Types of articles we accept

We welcome submissions of a range of articles to be published in the Bath Student Journal of Society and Social Change.

Research articles

All research articles should address a research question or problem identified by the author.

Your research article may be theoretical or empirical in nature, and we encourage submissions from across the social science disciplines. We particularly welcome articles that address structural issues, problems, inequalities, and injustices in society.

Your research article must:

• Address a research question or problem
• Include an abstract of fewer than 200 words. This should outline the main research problem and argument of the article, and summarise its content (background, methods, results, conclusions)
• Meet the journal's word count limit (3000 - 6000, including references, footnotes, and bibliography)
• Include a full bibliography of referenced literature
• Follow relevant ethical processes and regulations of the author’s University Department

Opinion articles

Op-eds (opinion pieces) should address contemporary issues in the social sciences, or the social world more broadly.

An op-ed article is typically short and presents a clearly defined argument and point of view. Such pieces should present an argument in a strong, focused and unique voice that is accessible to a general audience. Nevertheless, an op-ed article must be grounded in research, such as facts, quotations, citations, or data from sources and personal observation.

Your op-ed must:

• Meet the journal's word count limit for op-eds (600 - 850 words)
• Include a full bibliography of referenced literature
• Follow the relevant ethical processes and regulations of the author’s university department, if applicable

Creative reviews

These submissions should critically engage with prior research in the form of a review of a single book, article, or piece of media.

Your review article must:

• Meet the journal's word count limit for creative review articles (1000 - 3000 words)
• Include a full bibliography of referenced literature.
  

Literature reviews

These submissions should critically engage with the broader research literature on a specific topic.

Your review article must:

• Meet the journal's word count limit for literature review articles (2000 - 4000 words)
• Include a full bibliography of referenced literature

Creative original article

Creative original articles should address key research problems in the social sciences. These may take the form of poetry, reflective pieces, narrative contributions or any other creative textual medium.

Your creative piece must:

• Meet the journal's word count limit for op-eds (fewer than 850 words).
• Follow the relevant ethical processes and regulations of the author’s university department, if applicable.

Advice Articles

As part of a Special Issue, we may invite article submissions on advice in a particular academic area of social sciences. We may invite advice articles from particular relevant individuals as part of a Special Issue.

Your advice article must meet the journal's word count limit for advice articles (500 - 2000 words).

Preparing your paper

All submissions must include a title page on the first page. This should include the article title, article type, authors and affiliations (e.g., Department), and corresponding author (the author who will respond to feedback). They should also include statements on acknowledgements and conflicts of interest at the end of the article, where appropriate.

Structure for research articles and literature review Articles

• Title Page
• Abstract (200 words or fewer)
• Background
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusions

Structure for opinion articles, creative reviews, creative original articles, and advice articles

There is no prescribed structure for opinion articles, creative reviews, creative original articles, or advice articles (no specific sections are required). Your submission must include a title page though.

Word limits

The word limits of Bath Student Journal of Society and Social Change, inclusive of notes and references, are as follows:

• Research article: 3000 – 6000 words
• Opinion article: 600 – 850 words
• Creative review: 1000 – 3000 words
• Literature review: 2000 – 4000 words
• Creative original article: Max 850 words
• Advice articles: 500 – 2000 words

Tables and figures

Articles may include a maximum of five tables and five figures. Each table or figure should be appropriately labelled.

Style guidelines and formatting

Your submission should be formatted as follows:

• Times New Roman, font size 12
• 2.0 line spacing
• 2.5cm page margins

Authorship

Authors should be undergraduate or master’s students at the University of Bath.

Authors may submit an article as a single author, or as a group of authors, as appropriate. All individuals listed as authors should have made a significant contribution to the article, such as via its design, data collection and analysis, and drafting and approval of the article, as appropriate.

PhD students at the University of Bath may be invited to submit articles on invitation or to a particular Special Issue (e.g., advice articles). Given that the journal aims to publish student work, staff should not be listed as an author. Staff may be included in the Acknowledgements section of an article, as appropriate. For example, you may wish to acknowledge the contribution of a Supervisor.

References

We use the Harvard (Bath) reference style. Please see here for further information and support: https://library.bath.ac.uk/referencing/harvard-bath

Please ensure that any reference to authors within articles is anonymous, in line with our double-blind peer review process.

Ethics

We aim to adhere to a high standard of ethics. Submitting authors must follow relevant ethical processes and regulations of their University Department.

Acknowledgements

Authors may wish to acknowledge the contribution of other individuals who do not meet the Bath Student Journal of Society and Social Change criteria for authorship. For more details on authorship criteria, please see the Authorship section. Authors may wish to acknowledge the contribution of fellow students who supported the work. Authors may wish to acknowledge the contribution of University staff as supervisors of the work. Where no acknowledgements are necessary, authors should include the statement “No acknowledgements” under this title.

Conflicts of interest

Authors should declare any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest. Where no conflicts of interest exist, authors should include the statement “The author(s) declare no conflicts of interest” under this title.

Checklist

What to include:

• Title Page
• Abstract (for Research Articles and Literature Reviews)
• Article main body (including ethical statement, as appropriate)
• Acknowledgements, as appropriate
• Conflicts of Interest statement, as appropriate