INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS
- Type of submissions |
- Address for submissions |
- Format of submissions |
- Abstract and keywords |
- Description of author(s) |
- General guidelines |
- References |
- Photographs |
- Figures |
- Tables |
- Internet screen dumps |
- Review procedure |
- Accuracy of content |
- Copyright |
- Proofs |
- Accuracy of reproduction |
- Offprints and free copies |
Type of submissions
Submissions of the following types are accepted for review in the Journal:
- In-depth fully-referenced papers (2000-5000 words) - sample article (PDF, 226k)
- Case studies and best practice papers (1000-3000 words) - sample article (PDF, 140k)
- Letters to the Editors/Opinion pieces (500-1000 words)
- Legal & regulatory updates (1000-3000 words) - sample article (PDF, 58k)
- New technology briefing (1000-3000 words) - sample article (PDF, 110k)
- Book reviews (500-1000 words) - sample article (PDF, 49k)
Address for submissions
Submissions should be submitted via email in Microsoft Word format to the publisher:
-
Brenda Rouse
Publishing Editor
Palgrave Macmillan Journals
The Macmillan Building
4 Crinan Street
London N1 9XW, UK
Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7843 4684
E-mail: submissions@palgrave.com
Please clearly state for which journal you are contributing.
Top of pageFormat of submissions
Submissions should be typewritten, double-spaced, on A4 or US letter paper and supplied electronically, preferably in Word for Windows format. Please see below for details of required formats for figures, photos, tables and screen dumps.
Top of pageAbstract and keywords
All articles should be accompanied by a short abstract, outlining the aims and subject matter, and up to six keywords should be provided for indexing purposes.
Top of pageDescription of author(s)
All articles should be accompanied by a short (about 30 words) description of the author(s) and, if appropriate, the organisation of which he or she is a member.
Top of pageGeneral guidelines
Authors should not seek to use the Journal as a vehicle for marketing any specific product or service.
Authors should avoid the use of language or slang which is not in keeping with the academic and professional style of the Journal.
Titles of organisations etc should be written out first in full followed by the organisation's initials in brackets, e.g. The Institute of Direct Marketing (IDM) and thereafter the initials only should be used.
Authors must ensure that references to named people and/or organisations are accurate, not racist or sexist, and without libellous implications.
Top of pageReferences
Papers should be supported by references. These should be set out in accordance with the Vancouver style - that is, they should be referred to by number in the text and set out in full at the end of the text in the style shown in the following examples:
References to journals:
1. Pine, J.B. II, Peppers, D. and Rogers, M. (1995) 'Do You Want to Keep Your Customers Forever?', Harvard Business Review, March-April, pp.103-114.
References to books and monographs:
2. McKenna, R. (1991) Relationship Marketing: Successful Strategies for the Age of the Customer, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
References to a paper 'in the press':
References to a paper 'in the press' are permissible provided that it has been accepted for publication.
Example:
3. Stroud, D. (2005) 'Interactive Marketing for the Charmed Generation', Journal of Direct, Data & Digital Marketing Practice, (In Press).
See sample papers for further information on reference format and style.
Top of pagePhotographs
Photographs must be of sufficient quality with respect to detail, contrast and fineness of grain to withstand the unavoidable loss of contrast inherent in the printing process. Their approximate final positions should be indicated in the text. Electronic copies of photos should be provided, where possible, as TIFF, JPEG or Adobe Photoshop .PSD files (minimum acceptable resolution 300 dpi). Any photographs supplied as prints should be good quality positives, printed from the original negatives and preferably in black and white only.
Top of pageFigures
- Figures may only be supplied in black and white. Authors are required to ensure where possible that figures reproduce clearly in grey-scale. Figures should be submitted in electronic format, preferably in MS Word, Excel or PowerPoint. More detailed graphics should be submitted as EPS files with fonts embedded or as TIFF files.
- Figures should be referred to in the text and numbered consecutively. They should be supplied separately from the main body of the text, with their approximate final positions, and legends marked within the main text.
- Figure legends should describe the figure content and should be understood independently from the text.
