Family Science Review

For Authors

Submit Manuscript

You can also view our Instructions for Authors as a Google document.

Article types

Family Science Review currently accepts the following article styles:

Research Article Qualitative or quantitative articles focusing on the scholarship of teaching and learning within the family sciences, family theory, family policy, and family science or family life education. Articles with implications for strengthening all family types, including diverse families, are strongly encouraged. Manuscripts are peer-reviewed. There is no specific limit for research articles; however, most articles are between 25-35 double-spaced pages in APA 7 style.

Professional Development and Reflection Corner
Professional Development and Reflection Corner (PDRC) is a feature of the Family Science Review that publishes manuscripts from practicing family scientists that express a multitude of voices, perspectives, and journeys as educators in formal and informal settings.

Self-reflection has been established as a best practice in human serving fields such as family science. Self-reflection among family scientists can inform our pedagogy and understanding of our own beliefs about teaching and learning. Articles detailing the author’s reflection upon their decision to teach about families, challenges that arise or have arisen over their career, specific practices or tools that are helpful, lessons learned, best practices for being an effective educator, or suggestions for future educators are of particular interest. Additionally, manuscripts that address issues of power dynamics, intersectionality and identities, and/or thoughts regarding the profession are encouraged. PDRC manuscripts should be grounded in theory articulating authors’ perspectives and experiences.

PDRC should be no longer than 15 double-spaced pages in APA 7 format and should be prepared according to the journal’s Author Guidelines.

Questions regarding PDRC manuscripts may be directed to the PDRC Editor: Nikki DiGregorio, Ph. D.; NDiGregorio@georgiasouthern.edu

For examples of PDRC articles, please see the following:
Klein, M., Bernard, J. M., Oaks, C., & Scarborough, J. (2020). Leadership During a Racial Microaggression on a University Campus. Family Science Review, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.26536/akpt5842

Falk, A. F. (2011). Imbuing the study of family resource management with a global perspective. Family Science Review, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.26536/fsr.2011.16.01.07

Book Reviews
We encourage book reviews for quality books focusing on family sciences or those that are appropriate for family science educators or in a family science classroom. Reviews should be based on recent publications (within the last 5 years), and should include an APA 7 style citation information for the work being reviewed, a summary of the main points, a discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the material, and the applications for family science. Discussion of issues of diversity and inclusivity is highly encouraged. Submissions should be no longer than 5 double-spaced pages.

Submission requirements

Manuscript Format
Anonymization requirements To ensure the integrity of double-blind reviews, please ensure that your manuscript file does not include author information or identifying information. If the name of a specific university, location, or author is included in the article, please redact that information by replacing the information with REDACTED.

Title Pages
Title pages will be uploaded separately from the manuscript.
Title pages should include the following information:

  • Full title of the article
  • Full name of each author with credentials (Ph.D., CFLE or Ed.D., etc)
  • Affiliation for each author - Name of department and name of college, university or institution.
  • Author Note section includes:
  • ORCID for each author
  • Changes in affiliation for any author
  • Additional study information including, any known conflicts of interest, open practices, and data sharing, acknowledgments for any financial support received or any other assistance
  • Corresponding author contact including name, address, and email for one author

Style

  • All articles should be submitted following APA 7 style.

Formatting

  • Manuscripts should be submitted as a doc or docx file in Times New Roman, 12 point font, double spaced.
  • Figures and images should be embedded in the file and attached as separate image files. To download graphs from Excel: Copy the figure or image from excel (CTRL+C) and paste it into PowerPoint as a Microsoft Excel object. Expand the figure in PowerPoint to take up the slide space. Increase the font size on the graphs/charts to ensure readability (recommend at least 10-point font). Save by going to –> File–> Export–> select PNG
  • Tables should be formatted using APA 7 formatting style.
  • Reference lists should be formatted in APA 7 style. See this tutorial on how to create a hanging indent rather than using tabs, to create the indents.

Additional required files
Additional required files will be indicated at upload.

Editorial and Peer Review Process

There is a $30 submission fee due when submitting manuscripts. When manuscripts are submitted, the editor-in-chief will review the paper. If the paper is in the correct format, appears appropriate in nature for the journal, and author information has been appropriately redacted, the editor will assign peer reviewers to the manuscript.
Once reviewers have accepted the manuscript, they will review and provide feedback through Scholastica and provide recommendations for the next step: Accept, Revise and Resubmit or Reject. The editor will compile comments and make the final determination for the manuscript. The author will receive a notification with the outcome of the review, including reviewer comments and suggestions. Once a paper has been accepted, the paper will be routed to the Assistant Editors to guide the copyediting and publication process. Authors may choose to join the Family Science Association in lieu of paying the publication fee but must do so within one week of the publication fee invoice.

Publication details

Once a paper has been accepted for publication, a $20 publication fee will be assessed. This fee is waived if the first author on the manuscript is a member of the Family Science Association. Authors may choose to join the Family Science Association in lieu of paying the publication fee, but must do so within one week of the publication fee invoice. Copyediting will use track changes to recommend additional editing for formatting and wording. The authors will be sent a copy of the manuscript to edit and prepare following the publication guidelines.

The Family Science Review is an open-access journal that as of June 2022 uses Creative Commons licensing. This type of licensing allows authors to retain ownership of their work and also set guidelines on how they would like it to be used. The default license for the Family Science Review is a CC-BY-NC (Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0) license. If an author would like to request an alternate CC license, they can contact the Associate Editors.