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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, which is found in About the Journal.
  • If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, the instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review have been followed.

Author Guidelines

Guidelines for Authors

To submit a narrative, you have to Register.  Be sure you choose both Reader and Author so the submission link will show the next time to you log on.

The purpose of Reflections is to publish narratives, personal accounts that describe and explain the process of helping others and shaping social change over time. The journal seeks to build a literary tradition for critical study. It encourages stories that convey a sense of immediacy, portray practice across diverse populations and capture the range and variety of strategies and systems within the helping professions. The journal publishes stories of professional helpers such as ethicists, psychotherapists, community organizers, case and group workers, policy makers, family and child practitioners, health and mental healthcare providers; educators, researchers, and administrators in the helping professions. Historical and contemporary narratives are encouraged.

Narratives should give readers a fresh perspective about the practice of change. Narratives explain and describe events, results, conflicts, complicating actions, and how, why, and what was done. In narratives, the writer evaluates the experience, whether or not there is a resolution, and explores the meaning of the experience. Some narratives end with a coda; a perspective on what occurred.

Writing Instructions and Submission: Note: The above and below following editorial policies are subject to review by the Policy Advisory Board (in process of formation) and revision by the Publisher, Cleveland State University School of Social Work.  Manuscripts are peer reviewed.  Articles appropriate to the journal’s purpose are reviewed anonymously by members of the Narrative Review Board (in process of formation) and/or by Special Issue Editors.  Publication decisions require about two to four months. All articles are copyedited before publication.  Articles published in Reflections are published as PDF image files that are not searchable.  Reflections utilizes measures which prevent search engines such as Google from indexing published narratives.  However, authors names, article titles and abstracts will be searchable and the Journal will continue to be included in Social Work Abstracts and other citation databases.  This is because it was felt that the nature of the narratives is such that their content should not be searchable on the web.  Only registered Reflections readers will have access to the content.

Please see the Online Journal Site for further information prior to electronic submission.  However, for preliminary guidelines:

1. Authors are expected to use APA format, version 6, with two spaces after every sentence, but with no headers or footers or page numbers.  However, see #5 below for special formatting instructions, some of which also might not be strictly speaking APA style.

2. The manuscript length depends upon the temporal sequence of the event.

3. Make sure you include all information such as name, affiliation(s), address, and phone/fax numbers in your profile.  Do not include any of this identifying information in your submission.

4. Submit one electronic copy of a document formatted as follows:

a. Times New Roman 12 point font

b. Single spaced

c. Flush left

d. Non-justified

e. Full space between paragraphs

f. Headings are bold-faced and centered on the page with a full space above and below each heading

g. Sub-headings are bold-faced, flush left and with a full space above and below each sub-heading

5. The first line of your submission should be the word “Abstract,” bolded and centered, followed by a full space and then the text of the abstract.  The text of the abstract is to be followed by a full space, and then the title of the submission, bolded and centered.  The title is to be followed by a full space and then the text of your submission.

6. Once you have finished the article, make sure to get rid of metadata by:

a. Click on file

b. Click “Check for Issues”

c. Click “Inspect Document”

d. Click “Inspect”

e. Next to “Document Properties and Personal Information” click “Remove All”

7. Submit the article saved in RTF format, using File, Save As and choosing RTF.  Do not send it as a *.doc or *.wpd or other word processing format.

8. Be sure there is no metadata in the document identifying you.

Note: Names of persons and organizations mentioned in the articles published in Reflections should have been changed to protect their privacy.  Reflections disclaims responsibility for statements, either fact or opinion, made by contributors.

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 his/her article again after publication in the journal, in any work he/she 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 his/her (their) 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 authors agree that if there is a breach of any of the above representations and warranties that he/she (they) will identify the publisher and editor and hold them harmless.

5. AUTHOR RETENTION OF PATENTS: The author(s) may have, within his/her (their) article, descriptions of his/her (their) 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 authors may add his/her (their) personal copyright notice to patents, with this understanding:
a.) the author(s) retain copyright for said patents, with full and exclusive rights to his/her (their) 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 his/her 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.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.