If you wish to discuss submission of an article that varies from the guildelines, please make contact with the editor via: publications@sia.org.au
Guidelines for Authors
Contents
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Length
Empirical article <4,000 words excluding title page, abstract & references
Theoretical <4,000 words excluding title page, abstract & references
Meta analysis <4,000 words excluding title page, abstract & references
Case history <3,000 words excluding title page, abstract & references
Structure
Title Page
The Title Page should contain the following:
Title; This should be concise, informative and avoid specialist language. The title should not exceed 75 characters. Abbreviations should not be used. The title should be understandable by anyone working in the field of health and safety. In preparing a title, authors should remember that titles are used in the information-retrieval systems.
Author name(s) and affiliations; List the first name, middle initial where appropriate and family name of each author. The affiliation of each author should be listed separately below the list of authors' names and indicated by a superscript number.
Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name, and, if available, the e-mail address of each author. The address at which the author actually did the work should be that provided.
Corresponding author; Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. Ensure that telephone and fax numbers are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address.
Declarations; All authors should disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest including any financial, personal or other relationships with other people or organisations that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived to influence, the work being reported. This should be provided on the title page.
In submitting an article the author is implicitly declaring that the work:
- Has not previously been published;
- Is not under consideration for publication elsewhere;
- Is approved for publication by all authors;
- Contains work that is either original or acknowledged as that of others through references.
- Is free for publication with the approval of any funding bodies.
It is the responsibility of the author(s) to ensure that any materials presented for publication are free of copyright and that plagiarism has been avoided.
Abstract
An abstract should be provided on a separate page following the title page. The article title should be reproduced above the Abstract. The abstract page should not contain the names or other details of authors.
The abstract should briefly state the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. The abstract should not exceed 250 words.
The abstract should not contain references or abbreviations. If abbreviations are necessary, they should be defined when first used. The abstract is used in bibliographic and indexing services and therefore should be able to stand alone.
Keywords
Immediately following the abstract a maximum of 6 keywords should be provided. Thoughtful consideration should be given to the use of keywords that will be used by indexing services as well as other researchers in countries that may use terms that are different to those used in Australia.
Body of Text
The Body of Text should begin on a page following the abstract page i.e. page 3, and use the structure outlined below.
Manuscripts will normally be divided into sections under appropriate headings.
Original Research, Meta-analyses & Case histories should comprise:
- Introduction; this should provide sufficient background to the reader to understand the context of the work and the need for the research that is being reported. The introduction should state the aims and objectives of the work. The introduction is likely to provide a summary review of the literature that is pertinent to the work being reported.
- Methods; This should provide sufficient detail to enable replication of the work. If the approval of a research ethics committee was necessary for the work to be undertaken, this should be acknowledged and the name of the institutional committee cited.
- Results; A clear and concise report of the findings of the work.
- Discussion; This section should be analytical and reflective. It should consider the implications of the results and make reference to the existing knowledge base where appropriate. It should not repeat the results. A combined Results and Discussion section is acceptable where this offers greater clarity and/or brevity.
- Conclusion; This section is brief statement of the findings and implications and suggestions for further work.
A theoretical paper is likely to use headings that will guide the reader through the paper. However, it will include:
- Introduction; this should provide sufficient background to the reader to understand the context of the paper and the need for examination of the theory. The introduction should state the aims and objectives of the paper.
- Body of text using appropriate headings; This should provide a discussion of the theory with reference to the extant literature.
- Conclusion; This section is a brief statement of the findings and implications and suggestions for further work.
Appendices should only be used where it is absolutely necessary.
Tables & Figures
Figures and tables should serve to supplement-not duplicate-the text.
Tables and figures should not be positioned in the text. Instead indicate the approximate position at which they are to be inserted and provide the tables and figures at the end of the document or as a separate document.
Colour plates will not be reproduced. Black and white plates may be included after discussion with and at the discretion of the Editor.
Tables and figures should be numbered consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text. Readers should be referred to tables and figures. A concise and informative caption should be provided with each.
The correct alignment of data within table columns will depend on the type of data contained in the table and the specific requirements of the subject area. Generally, all whole figures should be right-aligned, and all decimals should be aligned to the decimal point. Please avoid using the space bar to align data within tables. Use tabs or paragraph alignment instead.
Footnotes
Footnotes should be used sparingly.
