Publication Guidelines
Click a heading below to expand/retract the author guidelines for each of our publications.
Click to view InContext author guidelines
Spreadsheet Guidelines
- Always include a spreadsheet with your original data, calculations and graphic files
- When pulling the data, be sure to include the source of your data. There are a couple ways to do so
- Preferred: A full URL to the data you pulled
- The name of the source (i.e., U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, etc.)
- General notes for a good spreadsheet:
- If you pull a large amount of data, but only need a portion of it, create a copy of the full data set before deleting any cells/columns/rows/etc. This will make it easier to verify what you have pulled. Leave the full sheet as a separate tab labeled appropriately.
- Make your calculations within your spreadsheet, so we can see the cell references. That way, we can double-check your calculations for you.
Formatting Guidelines
- Don’t include tables or graphics within the text of your document. Leave them in your spreadsheet and make a note of which worksheet they are on. Don’t capitalize the first letter of industry or occupation names within the text because these are not proper nouns (It is okay for them to use title capitalization in tables, however).
- Don’t manually add in footnotes. Use computers to your advantage and use Word's footnoting feature.
- Use Word’s predefined heading styles for headings (i.e. don't underline or bold the normal paragraph font in order to make it look like a heading).
- Always use numerals with percentages (i.e., "9 percent"— not "nine percent")
- When referencing a figure in parenthesis within your text, format it as “(see Figure n)."
More Guidelines (for the Authors Who Really Want to Impress Us)
- Write "United States" when using it as a noun, but "U.S." when it is used as an adjective (note the abbreviation uses periods, but no spaces.)
- Don't use the serial comma (i.e., "apples, oranges and pears"— not "apples, oranges, and pears")
- Always spell out “percent” (except in tables/figures, where % is okay).
- Spell out numbers one to nine and use numerals for everything 10 and above.
- Use the Chicago Manual of Style for formatting references. Microsoft Word 2007 has a reference feature built in that allows users to enter information and it will be formatted correctly. (see the References section below)
- Include the unit for each number in a series (i.e., “0.9 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.”— not “0.9 and 1.2 percent”)
- Don't type anything in all caps.
Article Length
This varies based on graphics. An average two-page article runs about 600 to 700 words with four or five graphics. One page with one graphic is about 600 words.
References
Use the Chicago Manual of Style for formatting references. Microsoft Word 2007 has a reference feature built in that allows users to enter information and it will be formatted correctly. Please follow these steps to set up referencing for InContext articles:
- Click References on the menu bar at the top of the file.
- In the Citations & Bibliography box, change the style to Chicago.
- With your cursor at the spot you would like to place a citation, click insert citation. Fill in all of the information requested.
- Go to the end of the document, click on Bibliography in the same Citations & Bibliography box mentioned in step 2 and select Insert Bibliography. Each of your references should appear, already formatted in the correct Chicago style.
Click to view Indiana Business Review author guidelines
Spreadsheet Guidelines
- Always include a spreadsheet with your original data, calculations and graphic files
- When pulling the data, be sure to include the source of your data. There are a couple ways to do so
- Preferred: A full URL to the data you pulled
- The name of the source (i.e., U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, etc.)
- General notes for a good spreadsheet:
- If you pull a large amount of data, but only need a portion of it, create a copy of the full data set before deleting any cells/columns/rows/etc. This will make it easier to verify what you have pulled. Leave the full sheet as a separate tab labeled appropriately.
- Make your calculations within your spreadsheet, so we can see the cell references. That way, we can double-check your calculations for you.
Formatting Guidelines
- Don’t include tables or graphics within the text of your document. Leave them in your spreadsheet and make a note of which worksheet they are on. Don’t capitalize the first letter of industry or occupation names within the text because these are not proper nouns (It is okay for them to use title capitalization in tables, however).
- Don’t manually add in footnotes. Use computers to your advantage and use Word's footnoting feature.
- Use Word’s predefined heading styles for headings (i.e., don't underline or bold the normal paragraph font in order to make it look like a heading).
- Always use numerals with percentages (i.e., "9 percent"— not "nine percent")
- When referencing a figure in parenthesis within your text, format it as “(see Figure n).”
More Guidelines (for the Authors Who Really Want to Impress Us)
- Write "United States" when using it as a noun, but "U.S." when it is used as an adjective (note the abbreviation uses periods, but no spaces.)
- Use the serial comma (i.e., "apples, oranges, and pears"— not "apples, oranges and pears")
- Always spell out “percent” (except in tables/figures, where % is okay).
- Spell out numbers one to ninety-nine and use numerals for everything 100 and above.
- Use the Chicago Manual of Style for formatting references. Microsoft Word 2007 has a reference feature built in that allows users to enter information and it will be formatted correctly. A step-by-step process on how to do this in Word is available using the the references section below
- Include the unit for each number in a series (i.e., “0.9 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.”— not “0.9 and 1.2 percent”)
Article Length
This varies based on graphics. An average two-page article runs about 800 words with three or four graphics.
References
Use the Chicago Manual of Style for formatting references. Microsoft Word 2007 has a reference feature built in that allows users to enter information and it will be formatted correctly. Please follow these steps to set up referencing for InContext articles:
- Click References on the menu bar at the top of the file.
- In the Citations & Bibliography box, change the style to Chicago.
- With your cursor at the spot you would like to place a citation, click insert citation. Fill in all of the information requested.
- Go to the end of the document, click on Bibliography in the same Citations & Bibliography box mentioned in step 2 and select Insert Bibliography. Each of your references should appear, already formatted in the correct Chicago style.
