Author Guidelines

The Journal of Northern Indigenous Community and Rural Development aims to contribute to the academic and community dialogue on  research on contemporary issues important to rural, Alaska Native, and Indigenous communities. It welcomes research articles, policy articles, editorial articles, and book reviews under the guidelines below.

• Research Articles – use a systematic methodology, which should be described in the article, to analyze a specific research question. The article should typically include an introduction, literature review and/or theoretical framework, method, results or findings, discussion, including policy recommendations, and references.  Articles should be between 4,000 and 7,000 words, excluding the reference list.  Longer papers will be considered under special circumstances.
• Policy Articles – analyze or evaluate a program or policy. The author(s) may draw upon primary and/or secondary sources.  The article structure should typically include an introduction, background, literature review, or theoretical framework, analysis, discussion, including policy recommendations, and references.  Articles should be between 4,000 and 7,000 words, excluding the reference list.  Longer papers will be considered under special circumstances.
• Editorial Articles – provide a short commentary or opinion on an issue or policy that may aim to interpret or explain, criticize, or persuade. Editorials must contribute the scholarly discourse.  Articles that simply intend to be inflammatory, libelous, slanderous, or derogatory will not be considered.  Articles should be less than 1,500 words.
• Book Reviews – provide a brief description and critique of a published work related to JANSRD issues. Authors are encouraged to submit a proposal prior to completion of the book review in order to ensure the book is not currently under review or outside the scope of the JANSRD.  Priority will be give to books published in the last 2 years.  Proposals should be 1-2 pages, double-spaced.  They should include: (i) Information about the book (title, author(s), publisher, publication date); (ii) An overview of the book’s content; (iii) The relevance of the book to JANSRD issues; (iv) A brief summary of your analysis or what you would look for in your analysis of this book if you have not read it; (v) Proposed timeline (i.e., when you expect the completed book review will be ready to submit to JANSRD).  Book review manuscripts should provide information about the book, including title, author(s), publisher, and publication date; provide an overview of the book’s content, including the central arguments, thesis, and/or goals: an analysis or evaluation that may include how well the book accomplishes its stated goals, contributes to the literature, and addresses divergent perspectives with examples from the book to illustrate; and a conclusion that addresses the extent to which the book is relevant to JANSRD issues and of interest to the JANSRD audience.  Book reviews should be less than 1,500 words.

Editorial Process

All manuscripts are reviewed initially by the Editors and only those papers that meet the scientific and editorial standards of the journal, and fit within the aims and scope of the journal, will be sent for outside review.

The journal will use a double-blind peer review process in which the reviewer’s name is withheld from the author and, the author’s name from the reviewer. The reviewer may at their own discretion, opt to reveal their name to the author in their review, but our standard policy practice is for both identities to remain concealed.

The aim of the journal is for all papers to be reviewed by Indigenous scholars from within the group under discussion as well as by international Indigenous or non-Indigenous experts in the research discipline. In addition and in keeping with the emphasis on community dialogue, the journal will assign a community based reviewer wherever possible. All papers are peer-reviewed by a minimum of three reviewers. An editorial decision is generally reached within 6-8 weeks of submission.

Three decisions can be made: accept, revise and resubmit, or reject. Revised articles are usually sent for re-review to the original peer reviewers if these indicate their willingness to review the article again. Revision of an article gives no guarantee of acceptance and in some cases revised articles are rejected if the improvements are not sufficient or new issues arise. All authors should be prepared to return revised papers and proof corrections to the deadlines required for publication.

As part of the submission process authors will be asked to provide the names of 3 qualified peers who could be called upon to review their manuscript. Recommended reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Authors are advised to be aware of any conflicts of interest when recommending reviewers. Examples of conflicts of interest include (but are not limited to) the below:

• The reviewer should have no prior knowledge of the submission
• The reviewer should not have recently collaborated with any of the authors
• Reviewer nominees from the same institution as any of the authors are not permitted

Authors will also be asked to nominate peers who they do not wish to review their manuscript (opposed reviewers).

Please note that the Editors are not obliged to invite/reject any recommended/opposed reviewers to assess the author’s manuscript.

The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in the journal. In these cases, the peer review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board and the submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in the decision-making process.

Copy Deadlines

The journal will utilize a rolling publication model where the journal opens a volume and adds articles as they become ready for publication. On ocassion, the journal may publish a special issue with specific deadlines.

Authors' Names

Author names should not appear on the submission's pages or file's properties. A separate cover sheet with the full title of the article and authors' names and complete address should be provided separately. Joint author's names should be given alphebetically. Authors must specify if they wish otherwise.

Guidelines

1. Consistency for most matters of style is maintained through the Chicago Manual of Style and the [name of dictionary].

2. Language

a. References to Indigenous Peoples: Authors are encouraged to consult representatives of Indigenous nations & organizations to ensure the accurate vocabulary and spelling for Indigenous words, and for language representing Indigenous peoples, cultures, and places.

b. Indigenous ethnicities and nations: Use the most specific name possible when referring to a specific people, rather than relying on the collective name only. For example, ...

c. Place names: Many places are now referred to by their Indigenous names. If the Indigenous name might be unfamiliar to most readers, include the settler place name parenthetically. 

4. Spelling...do we need this detail or is it enough to say CMS and specific dictionary? Northern Review uses CMS, but includes details on headings, spacing, figures, etc.

Northern review has copyright here, but I'm not sure if it is actually typed into this section. I've moved it to the copyright section under distribution.