Submissions

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Author Guidelines

The Canadian Journal of Emergency Management (CJEM) publishes papers of interest to emergency management researchers, practitioners, and communities in Canada. Submissions to the journal are open to academics, researchers, and practitioners. Pre-submission inquiries to the Editor in Chief are welcomed, but not required.

CJEM is a fully open access journal, with no fees to submit or publish papers, nor subscription fees to read the journal. Papers published in the CJEM are made freely available online. They are published under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial licence (CC BY-NC 4.0). All articles are translated into both official languages (French/English) for knowledge sharing across Canada.

All articles are subject to peer review processes, which differ slightly by article type. When a paper is submitted, the Editor in Chief conducts the initial submission review to determine whether to proceed with a peer review. This review considers the overall quality of the article and the relevance and importance of the article's contribution to the journal readership (both practitioners and researchers; both within and beyond Canada). Once approved for review, the Editor in Chief works with the Managing Editor to determine suitable reviewers based on the article type.

Before making a submission, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photos, documents and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. 

All authors must fulfill all the criteria listed below:

  • Have made substantial contributions to the conception, design, or data acquisition/analysis/interpretation of the work;
  • Have drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content;
  • Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved;
  • The lead author provides final approval of the version to be published.

We expect the highest levels of ethical care in research, including but not limited to approval by appropriate ethics committees and documentation within the manuscript of methods used to ensure ethical standards.

All submitted papers must be based on original work by the authors. Any claims of plagiarism will be investigated and appropriate action taken. Duplicate publication (a paper that overlaps substantially with one previously published) is discouraged. Authors must declare that all submitted content is the intellectual property of its authors, and that any copyrights or licenses required for publication in the CJEM have been secured.

Any use of tools based on machine learning, 'artificial intelligence,' or other computational aids should be proactively disclosed in both the cover letter to the editor and in the methods within the manuscript.

References and citations must follow the APA citation style (7th edition). Please refer to this recommended guide from the Purdue Online Writing Lab.

Submission Preparation Checklist

All submissions must meet the following requirements.

  • This submission meets the requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
  • This submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration.
  • Any use of machine learning or 'AI' has been disclosed in both the letter to the editor and the methods section.
  • All references have been checked for accuracy and completeness.
  • All tables and figures have been numbered and labeled.
  • Permission has been obtained to publish all photos, datasets and other material provided with this submission.
  • The manuscript has been blinded (i.e., no names mentioned in the text or meta data).
  • Continuous line numbering has been turned on (i.e., continuous throughout the document, not resetting each page).

Research Papers

Research papers are typically from 3,000 to 6,000 words. They highlight theoretical, strategic, or policy issues that require further study; additionally, they recommend “first steps” for practitioners to consider in their program or operational practice of emergency management in any of the four phases. They do not necessarily need to represent an original research question and methodology, but are sufficiently novel that they warrant theoretical exploration. Research papers are peer reviewed.

Communication

Communications are short articles between 1,000-2,500 words, intended to provide rapid dissemination of important insights, experiences, or contributions, particularly on time-sensitive topics.

Bridging the Gap

 Bridging the Gap articles should be from 2,000—5,000 words and should combine real-world experience with theoretical relevance. Compared with “Case Reports,” which focus on describing and highlighting lessons learned from a specific event or initiative, “Bridging the Gap” articles link theory and practice. This may occur through:

  • Comparing, contrasting, and synthesizing multiple cases to identify broader patterns or recommendations.
  • Bringing together one or more cases with the scholarly literature in a way that helps to advance development of theory, practice, or ideas.

We particularly welcome Bridging the Gap articles that feature collaborative authorship between practitioners and researchers, and welcome inquires if seeking collaborative writing partners.

Case Reports

Case Reports are short articles (between 1,000-3,000 words) that describe a recent real-world experience (e.g., response, exercise, mitigation/preparedness campaign, recovery initiative, etc) that offers lessons learned of interest to the broader emergency management community. The Case Report should be written primarily for fellow practitioners and offer a succinct description of what occurred, then lay out the lessons learned. Case reports are welcomed from those with first-hand experience, including both practitioners and community members. (External research on real-world cases should be submitted under “research paper” or “communication” formats.)

Book Reviews

Book reviews are constructive critiques of books about any subject in Disaster & Emergency Management, written about any book or author and assessed for relevance, strength and clarity of the review, and value to building a body of knowledge. They are 500 to 1,000 words in length.

Comments and Response

The Journal welcomes comments on papers published in CJEM in the last 12 months. If the comment is critical, authors of the original piece will be allowed a reasonable opportunity to provide a response. Both comment and response will be published concurrently. Both comment and response must be concise, impersonal, contribute to knowledge production, and advance informed debate.

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