•  
  •  
 

Policies

Contents

Philosophy of Michigan Journal of Public Health

For more information, please see Michigan Journal of Public Health Aims and Scope page.

Who Can Submit?

Anyone may submit an original article to be considered for publication in Michigan Journal of Public Health provided he or she owns the copyright to the work being submitted or is authorized by the copyright owner or owners to submit the article. Authors are the initial owners of the copyrights to their works (an exception in the non-academic world to this might exist if the authors have, as a condition of employment, agreed to transfer copyright to their employer).

{ top }

General Submission Rules and Ethical Compliance

Submitted articles cannot have been previously published, nor be forthcoming in an archival journal or book (print or electronic). Please note: "publication" in a working-paper series does not constitute prior publication. In addition, by submitting material to Michigan Journal of Public Health, the author is stipulating that the material is not currently under review at another journal (electronic or print) and that he or she will not submit the material to another journal (electronic or print) until the completion of the editorial decision process at Michigan Journal of Public Health.

The author(s) must have approved the work for publication and followed the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors authorship guidelines https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html (See “Who is an Author”).

Detailed information on submission terms and ethical guidelines are provided on the Manuscript Submission Form. Please review these guidelines and terms before submitting your article. In addition, include a statement regarding any conflicts of interest in your cover letter upon submission

If you have concerns about the submission terms for Michigan Journal of Public Health, please contact the MJPH Editor.

{ top }

Submission Categories and Article Guidelines

The Michigan Journal of Public Health offers a variety of submission categories in order to welcome a varied audience within public health. The categories include Original Research and Practice Articles, Commentaries, Analytical Essays, Editorials, and Letters to the Editor. For all articles submitted, the style is APA, Times New Roman font, double-spaced, and 1-inch margins. See below for additional details on each category.

Original Research and Practice Articles

Research and practice articles report the results of original quantitative or qualitative public health research in Michigan. The main body of the articles should be no more than 3500 words excluding references and Tables/figures. The article should include a structured abstract of 250 words (Background; Methods, Results; Conclusions). The article should include the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, References, Figures and Tables. The Conclusion Section can be part of the Discussion, but should be clearly labeled. It is strongly recommended that authors follow reporting guidelines and best practices using the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) guidelines for the specific study design type being reported on https://www.equator-network.org. Further, it is recommended that authors follow APA style (https://apastyle.apa.org) when formatting their articles for submission. While APA formatting style is not required for submission, it is required for publication in the Michigan Journal of Public Health.

Commentaries

Include scholarly essays, critical analyses, non-research reports, and policy papers with public health implications for Michigan. Up to 3000 words in main text, 4 tables/figures, and an unstructured abstract of 150 words. Commentaries are non-research publications.

Analytic Essays

Provide a forum for critical analyses of public health issues from disciplines other than the biomedical sciences, including, but not limited to: the social sciences, human rights, and ethics. Up to 3500 words excluding references, in main text, a total of 4 Tables/Figures, and an unstructured abstract of 150 words.

Editorials

Editorials may be solicited by the Editors. Unsolicited editorials will not be considered. Editorials are opinion articles on subjects relevant to the Michigan Journal of Public Health focus areas. Editorials are limited to 500 words. Tables and figures are allowed if relevant. References are not required, but can be included as relevant.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor in response to a recently published original article or commentary (within the past 12 months) or other issue of key interest to the journal's readership will be considered for publication. Letters to the Editor are limited to 500 words and 5 references. One tables and/or figure may included.

{ top }

Formatting Requirements: Submission and Final Publication

We ask that upon submission, all articles are formatted using Times New Roman font, double-spaced text, and include 1-inch margins. Beyond this, the Michigan Journal of Public Health has no rules about the formatting of articles upon initial submission. There are, however, rules governing the formatting of the final submission. Articles are required to be formatted following APA style for final publication. For resources on APA formatting and style, see https://apastyle.apa.org. Although bepress can provide limited technical support, it is ultimately the responsibility of the author to produce an electronic version of the article as a high-quality PDF (Adobe's Portable Document Format) file, or a Microsoft Word, or RTF file that can be converted to a PDF file.

It is understood that the current state of technology of Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) is such that there are no, and can be no, guarantees that documents in PDF will work perfectly with all possible hardware and software configurations that readers may have.

{ top }

Rights for Authors and ScholarWorks@GVSU

As further described in our submission agreement (Submission Agreement), in consideration for publication of the article, the authors assign to ScholarWorks@GVSU all copyright in the article, subject to the expansive personal use exceptions described below.

Attribution and Usage Policies

Reproduction, posting, transmission or other distribution or use of the article or any material therein, in any medium as permitted by a personal-use exemption or by written agreement of ScholarWorks@GVSU, requires credit to ScholarWorks@GVSU as copyright holder (e.g., ScholarWorks@GVSU © 2024).

Personal Use Exceptions

The following uses are always permitted to the author(s) and do not require further permission from ScholarWorks@GVSU provided the author does not alter the format or content of the articles, including the copyright notification:

  • Storage and back-up of the article on the author's computer(s) and digital media (e.g., diskettes, back-up servers, Zip disks, etc.), provided that the article stored on these computers and media is not readily accessible by persons other than the author(s);
  • Posting of the article on the author(s) personal website, provided that the website is non-commercial;
  • Posting of the article on the internet as part of a non-commercial open access institutional repository or other non-commercial open access publication site affiliated with the author(s)'s place of employment (e.g., a Phrenology professor at the University of Southern North Dakota can have her article appear in the University of Southern North Dakota's Department of Phrenology online publication series); and
  • Posting of the article on a non-commercial course website for a course being taught by the author at the university or college employing the author.

General Terms and Conditions of Use

Users of the ScholarWorks@GVSU website and/or software agree not to misuse the ScholarWorks@GVSU service or software in any way.

The failure of ScholarWorks@GVSU to exercise or enforce any right or provision in the policies or the Submission Agreement does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any term of the Submission Agreement or these policies is found to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Submission Agreement and these policies remain in full force and effect. These policies and the Submission Agreement constitute the entire agreement between ScholarWorks@GVSU and the Author(s) regarding submission of the Article.

{ top }

Public Health Scientific Writing Resources

A key resource for scientific writing in public health is the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) guidelines: https://www.equator-network.org. Further, APA has helpful writing resources: https://apastyle.apa.org.

If you are new or have limited scientific publication experience in public health, the following webinar may be of interest. "Scientific Writing Best Practices in Public Health" available on the American Public Health Associations website: https://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/apha-calendar/webinar-events/2024/05-scientific-writing.

{ top }