Instructions for authors

What are we looking for?
How to submit an article
Citation equity 
Editorial review process
Copyright and Permissions
Style
References
English Language Editing Service
Open Access
Self-archiving and institutional repositories
How to maximise the impact of your article
Contact Us

Visit our journal author toolkit for resources and advice to support you through the publication process and beyond.

What are we looking for?

Research articles: JoGA is committed to publishing high quality original research. We welcome submissions from a wide range of disciplines (see Aims and Scope) and are particularly keen on multidisciplinary submissions. We accept articles that use quantitative, qualitative or mixed-methods approaches. In all cases, the research design, methods and analytical approach must be clearly described. Authors are also expected to critically reflect on the impact of any limitations on their findings and to provide readers with a clear understanding of how they might interpret the findings of the study within the context of global ageing. Articles should also be written in an accessible style suitable for the journal’s academic, NGO, policy and practitioner audiences. Research articles should be between 5,000-8,000 words, have a structured abstract of between 200-250 words and up to 5 keywords.

Review articles: JoGA welcomes submissions of state-of-the-art review articles (e.g. systematic/scoping reviews, narrative synthesis reviews) and/or in-depth synthesis methodology reviews (e.g. meta-analyses). Authors are strongly encouraged to register their reviews with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) to avoid duplication of reviews and to enhance review transparency by having a publicly available published protocol. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Statement (PRISMA) flow diagram and checklist should be included in the submission. Articles should also be written in an accessible style suitable for the journal’s academic, NGO, policy and practitioner audiences. Review articles should be between 5,000-8,000 words, have a structured abstract of up to 250 words and up to 5 keywords.

Debates: Ageing is, almost by definition, a complex and contested phenomenon. Moreover, it is often through challenging the prevailing orthodoxy that we can arrive at a better understanding of later life. At JoGA we want to encourage this spirit of debate and critique. Debate articles provide a space for authors to critically engage with emerging issues and/or tackle long running controversies within the study of ageing and later life. Whilst there is no expectation that these articles should be based on original research, they should still be robust and any evidence used to support a position or claim should be clearly referenced. Articles can be written in a variety of forms, e.g. from a single perspective, as a dialogue, by co-authors who write separate mutually responsive sections, etc. We also welcome debate contributions that respond to arguments in papers we have published, and in turn invite other responses. Importantly, authors should avoid distorting or exaggerating claims or arguments made by others. Articles should be between 2000-5000 words and have a brief abstract of up to 150 words and up to 5 key words

Brief reports: Brief reports should provide a short overview of a key issue and/or report preliminary results of a study. Reports should be written in accessible language, with limited use of jargon/references/footnotes, however, the methods section should be detailed to ensure reproducibility of any analyses where relevant. The structure is similar to that of a Research Article, and there is a suggested word count of 2000 words and a limit of up to two figures/tables/graphics.

Back to top

How to submit an article

All submissions should be made online at the Journal of Global Ageing Editorial Manager website: http://www.editorialmanager.com/jga/default.aspx, in Word or Rich Text Format (not pdf). New users should first create an account, specify their areas of interest and provide full contact details.

Preparing your anonymised manuscript

Your initial submission must consist of the following separate files:

1. A cover page including: the article title, author name(s) and affiliations, the article abstract (up to 250 words), up to 5 key words/short phrases and the article word count. A cover page template is available to download here.
   
   
2. A fully anonymized manuscript which does not include any of the information included in the cover page. It should not include any acknowledgments, funding details, or conflicts of interest that would identify the author(s). References to the authors' own work should be anonymised as follows: "Author's own, [year]". Please note that submissions that have not been sufficiently anonymised will be returned.
   
   
3. If you have any Figures and Tables these must be uploaded as separate files at the end of the manuscript. Please indicate where they should be placed in the text by inserting: ‘Figure X here’ and provide numbers, titles and sources where appropriate.
   
   
4. Alt text: In order to improve our accessibility for people with visual impairments, we ask authors to provide a brief description known as alt text to describe any visual content such as photos, illustrations or figures. It will not be visible in the article but is embedded into the images so a PDF reader can read out the descriptions. Guidance on how to write this is available here: Bristol University Press | Alt-text guidance for authors.

All authors must comply with the Bristol University Press/ Policy Press ethical guidelines.

For help submitting an article via Editorial Manager, please view our online tutorial.

Once a submission has been conditionally accepted, you will be invited to submit a final, non-anonymised version via Editorial Manager.

