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Notes for Contributors

Museum and Society: notes for contributors

Submission

Articles, which will normally be 5,000-8,000 words in length, may be submitted either on paper with accompanying file on disk (preferably as Microsoft Word), or electronically as a Microsoft Word attachment. All images must be sent as separate files, not included in the Word file; see 'Illustrations' below). Submissions should be prefaced with an abstract (100-150 words) which is followed by a list of 3-5 key words. The name of the author or authors should appear on a separate sheet of paper along with a short biographical statement of no more than 100 words. The following details should also be included: postal and e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and fax numbers.
Submissions are considered for publication on the understanding that the article is not under consideration by another printed or electronic journal. Authors agree not to submit articles for consideration by another printed or electronic journal without prior agreement with the editors of museum & society.
The address for submission is: ert@le.ac.uk
or
The Editors
museum and society
School of Museum Studies
University of Leicester
19 University Road
Leicester
UK
LE1 7RF

Presentation

  • Articles must be typed, in a clear typeface, e.g. Arial or Times New Roman, in 12 point size
  • Lines must be double spaced throughout the text (including end notes and references)
  • A margin of 3 cm should be left at the margins and at the top and bottom of each page
  • Articles must be paginated at the top right of each page
    All text should be justified at left and right margins
  • The title and sub headings should be clear and concise and the latter aligned to the left hand margin
  • Paragraphs should be indented except for the first paragraph in the article, the first paragraph after a sub heading and a paragraph following a quotation
  • Use single quotation marks except for quotations within quotes when double marks are to be used
  • Quotes over 40 words in length should be set out from the body of the text by being indented 1 cm from the left margin; quotation marks should not be used for indented quotes
  • Use a single (not a double) space after a full stop, and after all other punctuation marks. Do not put a space in front of a question mark, or in front of any other closing punctuation mark
  • Avoid stops when using abbreviations: for example, UNESCO, UK, Mrs and Dr are preferred.
  • Where the letter 'z' has come to replace 's' in the spelling of words, the former is preferred: thus organization instead of organisation
  • Use italic for titles of books, plays, films, long poems, newspapers, journals (but not for articles in journals), ships
  • Avoid the use of ‘he’ when he or she is meant, wherever possible, either through the use of ‘they’ or by repeating the noun
  • Numbers of 10 and under should spelt out; insert a comma for thousands and tens of thousands (e.g. 10,000 and 100,000). Numerals should be used for measurements and percentages (but spell out ‘per cent’); the percentage sign (%) should only be used in tables and figures
  • Use notes sparingly in the form of endnotes and not as footnotes. Within the article endnote numbers should be placed after any punctuation mark. Any references within the notes should be in the Harvard (author-date) system (see below)
  • Dates should be presented in the English style as follows: 1 January 2003; centuries should be spelt out, e.g. eighteenth century, not 18th century.

References

  • In referring to other works avoid location references such as ibid and op cit.

  • References that are cited in the text should be in conformity with the Harvard system so that the author's surname, the year of publication and the page reference appear immediately after the material that has been cited or quoted. Thus, (Smith 2001: 32-3); two authors should be give as, (Dodd and Sandell 1999); for more than two, (Neal et al. 1995); multiple references should be given as, (Peers and Brown 2003; Smith 2006; Dicks 2010).

  • Website references other than to web journals (see below) should be entered as endnotes, with access date given, e.g. Ross Parry, Nick Poole and Jon Pratty, ‘Semantic Dissonance: Do We Need (And Do We Understand) The Semantic Web?’, Museums and the Web 2008. http://www.archimuse.com/mw2008/papers/parry/parry.html, accessed 24 February 2012.

  • Material derived from interviews should be referenced in endnotes. Include the interviewee’s and interviewer’s names, the recording medium, the place and date of the interview, and details of where the recording is deposited (if appropriate):

    Helen Wang, interview by author, digital recording, 8 January 2007, London.

    Karnial Singh, interview by Manjeet Tara, tape recording, 13 April 1999, Leicester, East Midlands Oral History Archive (EMOHA).

    References to the same interview later in the text can be abbreviated to (for example): Helen Wang, interview, 9 January 2007.

  • Personal communications (letters, emails, face-to-face conversations) should be referenced in endnotes, thus:
    Jane Weel, personal communication, 12 May 2011.

    NB, if appropriate, you should also include the individual’s job title and place of work:
    John Benfield, Creative Head of Interactive Media, Natural History Museum, personal communication, 21 December 2005.

    References to the same communication later in the text may be abbreviated to:
    John Benfield, pers. comm., 10 January 2006.
  • A lower case lettering system should be used to distinguish between different works by the same author or authors which have been published in the same year: e.g. Smith, A (1967a, 1967b).
  • Pagination should be given as concisely as possible (3-8, 9-14, 33-6, 174-9, 183-96).
  • Punctuate references with commas and not with full stops. In the case of journals give the volume number first, followed by the issue number in brackets, e.g. 4 (3).
  • The list of references should appear in alphabetical order after any endnotes.
  • The following style of referencing should be used:
  • Articles in journals: Negrin, L. (1993) 'On the Museum's Ruins', Theory, Culture and Society, 10 (1) 97-125.
  • Chapters in edited books: Wright, P. (1989) 'The Quality of Visitors' Experiences in Art Museums', in Peter Vergo (ed) The New Museology, 119-48, London: Reaktion Books.
  • Books: Horne, D. (1984) The Great Museum, London: Pluto Press.
  • Edited books: Knell, S.J., MacLeod, S. and Watson, S. (eds) (2007) Museum Revolutions. How Museums Change and are Changed, London: Routledge.
  • Web-site journal articles: Owen, J. (1999) 'The Collections of Sir John Lubbock, the First Lord Avebury (1834-1913): 'An Open Book?' Journal of Material Culture, 10 (3) 283-302 http://www.sagepub.co.uk/frame.html?http://www.sagepub.co.uk/journals/details/j0101.html.

Illustrations

Authors are responsible for obtaining permissions from copyright holders for the reproduction of pictures, tables, quotations etc. Illustrations should be submitted as separate .jpg files, resolution 72 dpi. Sizes may vary, but should preferably not be smaller than 125 pixels. For further advice, contact Jim Roberts ert@le.ac.uk.

Reviews and review articles

Reviews of books and exhibitions will be commissioned by the editors; the journal does not accept unsolicited reviews. However, anyone wishing to be considered as a reviewer should contact the editors at the address above and provide appropriate details about their interests and their professional experience. The Reviews Editor is Ceri Jones cj36@le.ac.uk, University of Leicester.

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