Submission guidelines

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Please read the guidelines in full before submitting your manuscript.
Manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.

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Manuscript Submission Guidelines

Thank you for your interest in publishing with Armed Forces & Society.

Please read all of the guidelines below before submitting your article for review.

Manuscripts must be submitted electronically via http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/afs; authors must establish an online account on the SageTrack system powered by ScholarOne.

Manuscripts are not accepted by e-mail nor are they ‘pre-reviewed’ by editorial staff for suitability. Submission of a manuscript implies a commitment by the author to publish in the journal if the manuscript is accepted; authors must certify that the manuscript is not currently under consideration by any other journal. There is no charge to authors, or no cost, to publish with Armed Forces & Society.

Please contact the journal’s editorial staff at afsjournal@iusafs.org if you have any questions or concerns about submitting a manuscript that are not addressed below.

An additional tool to assist authors with preparing manuscripts can be found at the APA Style Website: https://apastyle.apa.org/.

Please note: If these guidelines - to include formatting basic guidelines - are not adhered to by authors, as reflected in their submissions, the Editors of Armed Forces & Society reserve their right to disqualify submitted manuscripts. Please ensure you follow the formatting basic guidelines outlined below before submission.

There are four manuscript types that can be submitted to Armed Forces & Society:

(Click the link to go directly to the description of the manuscript type)


Original Manuscript

Research Note

Review Essay

Commentary

Book Review


All manuscripts, regardless of type, should adhere to the following formatting basic guidelines:

  • The manuscript must be in MS Word or equivalent.
  • Margins must be 1” on all four sides of 8.5” x 11” (US letter-size), portrait orientation paper.
  • All manuscript text pages must be typed, double-spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font unless otherwise indicated below (e.g., References, Endnotes).
  • Manuscript text should be left justified unless otherwise indicated (e.g., block quotes).
  • Blockquotes should be single-spaced and indented; see APA 7th Sections 8.23 – 8.28 for setup.
  • Headers/Footers of any type, including page numbers, are not permitted.
  • Table data must be presented in a MS Word or MS Excel spreadsheet, or as a .jpg or .png; do not use the spacebar to place data in a ‘table’ on the page! See APA 7th Section 7.8 – 7.21 for setup. Note: Tables will be placed at the end of the document; each table will have its own page.
  • Figure elements must be ‘grouped,’ a .jpg, a .png, or otherwise ‘locked’ into the appropriate format for publication. If Figure elements are not ‘grouped, the manuscript will be returned immediately to the author. Figure resolution should be 300dpi at the time of submission. See APA 7th Section 7.22 – 7.36 for setup. Note: Figures will be placed at the end of the document; each figure will have its own page.
  • References and Endnotes must be 10.5-point Times New Roman font with 1.5 line spacing.
  • Do not highlight any text, add numbers vertically along pages, or submit with track-changes. All submissions, including revisions, should be submitted as clean copies without multi-color font, highlighting, or any other markings.


Manuscript Types


Original Manuscript

  • These are articles that should present novel research work within the scope of the subjects and topics covered by the journal.
  • Length of original manuscripts should not exceed 9,000 words (excluding references).
  • These articles should represent an important advancement in knowledge or understanding that introduces or examines a theory, and then tests the theory through established and well-understood research methods.
  • Articles based on theory development are welcome.
  • The original research article type should include an introduction, a theoretical statement, a clearly articulated methodology, explanation of results, and a discussion of how the results would fit into the context of the published literature.

Research Note

  • “Research note” should be included in the title.
  • These are shorter papers (7000 words excluding references) that contain studies which include data that describes a unique, timely, and often rare group of respondents or trends in aggregate data.
  • They are designed to answer important “what” questions and are not expected to be strong on theory.
  • They undergo regular review under standards that are focused on methodology.
  • Findings of a research note are intended to support further research; many of these types of manuscripts are considered “exploratory research”.

Review Essay

  • These articles should present a clear theoretical or policy justification explaining why the topic requires a review and how it contributes to current scholarly or policy debates.
  • These articles synthesize, analyze, and interpret a body of primary research to clarify what is known, identify gaps or inconsistencies in the literature, and highlight directions for future research. They should offer an integrative perspective that moves beyond description.
  • The review should draw upon a sufficiently large and diverse body of literature. Reviews based on a small number of studies will not meet scholarly expectations. 
  • Authors are encouraged to include a figure, table, or chart summarizing the review process, such as inclusion criteria, thematic categories, or the conceptual structure used to organize the literature. 
  • Length of review essay articles should not exceed 9,000 words (excluding references).

