The Journal of Consumer Affairs

A publication of the America Council on Consumer Interests since 1967

Edited by:
Herbert Jack Rotfeld
Auburn University

Print ISSN: 0022-0078
Online ISSN: 1745-6606
Frequency: Three times a year
Current Volume: 43 / 2009
ISI Journal Citation Reports® Ranking: 2008: 17/77 Business
Impact Factor: 1.969

TopAuthor Guidelines

Editor
Herbert Jack Rotfeld
Department of Marketing
201 Business Building
415 W. Magnolia Ave
Auburn University
AL 36849-5246
USA
Phone: 334-844-2459
E-Mail: rotfeld@business.auburn.edu
Web: http://www.auburn.edu/~rotfehj

Associate Editor and Editor of Bits, Briefs, and Applications
Brenda J. Cude
Housing and Consumer Economics
Dawson Hall
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602
706.542.4857
706.583-0313 fax
bcude@uga.edu

Journal of Consumer Affairs Guidelines for Authors

• Manuscripts submitted to JCA are double-blind peer reviewed by the members of the editorial board and ad hoc referees selected by the editor or associate editor.
• There is no submission fee. There is no page charge for published papers.
• Acceptance of a manuscript for JCA publication gives ACCI the right to publish and copyright the material.
• The designated reference sources for JCA style are The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition, and the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.

WRITING FOR JCA

JCA contains scholarly research and professionally informed opinions that involve analysis of individual, business, and/or government actions that can affect the interests of consumers in the marketplace. Topics must be addressed from the consumer's point of view but a variety of approaches are appropriate, including education, economics, nutrition, public policy, consumer psychology and marketing. However, JCA is not a journal of marketing management, broad economic theory or general consumer psychology. Our origins are with the consumer protection movement, and the focus for papers in terms of both research questions and implications must involve the consumers' interests. However, a study on what interests segments of consumers is NOT a study of the consumers' interests. We do not publish studies or findings if the primary value is for market segmentation or business management, nor do we have much concern for problems of profit maximization.

The 'Bits, Briefs and Applications' section contains short research notes, applications, theoretical briefs, and individual commentary that are designed to assist consumer interest professionals, including public policy decision makers, researchers and educators. Manuscripts submitted to this section should not exceed 3500 words and must have pragmatic implications for consumers, educators, researchers, public policy makers or other consumer affairs professionals. These submissions should be sent directly to the associate editor in charge of the section. Appropriate articles for this section may include: (1) Practical applications based on new or existing theories/models; (2) Brief research findings related to consumer rights, education, policy and regulation; (3) Research reports that contribute to an understanding of consumer behavior; and (4) Comments and position papers on key issues in consumer rights, education, research, policy and regulation.

WARNINGS & CAVEATS

1. Manuscript readability is an important consideration for accepted papers. Papers are meant to be read, not interpreted, and papers with incomprehensible prose tend to be rejected by reviewers and the editor.
2. Do not have a section heading of 'limitations' or 'future research.' Any research limitations impact how the study can be interpreted and what can be validly concluded from findings, so they should be integrated into any discussion of the implications or conclusions, or sometimes part of the explanation of the research method, but they are not to be in an added section or listed at the end. Similarly, as opposed to providing a section listing future research, incorporate relevant and interesting future research proposals in discussion sections where appropriate.
3. Reviewers often are antagonistic toward studies that use student samples. This does not mean that all such papers are unacceptable; sometimes a study of students is appropriate for the topic studied, research stimuli used or cultural views the subjects embody. To some people, students are considered a vulnerable group for certain business practices, and as such are the focus of attention from consumer activists and government agencies looking at areas such as financial education, credit card marketing and the regulation of campus social activities. Still, the question for a student subject paper is whether the manuscript validly explains how it is an important study of a consumer segment or that the students are a valid surrogate for consumers as a whole. It can't be a study of students merely because they are available nor should it apply a research method selected to fit that availability, because all such studies will have reviewers recommending that it be rejected.
4. The importance of the research topic must be clear and well established in the literature review. Neither a lack of previous specific studies nor a plethora of citations is justification for new research. Maybe no one has done it because it isn't interesting; prior studies could already have exhaustively covered the area. The literature review should assess the current state of knowledge and give a basis for any research questions or hypotheses. The existing literature is the basis for the research conducted, and the research questions set the stage for what is studied.

Click here for detailed Author Guidelines.