Missouri Policy Journal

Guidelines for Authors

Providing a guideline as to the length of articles submitted is difficult since we aim to publish pieces which cover a topic in-depth and with a policy emphasis. Potential authors may want to contact the editor @ [email protected] to better determine relevancy and length. We are interested in receiving proposals for articles and will quickly respond to such inquiries. We are interested in a wide variety of issues affecting Missouri affairs. Furthermore, our interest can extend to topics that touch upon interstate and Midwest issues that highlight Missouri. National issues that focus on Missouri are equally welcome Manuscripts that address Missouri might include a focus on another state with a program or policy that should be of interest to Missouri. Usually, this has been characterized as a term known as Laboratories of Democracy, where states can learn from each other. Everything cannot necessarily easily be duplicated from another state, however, and manuscripts that emphasize the limitations of applying a program or policy from another state are also of interest to us.

Bear in mind that the words “detached and analytical” and “can be read by the average educated adult reader” used in the Purpose Statement are of paramount importance. Submissions will be sent to a reviewer (Missouri Policy Journal is a peer review journal) as well as a copy editor.

The basic standards are that submissions use the Chicago Manual (sometimes known as the Turabian) style of footnoting. An abstract will also be needed. Footnotes should be at the bottom of the page on which you cited the source. Please note that when citing online sources you need to include in your footnote the date you accessed the source and a link to the article or study in addition to the standard footnote information, such as title of the article or study, author’s name (where applicable), page number (if there is one), date, etc. Because the Internet is constantly changing and the link to the source you cited may be gone by the time we publish an issue, including the access date shows the reader that the link was active when you conducted research, and making sure to include the other source details regarding title, date, etc., ensures that the reader can still find the original source should they so desire. If much time has passed from when you started your research to the time you send us the article, please check to see if the link still works—if it doesn't and you can find the information at a new, working link, please use the working link in your footnote. If the information is simply gone and you can’t find another link, please include the original link you used (with full source information and the access date, readers will understand that the link was active at the time you conducted research).

The journal is published twice a year. In addition to journal-length articles, we are interested in shorter pieces by policymakers. These pieces are not necessarily written in the same way articles are written, but are more like commentary pieces, or they might provide insight policymakers, public officials, newspaper editors, and journalists would like to share. Furthermore, we are also interested in review pieces which address publications or websites that are relevant to Missouri.