Submissions Guidelines
Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Indigenous and Aboriginal Community Health marks a new step in the reporting of community health research for community researchers, academics and health professionals. Health research and policy often operate outside the knowledge and influence of communities, using language and distance as deterrents to community participation. The articles published in Pimatisiwin are intended for readers and contributors who work and live both inside and outside the university research and health professional communities. While every community is unique, many communities share similar challenges. Through the Pimatisiwin journal, Aboriginal communities around the world can share their experience and knowledge and make the experiences of researchers, health professionals, and community members in other countries more generally available assists us all.
Further, we also invite papers that focus on the community health of non-Indigenous minority groups; these papers should pertain to health topics that are also important to Indigenous and Aboriginal people, and provide findings that inform our understanding/ability to address important issues for Indigenous and Aboriginal people. Thus, the journal will accept articles about non-Indigenous minorities for peer review and publish them at no greater ration of 80% research specifically about Aboriginal and Indigenous people, and 20% non-Indigenous minorities.
The following guidelines are meant to help authors to make their submitted articles as relevant and useful to everyone practicing health research in Aboriginal communities.
Special Issues
From time to time, Pimatisiwin publishes an issue that is focused on a specific theme related to Aboriginal Community Health Research. An example is our recent issue on Community-based Participatory Research. Special issues are led by special editors, (Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal) who have an interest and expertise in the area. If you are interested in becoming a special editor for an issue, please contact the editor.
General Submission Guidelines
The guidelines here will help you to develop an article for submission. Once the editors review your article and decide that it is within the realm of Pimatisiwin’s mission, the paper is sent out for peer review. If you have any questions about the format and structure of your article, please contact the editor.
1. Articles should be no more than 30-35 typewritten pages double-spaced (c. 10,000 words) and relate to health research in Aboriginal/Indigenous communities.
2. The articles may be sociological, psychological, medical, anthropological, experiential, methodological, qualitative or quantitative in nature. The intent is to include articles from community members, researchers, and health professionals which will be equally accessible to all readers. Papers by community members, graduate students and health professionals are welcome. For more information, please contact the editor.
3. All articles must include:
a. A biography of each author (no more than 200 words). This should include a note about the nature of the author’s relationship to the community research.
b. Contact details for the submitting author (address and email).
c. An abstract of 200 words or less.
d. A suggested list of keywords.
e. We strongly urge all authors to include a paragraph at the bottom of the first page acknowledging related research contributions from the wider community.
f. A recommendation of at least two individuals who can complete a peer review in the area of research addressed in the article submitted.
g. Articles must be submitted in digital format, either by email or by sending a floppy disk or CD-ROM. Articles will be accepted in either Microsoft Word or Rich Text Format.
h. Articles should be sent to the Managing Editor.
Peer Review
Your paper will be sent out to at least one academic reviewer and one community reviewer. Reviewers are selected on the basis of their knowledge in the research/health area, with expertise in the topic of the submitted article. The form they use for evaluation is online at Pimatisiwin Peer Review Guide 2007.
Copy Editing
Papers are edited for clarity, grammar, punctuation, spelling and proper citation. The copy editor may contact the author for clarification.
Author Verification
The edited paper is then sent back to the author to confirm that meanings have not been changed in the copy editing process. This is also a chance for the author to verify details such as the accuracy of references, name spelling, data in tables, and that picture captions are with the right picture.
Schedule for Publication
Shortly after the author returns the verified paper, it will be scheduled for publication. At present, Pimatisiwin comes out twice a year, usually at the end of December and June.
Disputes and Concerns
In the event of a disputes that contravene (or are not addressed by) the policies and/or submission guidelines, decisions will be taken to the Management Committee for a final decision.
Artwork & Photos
Drawings & Artwork should be 1.5 to 2 times the size used in the publication. If an illustration will be used as a quarter page in the journal, it should be at least a half page original.
To be returned, original artwork or photographs should be clearly labeled on the margin or on the back with your name and address.
Artwork can be submitted as:
o Pen & Ink drawings
o Original Artwork
o Adobe Illustrator Files
o Adobe Photoshop Files
o JPEG,GIF, or TIFF
For other formats contact our Support personal listed on About Us.
Photographs should be sharp and properly exposed, and can be either black & white or colour. A snapshot sized photograph (3x5 to 4x6 inches) should be scanned at 300 dots per inch. 8x10 pictures can be scanned at 150 dots per inch.
Digital photographs should be shot at the camera's highest quality.
Please send in more photos than you think we will need for your article, with appropriate location references in the text. We will run as many as possible. The old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words is still true. Even if you are just writing a letter to the editor or a short article, a photo or two is always welcome. Ensure that your name and address are on the back of each photo, taking care that your pen does not bleed through to the picture side. (Test on a reject photo).
Editorial Policy
i. Pimatisiwin reserves the right to decide at any point in the process not to publish an article.
ii. Correspondence accompanying submissions must state that the submitted work is original, has not been published elsewhere and will not be sent to another journal or magazine unless it has been declined by Pimatisiwin.
iii. We will consider articles based on research previously published in a purely academic journal if the new treatment develops applied perspectives thoroughly.
iv. If an article is based on an author's recent book, the Pimatisiwin submission must differ significantly.
v. Authors are responsible for all facts, including dates and correct spellings of people's and organizations' names.
vi. Authors have one opportunity to give reactions to the copy-editing and to make comments and changes. That opportunity comes after the content editing. Our process deadlines do not usually permit repeated rounds of revision.
For questions, contact Managing editor
References and Quotations
All articles submitted should use the APA5 style for formatting. For APA style information, authors can refer to the APA style website, http://www.apastyle.org/elecref.html or numerous other sites that are available on the internet.
