Author Guidelines

plaNext is an international peer-reviewed journal publishing high-quality and original research. plaNext is an online open access journal managed and published by AESOP’s Young Academics Network. The fundamental approach taken by plaNext is to provide prospective authors an opportunity to engage their ideas in international planning debates as well as make their research available to the wider planning audience. plaNext thus invites authors to submit original materials that include

• Empirical research
• Theoretical discussions and building
• Innovative methodologies
• Case studies
• Book reviews on selected books, textbooks, or specific topics dealing within planning.

Open access

AAll manuscripts published in plaNext are published Open Access. Open access publication means that the article is freely and permanently available on the Association of European Schools of Planning (Aesop) digital platform (http://journals.aesop-planning.eu/) via which all plaNext volumes are digitally published. Published manuscripts are thus freely and permanently available to the general public for comments and discussions.

Article full text, metadata and citations may be crawled without special permission or registration. We ask that where you reuse content you attribute the original source e.g. by citing doi and linking to the published article on the journal website.

At present, plaNext has been awarded funding from AESOP and there is therefore currently no fee levied on authors to publish with plaNext. There are also no subscription fees, article pay-to-view fee or any other form of access fee and no publication embargo is applied.

Generally, plaNext considers all manuscripts on the condition that

• the manuscript is your own original work.
• the manuscript is not currently under consideration for publication, is not under-going a peer review process or has been published elsewhere in English or other languages.
• the manuscript contains nothing that is abusive, defamatory, obscene, fraudulent, or illegal.
• the manuscript is not too heavily based on previously published works (i.e., published conference proceeding papers, etc.). ‘Revised’ manuscripts however, that raise critical questions regarding previously published works can also be accepted for publication, yet authors are to acknowledge this in the manuscript and obtain permission from the publisher of the original copy.
• Authors agree to any necessary originality checks of manuscripts during the peer-review and production processes

Any author who fails to adhere to the above conditions will be charged with costs, which plaNext incurs for their manuscript at the discretion of the plaNext’s Editors, and the submitted manuscript will be rejected.

All manuscript submissions to plaNext are to be made to the following email address: yamail@aesop- youngacademics.net.

Before submitting your manuscript please consult the following complete guidelines:

• Manuscripts are accepted only in English, authors can chose between American or British English. Any consistent spelling style may be used. Please use single quotation marks, except where ‘a quotation is “within” a quotation’.
• A typical manuscript will not exceed 8.000 words, including references/footnotes/endnotes. Manuscripts that greatly exceed this will be critically reviewed with respect to length. Authors should include a word count with their manuscript.
• Style: Use font Times New Roman, 12 point. margins of at least 2.5 cm.
• Use bold for your article title, with an initial capital letter for any proper nouns
• Submitted manuscripts should be compiled in the following order
  • Main Document organised as title page (including title, abstract; keywords); main text; references; appendices (as appropriate); table(s) with caption(s) (on individual pages); figures’ caption(s) (as a list).
  • A cover page submitted separately: include title, (avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible), all author names and affiliations (If any of the named co-authors moves affiliation during the peer review process, the new affiliation can be given as a footnote) as well as their postal addresses, e-mail address, telephone numbers (clearly indicate who will be the corresponding author), Abstract not more 200 words (concise, briefly stating the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. References should be avoided. Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself), 3 to 6 keywords, and short biographical notes on contributors.
  • A list of five suggested referees, including their email addresses and link to their websites (See the review process below)
• Acknowledgement of any funding and grant-awarding bodies, as follows:
  For single agency grants:
  This work was supported by the <Funding Agency> under Grant <number xxxx>.
  For multiple agency grants:
  This work was supported by the <Funding Agency #1>
  under Grant <number xxxx>;
  <Funding Agency #2>
  under Grant <number xxxx>; and
  <Funding Agency #3>
  under Grant <number xxxx>
• Authors must also incorporate a Disclosure Statement which will acknowledge any financial interest or benefit they have arising from the direct applications of their research.
• For all manuscripts non-discriminatory language is mandatory. Sexist or racist terms must not be used.