- Most figures will be set portrait-style as a single column (115 mm), or if necessary landscape (220 mm). Figures should be prepared to publication size with all labelling in Helvetica or Arial, no smaller than 10 pt. Where possible, a reasonably sized key should be included, ideally in the right-hand corner.
- Abbreviations should be avoided in figures. If abbreviations or symbols are used in the figures they should be explained in the figure legend, if they have not been explained in the key.
- Line charts, bar charts and pie charts should be two-dimensional, with single categories, a generous margin, and no backgrounds. Appropriate scales should be used and sources should be quoted.
- Bar charts should have two categories or more and at least five observations; otherwise the data should be presented in a table. Horizontal lines should be used to mark the major values on the y-axis.
- Line charts should show changes over long time spans and should have at least ten observations.
- Pie charts should be used to show proportions and have a minimum of four segments, and a maximum of twelve.
Tables
- Tables should be submitted in electronic form, preferably in MS Word or Excel.
- Tables should be referred to in the text and numbered consecutively. They should be supplied separately from the main body of the text, with their approximate final positions indicated in the text.
- Each column should have a short heading and, where appropriate, the units should be stated.
- Table legends should describe the content and should be understood independently from the text.
- Data columns should be right-hand aligned, or aligned by decimal place, where appropriate; data should be sorted where possible.
- Footnotes should be included on the same pages as the tables themselves and should be used to explain any abbreviations used in the table and denote them by letter. Footnotes should also be used to quote sources.
Internet screen dumps
Authors should be aware that screen dumps and graphics copied from Internet pages are saved at a low resolution (72 dpi) and are not guaranteed to reproduce well in print. These should therefore be avoided whenever possible. If used, however, screen dumps should have a white background to increase the contrast between the illustration and the background and should be provided electronically in JPEG format. Their approximate final positions should be indicated in the margin of the text.
Top of pageReview procedure
Articles received by the Editors will undergo a pre-screening process to increase the efficiency of the publication process. Papers that are considered to be of minor importance to the readership of the Journal are not reviewed. Papers selected for review are sent out to two referees, who agree to undertake the refereeing within a short period of time.
Top of pageAccuracy of content
All contributions sent to the Publisher, whether they are invited or not, must bear the author's full name and address, even if this is not for publication. Contributions, whether published pseudonymously or not, are accepted on the strict understanding that the author is responsible for the accuracy of all opinion, technical comment, factual report, data, figures, illustrations and photographs. Publication does not necessarily imply that these are the opinions of the Editors, Editorial Board or the Publisher, nor do the Editors, Editorial Board, or Publisher accept any liability for the accuracy of such comment, report or other technical and factual information. The Publisher will, however, strive to ensure that all opinion, comments, reports, data, figures, illustrations and photographs are accurate, insofar as it is within its abilities to do so.
Top of pageCopyright
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from copyright holders for reproducing through any medium of communication those illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. Add your acknowledgements to the typescript, preferably in the form of an "Acknowledgements" section at the end of the paper. Credit the source and copyright of photographs or figures in the accompanying captions.
The journal's policy is to own copyright in all contributions. Before publication, authors assign copyright to the Publishers, but retain their rights to republish this material in other works written or edited by themselves, subject to full acknowledgement of the original source of publication.
The journal mandates the Copyright Clearance Center in the USA and the Copyright Licensing Agency in the UK to offer centralised licensing arrangements for photocopying in their respective territories.
No contribution will be accepted which has been published elsewhere, unless it is expressly invited or agreed by the Editors and the Publisher.
Top of pageProofs
The corresponding author will be sent an email containing a link to an online PDF proof of the article. Please print a copy of the PDF proof, correct within the time period indicated and return as directed. Please make no revisions to the final, edited text, except where the copy editor has requested clarification.
Top of pageAccuracy of reproduction
All reasonable efforts are made to ensure accurate reproduction of text, photographs and illustrations. The Publisher does not accept responsibility for mistakes, be they editorial or typographical, nor for consequences resulting from them.
The Publisher reserves the right to edit, abridge or omit all material submitted.
Top of pageOffprints and free copies
Authors will be given the opportunity to purchase offprints of their paper once typesetting has been finalised. The Publishers will send first-named authors three free copies of the issue containing their paper.
