Call for Papers to the Journal of Global Social Work Practice

The peer reviewed, biannual online Journal of Global Social Work Practice (JGSWP) is a forum for the publication, dissemination, and discussion of all aspects of developing a common base of global social work practice.

Scholars, practitioners, and students are invited to submit their manuscripts for publication in JGSWP's seventh issue.

The journal welcomes submissions from all areas of global social work practice. Examples of desirable submissions include (but are not limited to) the following areas:

  • Community development/macro practice
  • Immigration/resettlement
  • Empowerment practice
  • Grass roots organizing
  • Administration/international program evaluation
  • Micro work in international social work practice
  • International group work practice
  • Technology and global social work practice
  • Micro finance/economic development
  • Human trafficking prevention

The Journal of Global Social Work Practice aims to:

  • Establish a connection among international social workers in countries worldwide.
  • Ensure appropriate conditions for human growth and development, human rights, social justice, and social action through sustainable development around the world, applied at all levels of practice and government, across geopolitical borders, and at all levels of social and economic organizations.
  • Discuss the application of the IFSW Code of Ethics to all levels of international social work practice.

Manuscript Guidelines
Ten specific types of manuscripts will be published in the Journal of Global Social Work Practice:
1. Articles
2. Shorter contributions
3. Case studies
4. Book reviews
5. News
6. Letter to the editor
7. Practice notes
8. Conference updates
9. A Discussion of a "Common Base of Global Social Work Practice"
10. Faculty/student exchange programs

Format
Authors should review the electronic publication format appendix in the APA Style Guide, which is online at http://www.apastyle.org/ . Manuscripts must be written in English, double-spaced, using 12-point Courier or Times New Roman font. An abstract of 100-150 words must be included on the second page of the manuscript, after the title page. For more information on how to prepare articles for publication, visit the journal's Web site at http://www.globalsocialwork.org and click on "Author Guidelines."

Submission:
Manuscripts should be submitted via email using Microsoft Word to:

Jan A. Rodgers, MSW, LCSW, BCD, MLIS
Editor-in-Chief
globalsocialworkpractice@gmail.com
Journal of Global Social Work Practice

Guidelines for Submission to the Journal of Global Social Work Practice

We invite articles on any topic concerning global social work practice throughout the world. The journal aims to provide exemplars in international social work practice at all levels of practice. The journal seeks to give social workers around the world an opportunity to tell their story in how they provide change to individuals, groups, communities, villages and nations. Scholars, practitioners, and graduate students are invited to submit their manuscripts for publications. The journal is dedicated to international social workers and social work agencies, government organizations and nongovernmental organizations to encourage mutual scholarly exchanges about practice methods, skills building, theoretical framework development, tactics and techniques. The journal also offers opportunity to discuss the application of the IFSW Code of Ethics to all levels of international social work practice. Although nearly all contributors are skilled writers, your attention to the following guidelines will help the Journal of Global Social Work Practice staff spend less time editing your work and ensure that your message is communicated clearly to readers.

  1. All readers will better understand your message through simple explanations and less complex sentences. Shorter sentences and paragraphs are best suited to electronic publications. Refer to the Writing Tips section for further information on creating concise text for a diverse international audience.

  2. Use consistency in style and format. The specified guidelines for style as well as abstract, citation, reference, and submission formats create a smoother editorial process for the Journal of Global Social Work Practice staff members. Consistency in these elements also minimizes readers' confusion about the treatment of various elements. (Refer to Style Guidelines, Citation Format, Reference Format, and Abstract Format for further information.)

  3. The entire document should be accurately typed and double-spaced. All pages should be numbered, starting with the title page. Use only a basic, widely available font like Courier or Times New Roman, 12 point. Do not justify or break words at the right margin.

