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Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • If you are submitting a Research or Review paper, the submission contains both a main paper submission and a summary paper submission. These should be submitted as one Word document, with the first 1-2 pages comprising the summary paper and the rest of the document being the main paper.
  • The main paper submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
  • Three potential reviewers of the work, and their contact details, have been provided as Comments to the Editor (below).
  • The submission file is in .doc or .docx format only.
  • Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
  • The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end. All specific formatting and bibliographic requirements are stated in the submission template documents (please use the templates for Research/Review Papers or Practical Papers, as appropriate).

Author Guidelines

Dates for Submission
The JHE accepts paper submissions on a rolling basis. Papers are published online as unformatted manuscripts as soon as they are accepted. The journal publishes two issues per year, at which point a final, copy-edited version of each paper accepted since the previous issue is released.

Types of Submission
The JHE accepts four types of submissions:

  • Research papers are fully documented, interpreted accounts of significant findings of original research, and should not normally exceed 5,000 words. These papers are single-blind reviewed by at least three independent peer reviewers.
  • Review Papers are critical and comprehensive reviews that provide new insights or interpretation of the subject through thorough and systematic evaluation of available evidence. They should not normally exceed 8,000 words. These papers are single-blind reviewed by at least three independent peer reviewers.
  • Practical Papers provide new information on subjects of interest to professionals in practice, and should not normally exceed 2,500 words. These are normally discussions of small research studies or field trials. These papers are single-blind reviewed by at least three independent peer reviewers.
  • Editorials provide commentary, by a recognized authority, on an issue of wide interest. Authors of potential Editorials are encouraged to enter into communication with the Editor-in-Chief before preparation. Editorials should not normally exceed 1,000 words and are limited to a maximum of 1,500 words. These submissions are not peer-reviewed (other than by members of the JHE Editorial Team).

Photographs
We strongly encourage the use of photographs to complement your paper submission. Any accompanying photographs need to be attached separately to submission e-mail and in high- resolution format where possible. All images need to be saved as a JPEG file with an appropriate title to ease identification. The placement of the photo within the submission must be indicated by the author in the body of the submission in square parentheses, accompanied by an appropriate caption, with a corresponding title for the image file.

Submission Guidelines
The JHE requires authors of Research and Review Papers to submit the following:

  • A main full text submission.
  • A summary paper submission - a summary of the main submission no longer than 600 words, written in non-technical language that is accessible to all readers regardless of background (these summary papers serve as a mechanism for non-technical readers to understand and apply work published by JHE authors).
  • Suggestions and contact details for three reviewers who authors believe will be able to independently evaluate and comment on their work.

Guidelines and templates for both the summary and full submissions of Research and Review Papers can be found here.

The JHE requires authors of Practical Papers to submit the following:

  • A main full text submission.
  • Suggestions and contact details for three reviewers who authors believe will be able to independently evaluate and comment on their work.

Guidelines and templates for Practical Papers can be found here.

For all submissions
The official language of the JHE is Australian English (refer to the Macquarie Dictionary for spelling conventions). All paper submissions for the JHE must be submitted electronically at this website. Authors will need to create an account and then click on 'New Submission' or 'Start A New Submission'.

At "Uploading Supplementary Files" authors are required to recommend three qualified reviewers (these should be experts in the area of the article). Authors must provide first and last names, institutions, and email addresses for all three reviewers. Potential reviewers should not be from any of the author's institutions. Reviewers should not be suggested who may have a real or perceived conflict of interest (e.g. former advisers, students, collaborators, recent co-authors)

Submission Templates
Please download the following documents that includes guidelines and templates for both the summary paper and main submission papers.

If you encounter technical difficulties, please contact the editorial team via the following e-mail: journal@ewb.org.au.

The template documents consist of the full formatting instructions required for submission. For ease of editing it is asked that the paper be submitted as a Microsoft Office Word text document (or equivalent with .doc or. docx extension)

Author Submission Revision Requirements
As the JHE is a peer-reviewed journal, authors may be required to submit revisions to their submissions. Author revision deadlines are set by the Editor handling your submission, but are generally 30 days from the end of first review of the submissions. Authors will be contacted by the Editor during this process.

