Instructions to Authors

About the Journal

Policy and Society welcomes the following submissions:

• Themed issues - collections of 8-12 manuscripts, plus an introduction, that encourage in-depth analyses of vital theoretical or empirical issues in public policy. The introduction must include critical review of the extant literature on the subject.
• Symposia - collections of 4-5 manuscripts that address broad topics in public policy, especially those that are novel and may not yet warrant a full themed issue due to limited research. Introductions/introductory literature reviews are optional for symposia.

If you are interested in guest editing a themed issue or symposia:

Please visit the Instructions for Themed Issues page for information on instructions on submitting a proposal for consideration. Guidelines for guest editors can also be downloaded from this page.

If you are interested in contributing to an existing themed issue:

Unsolicited manuscript submissions must be approved by the editors prior to full manuscript submission. Please contact the Editorial Office for approval.
 

• Non-themed individual submissions - manuscripts that seek to advance thinking and understanding of central and emerging issues, concepts and methods in the policy sciences.

We particularly welcome manuscripts offering critical analysis of key theories, concepts, or comparative trends in public policy. The topic must be of interest to a broad range of scholars in public policy. Case studies and detailed explorations of specific issue areas are generally discouraged unless directly related to advancing theoretical thinking in public policy. 

Please note that Policy and Society is a fully open access journal, and all submissions are subject to an Author Publication charge (APC). Please see License to Publish and Open Access Options section below for further details.

Publish your research with us and benefit from:

• Publishing with the #1 ranked journal in Public Administration and #2 ranked journal in Political Science. Source: Clarivate 2022.
• Support from a renowned, global, and authoritative Editorial Board.
• A simple online submission process.
• Open Access publishing which allows for a wider dissemination.
• Global readership.

Once a paper is accepted, Policy and Society will publish a copyedited, proofed, corrected version of the paper online as soon as it is ready. This will later be included in a paginated issue.

Editorial Policies

Details of Oxford University Press’s editorial policies are available.

Peer Review

Policy and Society uses double blind peer review. Full details about the peer review process are available.

Peer review standards and acceptance criteria are applied consistently for all authors, including journal editors and editorial board members. Editors and editorial board members are completely recused from the peer review and decision-making processes for their own manuscripts, except for editorial notes and similar materials The peer review process for manuscripts is handled independently by other qualified editors in order to ensure publication integrity. The policy is consistent with OUP and the Committee on Publishing Ethics (COPE) guidelines for best practice for editors.

Data Policy

Availability of Data and Materials

Where ethically feasible, Policy and Society strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. We suggest that data be presented in the main manuscript or additional supporting files, or deposited in a public repository whenever possible. Information on general repositories for all data types, and a list of recommended repositories by subject area, is available here.

Data citation

Policy and Society supports the Force 11 Data Citation Principles and requires that all publicly available datasets be fully referenced in the reference list with an accession number or unique identifier such as a digital object identifier (DOI). Data citations should include the minimum information recommended by DataCite:

            [dataset]* Authors, Year, Title, Publisher (repository or archive name), Identifier

*The inclusion of the [dataset] tag at the beginning of the citation helps us to correctly identify and tag the citation. This tag will be removed from the citation published in the reference list.

Preprint Policy

Authors retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels, and this does not prevent submission to the journal. For further information see our Online Licensing, Copyright and Permissions policies. If accepted, the authors are required to update the status of any preprint, including your published paper’s DOI, as described on our Author Self-Archiving policy page.

Self-Archiving Policy

You may self-archive versions of your work on your own webpages, on institutional webpages, and in other repositories. If you want more information about the reuse rights you retain if you publish with us, please visit our Author Self Archiving Policy page.

Conflict of Interest

When submitting a paper, you and your co-authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest. You must do this by providing the relevant details on our online submission site and by including a Conflict of Interest statement in your submitted manuscript.

A detailed definition of conflicts of interest is available.

Plagiarism

Manuscripts submitted may be screened with iThenticate anti-plagiarism software in an attempt to detect and prevent plagiarism. Any manuscript may be screened, especially if there is reason to suppose part or all of the text has been previously published. Prior to final acceptance any manuscript that has not already been screened may be put through iThenticate. Please see more information about iThenticate.

