Submissions

Submission Instructions

Table of Contents

1. Note from the Editors
2. Types of Articles
   1. Scholarly Articles
   2. Opinion Pieces
   3. Field Notes
   4. Photo Essays
3. Submission Preparation Checklist
4. Formatting Guidelines
5. Important Notes

Note from the Editors

Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development is the first student-founded journal of its kind. Its mission is to juxtapose different disciplinary approaches in order to confront challenges of sustainable development in an innovative and creative manner.

The field of sustainable development is broad and can encompass a wide variety of topics, related to the environment, economics, politics, and social life. As an interdisciplinary journal, Consilience encourages its contributors to submit articles of relevance to many fields related to the study and practice of sustainable development. It also welcomes articles from students and other authors who have never previously been published in academic journals. 

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Articles May Take the Following Forms for the Issue:

Scholarly Articles 

Scholarly articles are original, research-based articles that contribute new understandings or approaches to topics in sustainable development.  Such articles are thoroughly substantiated by existing research in order to introduce innovative findings; thus, articles contain numerous citations from scholarly sources.  Some authors may wish to include a concise literature review, although a specific literature review section is not required.  Authors should also include discussions of recommendations and implications of their findings.  Implications should be global in nature and not confined to specific case studies discussed in the article.  Given the rigor of the research, scholarly articles contain technical language and use of appropriate terminology.  Accompanying graphs, charts, and statistical analysis are often appropriate to include.  These types of articles typically run longer than opinion pieces, field notes, and photo essays.  Although Consilience does not designate a particular word or page limit, scholarly articles typically run between 12 and 18 pages, excluding bibliography and appendices.

Opinion Pieces 

Opinion pieces are designed to offer compelling arguments regarding controversial topics in sustainable development, including attendant challenges, strengths and theories.  The main difference between opinion pieces and scholarly articles is that opinion pieces are less technically constructed, hence catering to the educated lay reader.  Opinion pieces are also typically shorter than scholarly articles, rarely exceeding 15 pages.  Authors may wish to include photographs and figures to illustrate their claims. 

Field Notes 

A field note is a narrative that describes primary research conducted by the author(s).  Research may consist of interviews, observations, data collection, or post-field work reflections.  Fieldwork should generally provide a broader commentary on a topic or trend in sustainable development.  Research should build on existing information and should contribute new or supportive findings in order to provide an argument that considers previous research as well as future steps for further research.  The implications of the findings should be globalized so as to expand upon specific case studies.  Research should also be accompanied by appropriate statistical analysis. Authors may find it helpful to illustrate their findings through figures, graphs, and photographs.

Photo Essays

A photo essay is primarily a narrative that illustrates a topic in sustainable development through the lens of photographs.  The series of photos should introduce an issue then depict the problem, trend, or solution regarding that issue in sustainable development.  Photographs should be impactful and artfully convey information as well as emotions of affected communities.  Although all photo essays differ in structure, typical photo essays follow one of two progressions.  One progression narrates a story by depicting a phenomenon, organization, or individual over time.  Another progression concentrates on a particular subject, such as climate change, in order to demonstrate the consequences or lessons that can be learned from that subject.  Authors may either choose or combine structures of photo essays to best articulate their topic.  Additional elements that should be incorporated into an essay include: context, captions, and conclusions.  All photos should be taken by the author(s).  The following is a description of different types of photos found in photo essays:

• Lead Photo: captures the reader’s attention and introduces the central idea of the essay.
• Landscape Photos: provide context for the narrative.
• Portraits: depict the subjects or figures featured in the essay.
• Detail Photos: convey additional information or emotional aspects in order to enhance the understanding of the topic.
• Clincher Photo: concludes the essay by implicating the reader.

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Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

The following are guidelines for determining if a submission corresponds to the guiding vision and framework of Consilience. It is not necessary that all pieces meet all conditions; it is necessary that all pieces reflect and further contribute to the goals of the journal as stated in the Mission Statement. Accepted pieces generally conform to many of these criteria.

All pieces should be examined based on their own merits, but also should be considered based on their relevance to the other pieces included, as well as to the broader discourse regarding sustainable development. All pieces should be accessible to a broad population, without sacrificing specificity or attentions to the technicalities, complexities, and details of methodology and subject matter. As such, all submitted scholarly articles should include both a scholarly abstract and a lay-person abstract.

Above all, all pieces should reflect rigorous analysis, critical examination, and creative and innovative thinking. They should fundamentally contribute to a greater and unified framework of understanding regarding the field of sustainable development.

