Journal of Health Ethics: Final Manuscript Preparation Guidelines

General Formatting and Reference Guide for Journal of Health Ethics

This document provides details on typesetting and layout requirements pertaining to final manuscript submission to Journal of Health Ethics.

Formatting Requirements

Manuscripts should include a cover letter with the following:

Title of the manuscript.
Name(s) of author(s).
Brief bio sketch of each author (name, credentials, position/title, place of employment), limit to no more than three lines.
Address(es) (each author).
Fax and Phone numbers (each author).
E-mail address(es) (each author).

Information for Authors

Submit your manuscript starting with the introduction section. Your title page and abstract will be added by the editorial team.
Do not number the pages of your manuscript.
Do not include headers or footers.
Write your manuscript in English.
Submit your manuscript, including tables, figures, appendices, etc., as a single file (Word or RTF.
Page size should be 8.5 x 11 inches.
All margins (left, right, top and bottom) should be 1 inch, including tables and figures.
Single space your text.
Use a single column layout with both left and right margins justified.
Font:
1. Main Body—12 pt. Times New Roman or the closest comparable font available.
2. Footnotes—10 pt. Times New Roman or the closest comparable font available.
Figures:
1. If figures are included, use high-resolution figures, preferably encoded as encapsulated PostScript (eps).

Additional Formatting Guidelines

Latest APA format, American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition, 2019.
Font is 12 point Times New Roman, single-spaced and typed on 8 ½ x 11 inch paper with margins of 1 inch on all edges.
Submit an abstract not over 150 words that summarizes as completely as possible the objectives, results and conclusions of the article.
List five keywords associated with the manuscript on the abstract page.
All manuscripts will undergo blind peer review.
Permission is obtained from authors to publish works.

Copyright Notice

Copyright for articles published in this journal is retained by the author, with first publication rights granted to the journal. By virtue of their appearance in this open access journal, articles are free to use, with proper attribution, in educational and other non-commercial settings.

Indenting, Line Spacing, and Justification

Do not insert extra space between paragraphs of text with the exception of long quotations, theorems, propositions, special remarks, etc. These should be set off from the surrounding text by additional space above and below.

Don't "widow" or "orphan" text (i.e., ending a page with the first line of a paragraph or beginning a page with the last line of a paragraph).

All text should be left-justified (i.e., flush with the left margin—except where indented). Consider that it is better to have jagged right margins than to have flush right margins with awkward intra- and inter-word spacing.

Language & Grammar

All submissions must be in English. Use of common foreign words and phrases is permitted. Use proper, standard English grammar. Two suggested style guides are: (1) The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White and (2) The Chicago Manual of Style.

Colored text

The font color should be black for the majority of the text. Color may be used for figures, maps, etc. Please, accept all of our track changes prior to submission.

Emphasized text

In most cases, use italics to indicate text you wish to emphasize rather than underlining.

Font faces

Use Times New Roman or the closest comparable font. If a second font is desired for headings, use a sans serif font (e.g., Arial or Computer Modern Sans Serif).

Foreign terms

Whenever possible, foreign terms should be set in italics rather than underlined.

Headings

Headings (e.g., start of sections) should be distinguished from the main body text by their fonts or by using small caps. Use the same font face for all headings and indicate the hierarchy by reducing font size. There should be a space above and below headings.

Titles

Whenever possible, titles of books, movies, etc should be set in italics rather than underlined.

Footnotes

Footnotes should appear at the bottom of the page on which they are referenced rather than at the end of the paper. Footnotes should be in 10 pt. Times New Roman or closest comparable font available; they should be single spaced and there should be a footnote separator rule (line). Footnote numbers or symbols in the text must follow, rather than precede, punctuation. Excessively long footnotes should be placed in the appendix. All footnotes should be left and right-justified (i.e., flush with the right margin), unless this creates awkward spacing.

Tables and Figures

As far as possible, tables and figures should appear in the document near where they are referenced in the text. Large tables or figures should be put on pages by themselves. Avoid the use of overly small type in tables. In no case should tables or figures be in a separate document or file. All tables and figures must fit within 1.5" margins on all sides (top, bottom, left and right) in both portrait and landscape view.

Mathematics

Roman letters used in mathematical expressions as variables should be italicized. Where possible, subscripts and superscripts should be a smaller font size than the main text. Short mathematical expressions should be typed inline. Longer expressions should appear as display math. Also, expressions using many different levels (such as fractions) should be set as display math. Important definitions or concepts can also be set off as display math.

Equations should be numbered sequentially. Whether equation numbers are on the right or left is the choice of the author(s). Consistency in expression is what is most important.

Symbols and notation in unusual fonts should be avoided. Pay particular attention to the transposition of symbols in documents converted to PDF.

References

Example of APA 7th Edition Reference Style: href=https://apastyle.apa.org/instructional-aids/reference-guide.pdf
The reference list begins on a new page, right after the main body and before any appendices.
On the first line of the page, write the word Reference in bold and centered. On the second line, start listing our references in alphabetical order.
Double space within and between references.
Hanging indent of ½ inch.
Legible font (e.g. Times New Roman 12 or closest comparable font.
Page number in the top right header.

Only include sources that you have cited in the text.
Do not include references to personal communications that your reader can’t access (e.g. emails, phone conversations or private online material).