Submission

We will consider your manuscript as long as

• it is your own original work and does not duplicate any previously published work, including your own;
• it is not under consideration, in peer review, or accepted for publication in any journal other than Policy and Society
• it has not been published in any other journal; and
• it contains nothing abusive, defamatory, libellous, obscene, fraudulent, or illegal.

Authors should observe high ethical standards and obey publication best practices. The following are all unacceptable:

• data falsification or fabrication
• plagiarism, including duplicate publication of your own work without proper citation
• misappropriation of work

We treat any case of ethical or publication malpractice very seriously. We will address them in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. Further information about OUP’s ethical policies is available.

How to Submit

You must submit your paper via our web-based submission system, Editorial Manager, which may be found at https://www.editorialmanager.com/policyandsociety/default.aspx.  If you have not published with Policy and Society before, you will need to create an account. More information is available in Editorial Manager Tutorial for Authors, here: https://www.ariessys.com/wp-content/uploads/EM-Author-English.pdf. Questions about submitting can be sent to the editorial office at policy-and-society@nus.edu.sg.

Article Requirements

• title page
• abstract—maximum word count: 250, single paragraph (unstructured)
• keywords—maximum keywords: 4-6. Each keyword can be a maximum of 15 words.
• main text—maximum 8,000 words, inclusive of abstract, tables, references, figure captions, and endnotes
• acknowledgements
• funding statement
• conflict of interest statement
• references
• tables and figures with captions
• appendices (as appropriate)

Third-Party Permissions

If you wish to reproduce any material for which you do not own the copyright—including quotations, tables, or images—you must obtain permission from the copyright holder. The permissions agreement must include the following documents:

• nonexclusive rights to reproduce the material in your article in Policy and Society
• both print and electronic rights, preferably for use in any form or medium
• lifetime rights to use the material
• worldwide English-language rights

Further information on obtaining permissions is available.

Manuscript Preparation: Format, Structure, and Style

Format free submission

Authors may submit their paper in any scholarly format or layout. Manuscripts may be supplied as single or multiple files. These can be Word, rich text format (rtf), open document format (odt), or PDF files. Figures and tables can be placed within the text or submitted as separate documents. Figures should be of sufficient resolution to enable refereeing.

• There are no strict formatting requirements, but all manuscripts must contain the essential elements needed to evaluate a manuscript: abstract, author affiliation, figures, tables, funder information, and references. Further details may be requested upon acceptance.
• References can be in any style or format, so long as a consistent scholarly citation format is applied. Author name(s), journal or book title, article or chapter title, year of publication, volume and issue (where appropriate) and page numbers are essential. All bibliographic entries must contain a corresponding in-text citation. The addition of DOI (Digital Object Identifier) numbers is recommended but not essential.
• The journal reference style will be applied to the paper post-acceptance by Oxford University Press.
• Spelling can be US or UK English so long as usage is consistent.
• Note that, regardless of the file format of the original submission, an editable version of the article must be supplied at the revision stage.
   

Presubmission Language Editing

If you are not confident in the quality of your English, you may wish to use a language-editing service to ensure that editors and reviewers understand your paper. Oxford University Press partners with Enago, a leading provider of author services. Prospective authors are entitled to a discount of 30% for editing services at Enago, via the Specialist English Editing Services for Oxford University Press Authors page.

Enago is an independent service provider, who will handle all aspects of this service, including payment. As an author you are under no obligation to take up this offer. Language editing is optional and does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted. Edited manuscripts will still undergo peer review by the journal.

Title Page

Please include the following:

• the title of your paper
• all author names and affiliations
• mailing address and email address of one corresponding author

Abstract

Abstracts have a maximum length of 250 words and must not contain reference citations or abbreviations.

You can opt to include a video abstract in addition to the text abstract. The video abstract should clearly summarize the findings of your article and will be published online. It should be uploaded to the submission system as a separate file in .mp4 format, and clearly labelled, e.g. 'video_abstract.mp4'. Please also include a still image from the video, which will appear in the PDF version of your article.