All Pieces Should:

• Be an original work, an update on a previous piece, or a reprint of an article that deserves wider discussion.
• Contribute in a fruitful and valuable manner to the field of sustainable development.
• Demonstrate creative thinking about a particular issue and its attendant challenges.
• Move beyond a simple restating of facts.
• Be accessible to a broad population interested in sustainable development and attempt to make linkages between different disciplines and areas of research and/or practice.
• Be thought-provoking.
• Be well-written. That is, all pieces should adhere to standard grammar conventions, should be concise and clear. All pieces should progressively develop an argument throughout the piece and should follow a comprehensible and logical structure.
• Reflect the particular voice, ideas, and work of the writer.
• Propose solutions and remedies where appropriate; suggest further research possibilities.
• Offer more than one or more perspectives on a particular issue. Articles that are ideal for acceptance will be interdisciplinary by nature.

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Formatting Guidelines

Please include the following with your submission:

1. Cover Sheet: this should include the title of your article, your full name, institutional affiliation, and your email address.
2. Scholarly Abstract: this should include your thesis, methodology, and its relevance to other disciplines within the field of sustainable development. This should be no more than 250 words.
3. Author’s Note: The Consilience Editorial Board has found that readers enjoy learning about the author’s personal motivations for their involvement in their field of study and how they wish to contribute to sustainable development. This is your personal note to readers, describing the rationale for your study, your thesis, its relevance of the field of sustainable development and future avenues for research. The author’s note should be no more than ten sentences.
4. Keywords: please include 3 to 6 keywords describing the content of the article.
5. Full Text
6. Bibliography
7. Appendices or Supplementary Material: we strongly encourage you to include any relevant photographs, charts, or graphs within the body of the article itself, beside relevant passages.  These should be cited appropriately.

Citations 

Consilience requires in-text citations with an accompanying bibliography in APA format.  For authors who want to include supplementary information, we prefer footnotes, not endnotes.  For assistance with APA formatting, please refer to http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/.

Formatting

1. Section headings and article title: Garamond, 16 pt, bold
2. Author’s name and affiliations: Center text, Garamond, 12 pt
3. Scholarly abstract and author’s note: Justified, Garamond, 10 pt
4. Keywords: Justified, Garamond, 12 pt
5. Article body text and bibliography: Garamond, 12 pt
6. Subheadings: Garamond, 14 pt, bold
7. Captions: Garamond, 12 pt
8. Figures: Centered, top of page
9. Footnote numbering: Garamond, 12 pt, superscript

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Important Notes

As of 2015, Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Articles published prior to 2015 fall under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDeriviates License. All authors should consult the Creative Commons website if they would like to specify a particular license for their articles. Authors retain the rights to their articles, though Consilience asks authors to contact the journal before republishing.

Editorial Review Process

All papers selected for submission will undergo review by the Editorial Board, and if deemed necessary the Corresponding Board (consisting of graduate students), and Advisory Board (consisting of professors or advanced scholars of sustainable development) of Consilience. Submissions will be edited for style and content.  There are two main rounds of editing, the first focusing on structural and content issues, the second on stylistic and small-scale issues. Authors should be aware that they will likely be expected to revise submitted articles prior to publication.  Please note that as this is a student-run journal, it is not technically peer reviewed.

What Consilience Can Provide for Its Authors

Consilience can provide one-on-one editing assistance to its writers. Articles submitted will be reviewed by the best students and professors in the field of sustainable development.

Consilience can provide limited assistance to writers for whom English is not their first language.

Submissions

While Consilience will make every effort to respond to all submissions, it cannot guarantee that all submitters will receive a response. Consiliencecannot return submitted manuscripts or documents. Please contact Consilience at consiliencejournal@gmail.com if you do not receive a confirmation e-mail within two months of submitting.

Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development reserves the right to exclude any article from inclusion in final publication at any point in this process. Consilience also maintains the right to edit, delete, or change any aspect of an article at its own discretion. Any major changes will be communicated to the author prior to publication. In addition, Consilience may reproduce, excerpt, or otherwise utilize published material in future Consilience publications, on the Consilience website, or at Consilience events without the explicit consent of the author. Consilience maintains a commitment to protecting the work of its authors and to ensuring that this work is not reproduced unlawfully or without the author’s permission by other parties.

The opinions expressed within Consilience: The Journal of Sustainable Development do not necessarily reflect those of the journal, its staff, its Advisory Boards, or affiliates, or those of Columbia University.

Questions should be directed to consiliencejournal@gmail.com. For more information and to read the journal, please visit www.consiliencejournal.org. The Editorial Board is based at Columbia University in New York City.

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