SBG Submission Guidelines
Student authors: In advance of sending your complete submission to Dr. Ruggiero, first send her an email inquiry about what you are planning to submit. Include the following:
1. a brief Abstract your proposed submission;
2. why you think your submission is a good fit for publication in this sociology journal;
3. a few sentences about yourself (including the college/university you are attending, your major,
year in college, post-college plans).
4. Dr. Ruggiero also asks student authors to request an email recommendation from
the principal faculty member with whom they worked on their submission.
I. Guidelines for Article Submissions
Divide your submission into the following labeled sections:
Abstract and Key Words
Introduction,
Literature Review,
Hypothesis/ses or Thesis,
Research Methods,
Analysis of Results,
Conclusion,
Discussion
Implications
A. Length: 20 pages maximum, including References, images, tables and graphs.
Authors are responsible for keeping submissions to main points. Prepare your submission as follows:
1. double-spaced in Times New Roman 12 typeface, with 1” margins all around as though you are writing a paper for a course. DO NOT set up your submission in columns.
2. paginated in the upper right-hand corner, starting on the first page of text; and
3. submitted as editable Word documents not as a pdf file.
B. A Title Page containing the complete title of the submission; the full name(s) of each author; each author’s affiliation and contact information; and a brief “About the Author” a brief statement for each author.
Authors have the discretion to also include an Acknowledgement of individuals or organizations they wish to thank and a Disclosure about the funding source of their research.
C. An Abstract of between 200-350 words long. Include your objective, method, results, conclusions, and practical implications of your work. Use complete sentences and spell out any acronyms the first time you mention them in the Abstract and in the body your article.
Include three or four Key Words or Phrases identifying the principal content of your article.
D. The Body of the Article should include a clear statement of purpose in the Introduction; a brief review of the important literature for empirical and theoretical submissions; a description of method and scope of observations for empirical submissions; statement of hypothesis, if present; an analysis of all results; brief discussion of the significance of the findings with comments connecting this paper with the previous, relevant literature; a section on implications and suggestions for future research, if relevant; and a complete list of all work cited (i. e., References).
Regarding the use of direct quotes from non-paginated internet sources: Please use direct quotes from both printed and internet sources sparingly. In cases where authors quote from non-paginated internet sources, the in-text citation of author and publication date is acceptable.
The title of Tables or Figures must be clear, simple, and identify its contents, including key variables. Each column in a table or figure must have a title or label. Number each table and/or figure consecutively beginning with the number 1 (e. g., Table 1, Table 2, etc.). Authors must briefly describe the patterns of the data in each table and figure in the body of the manuscript. They must also cite/identify tables or figures by number at the end of the description (e. g., See Table 1; See Figure 1). Authors agree to submit each table or figure on a separate page, or as individual attachments, along with their submission.
About Footnotes: Include footnotes only IF they contain essential information not provided in the body of the submission. Do not use footnotes to cite sources discussed in your paper. Instead, cite each source in the body of your submission as follows (author date of publication).
Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the sources and/or links cited.
E. Copyrighted Material
Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission from copyright owners to reprint any previously published material included in their article. Each author must sign a written agreement stating that s/he has obtained the copyright transfer for each copyrighted image.
F. Appendix/Appendices
We encourage authors to keep the body of the paper focused on important content. In cases where there is important supplemental, lengthy material the author wishes to include, this material may be included in an APPENDIX or Appendices.
G. About the Author: Along with their submission, authors will send a brief statement about their relevant background.
II. Point of View Essays
Point of View (POV) essays are written by authors (including non-sociologists) who have direct experience with the topic they are discussing.
1. If you are interested in submitting a POV essay please contact Dr. Ruggiero in advance to provide a brief description of your essay topic, structure, and approach. If you have already contacted her about the content of the essay you plan to submit and she has given you the go ahead to send it, then submit the essay itself.
2. Length guidelines: 2,500 words or less. For longer proposed POV essays essays (up to 5,000 words), send D. Ruggiero a detailed outline of the essay's principal objective and contents along with a justification of the need for greater length.
3. About the Author: Along with sending his/her/their submission to the Editor-in-Chief, authors should send a few brief sentences for the “About the Author” section, containing information that they would like readers to know about them.
An invitation to submit a POV essay is not a guarantee of its publication. Members of the Editorial Board will vet topics and content. Submitted POV essays that fit publication guidelines will be peer reviewed prior to a publication decision.
Opinions presented in the POV section reflect the authors' views and/or experiences alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board of SBG, or of Providence College.
III. Book and Film Reviews
Sociology Between the Gaps focuses on publishing well-written pieces on forgotten and/or neglected topics.
The principal objective of a book or film review is to publish sociological reflections on current work, a book or film, that will reach a diverse, global readership.
Submitters of Book and Film Reviews may or may not be sociologists. However, they must have read the book, or viewed the film, and have experience with the content covered in either. Reviews should include a description of the book or film as well as the submitter's reflection on, or evaluation of, its content and its relevance to the journal's readership. If the submitters are sociologists, then writing from a sociological perspective and using relevant sociological concepts is strongly encouraged.
We encourage submissions of Book and Film reviews related to the themes explored our first three volumes: adoption, livable communities, and cultural lag as well as to topics of sociological interest to our global readership.
Length guideline: 2,500 words or less.
An invitation to submit a Book or Film Review essay is not a guarantee of its publication in its original draft or at all. Authors should expect that reviews accepted for publication will typically be edited for wording, content or style.
About the Author: Along with their submission, authors will send a brief statement about their relevant background.
IV. Musings
The Musings section, first introduced in volume seven, publishes essays that result from an author’s reflections, thoughts, or contemplation on something they have been “thinking about carefully and for a long time” (Cambridge English Dictionary). When someone ponders or contemplates, they “muse.” Therefore, what they write as a result of reflecting on a topic or an idea over time can be described as a Musing.
About the Author: Along with their submission, authors will send a brief statement about their relevant background.
Suggested length: 3,000 words or less.