Instructions for Authors

Family Process Electronic Editorial Office To submit or review a paper, go to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com:80/fp

The NIH Public Access Policy is also listed below.

Submission of Manuscripts

All submissions are electronic. Authors should submit manuscripts to the Family Process submissions website (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/fp). By accessing this website you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of files. For assistance, contact Scholar One technical support at 888-503-1050 (US based number) or 434-964-4100, or via email at mcsupport@thomson.com.

Electronic manuscripts must be double spaced in 12 point font throughout, including the abstract and references with page numbering consecutively with the title page as page one, abstract, text, references, and visuals. The submission form requires the name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, and FAX number of all authors including the corresponding author.

All correspondence, including Editor's decision and request for revisions, will be by email. Manuscripts must be in English and submitted exclusively to Family Process. If accepted, papers become copyright of the Family Process Institute. Authors must give signed consent for publication by submitting a Copyright Assignment Form, but permission to use material elsewhere (e.g., in review articles) will normally be granted on request.

General Requirements:

In a cover letter, please include the word count of the article, and the address, phone number, and if possible, fax and e-mail address of the principle author. Authors will be advised of the decision about their manuscripts as rapidly as possible. Manuscripts are received with the understanding that they are not being submitted simultaneously to another publication.

Authors are requested to prepare their articles in conformity to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (refer to previous issues for reference). Papers should be written clearly and concisely, using gender-neutral language and jargon-free prose. Brevity is also desirable. Manuscripts should not exceed 6,000 words (including tables and references). All case reports should protect patient confidentiality.

Authors:

Because Family Process uses a blind review system. The authors' names should not be included on manuscript pages. Identifying information for each author, including professional degree/title, and name and location of the principal institutional affiliation, along with the complete mailing address of the principal author, should be included in the online submission. Upon acceptance, the principal author will receive a copyright transfer form and an off-print order form. These must be returned immediately upon receipt. In addition to the principal author's address, also include the address for all other authors to receive complimentary copies of the issue.

Acknowledgements:

Any listing of grant support or special appreciation that the authors wish to include should be included on the cover page. If the article is accepted for publication, this information will appear in another footnote on page 1.

Opening Summary:

For full-length articles, the author should include an abstract of approximately 200-250 words. Research articles should use the standard categories of introduction, methods, results and discussion. In articles describing theory, training or clinical interventions, the abstract should make it possible for the reader to have a brief overview of all relevant aspects of the work, including the intent, scope, general procedures, and principal conclusions. For brief reports, these summaries should be similar in content, but limited to 100 words.

References:

An important responsibility of the author is the preparation of a correct reference list, double spaced and located at the end of the article. References should be checked against original sources.

References in Text:

First citation may include up to 4 names (NB: et al. = "and others"); more than 4, cite first 3, et al., date. Subsequent citations: include dual authors; more than 2, cite first surname et al., date. Serial listings: alphabetize by surname of first author.

Reference List: Alphabetize by surname; list all authors; spell out journal names: abbreviations for journals and shortcuts (ibid., op. Cit.) are not acceptable. (See following examples.)

Articles: Ackerman, N.W.(1971). The growing edge of family therapy. Family Process 10:143-156.//Smith, N., Smith, A., & Jones, P. (1968)….

Chapters: Goldstein, M.J., & Strachan, A.M. (1987). The family and schizophrenia (pp. 481-509). In T. Jacob (ed.), Family interaction and psychopathology: Theories, methods, and findings. New York: Plenum Press.

Edited Books: Wynne, L.C., McDaniel, S.H., & Weber, T.T. (eds.). (1986). Systems consultation: A new perspective for family therapy. New York: Guilford Press.

Quotations: Page number(s) must be provided.

Footnotes: A superior number at the appropriate place in the text should indicate the appearance of a footnote. The numbered list of footnotes, typed double space, should be located after the reference listing.

Headings: The journal uses a bi-column format; headings must be short. Within the text, three levels of headings are used: major heads are centered, boldface capitals, thus:

METHOD

Major subheads are flushed left, boldface, with initial capitals, thus:

Family Constellation

Minor subheads are flushed left, italicized, with initial capitals, thus:

Case Example

Tables: Use a separate sheet of paper for each table.

Figures: The author must supply High-contrast glossy prints or camera-ready copies; legends are typed on a separate page. See current issues of the Journal for models. Indicate in the text where tables/figures are to be placed, thus: /Table (Figure) 1 above here/

Copy Editing, Proofs, and Off-print/Reprint Orders:

After an article has been accepted for publication, it is copy-edited for literary style, conformity to the style of this journal, clarity of presentation, coherence, punctuation, standard usage of terms, spelling, etc. After the article is typeset authors may be charged for any changes they wish to make. The author will receive page-proofs from the printer, together with an Off-Print/Reprint order form that must be returned within 10 days of receipt.