  4. Each manuscript should contain the following elements:
    • A title
    • An abstract
    • Keywords: give three to four keywords
    • Names of authors and institution affiliations (include e-mail addresses)
    • Brief biographical statement identified with the heading "About the Author"
    • Clearly labeled contents that include an introduction, discussion, and conclusion
    • Internal citations
    • Acknowledgments
    • Notes (if any)
    • References
    • Pictures, when appropriate, are acceptable

  5. Submit one complete copy of your manuscript as an e-mail attachment to globalsocialworkpractice@gmail.com. We accept Microsoft Word, HTML, PDF, or plain text formats. If submitting your manuscript as a PDF file, send another copy of the manuscript as plain or ASCII text with all of the figures attached as separate, clearly labeled .GIF or .JPG files. If submitting your manuscript in HTML format, please keep the code as simple as possible.

  6. Material of any length will be considered. In certain cases, articles may be edited into "research summaries" or divided into parts over more than one issue. This will be done only with the author's permission, however.

  7. Material submitted should not have been previously published in this form, nor should it be under consideration for publication elsewhere, unless by specific agreement with the editor of the Journal of Global Social Work Practice. If the material has been previously published in some other form (as a conference paper, for example), that information should be specified after the title on the first page.

  8. Unsolicited book reviews will not be accepted. Book reviews are initiated directly by the Editor, who asks a specific person to review a particular book.

  9. Place the title of the paper at the top of the first page of the manuscript. Follow the title by the full name of all authors, their professional titles or positions, institutional affiliations, and e-mail addresses. If one author should function as the point of contact for questions or comments, please indicate this with the phrase "direct comments to" followed by the author's e-mail address. Do not include the author(s) name anywhere else in the document, except the title page. This way, anonymity can be maintained when your manuscript is reviewed by our editorial staff. Title and author information should appear on the first page as follows:

    Title
    Author
    Professional Title/Position
    Institutional Affiliation(s)
    E-mail Address(es)
    Direct comments to:
    E-mail address

  10. Illustrations, figures, and tables should be included as separate .GIF or .JPG files, named simply as figure1.gif, figure2.gif, etc. They should be embedded in their proper place in the document with captions or marked in the manuscript in this fashion: Insert figure1.gif here, caption. Additional data, illustrations, commentary, and complicated or long tables should be placed in consecutively numbered appendices at the end of the manuscript.

  11. Notes in the manuscript should be consecutively numbered and collected at the end of the paper after the conclusion and before the References section.

Abstract
All papers submitted to Journal of Global Social Work Practice for consideration must include an abstract, or a brief summary of the paper's fundamental findings and conclusions. A well-written abstract will pique the interest of readers by succinctly presenting the facts and ideas that build a paper. Follow these guidelines:

  • Place the abstract before the formal contents of the paper and after the title and author information.
  • Limit the abstract to between three and five sentences of 100-150 words on the second page of the manuscript. .
  • State the main ideas of the paper only, avoiding unnecessary details and explanations that are addressed in the body of the paper.
  • Do not include references or notes in the abstract.
  • Use proper grammar, punctuation, and English language conventions.

References Format
Manuscripts should be prepared using the current edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). Because the Journal of Global Social Work Practice is an online journal, authors should review the electronic publication format appendix in the APA Style Guide, which is online at http://www.apastyle.org/ Additional APA citation resources can be found at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ If you have any questions concerning reference format, send an email to globalsocialworkpractice@gmail.com.

Editorial Process
The flow of a typical article, from author to publication is as follows:

  1. An author is contacted by an editor to write an article or an author submits an article to the editors.
  2. The Editorial Office reviews the article.
  3. The author is asked to complete any revisions.
  4. The revised paper is reviewed and accepted for publication.
  5. The article is submitted to the production team.
  6. The production team performs editing, markup, and layout design.
  7. A draft version is prepared.
  8. Authors, editors and production staff review the contents of the draft.
  9. Authors, editors and production staff make corrections as necessary.
  10. The final approved article is published to the Journal of Global Social Work Practice Website.

Copyright
Authors submitting a paper to the Journal of Global Social Work Practice automatically agree to assign a limited license to the Journal of Global Social Work Practice if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication. This license allows the Journal of Global Social Work Practice to publish a manuscript in a given issue.

Articles published in the Journal of Global Social Work Practice are protected by copyright, which is retained by individual authors. Authors control translation and reproduction rights to their works as published in the Journal of Global Social Work Practice.