Style

The journal follows Oxford HUMSOC style. Please refer to these requirements when preparing your manuscript. More information on the style guide is available. UK or US spelling should be used throughout, except in quotations and in references.

Abbreviations

Please define nonstandard abbreviations at the first occurrence.

Tables

You must number all tables (e.g., table 1, table 2, table 3) and reference them in the text. You must place all tables at the end of the main text. Tables should be in an editable format, and not embedded as an image file.

References

You may format references in any readable style at submission. You are responsible for the accuracy of reference information. Style files for reference managers are available.

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments should be included at the end of your manuscript.

Funding

Please fully cite any relevant funding information, including specific grant numbers.

Figures

You must include figure titles and legends within the manuscript file—they should not be included in the image file.

You must submit each figure as an individual image file. Submit all panels of a multipanel figure on a single page as one file. For example, if the figure has 3 panels, the figure should be submitted as one file. Each panel should be labeled as a letter (A, B, C, D, etc.) in the upper-left corner of each panel.

Images of photographs or paintings can be provided as raster images. Common examples of raster images are .tif/.tiff, .raw, .gif, and .bmp file types. The resolution of raster files is measured by the number of dots or pixels in a given area, referred to as “dpi” or “ppi.”

• minimum resolution required for printed images or pictures: 350dpi
• minimum resolution for printed line art: 600dpi (complex or finely drawn line art should be 1200dpi)
• minimum resolution for electronic images (i.e., for on-screen viewing): 72dpi

Images of maps, charts, graphs, and diagrams are best rendered digitally as geometric forms called vector graphics. Common file types are .eps, .ai, and .pdf. Vector images use mathematical relationships between points and the lines connecting them to describe an image. These file types do not use pixels; therefore, resolution does not apply to vector images.

Figures prepared as. jpg/jpeg files can be used. However, this format relies on ‘lossy’ compression; figures can lose quality each time they are opened, shared, or modified; therefore, we prefer not to receive jpg files.

Figure accessibility and alt text

Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.  

Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs. 

Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article. 

Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text. 

Supplementary Material

You must submit supplementary data or supplementary material at the same time as the main manuscript.

• Supplementary material must be cited in the text of the main manuscript.
• Supplementary material will be available online only and will not be copyedited or typeset.
• Style and formatting of supplementary material should be consistent with that of the manuscript.
• Supplementary material should be formatted to function on any internet browser.
• Supplementary material files should be no larger than 2MB each.

Production

License to Publish and Open Access Options

Policy and Society is a fully open access journal, and all articles are published in the journal under an open access license immediately upon publication.

In principle, all authors are required to pay an open access charge upon signature of their license to publish. However, specific funding arrangements may be in place for certain thematic issues. In addition, it may be possible to waive the open access charges for authors who are unable to pay, but who do not automatically qualify for a waiver under OUP’s developing countries initiative. Please contact the Editors for any inquiries relating to open access charge waivers at: policy-and-society@nus.edu.sg.

Please note that the corresponding author will be required to arrange payment of the open access charge online following acceptance of the manuscript, although the payment can be referred to a co-author or other third party.

Policy and Society articles can be published under the following Creative Commons licenses:

• Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY)
• Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial license (CC BY-NC)

Details of the open access licenses and open access charges.

CC BY, CC BY-NC license - $1,634

Corresponding authors based in countries and regions, that are part of the developing countries initiative are eligible for a full waiver of publishing fees in our fully open access journals. For further details, please see our APC Waiver Policy.

OUP has a growing number of Read and Publish agreements with institutions and consortia which provide funding for open access publishing. This means that corresponding authors from participating institutions can publish their papers under an open access license, and the institution may pay the charge. Please note, however, that it is not possible to change the corresponding author after submission in order to benefit from Read and Publish funding.  Find out if your institution is participating in one of OUP’s Read and Publish agreements.

After your manuscript is accepted, you must sign a license to publish form in our Author Portal.

Your funding agencies may have specific requirements for what type of open access license to use, so please check before selecting a license. Please see Creative Commons licenses for more information. Please check with your funding body if you are unsure of any license requirements.