The editors invite contributors in the areas of foresight, forecasting, long-range planning, visioning and other related areas, from any of the main research frameworks of futures studies – empirical, interpretative, critical and action learning. The journal invites contributions which offer distinctive viewpoints on a broad range of futures and field-oriented issues.
Articles, essay and reports are expected to show an in-depth understanding of the field’s dimensions, content, research perspectives and methods. To stimulate the systematic use and growth of futures literature, one of the criteria for publishing in the journal is indicating how the article relates to others in the futures literature. That is, your paper should refer to material published in this journal and in the other journals in the futures field (including, the Journal of Futures Studies, Futures, Foresight, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, The European Journal of Futures Research, World Future Review, On the Horizon) as well as futures material contained in books, monographs, other field related journals, including visual resources and web resources. Editors strongly advise authors cite at least two or more works in the futures field.
Contributors should also comply with the following guidelines:
TYPES OF SUBMISSIONS IN THE QUARTERLY PUBLICATION
Book reviews – 700-1000 words in length. Book reviews provide a critical evaluation of emerging literature from the futures studies field.
Essays – 2500-4000 words in length (including references). Essays are expected to provide new viewpoints and visions, expressed through strong and intelligent prose.
Reports – 3000-5000 words in length (including references). Reports are expected to provide coverage of futures studies related events (conferences, meetings, facilitated processes).
Articles – 4000-8000 words in length (including references). Articles are expected to make novel contributions to the futures studies field, build on the corpus of futures literature, be evidentially strong and develop clear themes and arguments. Articles are double-blind peer reviewed.
*Please note that all submission to the journal are peer reviewed and must comply with university and journal guidelines.
** For submissions to Perspectives go here for more information.
SUBMISSION PORTAL
The Use of AI and AI-assisted Technologies in Scientific Writing
This policy has been triggered by the rise of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies which are expected to increasingly be used by content creators. The policy aims to provide greater transparency and guidance to authors, readers, reviewers, editors and contributors.
Where authors use AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process, these technologies should only be used to improve readability and language of the work and not to replace key researcher tasks such as producing scientific insights, analyzing and interpreting data or drawing scientific conclusions. Applying the technology should be done with human oversight and control and authors should carefully review and edit the result, because AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete or biased. The authors are ultimately responsible and accountable for the contents of the work.
Authors should disclose in their manuscript the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies and a statement will appear in the published work. Declaring the use of these technologies supports transparency and trust between authors, readers, reviewers, editors and contributors and facilitates compliance with the terms of use of the relevant tool or technology.
Authors should not list AI and AI-assisted technologies as an author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author. Authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be attributed to and performed by humans. Each (co-) author is accountable for ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved and authorship requires the ability to approve the final version of the work and agree to its submission. Authors are also responsible for ensuring that the work is original, that the stated authors qualify for authorship, and the work does not infringe third party rights.
IN GENERAL
A copy of the original manuscript, written in English, should be submitted.
Upon receipt, the editor will send the manuscript to a member of the editorial board. Referees and editorial board members will remain anonymous. Questions regarding editorial policy should be addressed to the consulting editor or to the managing editor at info@jfsdigital.org
It is understood that a manuscript that is submitted to the JFS represents original material that has not been published elsewhere. It is also understood that submission of a manuscript to the journal is done with the knowledge and agreement of all of the authors of the paper.
Authors are responsible for informing the journal of any changes in the status of the submission.
Manuscripts should be:
- 1.5 spaced with a 12-point font and typewritten on one side of the paper only.
- The cover page should include the title of the manuscript, the name(s) and surname(s) of the authors and the author’s affiliations, e-mail, correspondence, word count and a suggested running head. A footnote on this page should contain acknowledgments and information on any grants associated with the submission.
- For articles only – the next page should contain an abstract of no more than 100 words and keywords of the article.
- The following pages of text should be numbered consecutively.
A brief foreword and/or an epilogue is not required, but may be included.
The Journal of Futures Studies encourages authors to use an accessible, clear, plain English style. Our aim is to make the Journal of Futures Studies a readable, lively source of the best of futures thinking and methodologies.
SUBMISSIONS TIMELINE
After receiving feedback from reviewers on each submission, authors are expected to submit a revised draft within four weeks. An extension to this can be requested under certain circumstances.
PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPTS
Order Organize the manuscript in this order: cover page; abstract; key words; text; endnotes; references. Essays, reports, perspectives and book reviews follow the same format; however, abstract and key words are not required.
Cover Page Give title of the manuscript, name(s) and surname(s) of the authors, the authors’ titles and affiliations, mailing addresses, e-mail addresses, and a footnote(*) indicating acknowledgment of financial or other assistance (if any).
Abstract and keywords On a separate page, preceding the text, write a summary, 100 or fewer words, followed by up to 5 keywords.
Headings Indicate levels of headings clearly:
Level 1 – Uppercase and Lowercase, Flush Left, Bold
Level 2 – Capitalize only the first letter, flush left, bold
Level 3 – Capitalize only the first letter, flush left, italicized
Level 4 – Capitalize only the first letter, flush left, bold, embedded in text
Tables and Figures Give a title or caption to every table or figure. Place the title, flushed left, above the body of the table and the caption, centered, below the figure. Avoid vertical lines in tables. Number the tables and figures separately with Arabic numerals, followed by a period and the title. In text, refer to tables and figures by their numbers instead of “the table above” or “the figure on page 34.” Embed the figures in Word document. However, a separate file for original diagrams, providing better quality, is also welcomed. If a table/figure, or the data in a table, is derived from other sources, a note must be provided at the bottom indicating the source. Examples of a general note:
· Reprinted from a book:
Note. From [or The data in column 1 are from]Becoming Modern: Individual Change in Six Developing Countries (p. 96), by Alex Inkeles and David H. Smith, 1974, Cambridge, Harvard University Press.
· Reprinted from a journal article:
Note. From [or The data in column 1 are from]“Adoption of Merit-Based Student Grant Programs: An Event History Analysis,” by William R. Doyle, 2006, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 28(3), p. 259.
Endnotes Use only for substantive comments, bearing on content. Number consecutively from 1, double space, and append on a separate page.
References
APA Format–7th Edition is the required referencing style. For a comprehensive guide to this style please see: https://apastyle.apa.org/