Book Reviews

Authors are encouraged to submit reviews of books that include critical reflections on the content, and can engage the readers of plaNext not only with planning debates, but also with other new and innovative materials, from areas/disciplines not usually covered in discussions of planning. A typical review will not exceed 2.000 words, excluding references/footnotes/endnotes. Reviews that greatly exceed this will be critically reviewed with respect to length. Authors should include a word count. Referencing style is similar to the ordinary manuscript.

References

References should relate only to the material that is cited within the content of the manuscript and may not include any bibliographic references that do not associate directly with the content of the manuscript. References should be in alphabetical order and not numbered in the text or in the reference list.

References should appear as follow

Journal article:

Author, A.A. (2005). Title of work. Journal title. Volume(issue): p-p.

Book with one author:

Author, A. A. (2005). Title of work. Location/City, State: Publisher.

Book with two authors:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (2005). Title of work. Location/City, State: Publisher.

Chapter in an edited book:

Jaques, P. A., & Viccari, R. M. (2006). Considering students’ emotions in computer- mediated learning environments. In Z. Ma (Ed.), Web-based intelligent e-learning systems: Technologies and applications (pp. 122- 138). Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing.

Report from a university:

Broadhurst, R. G., & Maller, R. A. (1991). Sex offending and recidivism (Tech. Rep. No. 3). Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia, Crime Research Centre.

Published proceedings:

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1991). A motivational approach to self: Integration in personality. In R. Dienstbier (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation: Vol. 38. Perspectives on motivation (pp. 237-288). Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

Unpublished doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis:

Wilfley, D. (1989). Interpersonal analyses of bulimia: Normal-weight and obese. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Missouri, Columbia.

A presented paper:

Lanktree, C., & Briere, J. (1991, January). Early data on the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSC-C). Paper presented at the meeting of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, San Diego, CA.

Website:

VandenBos, G., Knapp, S., & Doe, J. (2001). Role of reference elements in the selection of resources by psychology undergraduates. Journal of Bibliographic Research, 5, 117- 123. Retrieved October 13, 2001, from http://jbr.org/articles.html

In-Text Citations

• In-text citations should appear with author surname followed by publication year in parentheses. Examples: (Brown, 2002), (Brown, 2002; Krall & Johnson, 2005; Smith, 2001).
• Citing author within sentence if author’s name is mentioned directly within the manuscript text. Example: Brown (2002) states that the value of data is recognized by most organizations.
• Direct quote in-text citations. Example: “In most organizations, data resources are considered to be a major organization asset” (Smith, 2001, pp. 35-36) and must be carefully monitored by the senior management. Example: Brown (2002) states that “the value of data is realized by most organizations” (p. 45).

Figures

Please provide the highest quality figure format possible. Scanned materials should be sent to the journal’s email as separate files at the appropriate resolution: 1200 dpi for line art, 600 dpi for gray scale and 300 dpi for color. All sent in jpeg format. Captions can be embedded at the end of the manuscript file. All figures must also be named and numbered in the order in which they appear in the manuscript (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2). In multi-part figures, each part should be labeled (e.g. Figure 1(a), Figure 1(b)).

Guidelines for referencing and acknowledgement of copyrighted images

copyrighted images, including figures, tables, graphics, etc., are supported by permission from the original publication/publisher. Authors should note that any copyrighted image must include indication in the caption of the original source of the image and that it is being used with permission of the copyright holder. Copyrighted image captions should appear as: Figure 1. [insert caption here]. (© [insert copyright year here], [insert copyright holder’s name here]. Used with permission.). In the case of an Adapted Image that is loosely based on a copyrighted image, the image must be accompanied by a caption that indicates the original source. Adapted copyrighted image captions should appear as: Figure 1. [insert caption here]. (Adapted from [insert source of copyrighted image here]). Adapted copyrighted images should be investigated by the author to ensure that the original source is adequately indicated as the original publisher requires. Acquiring image written permissions can take extended periods of time and the author should plan to begin permissions process upon submission of the manuscript for assessment. Google Earth images can be included with the Google Earth information on the images. (Adapted from or reproduced from Google Earth) Internet images can be included with a proper reference. If they are part of creative commons write like this “Licenced under Creative Commons (and specify the domain)” if they are loosely published material in the internet, you can then include the name of the publisher and the year of publication, and a link to the website.

