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Open Access Policy

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Journal (NYARJ) is an open-access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or their institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of all articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.

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Review Process

NYARJ is double-blind peer reviewed and published biannually. Anyone may submit an original article to be considered for publication. All submissions must be previously unpublished manuscripts and must currently be submitted only to NYARJ. By submitting a work for consideration, the authors affirm that the manuscript will not be submitted to another venue while under review with NYARJ. If you have concerns about the terms of submission or review, please contact the Editor

Submissions are first screened by the Editor for suitability before being sent for blind review by two reviewers. Each reviewer may include specific and narrative comments for the author of the submission about its content, argumentation, research methodologies, data, conclusions, etc. These comments will be provided to the authors without identifying the reviewers.

Each reviewer will give a recommendation about publication of a manuscript according to the following options:

  • Accept: No revisions required
  • Accept: Minor revisions required
  • Revise and resubmit: Major revisions required
  • Reject

When all reviews have been received by the Editor, a decision will be made regarding publication and authors will be notified. If the reviews are very different, the editor may ask 1-2 additional reviewers to read and evaluate the submission and then, upon receipt of the additional reviews, a final publication decision will be made. Reviewers will consider the following criteria when evaluating submissions:

  • Focuses on issues related to the well-being of youth
  • Is relevant to one or more of the five journal strands ("Head" for intellectual achievement and talents, "Heart" for social and emotional skills, "Hands" for safety and protection, "Health" for physical and mental health, "Home" for family and community support)
  • Clearly establishes the background issue or problem
  • Utilizes appropriate design and methodology (if applicable)
  • Provides information or evidence to support findings and/or conclusions
  • Demonstrates quality of written expression (e.g., grammar, spelling, writing style, etc.)
  • Reflects overall clarity of ideas and expressions
  • Follows APA (7th edition) publication guidelines
  • Has the potential to impact policy and practice

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Submission Types

Generally, NYARJ is interested in submissions in the following categories. Though these criteria are negotiable, NYARJ provides them here to help guide scholars and practitioners with the submission process.

  • Research Articles (4,000 - 10,000 words): Research articles should be original works that are empirical (data-based) in nature including, but not limited to, quantitative, qualitative, and mixed method studies. Articles should address issues that have a wide appeal and significance to those who work with youth placed at risk.
    • Introduction section that states the importance of the topic;
    • Literature review section that situates the study within existing scholarly literature on this topic;
    • Method section that articulates the research methods used and the “fit” of these methods with the topic studied;
    • Findings section that summarizes relevant findings for easy access by readers;
    • Discussion section that elaborates on findings, situates findings within literature, and explains implications; and
    • Conclusion section that recaps each section, highlights main findings, summarizes implications from discussion, and suggests new directions for research.
  • Practitioner Reports (2,000 - 6,000 words): Practitioner reports should describe programs, strategies, or interventions used by professionals working with youth placed at risk. These reports should include evidence-based outcomes, any changes made as a result of these outcomes, and suggestions for application of these practices in other settings.
    • Introduction section that states the rationale and practical value of the report;
    • Background section that describes the philosophy or ideas in the programs, strategies, or interventions;
    • Method section that explains data collection and analysis (optional);
    • Results section that provides evidence-based findings; and
    • Conclusion section that discusses contributions to practice and recommendations.
  • Literature Syntheses (3,000 - 8,000 words): Literature syntheses should be systematic reviews designed to bridge the gap between research and practice by providing insights to practitioners regarding how to use research to inform practice and influence policy.
    • Introduction section that states the importance of the review;
    • Literature synthesis section that summarizes research and discusses implications for practice from the literature review; and
    • Conclusion section that recaps each section, highlights main findings, summarizes implications, and suggests new directions based on the literature.
  • Essays (2,000 - 6,000 words): Essays should provide an analysis of issue(s) relevant to youth placed at risk, e.g., position papers.
    • Introduction section that states topic;
    • Position section that provides reasoning and arguments supported by evidence;
    • Discussion section that addresses possible counterarguments; and
    • Closing section that ties position/argument together and makes recommendations.
  • Voices from the Field (2,000 - 4,000 words): Short descriptive reports about new resources, programs or insights learned from experts in the field.

  • Youth Voices (1,000 - 2,000 words): Letters, essays or other genres written by our youth sharing their concerns, insights, passions & joys.

  • Interviews (3,000 - 8,000 words): Conversations with youth advocates, youth leaders and activists, etc.

  • Art Corner: All genres welcome. Please contact the Editor for more information.

  • Book Reviews (1,000 - 2,000 words): Book review should be an objective analysis of a recent book whose topic relates to one or more of the primary strands of the journal, i.e., the "5 H's".
    • Summarizes the main points and structure of the book;
    • Provides an evaluative discussion based on the reviewer’s point of view; and
    • Makes recommendations regarding the purchase of the book for libraries or individual use.
  • Other: The journal will consider alternative submissions such as poetry, artwork, and other media. Please contact the Editor for more information.