Commentary

  • Commentaries should not exceed 4,000 words excluding references, and will undergo a modified review process at the discretion of the Editor.
  • Most commentaries accepted will be responses to existing articles published in Armed Forces & Society. This encourages scholars to engage our content with critical commentary. This would occur when there are questions about an article such as concerns with the findings, methodology, theoretical approach, interpretation or policy implications.
  • Commentaries should indicate in the abstract that it is commentary on a named journal article with the key points of controversy included.
  • At the discretion of the Editor and based on the topic in question, a commentary on a timely or controversial contemporary issue could be accepted. This type of commentary would contain novel arguments and opinions and generally no original data. The decision to send the commentary out for review is at the Editor’s discretion, and will undergo regular review under additional guidance of the assessment criteria.

Book Reviews

  • Book reviews will generally not exceed 2000 words (excluding title, references and endnotes).
  • Do not include an abstract. Keywords should be shown below the title.
  • Use this prescribed format for titles of book reviews:
    • Peterson, L. (2024). The U.S. military in the print news media: Service and sacrifice in contemporary discourse. Anthem Press. 224 pp. $97.07
  • Book reviews need to be written for a broad readership: readers of Armed Forces & Society come from a wide range of academic disciplines, applied fields, and cultures/ nation-states.
  • Book reviews should describe the purpose and outline of the book, how the book is related to subjects covered in the journal, explain the main thesis, theory, or themes, emphasize strong points, and describe any weaknesses or gaps in the book’s logic.


Manuscript development and review standards

Note: as stated above, an additional tool to assist authors with preparing manuscripts can be found at the APA Style Website: https://apastyle.apa.org/.


Manuscript Quality

Reviewers rate submitted manuscripts based on the following seven criteria: 

  • readability/writing style
  • interest to readership
  • use of literature
  • use of theory
  • appropriateness of methods
  • significance of evidence
  • contribution to knowledge.


Manuscript Preparation

Size: Original manuscripts should typically not exceed 9000 words, excluding tables, figures, references, and endnotes. However, manuscripts received that exceed that limit may be considered at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. For research notes, commentaries, and book reviews, see their descriptions for page length requirements.

Style: Manuscripts should be prepared using the APA Style (7th ed.). See below and https://apastyle.apa.org.


Manuscript Submission Components

(Authors should upload at minimum TWO files, or documents – not including supplemental files, tables, and figures)

  • TITLE PAGE
    • Article title
    • Abstract (maximum 150 words)
    • Keywords (maximum of seven)
    • Author(s)' name(s)
    • Author(s)' brief biography(ies)
    • Author(s)' institutional affiliation(s) with mailing address(es)
    • Corresponding author’s e-mail
    • Acknowledgments
    • Disclosures: Authors who are governmental employees must disclose if the preparation of the submitted manuscript is within the scope of their employment. Please include a statement such as "Co-author (name) prepared this work within the scope of their employment with (governmental agency)." 
  • MAIN DOCUMENT [Manuscript] – Proper Order of Sections
    • Article title, Abstract (maximum 150 words), Keywords (maximum of seven) on first page (all three of these elements on first page)
    • Text (begins on a new page) Note: The first paragraphs are understood to be introductory; do not begin with a section heading “Introduction.” If you have subheadings within the initial paragraphs, begin with Second Level per below.
    • Tables (begin on a new page and are in numerical order with a placeholder [Insert Table # here] in the text) Note: Tables will be placed at the end of the document; each table will have its own page.
    • Figures (begin on a new page and are in numerical order with a placeholder [Insert Figure # here] in the text) Note: Figures will be placed at the end of the document; each figure will have its own page.
    • References (begin on a new page)
    • Endnotes (begin on a new page)
    • Appendices (begin on a new page) Note: Appendices that are extensive and/or supplemental will be published online only and tied to the article via hotlink.


Heading & Subheading Structure (See APA 7th ed. Sections 2.26 – 2.27)

Headings and subheadings should be informative, clear, and brief. They provide an ‘outline’ of the section and distinction between main concepts or components presented.

APA Style provides for five levels, although three usually suffice. They should be formatted precisely as follows:

First Level Headings, Centered, Bold, Title Case

Text should be indented like this…

Second Level Headings, Flush Left, Bold, Title Case

Text should be indented like this… 

Third Level Headings, Bold Italic, Title Case

Text should be indented like this…

Fourth Level Headings, Indented, Bold, Title Case ending with a period. Text then immediately begins like this… 

Fifth Level Headings, Indented, Bold, Italic, Title Case ending with a period. Text then immediately begins like this…

Citations (See APA 7th ed. Sections 8.10 – 8.36.)

