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Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
  • Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines below.
  • If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, remove all Document Properties that have any identifying information.

Author Guidelines

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

REGISTER AS AN “AUTHOR”

To submit your reflection, you need to Register on the Reflections home page (www.rnoph.org) and follow the email instructions to activate your account.

After registering, login and hover over your username in the top, right corner of the home page, “View Profile,” and complete the details requested in the various tabs. Most importantly, click “Author” in the “Roles” tab so the “make a submission” link will be available under the “Submissions” tab on the home page when you are logged in.

FOR NARRATIVE AUTHORS

Reflections welcomes the following types of narratives:

  • A first-hand account of one or more authors’ experiences
  • An interview that highlights another person’s experiences
  • A review of one or more books in which their relevancy for the helping professions are integrated into a narrative of the author’s experiences

Guidelines for Writing a Successful Narrative

These guidelines will be used by reviewers to evaluate your manuscript:

  • Narrative: The author conveys interpersonal interactions, witnessed events, and felt experiences in a narrative format and is clear about the author(s)’ role (e.g. practitioner, recipient of service, teacher, field instructor, student, researcher, other).
  • Story: The author places the narrative within the context of a well-told story that helps readers discover new ways of thinking about the personal, the professional, and the political in our lives.
  • Portrayals: The author roots the narrative in the rich and detailed portrayal of key moments, examples, and vignettes that fully portray the interaction taking place between and among the people involved.
  • Context: The author places the reflection within an historical context, focusing on the present, and considering the implications of the narrative for the future.
  • References: The author uses references that might draw connections between the content and the published literature or that might assist the reader in understanding conceptual or theoretical conclusions about the nature of professional practice.
  • Conclusions: The author draws conclusions about the need for qualitative or quantitative research related to the issues arising from the narrative.

As you finalize your manuscript, use these guidelines to assess readiness for submission.

Prepare Your Manuscript

It may be helpful to look at articles in a published issue to use as examples of formatting. See, in particular, Kanary (2014) for more information about narrative style.

De-identify your manuscript. For example, use pseudonyms for persons and organizations that would identify you as author, and if you cite yourself, use Author instead of your name.

Manuscript length may vary from 1,200 to up to 8,000 words.

Submit as a Word file, single-space, flush-left (non-justified) with a blank line between paragraphs.

Use 13-point Times Roman font.

On the first page, center and bold your Title.

Skip one line and put Abstract flush-left, followed by an abstract not to exceed 250 words.

Skip one line and put Keywords, followed by 4-5 keywords (separated by commas) that do not appear in your title.

Skip one line and begin your narrative.

Use APA 7 style for references but do not use headers, footers or page numbers.

Bold and center primary headings; bold and flush-left subheadings.

Avoid using footnotes or endnotes.

FOR POETS, ARTISTS & PHOTOGRAPHERS

Reflections authors and readers familiar with the mission of the journal are welcome to submit poetry, artwork, and photography that fit with the journal’s purpose. We welcome creative forms of expression that engage helping professionals in poetic and visual ways.

Guidelines for art, poetry, and photography submissions

  • Is original imaginative work, not yet published in a refereed journal
  • Conveys a theme relevant to the helping professions
  • Portrays interpersonal interactions, witnessed events, or felt experiences in a creative format
  • Sparks engagement, reflection, and meaning-making
  • Contains a narrative paragraph that provides the reader with an understanding of what inspired the poet/artist/photographer to produce this creative expression

Prepare Your Submission

 In your contextual narrative:

  • Be sure there is no identifying information such as your name or the name of someone featured in your expressive work.
  • At the beginning of your narrative, center and bold your Title.
  • Skip one line and begin your contextual paragraph that introduces your submission
  • If you have references in your paragraph, use APA 7 style, but do not use headers, footers or page numbers.
  • Avoid using footnotes or endnotes.

For poetry, submit as a Word file, single-space, flush-left (non-justified) with a blank line between your contextual paragraph and the poem. 

For photography, submit a Word File in which your photograph has been embedded immediately following your contextual paragraph.

Artwork could include drawings, paintings, sculpture, collage, or any form of art that can be photographed and embedded in a Word File along with your contextual paragraph.

FOR ALL SUBMISSIONS

Submit Your Manuscript

From the Reflections home page, click the “Submissions” tab, click “make a new submission,” and follow the prompts.

Track Your Manuscript Through the Review Process

Once submitted, you will receive an automatically generated message from the Editor-in-Chief acknowledging receipt of your manuscript.

The editors will assess your manuscript to be sure it is ready to be sent out for review.

Once assessed as ready for review, your manuscript will be sent out for double-blind peer-review.

Publication decisions will take approximately three to four months. 

Once you have registered and submitted your reflection, you can login to track your manuscript’s status from your “Dashboard” (accessible by hovering over your username in the top, right corner of the home page) or by clicking “view your pending submissions" (under “Submissions” on the home page).

If you have a question, use the “Add Discussion” link in your submission record to communicate with the Editor of the Section to which you have submitted. If you need further assistance, contact the Editorial Leadership Team at reflectionseditorialteam@gmail.com.