Acknowledgements
Authors should, where appropriate, acknowledge sources of funding for the work reported. Acknowledgements should be provided under an "Acknowledgements" heading at the end of the text, before the bibliography.
Citing the work of others
To simplify the referencing of work you may choose to use commercial reference management software such as EndNote, Refworks, ProCite or similar. There is also open source reference management software available. Journal of Health & Safety Research & Practice uses the author-date system (APA) for citations and the reference list. This system identifies the source briefly (author surname and publication date) at the relevant point in the text. Where there are several references to one work within a paragraph, it is not necessary to repeat the year of publication. Citations for different works within the same parentheses should be listed alphabetically and separated by a semi-colon.
Health and safety legislative requirements are detailed in the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations (Victoria, 2007). Research shows that small businesses have greater difficulty meeting Health and Safety requirements than do larger businesses (Jones, 1997; Lamm, 1999). In her review of the literature relating to small businesses Lamm (1999) found...
Where a paper being cited has more than three authors, the first author should be cited and followed by "et al" and all authors listed in the bibliography.
These brief text citations act as pointers to the full bibliographical details given in an alphabetically arranged list of references at the end of the body of text. Note that every entry in the List of References must have appeared as a cited source in the text and, conversely, all in-text citations must be included in the reference list.
Reference lists should detail journal articles cited in the body of text as follows:
Ashford, A., & Zwetsloot, G. (2000). Encouraging inherently safer production in European firms: a report from the field. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 78, 123-144
Reference lists should detail reports cited in the body of text as follows:
Briggs, D., & Crumbie, N. (2000). Characteristics of people working with chemical products in small firms (Contract Research Report 278/2000). Sheffield: HSE.
Lamm, F. (1999). Occupational Health and Safety in Australian Small Business: What can be done to reduce the lack of awareness and raise the level of compliance in Australian small business? (Vol. 41). Sydney: Industrial Relations Research Centre
Reference lists should detail books cited in the body of text as follows:
Gunningham, N., & Johnstone, R. (1999). Regulating Workplace Safety: System and Sanctions. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Reference lists should detail book sections cited in the body of text as follows:
Else, D. (1981). Personal Protection. In R. S. F. Schilling (Ed.), Occupational Health Practice (2nd ed.). London: Butterworths
Reference lists should detail statutes cited in the body of text as follows:
Victoria. (2007). Occupational Health and Safety Regulations. Melbourne: Anstat Pty Ltd
Quotations should be used sparingly. The length of the quoted matter will determine whether it is run-in (integrated into the text) or set-off (set apart from the rest of the text). Run-in quoted matter should be surrounded by quotation marks and set in the same typeface and type size as the body text:
Roberts (2003, p. 21) refers to it as ‘structuration gone mad', but his bias is well known.
Set-off quoted matter-also known as block quotations, excerpts, or extracts- should be set in the same typeface as the body text but two points smaller in size. It should be indented on the left side (and right side, if desired) to distinguish it from the body text. Paragraphing should follow that of the original. Surrounding quotation marks are not required. Set off any quoted matter that is longer than four lines:
This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text.
"This is an example of set-off quotation. This is an example of set-off quotation. This is an example of set-off quotation. This is an example of set-off quotation. This is an example of set-off quotation. This is an example of set-off quotation. This is an example of setoff quotation. This is an example of set-off quotation."
This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text. This is the body text.
Place full stops and commas inside the quotation marks only if they are part of the quoted matter.
Submission
Manuscripts should be saved in MS Word format before submission. Text should be presented in single-column format with double spacing between lines. The automatic hyphenation function should not be used.
Authors should use plain English and set word processor spelling checker to "English (Australian)". Language should be gender neutral where possible. Authors should utilise the spelling-check and grammar-check functions of their word processor before submission of their manuscript.
Manuscripts should be submitted as an attachment to an email addressed to publications@sia.org.au
Review
An initial manuscript review will be undertaken within 10 working days of receipt and the author notified accordingly. If accepted for peer-review, this will be completed within 10 weeks of receipt and the author notified accordingly.
Upon acceptance of a manuscript for publication, the corresponding author will be asked to sign a release and assign the copyright for the article in published form to the Safety Institute of Australia.
Appeal
If an author disagrees with the outcome of the review process, they may invoke the Journal of Health & Safety Research & Practice appeals process. This is documented as a SIA policy document.