The Reference Page:

Invert names so that the last name comes first, followed by a comma and the initials of the first name. Retain the order of the authors’ names.
Place the year in parenthesis. End with a period.
Capitalize only the first letter of the first letter of the first word of the title. For a two-part title, capitalize the first word of the second part of the title. Also capitalize proper nouns. Do not italicize. End with a period after the title.
Capitalize all major words in the periodical name. Follow with a comma. Italicize the periodical name (but not the comma after).
Italicize the volume number. Do not put a space between the volume number and the parentheses around the issue number.
Do not italicize the issue number or parentheses. Follow the parentheses with a comma. If there is no issue number, follow the volume number with a comma.
Include the article page range. Use an en dash; do not put a space around the en dash. End with a period.
If the article has a DOI, include the DOI for all works that have one. Do not put a period after the DOI.

Example of Journal Article
Davis, S.P., & Collins, A.A. (2020). The birth of religion. Journal of Southern Ways, 31(2), 21-29. https://doi.org/22445645

Invert names so that the last name comes first, followed by a comma and the initials of the first name. Retain the order of the authors’ names.
Place the copyright year in parentheses. End with a period.
Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the title. For a two- part title, capitalize the first word of the second part of the title. Also capitalize proper nouns. Italicize the title. End with a period after the title.
Include the name of the publisher, followed by a period. Do not include the publisher location. If there are multiple publishers, separate with a semicolon.
If there is a DOI, include it.
Do not include a URL or database information for works from academic research databases. Include a URL for eBooks from other websites.
Do not put a period after the DOI or URL.
If there is an edition or volume number, include the number in parentheses after the title but before the period. If both, show the edition first and the volume second, separated by a comma.

Example of Book Reference
Davis, S.P., & Collins, A.A. (2020). The birth of religion (2nd edition). Southern.

Invert names so that the last name comes first, followed by a comma and the initials of the first name. Leave a space between initials. Retain the order of the authors’ names.
Place the copyright year in parentheses. End with a period.
Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the title of the book. For a two-part title, capitalize the first word of the second part of the title. Also capitalize proper nouns. Do not italicize the title. End with a period after the title.
Write the word “In” and the initials and last name (not inverted) of each editor. Use “(Ed.)” for one editor or “(Eds.)” for multiple editors. End with a comma.
Include the name of the publisher, followed by a period. Do not include the publisher location. If there are multiple publishers, separate with a semicolon.
If there is a DOI, include it.
Do not include a URL or database information for works from academic research databases. Include a URL for e-books from other websites.
Do not put a period after the DOI or URL.

Example of reference in edited book:
Davis, S.P., & Collins, A.A. (2020). The birth of religion in Selma. In M.D. Davis & D. D. Anderson (Eds.), The birth of religion (2nd ed., pp. 23-42). Southern.

Significant updates for the APA 7th edition

The publisher location is no longer included in the reference.
The in-text citation for works with three or more authors is now shortened from the first citation. Include only the first author’s name and “et al.”
Example: Taylor et al., 2020
Surnames and initials for up to 20 authors (instead of 7) should be provided in the reference list.
DOIs are formatted the same as URLS. The label “DOI” is no longer necessary.
Example: https://doi.org/10/1080/02626667.2018.1569449
URLs are no longer preceded by “Retrieved from,” unless a retrieval date is needed. The website name is included (unless it’s the same as the author), and web page titles are italicized.
Example: Walker, A. (2019, November 14)/ Germany avoids recession, but growth remains weak. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50419127
For e-books, the format, platform, or device (e.g. Kindle) is no longer included in the reference, and the publisher is included.
Example: Bruck, M. (2020). Women in nearly British and Irish astronomy: Stars and satellites. Springer Nature. https:/doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2473-2
Clear guidelines are provided for including contributors other than authors and editors. For example, when citing a podcast episode, the host of the episode should be included; for a TV series episode, the writer and director of that episode are cited.
Dozens of examples are included for online source types such as podcast episodes, social media posts, and You Tube videos. The use of emojis and hashtags is also explained (Please refer to your APA Manual for specifications).
Writing inclusively and without bias is the new standard, and APA’s 7th edition manual contains a separate chapter on that topic.
The singular ‘they” or “their” is recognized as a gender-neutral pronoun.
Example: A faculty member’s career depends on how often they are published.
Instead of using adjectives as nouns to label groups of people, descriptive phrases are preferred.
Example: People living in poverty vs. The poor
Instead of broad categories, use exact age ranges that are more relevant and specific
Example: People in the age range of 65 to 75 years old vs. People over 65 years old

APA Paper format

In the 7th edition, APA provides different paper format guidelines for professional and student papers. For both types a sample paper is included. Some notable changes include:

Increased flexibility regarding fonts: options include Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans Unicode 10, Times New Roman 12, and Georgia 11.
The running head on the title paper no longer includes the words “Running head:” It now contains only a page number and the (shortened) paper title.
The running head is omitted in student papers (unless required by the professor)
Heading levels 3 -5 are updated to improved readability.

Mechanics of style

In terms of style, the most notable changes in the 7th edition are these:

Use only one space after a period at the end of a sentence.
Use double quotation marks instead of italics to refer to linguistic examples.
APA endorses the use of the singular pronoun “they” vs. they

APA 7th edition citation generator

Scribbr’s free citation generator cites sources according to the new 7th edition guidelines. This source is free.

Journal of Health Ethics