Author Guidelines

Accepted Forms​ of Submission

1.​ ​Academic​ ​article or essay​ - A piece of writing ​based​ ​on​ ​original​ ​ethnographic​ ​research. Articles ​should be maximum 5,000​​ words, including reference​ list. All submissions should be ​based​ ​on​ the ​​author's ​​own​ ​fieldwork, ​alongside​ relevant​ methodological​ ​and ​​theoretical​ ​materials.​ ​Illustrations​ ​(photos,​ ​drawings,​ ​maps, cartoons, etc.)​ are welcome.​

2. Short informal/reflective piece of writing - This could be a reflective​ ​essay, an excerpt from fieldnotes or a shorter article concerned​ with​ the ethnographic​ ​process​ ​of​ ​writing. ​This could​ ​describe, but is not limited to, ​a​ ​specific​ ​incident, ​​situation, ​place, or​ ​conversation. ​A​ ​reference​ ​list​ ​is​ ​not​ ​required​ in​ ​this​ ​format​ ​but​ ​welcome​ ​at the author’s​ discretion. Reflective pieces should​ ​​be maximum 2,000​ words. ​Illustrations​ are​ welcome. ​

3.​ ​Photo-essay​ - An​ ​ethnographic​ ​account​ ​portrayed​ ​predominantly​ ​through photographs​ ​with​ ​some​ ​accompanying​ ​text. A​ ​short​ ​text​ ​must​ ​be​ ​provided​ under​ each​ ​image, ​​including​ ​all​ ​relevant​ ​footnotes. ​Within​ ​this​ ​format​ ​there​ ​must​ ​be between ​5-15 images.         

4.​ ​Short film​ ​-​ ​A​ ​short​ ​ethnographic​ ​film​ ​accompanied​ ​by​ ​a​ ​text​ ​up​ ​to​ ​500​ ​words. ​Films must​ ​be​ ​based​ ​on​ ​original​ ​ethnographic​ ​fieldwork.​ ​If​ ​the​ ​film​ ​includes​ ​any​ ​dialogue, then ​a​ ​full​ transcript must​ ​also​​ be​​ ​provided.​ ​Films​ ​must​ ​be​ ​between​ ​3​-10​ ​minutes long,​ including​​ any​ credit​ scenes.

Authors should note that longer academic essays and articles will undergo a peer-review process; authors are expected to keep in contact with the editors during this time.

Authors are welcome to submit multiple ethnographies per issue.

Submissions should be sent through OJS.

Submissions should be based on the author's original ethnographic work and referenced appropriately.

Submissions should specify author affiliations.

Submissions should have a title, a 100-word abstract, and a maximum of 6 keywords.

Style Guidelines

The text should be typed in 12-point Times New Roman or another conventional font, and should be double-spaced (including Abstract, References and Footnotes). Page numbers should be entered at the top right-hand corner of each page.

Referencing

Referencing should follow the Harvard Author Date format. 

Footnotes

Footnotes should be kept to a minimum. They should not be used for references, but for explanation and expansion of argument where appropriate. Footnotes reference numbers should appear as consecutive Arabic numerals and must be embedded in the text (so that any footnote additions or deletions will automatically change all the footnote changes throughout the paper).

Language

English is the working language of this publication, but we are willing to consider submissions in other languages, subject to our capacity to review and edit them. Words in other languages should be italicised.

Spelling

You are free to use British English or Amercian English but spelling should be consistent. 

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abbreviations and acronyms should be explained at the first occurrence. These, and other conventions, should be used consistently throughout the paper, and typed without full points. Thus: GNP, PhD. Per cent is preferred to %, unless used frequently. Always percentage.

Dashes

Use an em-rule (–) with a character space either side.

Numbers, Dates and Measurements

Words should be used for simple numbers from one to ten, while figures should be used for numerals from 11 upwards. Exceptions are references to page numbers, and in sets of numerals, some of which are higher than ten (eg. 17, 6 and 2).

Four-figure numbers should have a comma, and a further comma with each additional three figures (eg. 2,000; 5,000,000).

Dates should be written in full (eg. 15 February 1943), and decades in number, without abbreviation (eg. the 1980s). Write 20th century, and use 21st-century ideas. Metric units are preferred for contemporary weights and measures.

Separate units from figures (eg. 50 km and not 50km)

Quotations

When in the text these should be in single quotation marks, and should be in double quotation marks when appearing as quotations within quotations. Quotations of more than two lines of text should be indented.

Tables, Illustrations and Figures

Tables, illustrations and figures should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals, and placed in their appropriate location and caption marked in the text.

Illustrations may be provided in colour or greyscale and submitted as either .tiff or .jpeg files with a minimum quality of 300dpi. The online nature of this series means there is no additional cost for the inclusion of photographs, maps, etc and contributors are encouraged to use illustrations where appropriate.

Copyright: ensure credit is given to the author(s) of each figure in the caption. Specify if own work.

Media Files

We welcome submissions that include video files. Our preferred formats are mpg/mpeg and mp4, but we can accept mov, avi or wmv. Where possible, files should not exceed 100MB.

Authors should upload their video file to Media Hopper (https://media.ed.ac.uk/) as an 'Unlisted' item, and then submit via OJS all other files, such as accompanying text and transcript, including a link to the video.

A short video showing how to use Media Hopper can be found at: https://media.ed.ac.uk/media/How+to+load+a+video+to+media+hopper.mp4/1_ad82j55z 

Ethics Guidelines

Contributions should be original and should not have been previously published. Both text and images should be the work of the named author(s) of the submission.

Contributions should be based upon research conducted by the named author(s). The research should have been conducted in accordance with the following principles: dignity, respect, care for others, honest, integrity and accountability. For further guidance on research ethics see UK Research Integrity Office (UKRIO): Code of Practice for Research, and Ethical Guidelines of the Association of Social Anthropologists (ASA).