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Monograph Submission Guidelines

Monographs are usually longer papers than those submitted for the ALARj. They must be original and unpublished work suitable for an international audience and not under review by any other publisher or journal. No payment is associated with monographs. Copyright of published works remains with the author(s) shared with Action Learning, Action Research Association Ltd (ALARA). Please see the copyright page for more information.

Typical monographs would include rationale, background, a topic literature review, research methodology and methods, ethical considerations, action research phases and findings, interventions, discussion of findings and their implications, references and appendices. They should contribute new knowledge. We encourage dual and multiple authorships.

Submissions should contain:

  • a title page
  • table of contents (including figures and tables)
  • an abstract of approximately 500 words
  • up to 10 key search words
  • an executive summary preceding the monograph
  • range from 8,000 to 16,000 words
  • a brief author biography of up to 500 words
  • and be gender and culture sensitive.

Please submit Monographs by email to the Editor at editor [at] alarassociation.org for review. Copy (e-copy only) must be in Word format, 12 point Arial font with 2.5 cm margins. Please use either Australian/UK or USA English spelling and Harvard style referencing (or APA). See the Imperial College London Referencing Harvard Style manual (286 Kb) for more information.

Subsections must be indicated by the following heading levels:

  • Level 1 - lower case and bold (14 pt)
  • Level 2 - lower case (12 pt and bold)
  • Level 3 - italic (12 pt).

No numbering of headings or subsections is to be used. Please keep footnotes to a bare minimum. Please do not use endnotes.

Careful proofreading must have occurred prior to submission. All identifying names must be removed to allow blind reviews. A separate file should be submitted outlining monograph title, author name(s), address, email address, phone and fax numbers.

The review process normally takes up to three months and authors can anticipate extension beyond this if revision is required. All correspondence will be directed to the lead author unless otherwise requested. Please ensure your email address is correct.

Evaluation of suitability of monographs will be based on a monograph:

  • offering new ideas,
  • making a significant contribution to the field,
  • arousing interest and stimulating debate, and
  • showing sound scholarship and rigorous research design.

Reviewers may recommend:

  • Acceptance of monograph following minor revisions,
  • Revision of monograph and resubmission for further review, or
  • Rejection of monograph.

A printed or electronic version of published Monographs can be purchased by emailing admin [at] alarassociation.org.

By submitting a paper for publication by ALARA, the author(s) are agreeing to ALARA's guidelines on copyright and authors' copies.