The Journal of Global Social Work Practice allows authors to attach a Creative Commons copyright license to his or her work, a license in which the author determines how his or her work can be used. For more information on the types of licenses available, visit www.creativecommons.org.

Authors submitting a paper to the Journal of Global Social Work Practice do so with the understanding that Internet publishing is both an opportunity and a challenge. In this environment, authors and publishers do not always have the means to protect against unauthorized copying or editing of copyright-protected works.

The Journal of Global Social Work Practice is a copyrighted product, and all rights are reserved worldwide. Permissions to use any materials appearing in the Journal of Global Social Work Practice should be directed to globalsocialworkpractice@gmail.com.

Downloads of specific portions of the Journal of Global Social Work Practice articles are permitted for personal use only, not for commercial use or resale. Educational uses of the Journal of Global Social Work Practice are permitted with permission of the authors of specific works appearing in Journal of Global Social Work Practice.

Privacy
The Journal of Global Social Work Practice respects the privacy of both its readers and its contributors. To that end, the Journal of Global Social Work Practice does not collect in its logs or other server tools the exact identities of its readers. The Journal of Global Social Work Practice does not require its readers to sign in or to secure a unique ID or password. The Journal of Global Social Work Practice does not use cookies.

The Journal of Global Social Work Practice collects general information in its logs on the origins of users at the highest domain levels. Usage patterns are tracked in the Journal of Global Social Work Practice to assist editors in making decisions about future content. In addition, this information is used for research on usage patterns to improve the site over time.

E-mail addresses used by the Journal of Global Social Work Practice to notify readers of new issues as they appear are not disclosed to third parties.

Please direct any questions about Journal of Global Social Work Practice privacy policy to globalsocialworkpractice@gmail.com.

Writing Tips
Consider the following tips for creating concise text:

Be Specific
Be specific about all references to time, quantity, etc.
Instead of using currently or recently, specify last spring. Often when now and currently are implied, these words can be deleted without loss of meaning.
Instead of saying several units were added, give a number or a rough estimate, such as almost 100.

Use Shorter Words
Choose short, familiar words whenever possible.
When more than 15 percent of your words (except verbs and proper nouns) are three or more syllables, readers work too hard to understand your message. To reduce larger words, consider these tips:
Use about instead of approximately; use rather than utilize. Convert nouns ending in -ion into verbs.
Use "We considered . . ." instead of "We took into consideration . . . ."

Delete Extra Words
Making your point without extraneous words helps readers clearly understand your message.
Evaluate every "that" in your text. Often "that" can be deleted without loss of meaning.
Avoid starting sentences with "In order to . . . ." By deleting the words "in order," you lose no meaning.
Rarely is the word "every" needed. Consider deleting it or choosing another word. Very good can be excellent, and very important can be key.

Use Shorter Sentences
Keep at least 75 percent of your sentences an average length of 10-20 words. If a sentence is longer than three typed lines, consider shortening it.

Use Shorter Paragraphs
If a paragraph is more than five typed lines, consider shortening it.

Avoid Clichés & Jargon
Choose original ways of writing your message, avoiding well-known phrases such as, When push comes to shove and By the same token. These clichés and well-worn phrases will bore your readers.
Avoid the use of jargon whenever possible. This type of language or terminology will serve only to confuse readers who may be unfamiliar with your field of study.

Watch Use of "It"
Avoid starting a sentence or clause with It unless the pronoun has a clear antecedent.

Watch Use of "There"
Avoid starting sentences with There to prevent the use of "empty" introductory language.

Use Strong Verbs
Use "strong" verbs whenever possible. Forms of the verb to be (e.g. am, is, are, was, were) do not maintain readers' interest.
Instead of saying, "The meeting was productive," consider, "The meeting generated good ideas for . . . ."

Favor the Active Voice
Favor the active voice over the passive voice to avoid vagueness unless the action is more important than the doer of the action.
Use of the imperative is a good technique for attracting readers and minimizing the use of passive voice constructions.

Ask "So what?"
After you've written your text, evaluate every sentence by asking yourself, Why is this particular piece of information important to my readers?
If you cannot answer the question adequately about a sentence, consider deleting it.