Checklist: what to include in your final, accepted non-anonymised manuscript:

A cover page including: 

• Title: short and concise running title and, if necessary, a (short) informative subtitle;
• Author names and affiliations;
• Abstract: no longer than 250 words, outlining the central question, approach/method, findings and take home message;
• Up to 5 keywords;

The main manuscript including:

• The non-anonymised text of your article: The word count for each type of article is as follows: Research Articles 5,000-8,000; Review Articles 5,000-8,000; Debates 2,000-5,000; Brief reports 2,000.
• Funding details: list any funding including the grant numbers you have received for the research covered in your article as follows: ‘This work was supported by the [Funding Agency] under Grant [number xxxx].’
• Conflict of interest statement: please declare any possible conflicts of interest, or state ‘The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’ if there are none.
• Research ethics statement: Please provide a brief discussion of the ethical issues relevant to your paper and advise if any clearance was granted by your institution or an external ethics committee. We recognise that not all institutions provide or require formal ethics approval processes – please specify whether this applies in your case. The British Society of Gerontology’s ethical guidelines provide further information and link to other resources.
• Data availability statement: Please use/complete the most appropriate statement:

1. 1. Data and materials are located at [insert Public Repository URL]
   2. Pending acceptance, data and materials will be archived at [insert repository]
   3. Data and materials cannot be provided because…
   4. This manuscript does not report on data

• Acknowledgements: acknowledge people who have provided you with any substantial assistance or advice with collecting the data, developing your ideas, editing or any other comments to develop your argument or text.
• Figures and Tables: should be submitted as separate files. Figures should ideally be in an Encapsulated PostScript (.eps) file format. Please indicate where figures and tables should be placed in the text by inserting: ‘Figure/Table X here’ and provide numbers, titles and sources (where appropriate).
• Alt text: In order to improve our accessibility for people with visual impairments, we ask authors to provide a brief description known as alt text to describe any visual content such as photos, illustrations or figures. It will not be visible in the article but is embedded into the images so a PDF reader can read out the descriptions. Guidance on how to write this is available here: Bristol University Press | Alt-text guidance for authors.
• Supplementary data: We recommend that any supplementary data is hosted in a data repository (such as figshare) for maximum exposure, and is cited as a reference in the article. Short online supplements can be published alongside the article.
• Journal Contributor Publishing Agreement: please upload a scanned copy of the completed and signed Journal Contributor Publishing Agreement with your final non-anonymised manuscript. The Journal Contributor Publishing Agreement can be downloaded here.

Citation equity

The Journal of Global Ageing does not count reference lists in article word counts and expects authors to reflect diversity in their citations and references.

Editorial Review Process

All submissions are first desk-reviewed by the editor(s) who will assess whether the manuscript fits the aims and scope as well as the quality standards of the journal. Papers that are selected to be sent out for review will be evaluated through double-anonymous peer review by at least two referees. The Journal of Global Ageing aims to return the reviews along with an initial decision within two months of submission.

Please also see our Journals Editorial Policies.

Back to top

Copyright and Permissions

The Journal of Global Ageing is published by Policy Press. Articles are considered for publication on the understanding that on acceptance the author(s) grant(s) Policy Press the exclusive right and licence to publish the article. Copyright remains with the author(s) or other original copyright owners and we will acknowledge this in the copyright line that appears on the published article.

Authors will be asked to sign a journal contributor agreement to this effect, which should be submitted online along with the final manuscript. All authors should agree to the agreement. For jointly authored articles the corresponding author may sign on behalf of co-authors provided that they have obtained the co authors’ consent. The journal contributor agreement can be downloaded here.

Where copyright is not owned by the author(s), the corresponding author is responsible for obtaining the consent of the copyright holder. This includes figures, tables, and excerpts. Evidence of this permission should be provided to Bristol University Press. General information on rights and permissions can be found here.

To request permission to reproduce any part of articles published in Journal of Global Ageing please email Bristol University Press: bup-info@bristol.ac.uk. 

For information on what is permissible use for different versions of your article please see our policy on self archiving and institutional repositories.

Back to top

Style

• British English spelling and punctuation is preferred.
• Non-discriminatory language is mandatory. We strongly recommend that authors consult the Communication Best Practices: Reframing Aging Initiative Guide to Telling a More Complete Story of Aging (PDF).

• Explanatory notes should be kept to a minimum. If it is necessary to use them, they must be numbered consecutively in the text and listed at the end of the article. Please do not embed notes in the text.
• Please do not embed bibliographic references in the text, footnotes, live links or macros; the final submitted file should be clear of track changes and ready for print.
• Tables and charts should be separated from the text and submitted in a Word or Excel file, with their placement in the text clearly indicated by inserting: ‘Table X here’. Please provide numbers, titles and sources (where appropriate).
• Figures, diagrams and maps should be separated from the text and, ideally, submitted in an Encapsulated PostScript (.eps) file. Figures created in Word or Excel are acceptable in those file formats. If the figures, diagrams and maps are in other formats (i.e. have been pasted into a Word file rather than created in it) please contact bup-journalsproduction@bristol.ac.uk for advice. Please indicate where figures should be placed in the text, by inserting: ‘Figure X here’ and provide numbers, titles and sources (where appropriate).

Back to top