Contributing to the journal

Submissions

In wanting to give pre-eminence to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural and intellectual traditions, we invite papers for forthcoming issues which clearly delineate the ethical decision-making that underpins the research approaches and methodologies that have been used. Australian Aboriginal Studies values ethical, community-led research that empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and implements their right to full participation in research that concerns them. This includes consideration by the researcher of the impacts of their research on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the ways in which the research contributes to our understanding of ourselves as a society.
Please note that we do not publish articles that are literature reviews.

Please ensure your submission adheres to the guidelines below.

Guidelines

All major articles will be peer reviewed. Book reviews and review articles will be copy-edited but not peer reviewed.

Ethics

AAS values ethical research. Please ensure that your submission complies with the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies’ AIATSIS ethical research framework, as set out in the AIATSIS Code of Ethics and the Guide to Applying the AIATSIS Code of Ethics.

Length

Research articles can be no longer than 10,000 words; preferred length is 5000 to 6000 words.
Native title issues papers: between 3500 and 7000 words.
Research reports: up to 3000 words.
Comments, book reviews and review articles: up to 1500 words.

Content

Because the journal is multidisciplinary, we urge authors to write using the principles of plain English where possible to allow their work to be understood by a wide audience. Please note that we do not publish literature reviews, rather our focus is original research.
Refer to the Aboriginal Studies Press Style and Referencing Guide.

What to include

Article submissions should include an abstract, a short biographical note, and a contact address - including an email address.

Style and formatting

Text and tables

Please submit your content as an electronic file in Microsoft Word format. Use the Word default margins in A4, with the font set to 12pt Times New Roman, and use double-spacing throughout.

Illustrations

lllustrations should not be included in the body of the text. Instead, include an instruction about where to include the image, with the illustrations provided as separate low-res files, TIFF, EPS or JPEG. (High-res files will be required from you at the point of printing).
Provide captions for all illustrations, including the artist’s name, medium, date and name/s of copyright holder/s.
Single column images must be at least 73mm wide, double column images at least 152mm wide.
All scanned images should be at appropriate size and at 300dpi or higher.
Preferably no stippling/shading is to be used in figures (e.g. maps).

Referencing system

AAS uses the name–date (Harvard) system. Textual references should include the name of the author/s and the year of publication (e.g. Neale and Kleinert 2000). All directly quoted material should include relevant page number/s (e.g. Neale and Kleinert 2000:69–70). All references are then listed alphabetically and in full at the end of the article. Please see our page of referencing examples to make sure your references meet the AAS referencing system and refer to the Style and Referencing Guide.

Copyright clearances

Once material is accepted for publication, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to include any third party copyright material (for example, text, photos, tables, graphs). Permissions should be for the same use as stipulated in your author’s agreement for publication. See our page on seeking copyright permission for more information. Before you submit your material, double-check you have met your copyright obligations.Make sure you seek permission to use copyright material.
Tick off this checklist for authors seeking copyright permission.

Ready to submit?

Submit your article here

Contact

Australian Aboriginal Studies
AIATSIS
GPO Box 553
Canberra ACT 2601
P: 02 6261 4251
aasjournal@aiatsis.gov.au