Reproduction of copyright material

If you wish to include any material in your manuscript in which you do not hold copyright, you must obtain written permission from the copyright owner, prior to submission. Such material may be in the form of text, data, table, illustration, photograph, line drawing, audio clip, video clip, film still, and screenshot, and any supplemental material you propose to include. This applies to direct (verbatim or facsimile) reproduction as well as “derivative reproduction” (where you have created a new figure or table which derives substantially from a copyrighted source).

You must ensure appropriate acknowledgement is given to the permission granted to you for reuse by the copyright holder in each figure or table caption. You are solely responsible for any fees which the copyright holder may charge for reuse. The reproduction of short extracts of text, excluding poetry and song lyrics, for the purposes of criticism may be possible without formal permission on the basis that the quotation is reproduced accurately and full attribution is given.

This journal offers authors the opportunity to license their work under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence which permits others to distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. Authors however are free to personalise their CC BY. Moreover, authors must ensure that the rights holder of any third party copyright materials included in your paper has either granted you permission to publish their material under the appropriate licence terms, or has granted you permission to use their material with the appropriate copyright notice.

Copyright and authors’ rights

All contributing authors are asked to grant plaNext the right to publish her or his article as the final, definitive, and citable Version of Scholarly Record. Authors are required to sign an Open Access Article Publishing Agreement to facilitate this. Publishing under the CC BY licence allows others to distribute, remix, tweak, and build upon your work, even commercially, as long as they credit you for the original creation. Authors do however have the choice of opting for the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial Licence should they so choose. Reuse conditions will be subject to the license type chosen by the author.

Authors sign an exclusive license agreement are granted the rights to: share their manuscripts in the same ways permitted to third parties as long they contain the DOIs of manuscripts; retain patent, trademark and other intellectual property rights (including research data); proper attribution and credit for the published manuscript. plaNext is granted the rights to: publish and distribute manuscripts when authors submit signed copyright agreements; grant rights to other publishes who do not have commercial purposes; provide the manuscripts in all forms and media so the manuscripts can be used on the latest technology even after publication; to enforce the rights in the manuscripts, on behalf of authors, against third parties, for example in the case of plagiarism or copyright infringement.

Free article access

Once your article has been published online anyone can easily view, read, and download your published articles. In addition, if someone has cited your article, you will be able to see this information. We are committed to promoting and increasing the visibility of your article and have provided guidance on how you yourself can share and promote your work.

Review Process

All contributions are read by two or more referees to ensure high quality, and revisions to the script may thus be required. On acceptance, contributions are subject to editorial amendment to suit house style. When a manuscript is returned for revision prior to final acceptance, the revised version must be submitted as soon as possible after the author's receipt of the referee's reports. Revised manuscripts returned after four months will be considered as new submissions subject to full re-review. Published manuscripts are freely and permanently available to the general public for comments and discussions. Authors should suggest names, and e-mail addresses of five potential referees. It would not be appropriate to nominate individuals that have had any input into the manuscripts submitted or any recent collaboration with the authors. The Editors may or may not take these suggestions into account during the reviewing process. The selection is based upon the particular area of expertise of the referees matched to the subject matter of the submission. While plaNext aims to encourage and help authors to get their manuscripts published, the return of a manuscript to the author(s) for revision does not guarantee acceptance of the manuscript for publication. The final decision will be made by the editor after receiving the comments of the referees.

Correspondence

An acknowledgment e-mail regarding the receipt of your manuscript will be promptly sent by the manager or the Editor-in-Chief of plaNext. The review process until publication will take approximately 20 weeks, and the corresponding author will be notified concerning the possibility of publication of the manuscript as soon as the review process is completed. All correspondence will be directed to the first author of multi-authored manuscripts. The corresponding author is responsible for communicating with manuscript co-authors to obtain final materials and copyright agreement signatures.

Should your manuscript be accepted for publication, it will be typeset by the editorial board. After typesetting, you will be sent a proof of your manuscript to proofread. You will be required to return the proof within 48 hours to the publisher.

Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or comments regarding these guidelines. We look forward to receive your manuscript.

For full information regarding plaNext’s review system or on how to join plaNext as a reviewer please refer to the guideline for reviewers, available through our website: www.aesop-youngacademics.net.