Manuscript Submission Guidelines

Information Development

Information Development is a peer-reviewed journal that provides authoritative coverage of current developments in the provision, management and use of information throughout the world, with particular emphasis on the information needs and problems of developing countries.

1. Peer review policy

The journal adheres to a rigorous double-blind reviewing policy in which the identity of both the reviewer and author are always concealed from both parties. All manuscripts are reviewed initially by the Editor and only those papers that meet the scientific and editorial standards of the journal, and fit within the aims and scope of the journal, will be sent for peer review. All manuscripts are reviewed by at least two members of the Editorial Advisory Board. All manuscripts are reviewed as rapidly as possible, and authors should expect to have reviewer's comments within approximately 6 weeks of submission.

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2. Article types

Contributors are encouraged to submit original articles dealing with current and specific aspects of information work from a practical, rather than a theoretical, viewpoint.

Authors are expected to check their work carefully before submitting it, particularly with respect to factual accuracy, completeness and consistency. They should provide sufficient background information to enable readers who are unfamiliar with the activity or the country being described to understand it easily. Acronyms and abbreviations should be used sparingly; they should be spelled out in full the first time they are used.

Articles should normally be between 3000 and 7000 words in length. Articles should be accompanied by abstracts of up to 150 words, five or six keywords and a brief statement containing the author's full name, current official designation, and full address and contact details.

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3. How to submit your manuscript

Information Development is hosted on ScholarOne™ Manuscripts, a web based online submission and peer review system – SAGE Track. Please read the Manuscript Submission guidelines below, and then simply visit http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/idv to login and submit your article online.

IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is possible that you will have had an account created.

All papers must be submitted via the online system. If you would like to discuss your paper prior to submission, please contact Stephen Parker, Editor: zest@sapo.pt.

Please note that all papers will be published OnlineFirst before being published in the print journal. Further information about OnlineFirst publication can be found here: http://online.sagepub.com/site/sphelp/SageColl_PAP.xhtml.

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4. Journal contributor’s publishing agreement

Before publication SAGE requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. SAGE’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants SAGE the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than SAGE. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit our Frequently Asked Questions on the SAGE Journal Author Gateway.

4.1 SAGE Choice and Open Access

If you or your funder wish your article to be freely available online to non subscribers immediately upon publication (gold open access), you can opt for it to be included in SAGE Choice, subject to payment of a publication fee. The manuscript submission and peer review procedure is unchanged. On acceptance of your article, you will be asked to let SAGE know directly if you are choosing SAGE Choice. To check journal eligibility and the publication fee, please visit SAGE Choice. For more information on open access options and compliance at SAGE, including self author archiving deposits (green open access) visit SAGE Publishing Policies on our Journal Author Gateway.

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5. Declaration of conflicting interests

Within your Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement you will be required to make a certification with respect to a declaration of conflicting interests. Information Development does not require a declaration of conflicting interests but recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the SAGE Journal Author Gateway.

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6. Other conventions

None applicable.

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7. Acknowledgements
Any acknowledgements should appear first at the end of your article prior to your Declaration of Conflicting Interests (if applicable), any notes and your References.

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an `Acknowledgements’ section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support. Authors should disclose whether they had any writing assistance and identify the entity that paid for this assistance.

7.1 Funding Acknowledgement
To comply with the guidance for Research Funders, Authors and Publishers issued by the Research Information Network (RIN), Information Development additionally requires all Authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading. Please visit Funding Acknowledgements on the SAGE Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding or state in your acknowledgments that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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8. Permissions
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions on the SAGE Journal Author Gateway.

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9. Manuscript style

9.1 File types
Only electronic files conforming to the journal's guidelines will be accepted. Preferred formats for the text and tables of your manuscript are Word DOC, RTF, XLS. LaTeX files are also accepted. Please also refer to additional guideline on submitting artwork below.

9.2 Journal Style
Information Development conforms to the SAGE house style. Click here to review guidelines on SAGE UK House Style.

9.3 Reference Style
Information Development operates a SAGE Harvard reference style. Click here to review the guidelines on SAGE Harvard to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.

9.4. Manuscript Preparation
The text should be double-spaced throughout and with a minimum of 3cm for left and right hand margins and 5cm at head and foot. Text should be standard 10 or 12 point.

9.4.1 Keywords and Abstracts
The title, keywords and abstract are key to ensuring that readers find your article online through online search engines such as Google. Please refer to the information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords by visiting SAGE’s Journal Author Gateway Guidelines on How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

9.4.2 Corresponding Author Contact details
Provide full contact details for the corresponding author including email, mailing address and telephone numbers. Academic affiliations are required for all co-authors. These details should be presented separately to the main text of the article to facilitate anonymous peer review.

9.4.3 Guidelines for submitting artwork, figures and other graphics
For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit SAGE’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures, these figures will appear in colour online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. If a charge applies you will be informed by your SAGE Production Editor. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from SAGE after receipt of your accepted article.

9.4.4 Guidelines for submitting supplemental files
Information Development does not currently accept supplemental files.

9.4.5 English Language Editing
Non-English speaking authors who would like to refine their use of language in their manuscripts might consider using a professional editing service. Visit English Language Editing Services for further information.

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10. After acceptance

10.1 E-Prints
SAGE provides authors with access to a PDF of their final article. For further information please visit http://www.sagepub.co.uk/authors/journal/reprint.sp.

10.2 SAGE Production
At SAGE we place an extremely strong emphasis on the highest production standards possible. We attach high importance to our quality service levels in copy-editing, typesetting, printing, and online publication ( http://online.sagepub.com/ ). We also seek to uphold excellent author relations throughout the publication process.

We value your feedback to ensure we continue to improve our author service levels. On publication all corresponding authors will receive a brief survey questionnaire on your experience of publishing in Information Development with SAGE.

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11. Further information

Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the Manuscript Submission process should be sent to the Editorial Office as follows:

Stephen Parker
Editor, Information Development
Edifiicio Rosa dos Ventos
Rua Rosa Parracho no. 27, Apt. 1C,
Bairro do Rosario, 2750-778 Cascais, Portugal.
E-mail: zest@sapo.pt

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