Public Policy Research

Published on behalf of

Edited by:
Georgina Kyriacou, Guy Lodge and Andrew Pendleton

Print ISSN: 1744-5396
Online ISSN: 1744-540X
Frequency: Quarterly
Current Volume: 17 / 2010

TopAuthor Guidelines

Authors should bear in mind that Public Policy Research will not only be read by academics. This calls for a limitation on jargon and technical allusions. On the other hand, it is important to avoid too many unsupported assertions and to sound patronising.

The major aim should be that the article says something interesting about a policy issue of the day and does so in a lively and readable way. Experience suggests that this will be best achieved by trying to tell only one main story in your article and telling it with some passion!

It is also worth trying to end with some kind of conclusions, otherwise the point of the article can get lost.

1. Submission of Your Article
The article must be supplied on disk or by e-mail. The text file can be accepted in most word-processing packages.

Use words for numbers up to ten and per cent. Try and use only 2 levels of heading. Ideally, the text should be typed simply, in single space and without italics etc (since these disappear when the disk is used in a desk top publishing package).

Papers and disks should be submitted to:

Georgina Kyriacou, Editor
Public Policy Research
IPPR, 30-32 Southampton Street
London WC2E 7RA, UK

or sent by e-mail to g.kyriacou@ippr.org

2. Notes and References
Footnotes and endnotes should not be used. If necessary, a general 'Explanatory Note' can be given at the end of the article.

References should be kept to an absolute minimum. Where references cannot be avoided they should be given as (Desai, 1998). References for all articles go together at the end of the journal.

References should be set out using the following format:

DESAI, M. (1998). Essays in global economics, (North Holland, Amsterdam)
GREGG, P. (2002). Minimum Wages, Journal of Citizenship, 2, 35-90.

3. Figures and Graphs
Three things should be supplied if possible:

a. An electronic copy on disc or by e-mail.
b. The data for the graph (in a spreadsheet form).
c. A hard copy of the data.

Figures should have self explanatory captions and should be referred to in the text.

4. Tables
In general it is better to make points via a graphic than in a table. Where tables are used, they should be simple, and make a clear point.

Where tables are not incorporated directly in the text, it should be indicated where they are to go.

5. Biography etc
Given name(s) and surname(s) of the authors must be provided for the article. A summary of the article in two or three sentences is helpful.

6. Proof Reading/Refereeing
To keep turn-around times short, proofs will not in general be returned to authors unless requested. However, this will not be the case where either a) the editor is concerned he may have changed the meaning or b) the paper would benefit from up-dating nearer the publication deadline.

Articles will not be formally refereed. However, where appropriate, articles may be sent to relevant people for a check.

7. Copyright
An article is accepted on the basis that it has not been previously published.

Exclusive Licence Form.
Authors will be required to sign an Exclusive Licence Form (ELF) for all papers accepted for publication. Signature of the ELF is a condition of publication and papers will not be passed to the publisher for production unless a signed form has been received. Please note that signature of the Exclusive Licence Form does not affect ownership of copyright in the material. (Government employees need to complete the Author Warranty sections, although copyright in such cases does not need to be assigned). After submission authors will retain the right to publish their paper in various media/circumstances (please see the form for further details). To assist authors an appropriate form will be supplied by the editorial office. Alternatively, authors may like to download a copy of the form here.

8. Length
Please do not write more than has been requested. In practice we usually use a sub-editor to edit down from what was orginally asked for so the more you go over this the more likely we are to cut something you wanted to keep.

PLEASE TRY AND FOLLOW THESE INSTRUCTIONS TO AVOID US HAVING TO CHASE YOU FOR THE MISSING BITS!