Style Guidelines
For general Internet writing style and usage, authors are encouraged to consult Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age, edited by Constance Hale (San Francisco: HardWired, 1996).
For the Journal of Global Social Work Practice editorial purposes please adhere to these style guidelines when referencing the following:

Acronyms
Acronyms and abbreviations should be spelled out the first time they are used. Any that are in languages other than English should be spelled out in the original language and in English.
For example, state World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), allowing the use of WIPO later in the manuscript.

Dates
Dates should appear in date-month-year format, 30 Nov 2004.

Electronic Mail
Refer to electronic mail as e-mail or E-mail, but not email or Email.

Internet
The Internet should be called the Internet, not the internet, the net, the Net, or the 'Net.

Languages
Correct diacritical markings are essential in all languages that have them.

Numbers
The numbers zero through nine should be spelled out except when referring to data or measurements, such as "The figure measures 3 pixels by 2 pixels ...."
All whole numbers above nine should appear as Arabic numerals, such as 10, 11, 12,....
Ordinal numbers should be spelled out, as in twentieth.
A number at the start of a sentence should be spelled out, as in "Fourteen search engines were examined .... "

Percentages
Write percent, not %.

Person
Favor the use of the second-person pronoun, you, over the indefinite third-person singular pronoun, one.
Do not assume that the pronoun for a third-person singular noun is him or he. To avoid awkward constructions like he/she, revise sentences.

Spelling (American vs. British)
It is acceptable for writers to use the British spelling or American spelling of words that appear differently in both, such as favour-favor or catalogue-catalog. The author's spelling will be retained in the published version.

Tables & Figures
Capitalize all references to your own tables and figures, such as "see Figure 1" or "see Table 2 below".
Always spell out the words Figure or Table in reference to illustrations in the course of the paper.
Use lower case for references to figures or tables in cited literature, such as (Kokomo, 1999, figure 8) or (Dolton, 1968, table 5).

Verb Tense
Choose a verb tense and maintain its use throughout the document. Carefully consider use of the future tense, as often it is unnecessary.
In discussions of the literature, use the past tense, as in "Valauskas (1990) remarked that ...."

World Wide Web
Use the Web or the World Wide Web, but not the web.

Citation Format
Citations in the course of the manuscript should appear in the following ways:

General Format
The last name of the author of a cited work should appear in the paper, followed by the year of publication of the book, paper, report, or document, as in (Jones, 1990).
If there are several references to authors with the same surname, initials should be used to differentiate between the authors, as in (C. Jones, 1990; D. Jones, 1985).

Two Authors
For references containing two authors, list the authors in order of their appearance in the original publication, followed by date of publication, as in (Smith and Jones, 1986).

Three or More Authors
If a reference contains three or more authors, the citation should appear as (Rodgers et al., 1980).

Publications in Press
Cite publications in press (i.e. those documents accepted for publication but not yet published) as (Rivers, in press).

Direct Quotations
Cite direct quotations as (Merrell, 1994, p. 98).

Indirect Quotations
A citation can refer to text written by one author embedded in the text of a book or paper written by another author, such as (Ransmayr in Rothenberg, 1995).

Multiple Quotations
Multiple citations can appear in whatever order the author deems relevant, such as (Shane and Cushing, 1991; Chalmers, 1990; Kendall and Wells, 1992).

Online Resources
To assist you with the self-editing process, the Journal of Global Social Work Practice has compiled the following list of online resources on grammar and style. You may wish to consult these resources prior to submitting your manuscript for consideration.

Webgrammar
http://www.webgrammar.com/grammarbasics.html
This site offers advice and guidance for writers at all levels of scholarship as well as a portal to other sources of help for writers.

The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation
http://www.grammarbook.com
This site is online companion to the print version of Jane Straus's The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation, an excellent resource for examining the rules of punctuation.

Common Errors in English
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html
Written by Paul Brians, Professor of English at Washington State University, this informational page examines the most common errors in the English language. While the site focuses on the proper use of American English, it also offers valuable tips for anyone writing in English.