Authors are required to submit an Author Response Form alongside their revised submission, which details their revision process to the editorial team. Copies of the Author Response Form will be provided as part of the online peer review process or can be downloaded here.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
The Journal of Humanitarian Engineering (JHE) upholds high standards of publication ethics and investigates all suspected cases of malpractice. The JHE adheres to the policies of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and as such all JHE Editors, Reviewers and Authors are requested to be familiar with the relevant guidelines. Particular attention is drawn to the following requirements:

Authors are required to:

  • Ensure that work submitted for review is original and has not been published previously or is under consideration for publication elsewhere;
  • Acknowledge, through appropriate citations, sources of information from other publications;
  • Disclose conflicts of interest;
  • Acknowledge funding sources;
  • Report only accurate and reliable data;
  • Receive approval for publication of the work by appropriate authorities (e.g. human ethics committees); submission of the paper for review implies that such approval has been granted;
  • Read the submission guidelines, and advise JHE and/or its Editors if the guidelines are confusing or misleading.

Reviewers are required to:

  • Treat papers under review with complete confidence;
  • Give an honest appraisal in a constructive manner within a reasonable time-frame (as agreed upon with the relevant Editor);
  • Disclose conflicts of interest;
  • Make the Editors aware of any examples of misconduct, or suspicion of misconduct, however, they must communicate these in a confidential manner;
  • Read the submission guidelines, and advise JHE and/or its Editors if the guidelines are confusing or misleading.

Editors are required to:

  • Perform duties in a professional manner and in the best interests of the journal, its readers, and its contributors;
  • Be impartial and provide constructive comments to both authors and reviewers within a reasonable time-frame;
  • Disclose conflicts of interest;
  • Work with the authors and reviewers to ensure that only suitable high-quality work is published;
  • Assist in handling complaints, conflict resolution and the appeals process should there be differing opinions between reviewers or between reviewers and authors;
  • Investigate any suspected cases of misconduct;
  • Have the final decision in determining whether an article is published.

All authors, reviewers and editors should also adhere to the policies of the publisher, Engineers Without Borders Australia, available from www.ewb.org.au/governance.

Furthermore, the JHE will take any reports of malpractice seriously. Any readers, authors, reviewers or editors with suspicion of an example of malpractice in a JHE article are requested to advise JHE and/or its Editors. All cases will be thoroughly investigated, and if the claim is substantiated, suitable retraction statements will be published in subsequent issues of JHE and on appropriate websites.

The JHE welcomes input and feedback on ways of improving our policies or examples of where a breach of the COPE Code of Conduct has occurred.

Privacy Statement

Privacy Policy
This is the Privacy Policy for the Journal of Humanitarian Engineering (JHE). We respect your privacy and will not sell your personal information to any third party. We are committed to protecting your privacy and maintaining the security of your personal information. Any personal information you provide to us will be treated in accordance with this policy.

Personal information is any information that can be used to identify you. For example, it can include information such as your name, date of birth, email address, postal address, telephone number, fax number and credit/debit card details.

Uses of personal information
We collect personal information when you register with us as a Reader, Author or Reviewer; or otherwise give us personal information. By providing personal information you consent to its processing as described in this policy – examples of processing include, but is not limited to: contact you with information on our work and contacting you to review a manuscript.

When we collect your personal information we use strict procedures and security features to prevent unauthorised access. However, no data transmission over the internet is 100% secure. As a result, while we try to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you transmit to us and you do so at your own risk.

Your details will be used to keep you updated with the work of the JHE.

People aged under 18
If you are aged under 18, please ensure you obtain your parent/guardian’s consent before providing any personal information. 

Dispute Resolution
If you think we have not followed our Privacy Statment in some way or if you have questions about this policy. You can contact us by email at journal@ewb.org.au. 

Notification of change of Privacy Statement
We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time. Notice of any change will be posted on our website and will be deemed effective on publication.