Submission Guidelines

To have an article considered for publication in Homeland Security Affairs:

• Make sure your submission complies with all guidelines outlined below
• Email your article as an attachment to hsaj@nps.edu
• Include a brief (150 word) abstract and author bio(s) of 150 words or less, as a separate attachment

Types of Articles

Homeland Security Affairs accepts submissions of:

• Original research articles
• Short-form articles and Essays
• Book Reviews

Homeland Security Affairs is interested in publishing work that addresses current homeland security and defense issues, including the training and teaching of homeland defense and security. Our focus is on pieces that contribute to the understanding and advancement of the field and that will encourage discussion and debate among practitioners and academics.

Who Can Submit?

As the journal of the Center for Homeland Defense and Security, its faculty, participants, alumni and partners, Homeland Security Affairs accepts submissions from qualified academics and practitioners in the field of homeland security, or in fields relating to homeland defense and security. There are no article processing charges or submission charges.

General Submission Rules

Co-authored papers are acceptable, but previously or simultaneously published material is not. Papers may be excerpted from a larger unpublished paper (e.g. a thesis or book manuscript). Please note: “publication” in a working paper series does not constitute prior publication. In addition, by submitting material to Homeland Security Affairs, the author stipulates 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 Homeland Security Affairs. The author also acknowledges that Homeland Security Affairs is an open-access journal and stipulates that the article contains no classified information or controlled unclassified information (CUI). If you have concerns about the submission terms for Homeland Security Affairs, please contact the managing editor at hsaj@nps.edu.

Plagiarism Policy Statement

The editors of Homeland Security Affairs make use of anti-plagiarism software to detect plagiarism in all journal submissions. Plagiarism occurs when an author uses the words, ideas, data, or arguments from the work of another author without appropriate attribution. Plagiarism can range from minor instances where only a few words or a small part of another’s argument are improperly used, to major instances where large quantities of text are cut and pasted, or where a large portion of another author’s argument is used without appropriate citation.* If questions regarding the originality of a manuscript arise during the submission process, the editors will communicate those concerns to the author(s). If evidence of plagiarism emerges after publication, the journal will contact the author, convey the journal’s findings, and explore appropriate courses of action. Such courses of action may range from issuing a correction, in the case of minor instances of plagiarism, to retraction and informing the author’s institution in the case of major instances. **

*Elizabeth Wagner, “How Should Editors Respond to Plagiarism?” COPE Discussion Paper, Committee on Publication Ethics, April 26th, 2011, Last accessed on April 18, 2017, https://publicationethics.org/files/u7141/Discussion%20document_0.pdf

**Plagiarism and Fabrication Policy Statement, Nature, Last accessed on April 24, 2017, http://www.nature.com/authors/policies/plagiarism.html

Rights for Authors and Homeland Security Affairs

Homeland Security Affairs allows authors to hold the copyright and publishing rights of published articles without restriction.

Convention: Author refers to both single-author articles and multiple-author articles. In the latter case, it refers to the authors singly and collectively. Copyright holder refers to both single-copyright holder articles and multiple-copyright-author articles. In the latter case, it refers to the copyright holders singly and collectively.

Homeland Security Affairs does not seek the copyright on published articles. In consideration for publication, however, the author (or the copyright holder if different) grants, in perpetuity and valid world-wide, Homeland Security Affairs and its subsidiaries, a perpetual right to archive, publish, and republish at its discretion and as often as they wish the article in any medium or media of their choosing and without further consideration for the author (or the copyright holder if different). The author (or the copyright holder if different) further grants Homeland Security Affairs and its subsidiaries the right to transfer, sell, or license these rights, in whole or in part, to any entity of their choosing, at prices of their choosing, and without further consideration to the author (or the copyright holder if different).

Guidelines for Human Subject research *

“Submitting authors have the responsibility of treating both human and animal subjects humanely and in accordance with federal, state, and local laws or regulations, as well as the generally accepted procedures within the scientific community.

Submitting authors determine, through consultation with colleagues or institutional review committees, that the exposure of human or animal research subjects to hazards, stress, divulgence of history or preferences, or tedium is commensurate with the significance of the problem being researched.

Submitting authors determine the degree of hazard present in the exposure of human or animal research subjects, avoiding any exposures to human subjects that may result in death, dismemberment, permanent dysfunction or extreme pain, and utilize the lowest levels of exposure to both human and animal subjects consistent with the phenomenon under consideration.

Submitting authors ensure the ethical treatment of human and animal research subjects by collaborators, assistants, students, and employees.

Submitting authors establish an informed consent with human research subjects when required by institutional, state, or federal codes or regulations, making explicit in plain language the terms of participation, particularly with respect to any elements of risk or stress involved, and adhere to those terms throughout the experiment. One of these terms must be that the subject has the right to terminate participation at any time without prejudice.

Submitting authors do not coerce potential human research subjects to participate as subjects, nor do they use undue monetary rewards to induce subjects to take risks they would not otherwise take.

