Submission Preparation Checklist
As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
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The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
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The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or RTF document file format.
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Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
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The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
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The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
Author Guidelines
All article submissions must be house styled in accordance with the Journal's style guide, and must not be under consideration at any other journal. If any part of the paper has been published elsewhere, contributors are responsible for securing the necessary permissions required. All submissions are screened by the editorial panel, and if accepted for further consideration, are subject to a blind peer review process managed by an associate editor. All contributors must be prepared to wait for between 12 and 16 weeks for a final decision on their submission if it is peer reviewed.
Article submissions must be original research, and must be between 6000 and 8000 words excluding references and endnotes. This self-assessment guide will be useful to consult in preparing your manuscript for submission.
Book reviews must be between 800 and 1000 words, and can include references to additional texts, although these should be kept to a minimum. Book reviews must be critical in nature - by this we mean that they need to summarise, locate and critique the argument of the book in reference to the broader field in which the book is located. We do not publish book reviews that simply offer a precis of the book. Reviewers need to consider the contribution the author makes to current and/or historical research within the relevant field; the accessibility of the book for readers of this journal; and the way in which the book makes and supports its contribution to scholarship.
Review essays should be 2000 - 3000 words in length, and should make use of at least three connected books to make an original argument that extends on our book review criteria. Please look carefully at the aims and scope of the journal before considering or proposing a review essay.
Please see here for the style guide.
We publish one special issue per volume, and we welcome proposals from prospective guest editors for special issues. The guidelines for developing a proposal, information about the expected role of guest editors, and information on timelines and scheduling can be obtained from the Managing Editor, A/Prof Daniela Gachago, cristaljournal@gmail.com. In general, proposals need to take into account a lead time of at least 15-18 months (e.g., if you wish to have the special issue published in September 2024, the proposal must reach the editorial committee by March/April 2023).
Articles
Section default policy
Book reviews
Book reviews must be between 800 and 1000 words in length, and must include the full reference to the book, including the ISSN/ISBN number. If other sources are referred to, a reference list must follow the review, formatted according to the Journal's housestyle.
Special Issue
Submissions that should be considered for a special issue. These are full articles that will be subject to the normal peer review process.
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