Author Guidelines

Submissions

We invite Australian and international scholars to submit research papers (6000-8000 words) and book reviews (1500-2000 words) for double-blind peer review. The word count does not include the abstract, footnotes and reference list.

All manuscripts must be in UK English and accompanied by an abstract of 150-200 words and up to six keywords.

In the application process, authors must specify the paper title, author's full name (in the form preferred for publication), author's affiliations (including mailing address and email address) and a short biography (50 words maximum). Where there are multiple authors, write the authors’ names in order of appearance in the final publication and include affiliations and a short biography for each.

However, to ensure the integrity of the blind peer-review for submission to AJIS, every effort should be made to prevent the identities of the authors and reviewers from being known to each other. Authors should:

• Delete their names from their text, with "Author" and year used in the references and footnotes, instead of the authors' name, article title, etc.
• With Microsoft Office documents, author identification should also be removed from the properties for the file (see under File in Word), by clicking on the following, beginning with File on the main menu of the Microsoft application: File > Save As > Tools (or Options with a Mac) > Security > Remove personal information from file properties on save > Save.

Manuscripts must be in MS Word using the template provided; images can be other formats. All submissions must adhere to the requirements in this guideline and the journal template. By submitting a manuscript, the author(s) agree to comply with these guidelines.

Authors should not submit manuscripts that are under consideration for publication elsewhere.

By submitting a manuscript for publication, you confirm you are the corresponding/submitting author and AJIS may retain your email address for the purpose of communications. You agree to notify AJIS immediately if your details change. Once your article is being processed for publication, you can log in and view your progress at any time.

Authors must register with the journal in order to submit their articles for consideration. Once registered, authors are free to log in to view the process of their submission at any time. It is up to the authors to check the stage their submission is up to. Authors will also have the chance to view with reviewer comments and copyediting suggestions if their article goes under review and reaches the publication stage.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: It may take up to 4 to 8 weeks for your article to be reivewed, and then another 2 to 4 weeks for your article to undergo the copyediting and proofreading stage, if accepted. Please do not email us asking about the progress of your submission. We will not respond to such emails unless absolutely urgent. Be patient and kind; you will hear from us regarding your submission within the time frame allocated. Also note that there may be delays due to the large number of submissions we receive.

Format/Template

​All submissions must follow these guidelines and use the journal template. The template contains styles and descriptors that must be followed. Submissions not following the journal template will be rejected.

Illustrations

Submit copies of any figures as separate items to the manuscript and indicate the approximate position in the text with a margin note. All illustrations must have a caption.

Preferably, submit high resolution images; if file size is an issue, contact the Editor-in-Chief.

Tables

Tables should be comprehensible without reference to the text. All tables must have a caption. Include copies of tables within the text using the styles indicated in the journal template. Preferably, do not include landscape sized tables.

Dating

Common Era dating is sufficient. The following style should be used: 1867-1919 and 11th century. If the date is Before Common Era, indicate with BCE; no indicator is needed for CE. Months should be spelled out and preceded by the date: 23 October 1607.

Hijri dates can be included alongside the Common Era dates; however, it is not essential. Do not use Hijri dates on their own. The following style should be used: 1284-1338/1867-1919. Months should be spelled out and preceded by the date: e.g. 2 Rajab 1016/23 October 1607.

Loanwords and Foreign Words

Arabic words must use the ALA-LC Romanisation Standard. All foreign words should be in italics.

Other foreign words accepted in English usage should be spelled in accordance with the New Oxford Dictionary of English or the Concise Oxford Dictionary. All foreign words must be transliterated, ie. written using English characters; words in other scripts will not be accepted.

Foreign book or article titles in references must be translated (within square brackets immediately after the title).

Referencing Style

To achieve a consistent style across all submissions, the AJIS follows the Chicago 16th edition notes and bibliography style.

References should be numbered consecutively throughout and appear as footnotes. The abbreviation “ibid” can be used for consecutive references to the same source; “op cit” will not be accepted.

Additional information in relation to the text should appear as footnotes; endnotes should not be used. Authors should limit the use of footnotes for additional information and only include necessary details to avoid creating lengthy manuscripts.

Bibliography

At the end of the manuscript, provide a compilation of the sources referenced using Chicago 16th edition. The list must be in alphabetical order. Do not include any sources in the bibliography that were not referenced in the paper.

Proofreading

It is the author’s responsibility to ensure the manuscript has been edited and proofread prior to submission. Authors acknowledge that, by submitting to the review process, the Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to make minor editorial changes to the text without referring the material back to the author. This will only be done to improve such aspects as: spelling, grammar, diction or other aspects of English expression.

AJIS will do a final proofreading prior to publication. If substantive changes need to be made to the content, the author will be given a choice of (i) making the changes and resubmitting; or (ii) allowing AJIS’ editors to make the changes (this is not a free service and the author will need to accept a quote for charges before changes will be made). If AJIS editors make the changes, the proofread typescripts will be returned to the author for acceptance. In the event of a multi-authored contribution, proofread typescripts will be sent to the first-named (primary) author unless otherwise requested. At this stage in the production process, only minor corrections are allowed. Further alterations to the original manuscript at this stage will result in considerable delay in publication and, therefore, are not accepted unless charged to the author. Proofread typescripts should be returned promptly.