualitative, content analysis), sample(s), measures, data collection, and statistical tests used;
3. Results: primary results in quantitative or qualitative form;

4. Discussion: summary of the findings, limitations and implications of the study.

e. Acknowledgments

If applicable, place the acknowledgements after the reference section and before tables.

f. References

List references alphabetically at the end of the paper and refer to them in the text by name and year in parentheses. The style and punctuation of the references should conform to strict APA style – illustrated by the following examples:

Journal Article:
Beech, B. M., & Scarinci, I. C. (2003). Smoking attitudes and practices among low-income African Americans: Qualitative assessment of contributing factors. American Journal of Health Promotion, 17, 231-239.

Authored Book:
Mitchell, T. R., & Larson, J. R., Jr. (1987). People in organizations: An introduction to organizational behavior (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Chapter in an Edited Book:
Caplan, R., & Sherman, T. (1990). Thought disorder in the childhood psychoses. In B. B. Lahey & A. E. Kazdin (Eds.), Advances in clinical child psychology (pp. 175−206). New York: Plenum Press.

Website:

US Bureau of the Census. American Fact Finder, 2000. Available at:
http://www.census.gov. Accessed March 24, 2002.

g. Tables and Figures

Up to 5 tables, figures, graphs, and illustrations are allowed. Refer to all tables, figures, graphs, and illustrations by number within the text and include them at the end of the article, after the list of references, in the order in which they were cited in the text.

Tables. Tables should supplement, not duplicate, the text. Prepare table files in Word format. Number tables in the order in which they are mentioned in the text. Place each table on a separate page. Save large tables in separate files. Explain in footnotes all non-standard abbreviations used in each table. When p values are reported, use the asterisk (*) for the p values.

Figures. Prepare figures in PDF format. Save each figure in a separate file (i.e., if there are 5 figures in the manuscript, 5 figure files should be submitted along with the text file). Place figure legends, double-spaced, at the end of the text file, after the tables; if there are no tables, the figure legends should follow the list of references.

Length of the Manuscript

Limit regular Quantitative and Qualitative Research articles to 12 to 18 double-spaced typed pages, or about 3000 to 4500 words. Avoid preparing articles longer than 5000 words, except in unusual situations.

Manuscript Submission

1. Submit manuscripts directly to the Editor as e-mail attachments together with a cover letter.

2. The Editor will determine whether the manuscript fits the editorial scope of the Journal. Responses with a determination of appropriateness will normally be sent within 5 working days, but receipt of the manuscript will not be confirmed before that.

3. Files greater than 5 MB may cause problems for editors and reviewers. Manuscripts larger than 5 MB should be zipped into a compressed file for submission to prevent jamming of CJHP e-mail accounts.

4. Please make sure that the manuscript files were scanned with an antivirus program prior to e-mailing to CJHP.

Cover Letter

A cover letter should contain the information below:

· An explanation of how your paper is innovative, provocative, timely, and of interest to a broad audience.

· A statement that this work has followed APA guidelines and has not been published or submitted elsewhere.

· For multi-authored papers, a statement that all the authors have made substantial contributions. A limit of 6 authors for a single manuscript is highly encouraged. Please provide justification if there are more than 6 authors.

Format for Specific Types of Manuscripts

Literature Reviews

Abstract. Prepare an abstract of no more than 220 words. In your abstract, please include the following: objective, data source, study inclusion and exclusion criteria, data extraction, data synthesis, results, and conclusions

Length. Limit review articles to no more than 18 double-spaced typed pages, or about 4500 words.

Text Format. Include the following headings and subheadings: objective, methods (data sources, inclusion and exclusion criteria, data extraction, and data synthesis), results, and conclusions.

Brief Report

Brief reports are designed to provide readers with pertinent research findings, in a condensed format. These include original studies that are not appropriate for full-length manuscripts but that are relevant to the practice of health promotion. The study findings should be succinct, focused, and provide a clear message about possible applications for the practitioner. The brief report is appropriate for studies including, but are not limited to: preliminary studies; simple comparisons between two or more program alternatives; and studies that have methodological flaws, such as small sample sizes or lack of a control group, yet convey important findings.

Criteria. Brief reports undergo a review process similar to but less rigorous than full-length manuscripts. To merit acceptance, the manuscript should address an important issue, be of interest to practitioners, illustrate good research in a practice setting, clearly describe the implications of methodological limitations, be well written and presented, and be within length guidelines.

Length. The manuscript should be no longer than 1800 words of text, plus no more than 10 references and two tables or illustrations.

Text Format. Include the following headings, subheadings, and word counts: introduction and purpose, methods (design, sample, measures, and analysis), results, discussion, and limitations.