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Format & Style Guidelines

  • Use APA format as found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), 7th Edition, for headings, citations, references.
  • Before you begin, please be sure you have the following items:
    • Article Title
    • An abstract (separate from the article body – 100-150 words)
    • Brief biographical sketches for each author (no more than 100 words each)
    • Keywords for your article (4-6)
    • Classification of article by primary strand (required) and secondary strand (optional). Strands include Head (intellectual achievement and talents), Heart (social and emotional skills), Hands (safety and protection), Health (physical and mental health), and Home (family and community support)
    • Article in Microsoft Word format.
  • Document Structure:
    • Introduction
    • Subsequent sections of the body of the article
    • References
    • Appendices (if any)
  • Do not include a title page or abstract. (Begin the document with the introduction; a title page, including the abstract, will be added to your paper by the editor.)
  • Do not include page numbers, headers, or footers. These will be added by the editor.
  • The name(s) of the author(s) should not appear in the original submission of the manuscript.
  • All submissions are to be in English. Please avoid using colloquialisms and regional terminology that may be unknown to an international audience.
  • Submit your manuscript, including tables, figures, appendices, etc., as a single file.
  • Page size should be 8.5 x 11-inches.
  • All margins (left, right, top and bottom) should be 1.5 inches (3.8 cm), including your tables and figures.
  • Single space your text.
  • Use a single column layout with left justified.
  • Use 12 point Times New Roman (or closest comparable) font for the body of the text.
  • When possible, there should be no pages where more than a quarter of the page is empty space.
  • The text of a manuscript should be divided in headings (not more than three levels deep).
  • Notes, citations, and suggested sources should be placed at the end of the submission in APA format.
  • If figures are included, use high-resolution figures, preferably encoded as encapsulated PostScript (eps).
  • Copyedit your manuscript.

Indenting, Line Spacing, and Justification

Indent all paragraphs except those following a section heading. An indent should be at least 2 em-spaces. Do not insert extra space between paragraphs of text with the exception of long quotations, theorems, propositions, special remarks, etc. These should be set off from the surrounding text by additional space above and below.

Don't "widow" or "orphan" text (i.e., ending a page with the first line of a paragraph or beginning a page with the last line of a paragraph).

All text should be left-justified (i.e., flush with the left margin—except where indented).

Language & Grammar

All submissions must be in English. Except for common foreign words and phrases, the use of foreign words and phrases should be avoided.

Authors should use formal English grammar. The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White (now in its fourth edition) is the "standard" guide, but other excellent guides exist as well.

Colored text

Set the font color to black for the majority of the text. We encourage authors to take advantage of the ability to use color in the production of figures, maps, etc., however, you need to appreciate that this will cause some of your readers problems when they print the document on a black & white printer. For this reason, you are advised to avoid the use of colors in situations where their translation to black and white would render the material illegible or incomprehensible.

Please ensure that there are no colored mark-ups or comments in the final version, unless they are meant to be part of the final text. (You may need to "accept all changes" in track changes or set your document to "normal" in final markup.)

Emphasized text

Whenever possible use italics to indicate text you wish to emphasize rather than underlining it. The use of color to emphasize text is discouraged.

Titles

Whenever possible, titles of books, movies, etc., should be set in italics rather than underlined.

Tables and Figures

To the extent possible, tables and figures should appear in the document near where they are referenced in the text. Large tables or figures should be put on pages by themselves. Avoid the use of overly small type in tables. In no case should tables or figures be in a separate document or file. All tables and figures must fit within 1.5" margins on all sides (top, bottom, left and right) in both portrait and landscape view.

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Copyright & Licensing Terms

All papers published in NYARJ are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Authors retain all copyrights without restrictions, and agree to the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license for their work as a condition of publication.

End users' rights under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license are outlined here. For all other purposes, permission must be obtained from the author.

Copyright and licensing terms for NYARJ are registered with Sherpa Romeo.

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Plagiarism Policy

NYARJ may use Similarity Check, a multi-publisher initiative, to selectively screen article submissions for originality. Similarity Check uses the iThenticate software, which checks submissions against millions of published research papers (the Similarity Check database), documents on the web, and other relevant sources. These submitted papers are not retained in the Similarity Check system after they have been checked. Read more at Crossref's Similarity Check & Researchers page.

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Charges & Fees

NYARJ levies no submission charges, or charges or fees for publication of accepted articles.

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Digital Archiving

NYARJ is preserved using CLOCKSS, a leading preservation archive that guarantees persistent access to journal content for the very long term. Articles also receive Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) through Crossref to ensure they can always be found.

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