Practice

This is a permanent section. Submissions to this section comply with the following overview.

Practice Section (Dr. Jon Christopher Hall, Editor): The process of being a practitioner or becoming a recipient of service can stimulate valuable narratives. For example, these narratives give voice to practitioners who work and advocate with individuals, couples, families, groups, organizations and communities; participate in social justice and civic engagement work; or become recipients of service in the very systems in which they have practiced.

All articles published in this section are peer-reviewed.

Field Education

This is a permanent section.  Submissions to this section comply with the following overview.

Field Education (Dr. Beth Lewis, Editor): The process of field advisement and field instruction, as well as the experience of being a student in a practicum, can stimulate valuable narratives. For example, consider building narratives around insights gained from process recordings and verbatims or from supervisory relationships or other field experiences in which co-learning occurred.

All articles published in this section are peer reviewed.

Research

This is a permanent section. Submissions to this section comply with the following overview.

Research Section (Dr. Monica Leisey, Editor): Although Reflections does not publish research results or literature reviews, the journal has a long history of publishing narratives of the personal and/or interpersonal aspects of the research process. Some examples of research narratives could be sharing the author's experience of collaboration during the research experience, engaging in the research project, or sharing lessons learned from the research process.

All articles published in this section are peer reviewed.

Teaching & Learning

This is a permanent section. Submissions to this section comply with the following overview.

Teaching & Learning (Dr. Arlene Reilly-Sandoval, Editor): The process of teaching, or being a student, continues the journal's practice of publishing narrative accounts about education and training. For example, classroom experiences, teaching innovations, university-community partnerships, continuing education, and other formal learning opportunities offer valuable insight.

All articles published in this section are peer reviewed.

Copyright Notice

REFLECTIONS:
NARRATIVES OF PROFESSIONAL HELPING
Cleveland State University

PUBLICATION AGREEMENT

1. COPYRIGHT: In consideration for the publication of your work, if accepted and published by the journal noted above, the author(s) agree to transfer copyright of the work to REFLECTIONS: NARRATIVES OF PROFESSIONAL HELPING, Cleveland State University, including full and exclusive rights to all media now known or later developed, including but not limited to electronic databases and microfilm, and in anthologies of any kind (NOTE TO U.S. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: SEE YOUR EXEMPTION, PARAGRAPH 4 BELOW.)

2. AUTHOR RE-USES OF WORK: As a professional courtesy, the author retains the right to reprint the author's article again after publication in the journal, in any work the author is sole author, or in any edited work for which the author is senior editor. No further permission is necessary in writing from REFLECTIONS, nor will the journal require fees of any kind for this reprinting. This statement is intended to provide full copyright release for the purposes listed above, and a photocopy of this release may be used when another publisher requires a written release.

3. READER RE-USES OF WORK: The author(s) acknowledge that registered readers of REFLECTIONS and others with access to the article may use their work consistent with Fair Use under 17 U.S.C. § 107.

4. AUTHOR WARRANTIES: The author(s) represent(s) and warrant(s):
a.) that the manuscript submitted is the author's (authors') own work;
b.) that the work has been submitted only to this journal and that it has not been previously published;
c.) that this article contains no libelous or unlawful statements and does not infringe upon the civil rights of others;
d.) that the author(s) are not infringing upon anyone else’s copyright.
e.) that the author(s) are responsible for any individual or organizational names that are mentioned, as Reflections disclaims responsibility for references to individuals, organizations, facts, and opinions presented by the published authors.
f.) That the author(s) have taken care to ensure that the article does not contain any identifiable information about clients or patients except as pursuant to appropriate permissions and forms of informed consent as provided for in all relevant laws and codes of ethics.
g.) That the author(s) content in no way violates any individual’s privacy rights.
The author(s) agree that if there is a breach of any of the above representations and warranties that the author(s) will idemnify the publisher and editor and hold them harmless.

5. AUTHOR RETENTION OF PATENTS: The author(s) may have, within the article, descriptions of the author's (authors') own proprietary patents. It is not the intention of the editor or publisher to require copyright transfer of such materials. If any of these materials appear in the work, the author(s) may add personal copyright notice to patents, with this understanding:
a.) the author(s) retain copyright for said patents, with full and exclusive rights to the author's (authors') publication, not to include any other material from the article/publication;
b.) the publisher retains full and exclusive rights to publication to the article/publication in any format, including patents when published as part of the entire article or production.

6. NOTE FOR U.S. GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES: If the article is single authored by an U.S. government employee as part of the employee's official duties, it is understood that the article is not “Work of the U.S. Government.” However, if the article was not part of the employee’s official duties, it may be copyrighted. If the article was jointly written, the authors understand that they are delegating the right of copyright to the non-government employee, who must sign this agreement.

7. “WORK FOR HIRE” AUTHORS: If the article was written by an author who was hired by another person or company to do so, the article is called a “Work for Hire” manuscript. This agreement must be signed by the “employer” who hired the author, as well as the author.

8. NO AMENDMENTS: This form is not valid if the author(s) add(s) any additional constraints and amendments. Please submit the article elsewhere for publication if the author(s) do not sign the form without alteration.

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