Changes in Publication Practices for Social Work Research

The dissemination of knowledge for practice and policy is a primary goal of journal publications in the social work profession. Journals such as Social Work Research are intended to be key outlets for innovative and rigorous research addressing a cross-section of questions and concerns. To remain current, journal publication practices require constant monitoring and refining. The Editorial Board of Social Work Research met recently to review its policies and practices and identified several changes, which are discussed below. PUBLICATION PRACTICE CHANGES Page Limits Manuscript page limits are a constant source of debate in publication circles. On one hand, longer page limits allow an author to describe her or his conceptual and theoretical work in a manner that might not be possible in fewer pages. Longer page limits also may increase the opportunity for an author to outline complex methodological or analytical issues. Conversely, publishing shorter manuscripts increases the total number of articles that can appear in a single issue. Publishing more articles per issue, therefore, may have a desirable effect on reducing the time between an article's acceptance and subsequent publication. An informal review of selected social work and psychological journals suggests that many periodicals have reduced their page limits in recent years. This practice allows for the timely publication of research findings and reduces the lag time between acceptance and publication. As part of an overall strategy to publish articles in a timely fashion Social Work Research now limits manuscripts considered for publication to 20 text pages, excluding cover page, abstract, tables, and figures. Revisions and Resubmissions Few manuscripts submitted to this or any professional journal are accepted without revision. Expert reviewers typically identify concerns in an author's writing style, conceptual framework, or methodology that require a manuscript to be modified and resubmitted. Unfortunately, revised manuscripts often become delayed in the resubmission process for far too long. In worst cases, an author may take one or two years to revise and resubmit a paper. Consequently, if and when a revision is accepted, the manuscript may contain content that is outdated or no longer compelling to readers. To be relevant and timely, revised articles should be resubmitted as soon as possible following an initial review. Thus, the editorial board has adopted a policy requiring authors to inform NASW Press of their intention to revise and resubmit an article within two weeks after receipt of a rejection notification. In addition, to ensure that empirical research published in Social Work Research is current, authors will now have 90 days following initial review to revise and resubmit a manuscript. Related Developments Guidelines for Reporting Empirical Findings. Recent developments in efforts to standardize the process of reporting results from randomized controlled trials have been led by an interdisciplinary body of medical professionals known as the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) group (Moher, Schulz, & Altman, 2001). This group has developed a flowchart and checklist intended to be used by authors when writing and reporting the results of randomized trials. Known simply as the CONSORT Statement, these guidelines offer a useful approach to disseminating empirical findings. Although written specifically for reporting outcomes from clinical trials, the checklist is also pertinent to reporting findings from other types of empirical research. Therefore, the editorial board of Social Work Research has embraced the CONSORT Statement as an effective way to report empirical findings. Authors are encouraged to consult the document when writing a manuscript for submission to the journal. Readers can find the CONSORT Statement at http://www. …