Submitting Latino Policy & Issues Briefs

Submission Guidelines for Authors

Contents

Brief Content
Submission Query
Query Review Process
Production Process
Latino Policy and Issues Brief Style
Documentation

Introduction

All submissions to the Latino Policy and Issues Brief series must be preceded by an e-mail query to the editor or by post at UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, 193 Haines Hall, Los Angeles, California 90095-1544. Questions should be directed to the press or 310-825-2642.

You can download a printer friendly PDF version of these submission guidelines for authors.

Brief Content

Each Latino Policy and Issues Brief focuses on one topic, presenting statistical information distilled from longer research reports. It is a brief overview meant to highlight the policy implications of extensive research, thereby making academic work more accessible to busy legislators and journalists. The aim of the series is not only to raise awareness of the important work done by UCLA faculty and other scholars but also to disseminate information that has the power to change structural inequities. While the series has a social science emphasis, submissions in the humanities are welcomed. Scholars with research that speaks to policy issues affecting Latinos in the Unites States are welcome to send a query to the editor. Authors should always query the editor before sending a submission, keeping in mind the following.

Submission Query

Abstract: Include an abstract of the research (no more than 100 words).
Profile: Include a fifty-word author profile listing affiliation, title, recent or upcoming publications, and current academic interests.
Originality: The material submitted for the series need not be original. Most of the Latino Policy and Issues Briefs are derived from the scholar's published reports or research articles. Permission must be obtained, however, from original funders if they own the rights to the research.
Timeliness: Submissions on timely topics, especially those being debated in the legislature or media, are particularly welcomed.
Language: The series is currently published only in English.
Length: The final length of each Latino Policy and Issues Brief is approximately 1,000 words (including bibliography). The original submission need not meet these standards, however, as staff members work with the author to distill the report down to its essentials.
Copyright: The author retains copyright ownership, merely transferring the rights to the Latino Policy and Issues Brief to the Regents of the University of California. The Regents have the exclusive right to publish and distribute the Latino Policy and Issues Brief as they see fit. Upon acceptance of the submission, all authors must sign and return a completed License Agreement form.
Contact Information: Include full contact information, including the author’s full name, title, affiliation, department, address, telephone/fax number, and e-mail. The e-mail address is essential. Provide the editor with the address where correspondence and manuscripts should be posted. Many authors tell us too late that they prefer mail at their home address. It is the author’s responsibility to keep the editor abreast of any changes in address and to provide full contact information with the original submission.
Title: Given the likelihood of electronic searches by potential readers, authors should include descriptive key words in their titles. Eschew colorful but empty phrases.
Deadlines: The series has no deadlines, only rolling admission.
Illustrations: Submissions with tables, figures, maps, and other illustrations will be preferred. Do not send original print art with the submission query. All images in the series are reproduced in black and white only.
Permissions: Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reprint illustrations or texts and for paying any royalty fees. By US copyright law, permission must be asked to reprint any formerly published tables, graphs, maps, or illustrations.

Query Review Process

All queries are reviewed by the editor for to see if they meet standard criteria for care, scholarliness, and topic suitability. If a query does not meet such criteria, the editor will notify the author by e-mail with a brief explanation. Acceptance or rejection is solely at the discretion of the editor. We attempt to return decisions in no longer than a month and to publish within three months. The editor does not reveal any information about submissions (including their receipt, their content, their status in the reviewing process, their criticism by reviewers, or their ultimate fate) to anyone other than the author.

Production Process

Once a query has met with the approval of the editor, the author sends in an electronic version of the report to be distilled or an already abbreviated form of the report. It then goes through a set process. First, a staff member edits the submission for length and clarity. This corrected manuscript is then sent by e-mail to the author for review. Authors have one week to review the changes and suggest any alterations. The editor reserves the right to change all manuscripts to improve clarity, to conform to style, and to correct grammar. Authors may alter these changes only if they drastically change their meaning or give offense. If authors do not respond within one week, it is assumed that all changes are approved. Once the article is returned, a professional academic copyeditor with knowledge of the field electronically edits it. The author again gets a chance to review the document. The typesetter then lays the article out in a desktop publishing program. Electronc versions of the typeset, edited version of the article, now called proofs or galleys, are sent to the author for final inspection and approval. If the author does not respond within forty-eight hours, it is assumed that all changes are approved. Authors are responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made by the copy editor and reviewed by the author.

Latino Policy and Issues Brief Style

The copyeditor not only corrects grammar and spelling, but also puts the Latino Policy and Issues Brief into the series style. The briefs follows the Associated Press Stylebook in most matters of spelling, punctuation, capitalization, terms, numbers, quotations, foreign languages, abbreviations, and documentation. A consistent style is an important part of a newsletter’s reputation since regular patterns improve readability and indicate meticulous scholarship. Please note that only those materials actually cited in the Latino Policy and Issues Brief may be listed in the References or Works Cited.

Documentation

The Latino Policy and Issues Brief uses the endnote documentation system, in which sources are not cited in the text by author’s last name and the date of publication, but at the conclusion of the article in notes.