ALARA ARCS Monograph Series

The Action Research Case Study (ARCS) monograph series provides an opportunity for authors to publish quality refereed work that is more extensive than the length of a conventional paper. Authors thus are expected to present in-depth information and analysis on a topic.

The monograph case studies will contribute to theoretical and practical understanding of action research and action learning in applied settings.

The monographs are targeted at a broad range audience including practitioners, academics, researchers, leaders, community workers, students, etc. A key emphasis is on the fact that the monographs will be formally refereed and only quality case studies will be published. In this situation, quality refers to

• evidence of rigorous data collection
• strong theoretical underpinning
• deep reflection on results and
• professionally written using APA guidelines.

Case studies in this refereed series contribute to theoretical and practical understandings of action research and action learning in applied settings. They deal with:

• completed action research cases, successful and unsuccessful;
• partial successes and failures;
• work in progress;
• several cases assembled to illustrate important issues; and/or
• problemative issues in current cases.

Eileen Piggot-Irvine is the Editor, supported by a Monograph editorial team and the ALARA Publications Working Group. Accepted monographs will be published here on the ALARA website.

Submission Guidelines for Monographs

Monographs must be original and unpublished work suitable for an international audience and not under review by any other publisher or journal. No payment is associated with monographs. Copyright of published works remains with the author(s). See Copyright guidelines for more details.

Typical monographs would include rationale, background, a topic literature review, research methodology and methods, ethical considerations, action research phases and findings, interventions, discussion of findings and their implications, references and appendices. They should contribute new knowledge. We encourage dual and multiple authorship.

Submissions should contain:

• a title page
• table of contents (including figures and tables)
• an abstract of approximately 500 words
• up to 10 key search words
• an executive summary preceding the monograph
• range from 8,000 to 16,000 words
• a brief author biography of up to 500 words
• be gender and culture sensitive.

Monographs should be submitted by email to the Editor for review. Copy (e-copy only, no disks) must be in Word format, 12 point Times New Roman font, 2.5cm margins, and APA style referencing. Subsections must be indicated by the following heading levels:

• Level 1 - lower case and bold (14pt)
• Level 2 - lower case (12 pt)
• Level 3 - italic.

No numbering of headings or subsections is to be used. Please keep footnotes to a bare minimum.

Careful proofreading must have occurred prior to submission. All identifying names must be removed. A separate file should be submitted outlining monograph title, author name(s), address, email address, phone and fax numbers.

Review Process

The review process normally takes up to three months and authors can anticipate extension beyond this if revision is required. Evaluation of suitability of monographs will be based on a monograph:

• offering new ideas
• making a significant contribution to the field
• arousing interest and stimulating debate
• showing sound scholarship and rigorous research design.

Reviewers may recommend:

• Acceptance of monograph following minor revisions
• Revision of monograph and resubmission for further review
• Rejection of monograph.

Authors will receive two complimentary copies of the monograph publication.

Correspondence

All correspondence will be directed to the lead author unless otherwise requested. Please ensure your email address is correct.