When the Editors send manuscripts for external review, they are double-blind reviewed. Thus, please ensure that no authors names are given on the first page of the manuscript and that author names have been taken out of the "File-Properties" screen in Word.
All manuscripts should be double-spaced. Margins should be one inch (2.5cm) at the top, bottom and sides of the page. Font size should be 12 point or larger. We ask that submissions be limited to 4000 words of text and references, unless an exception has been granted based on discussion with the Editors in advance of submission. This recommended word count refers to the entire content of the article, including abstract and references. Articles with heavy use of figures and/or tables should be correspondingly shorter to compensate for these. Please contact the Editors at jphp@umb.edu. We give preference to shorter pieces.
Title page
The title page should list the title of the article and suggestions for a short running title of no more than 40 characters (including spaces). Also include the authors names, affiliations and contact details (including email address) for the corresponding author.
Abstract
Authors are asked to supply an unstructured abstract of no more than 150 words. Abstracts should be informative for non-specialists.
Please be sure that the abstract page does not contain any information identifying the author(s). Also, please take care to create a title and an abstract that are direct and ‘reader-friendly’.
Keywords
Include up to six keywords that describe your paper for indexing and for web searches of your manuscript.
Active not Passive Voice.
Our readers want to know and therefore, JPHP style requires that authors, thoughout the article, including the abstract, tell who has made decisions or taken actions by using the active voice (‘The research team decided’ or ‘The Department of Health implemented…’), and avoiding the passive voice (‘It was decided…’ or ‘The policy was implemented…’). Be sure to state by whom any action was taken or decision made.
Text
The introduction should state clearly the objective of the paper as well as the context of the research or analysis. A literature review should inform readers where the JPHP author's new material fits in the evolution of the topic being addressed. The conclusion should summarize key findings and state their importance to the field, including implications for policy or future research.
Endnotes must provide the references crucial for placing the new contribution in the field, but should not include any that are not essential for that purpose. All endnotes and references should be placed at the end of the manuscript in endnotes in the form specified below. Substantive comments, including references to “personal communications” or other items that do not fit within the reference style noted below should be integrated within the text. No substantive information should be included in the references or as independent endnotes. JPHP does not use footnotes for references or for substantive notes.
Conflict of Interest Statement
All submissions to JPHP must include a conflict of interest statement. A conflict of interest exists whenever an author has a financial or personal relationship with a third party whose interests could be positively or negatively influenced by the article’s content. This should be added on the Title Page that is separate from the manuscript file. If no conflict of interest exists for all participating authors, the corresponding author should use the following wording: On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Spelling
Use either US or UK spellings consistently throughout. For UK spellings, take as a guide the new edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary and the Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors; Websters Collegiate for US spellings. UK spellings will therefore prefer '-ize' to '-ise', as a verb ending (e.g. realize, specialize, recognize, etc.).