Multimedia Work

1. Multimedia Presentations should be designed using commonly available software applications such as MS PowerPoint®. Authors considering submitting digitized videos of interviews, skill building exercises, lectures about various health education topics, keynote addresses from conferences and seminars, etc., should first consult the Editor. A signed release form and other legal documentation may be required. Digitized video and audio files will be delivered through the CJHP as live streaming audio and video. Thus, the quality of the presentations should be of academic quality. Authors are responsible for formatting the file for such delivery. Due to the large size of files and the bandwidth necessary to deliver live streaming video, the CJHP reserves the right to deliver clips of presentations, with the approval of the author, rather than full length presentations. The entire video presentations on CD-ROM would then have to be purchased at a nominal cost from CJHP.

2. Authors considering submitting files that are several megabytes in size should first consult with the Editor about the best method to transfer the files over the Internet. All presentations must be zipped.

3. The quality of multimedia works must be consistent with other academic expectations such as currency (footnoted current citations required), authority, coverage, releases, and writing style. Materials used in the presentation must be consistent with existing copyright laws. For MS PowerPoint presentations, authors should assure that formatting, color scheme, volume of materials per slide, letter sizes, and other design features are consistent with the goals and objectives of the presentation, and appropriate for the target population.

4. All multimedia works must include clearly defined target populations, learning objectives, current citations, psychometrically reliable and valid test questions, implications for health education (if applicable), and links to online resources for further study. Those authors submitting a multimedia presentation without an accompanying full-length manuscript must still include a short paper (1-2 journal pages) that includes a Title, Abstract, and Keywords. The body of this short paper must include the following sections: Introduction- provide and introduction and background information about why the multimedia presentation was developed; Instructions- identify the goals and objectives, target population/grade level; Outline of Presentation-a gross outline of the slides; and Evaluation- All multimedia presentations must have been tested or successfully used in a particular population. Please indicate how and where the instrument was tested and the results of the test. If the presentation is currently in use at a college or community organization, please indicate that in this Evaluation section.

Manuscript Checklist

Please submit this checklist with your manuscript and cover letter.
q The attached manuscript is of the following type (check one):
____ Quantitative Research (Word limit: 4500 words)
____ Qualitative Research (Word limit: 4500 words)
____ Literature Review (Word limit: 4500 words)
____ Brief Report (Word limit: 1800 words)

q The Californian Journal of Health Promotion is the only journal to which this manuscript has been submitted.

q The cover letter contains the contact author’s name, mailing address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address.
q The title page shows the authors’ names, degrees, affiliations, mailing addresses, phone and fax numbers, e-mail addresses; disclaimer, if any; and a short running head.
q Abstract is formatted correctly and meets the word count requirement for this type of manuscript.
q Key Word list is included.
q All pages are double-spaced and numbered.
q A manuscript outline of main headings and subheadings is included.
q Tables are typed on separate pages and numbered consecutively. Tables are cited in the text in chronological order (i.e., Table 1, Table 2, etc.).
q Figures are in separate files. Figures do not have embedded captions, even if they are graphs or line drawings.
q References are formatted according to the American Psychological Association style.

Ethical Requirements

For experimental investigations of human subjects, state in the Methods section that an appropriate Institutional Review Board approved the project.For investigations of human subjects, state in the Sample part of the Methods section the manner in which informed consent was obtained from the study participants.

Review Process and Criteria for Acceptance

1. An acknowledgement of receipt of your submission will be e-mailed to the author within a few days.

2. The Editor will screen and reply to authors not meeting the academic standards of the CJHP or not appropriate for this journal, usually within a week. Manuscripts without proper formatting will be returned without review. The Editor serves as the first-level review. This makes formatting manuscripts a much easier process.

3. Those manuscripts meeting the guidelines of the CJHP will be e-mailed within two weeks of receipt to Section Editors who specialize in the health promotion area included in the manuscript. Multimedia presentations will be uploaded onto a staging server for review rather than being e-mailed.

4. Section Editors will then evaluate and rate the manuscripts/multimedia presentations: Accept, Accept With Minor Editing, Resubmit for Review After Major Revision, and Reject. The evaluations will be returned to the Editor within eight weeks of receipt.

5. Conflicts in reviewer ratings will be resolved by the Editor, with final decisions resting with the Editor.

6. Invited manuscripts/multimedia presentations may be reviewed alternatively by the Editor and an Associate Editor.

7. All manuscripts / multimedia presentations accepted for publication become the property of the CJHP. All rights reserved. All authors submitting materials for publications are responsible for following copyright laws of the USA. The authors are responsible for obtaining permissions to republish photos, attachments, and other materials along with their manuscripts/multimedia presentations.

8. The initial review process normally takes 3 months. Reviews of subsequent revisions take about 2 months.

9. External reviews of all manuscripts are blind and anonymous. Internal reviews of manuscripts by the editor, associate editors, and section editors are not blind or anonymous. Manuscripts are reviewed by three reviewers. Reviewers consider the following criteria: relevance and importance to practice or research, scientific quality, presentation quality, and conformity to format guidelines. Manuscripts are reviewed with the understanding that they have not been previously published and are not under consideration by another journal or publisher.