Submitting authors preserve the confidentiality of any information obtained from human research subjects that, if divulged, may have harmful effects on those subjects.”

*These guidelines were created by the Journal of Human Factors.

Reviewing and Editing of Articles

All research articles submitted to Homeland Security Affairs undergo a double-blind peer-review process by the journal’s Editorial Review Board and qualified outside reviewers as needed. The publishing process for reviewed articles will generally proceed as follows:

• The manuscript, with abstract and author bio, is emailed to hsaj@nps.edu
• The managing editor forwards the article to two reviewers (members of the Editorial Review Board and/or outside reviewers) within one to two weeks of receiving the submission.
• Reviewers are asked to respond within two to four weeks with comments on the article and a recommendation to publish, publish with minor revisions, publish with major revisions, request a rewrite and resubmission, or decline for publication. Please note that the review process may take longer if reviewers are unavailable or unable to meet the requested deadline.
• The decision and the reviews are forwarded to the author(s), with a request for revisions (if applicable) and a time frame for completing those revisions. Please note that all articles recommended for publication, with or without revisions, are subject to final review by the Editorial Committee of Homeland Security Affairs prior to final acceptance for publication.
• When the manuscript has been reviewed and accepted, it is copyedited and formatted and returned to the author for sign-off. We will then schedule the article for publication.

Essays and short-form articles are reviewed in a similar manner, except that these manuscripts are not subjected to the double-blind peer review process.

Book and Media Review Guidelines

Book and Media Reviews for Homeland Security Affairs should address the following questions:

1. What is this book (or film) about (themes, central arguments, scope, perspective)?
2. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this work?
3. What does this work contribute to the field, the discipline, and the literature?
4. Does this work advance the discipline of homeland defense and security? What is its place in the current debate?

We accept single work reviews (1,000 to 2,000 words) or multiple-work comparative reviews (approximately 5,000 words).

All book reviews must include the author, title, and place and date of publication. Film reviews should include the title, director(s), releasing studio, and year of release. Please provide a brief (three or four sentence) biographical statement regarding the reviewer; submit both review and bio as an email attachment to: hsaj@nps.edu.

Submission Deadlines

There are no set submission deadlines. We welcome submissions at any time and will begin the review process as manuscripts are received. Once an article or book review has been accepted for publication, and all revisions and formatting are completed, it will be published in the next available issue.

Author Guidelines

This document provides details on article submission, copyediting, typesetting, and layout requirements and recommendations pertaining to final manuscript submission to Homeland Security Affairs.

Author’s guidelines available for download.

Article Length

Because Homeland Security Affairs is published electronically, page limits are not absolutely critical. The following length recommendations are based on our experience with readers and reviewers.

• Research articles: 30-35 pages (up to 10,000 words) in length, including notes and appendices.
• Essays and short-form articles: Up to ten pages (approximately 5,000 words) in length.
• Book Reviews: 1,000 to 2,000 words for a single book; up to 5,000 words for a multi-book review.

Formatting Requirements

Do not include a title page or abstract in the text you prepare for submission. (Begin the article with title and introduction.) You will be asked to provide an abstract of approximately 150 words with your submission, as well as a brief (150 words or less) author’s bio.

General Rules:

Homeland Security Affairs adheres to the rules of the Chicago Manual of Style, 17^th edition.

•  Provide a bibliography following the body of the paper with entries formatted for Chicago Style (17th Edition).
• Use end-note citations, rather than footnotes. Please be sure these are complete.
• Do not include headers, or footers. (Homeland Security Affairs will add the appropriate header with page numbers).
• Submit your manuscript, including tables, figures, appendices, etc., as a single file (Word or RTF).
• Page size should be 8.5 x 11-inches.
• All margins (left, right, top and bottom) should be 1 inch.
• Double space your text.
• Use a single column layout, justified right and left.
• Do not use special formatting or spacing between paragraphs.
• Use only one space at the end of each sentence.

Font:

Main Body — 12 pt. Georgia or Times New Roman, or the closest comparable font available

Endnotes — 10 pt. Georgia or Times New Roman, or the closest comparable font available

If figures are included, use high-resolution figures, preferably encoded as encapsulated PostScript (eps).

Layout:

Please use the following document structure (remember there is no title page):

1. Title
2. Introduction (titling this section is optional)
3. Subsequent sections including all tables, figures, and footnotes referenced in the text.
4. Bibliography
5. Appendices (if any)
6. Endnotes

Please note that acknowledgements should be submitted as a separate attachment so that they may be incorporated into the article for publication.

Headings and Sub-heads:

Please use the following guidelines in setting headings and subheads.

MAIN HEADINGS: 14pt, bold, all caps

SECONDARY HEADINGS: 12 pt, bold, all caps

1st Subhead: 12 pt, bold, upper and lower case

2nd Subhead: 12 pt, upper and lower case

For additional information regarding formatting your article, please contact hsaj@nps.edu.