Occasionally, and with the author's permission, an article that has been accepted will be followed by an invited commentary to which the author may submit a rejoinder. The author's unwillingness to participate in this process will in no way affect the publication of an accepted article.

Consejos para escribir para Family Process (FP)

1. En muchas ocasiones se escribe en colaboración con otras personas. Busque gente con quien compartir sus ideas regularmente. Organice un pequeño grupo, reúnanse una vez por semana y escriban juntos. Establezcan fechas límite para tener terminadas pequeñas tareas de escritura.

2. Busque coautores y mentores. Hágales varias preguntas sobre su propio proceso de creación de textos, incluso preguntas que le puedan parecer insignificantes o de poca importancia.

3. Tenga en cuenta que tendrá que hacer varios borradores. La mayoría de la gente hace un mínimo de 5 ó 6 para cada artículo, y hay muchas personas que hacen muchos más. Asúmalo de forma positiva como parte del proceso de aprendizaje, e interésese por sus nuevas ideas y modos de expresarse.

4. Pidale a alguien que no esté familiarizado con el tema sobre el que está escribiendo que lea su artículo, para comprobar la claridad de su expresión. Si el inglés no es su primera lengua, pídaselo a un hablante nativo de inglés (Family Process [FP] está actualmente traduciendo resúmenes de los artículos al español y al chino mandarín para la página web; sin embargo, desafortunadamente, no traducimos los artículos a otras lenguas). Si lo necesita, contrate a un editor.

5. Amplíe y mejore las ideas en el campo de los sistemas familiares. ¿Qué tiene de particular el trabajo clínico y/o la investigación de terapia familiar que está realizando, especialmente en su contexto político y cultural? Este campo necesita completarse con la experiencia de la gente que trabaja en países de Latino-América, Medio Oriente, África y Asia. Los colegas que trabajan en estos países no suelen publicar en Family Process, aunque es de alcance internacional. Visite nuestra página: www.familyprocess.org

6. Encuentre el modo de desarrollar y organizar su artículo que mejor le funcione. Para algunas personas, escribir libremente lo que se les ocurre les ayuda a organizar sus ideas. Otras prefieren el método tradicional de señalar los puntos claves de su artículo. Explore y encuentre el método que le resulte más cómodo.

7. Eche un vistazo a las publicaciones de Family Process para ver los tipos de encabezamientos que usa la gente en los artículos de clínica, investigación u opinión, y siga ese mismo formato.

8. Lea unos cuantos artículos de FP. Según vaya leyendo, piense en cómo encaja el tema que le interesa con la publicación en sí.

9. Escribir es un proceso de exploración. A menudo, hasta que no llegamos al final de nuestro trabajo, no descubrimos la esencia de nuestro artículo. Organícelo y enfóquelo de nuevo una vez que tenga un borrador completo.

10. Si tiene acceso a un ordenador, utilice los correctores de ortografía y gramática para el inglés de USA. A nuestros revisores les cuesta entender un artículo si hay errores ortográficos o gramaticales.

11. Descárgue el documento “Instructions for Authors” de la página web de FP (la dirección aparece más arriba), y siga las instrucciones paso a paso. Pídale a un mentor su ayuda para hacerlo.

12. Siempre descubrimos cosas nuevas mientras traducimos, revisamos y entregamos por segunda vez un artículo. De hecho, muy pocos son publicados sin ser revisados primero. Puede ser de ayuda considerar que ser revisado o rechazado es parte del proceso de aprendizaje. Las observaciones de los revisores se centran en los cambios que pueden hacerse en un artículo para darle más fuerza y ayudar a que sea publicado.

Janine Roberts, editora asociada de Family Process para Internacional Scholarship. Correo electrónico: janine@educ.umass.edu

THE NIH PUBLIC ACCESS POLICY

The NIH Public Access Policy implements Division G, Title II, Section 218 of PL 110-161 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2008). The law states:

The Director of the National Institutes of Health shall require that all investigators funded by the NIH submit or have submitted for them to the National Library of Medicine's PubMed Central an electronic version of their final, peer-reviewed manuscripts upon acceptance for publication, to be made publicy available no later than 12 months after the offical date of publication: Provided, That the NIH shall implement the public access policy in a manner consistent with copyright law.

You are not required to submit manuscripts for work that was funded by grants or awards given prior to NIH Fiscal Year (FY) 2008--which began October 2007--although you may do so if you choose and if you own rights to the material. Compliance is connected to current NIH funding as of FY2008, and the date of acceptance of the publication.

Here are the requirements for periods covered by the mandate:

Manuscript generated by NIH FY2008 (or after) grant and accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008

Manuscript generated by a continuing NIH grant that is active in FY 2008 (or after) and accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008

Manuscript generated by NIH contract awarded after April 7, 2008

If you are publishing a manuscript based on NIH-grant-funded data collected during the mandated period you must comply, even if the publication is made long after the grant has expired.