  • For each citation, there must be a corresponding citation in the References AND for each Reference in the list, there must be a corresponding text citation.
  • Paraphrasing - See APA 7th Sections 8.23 & 8.24.
  • Quotations- See APA 7th Sections 8.25 – 8.34.
  • Always use in-text citations.
    • Parenthetical:
      • One author:“…processes and people has become normalized (Meštrović, 2015).”
      • Two Authors: “…suitable conditions for pursuing our end goals – well-being, happiness, flourishing (Zavaliy & Aristidou, 2014).
      • Three or more authors: “…armed forces are expected to kill or support a killing machine (Baggaley et al., 2019).
    • Narrative:
      • One author: Tronto (2017) further suggests…
      • Two authors:Allison and Risman (2014, p. 118) state, “…”
      • Three or more authors:Connor et al. (2019) asserts that loyalty relationships…


Endnotes 

If explanatory endnotes are required for your manuscript, use MS Word’s References > Insert Endnote feature.

  • Use Arabic numbers (i.e., 1, 2, 3…).
  • Citations used in endnotes must be included in References.
  • Endnotes must be 5 spaced in 10.5 point Times New Roman and hanging indented.
  • Must begin on a separate page with “Notes” as the first level heading AFTER “References.”


References (See APA 7th ed. Chapters 9 & 10; visit https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references) 

  • Arrange references alphabetically by authors’ last names.
  • If there is more than one work by the same author, order according to publication date oldest to most recent.


Examples of Common References

Journals

Journal article with one author
Smith, A. (2015). Effects of multiple deployments on families and unit readiness. Armed
Forces & Society, 13(6), 578-583. https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X13500651

Journal article with two authors
Woods, P. R., & Lamond, D. A. (2011). What would Confucius do? – Confucian ethics and self-
regulation in management. Journal of Business Ethics 102(4), 669-683.

Journal article with three or more authors
Valentine, G., Holloway, S., Knell, C., & Jayne, M. (2008). Drinking places: young people and
cultures of alcohol consumption in rural environments. Journal of Rural Studies 24, 28-40.

Books

Book with one author
Peters, M. A. (2001). Poststructuralism, Marxism, and Neoliberalism: Between theory and politics.
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Book chapter in an edited volume
Kier, E. (1999). Discrimination and military cohesion: an organizational per­spective. In M. F.
Katzenstein & J. Perry (Eds.), Beyond Zero Tolerance: Discrimination in Military Culture
(pp. 25-52). Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Book with multiple editors
Wardrip-Fruin, N., & Montfort, N. (Eds.). (2003). The new media reader. MIT Press.

Government Agency Reports

National Cancer Institute. (2019). Taking time: Support for people with cancer (NIH Publication No.
18-2059). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health.
https://www.cancer.gov/publications/patient-education/takingtime.pdf

Stuster, J., Adolf, J., Byrne, V., & Greene, M. (2018). Human exploration of Mars: Preliminary lists
of crew tasks (Report No. NASA/CR-2018-220043). National Aeronautics and Space
Administration. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20190001401.pdf

Dissertation (Published)

Miranda, C. (2019). Exploring the lived experiences of foster youth who obtained graduate level
degrees: Self-efficacy, resilience, and the impact on identity development (Publication No.
27542827) [Doctoral dissertation, Pepperdine University]. PQDT Open.
https://pqdtopen.proquest.com/doc/2309521814.html?FMT=AI

Conference Paper Presentation

Evans, A. C., Jr., Garbarino, J., Bocanegra, E., Kinscherff, R. T., & Márquez-Greene, N. (2019,
August 8–11). Gun violence: An event on the power of community [Conference presentation].
APA 2019 Convention, Chicago, IL, United States. https://convention.apa.org/2019-video

Podcast

Meraji, S. M., & Demby, G. (Hosts). (2016–present). Code switch [Audio
podcast]. National Public Radio. https://www.npr.org/podcasts/510312/codeswitch

Copyrighted Materials

Author(s) are responsible for securing permission to reproduce all copyrighted figures or materials before they are published in Armed Forces & Society.

Data availability

Armed Forces & Society is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages.

Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to:

  • Share your research data in a relevant public data repository
  • Include a data availability statement linking to your data. If it is not possible to share your data, use the statement to confirm why it cannot be shared.
  • Cite this data in your research