NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy

The NISPAcee Journal of Public Administration and Policy is devoted to public administration and public policy issues in Central and Eastern Europe. Papers based on empirical research or papers developing the theory with focus on the region are the main target for the Journal.

www.nispa.org/journal.php

Instructions for authors

Introductory information:

Papers

Decisions about the publication of a manuscript are based on the recommendation of the editor-in-chief and an additional review process conducted by two appropriate specialists from a relevant field.

Submissions should not have been published previously and should not be under consideration for publication elsewhere. Papers presented at a professional conference qualify for consideration. The submission of manuscripts that have undergone substantial revision after having been presented at a professional meeting is encouraged.

Manuscript Guidelines:

1. Structure of a Paper

Title
The title should be a brief phrase adequately describing the content of the paper.

Author(s)
Author(s) name (first name surname) in italics without any titles, with a footnote (no italics) indicating each author’s institution, city and country.

Abstract
An abstract is a summary of the information in a document. The abstract should not ex¬ceed 250 words. It should be designed to clearly define the content of the paper. The abstract should: (i) state the principal objectives and scope of the research; (ii) describe the methodology employed; (iii) summarise results and findings; and (iv) state the principal conclusions. References to literature, bibliographic information, figures, or tables should not be included in the abstract.

Keywords
Up to 5 keywords. Keywords should generally be nouns instead of adjectives or adverbs and must be listed in alphabetically, separated by commas. Do not use abbreviations. 　

Introduction
The introduction should supply sufficient background information on the topic and also provide the rationale for the present study. Suggested guidelines are as follows: (i) the introduction should first clearly present the nature and scope of the problem that was researched; (ii) provide an overview of the pertinent literature used; (iii) state the research methodology employed and, if necessary, the reasons for using a particular method; and (iv) the principal results of the investigation should be stated.

Literature review
This part reviews the existing state of knowledge about the topic of the paper. We recommend checking especially publications dealing with the region covered.

Methodology
The methodology part should describe and explain all the methodological aspects of the paper, such as the methods used, data collection method, and the validity of the sample.

Results
This section should contain an overall description of the topic and the present data gathered during the research project. The manuscript should utilise representative data rather than repetitive information. Data that will be referenced several times in the text should be provided in tables or graphs. All data, repetitive or otherwise, should be meaningful. Results must be clearly and simply stated as this section comprises innovative research findings for an international community of academics and practitioners.

Discussion
This section presents principles, relationships, and generalisations indicated by the researcher’s findings. This should not restate information present in the results section but should: (i) point out any exceptions or lack of correlation; (ii) define unresolved issues; (iii) show how the results and interpretations agree (or contrast) with previously published work; (iv) discuss the theoretical implications of the work, and any possible practical applications; and (v) summarise the evidence for each conclusion. The primary purpose of the discussion section is to show the relationships between the facts that have been observed during the course of the research. The discussion section should end with a brief summary or conclusion regarding the significance of the work.

Conclusions
Conclusions summarise findings, may propose policy recommendations or future research directions.

Acknowledgements
Assistance received from any individual who contributed significantly to the work or to the interpretation of the work and / or external financial assistance, such as grants, contracts, or fellowships, must be acknowledged.

References
APA format (7th edition) is requested. Only significant, published references should be cited. References to unpublished data, papers in the press, abstracts, theses, and other secondary materials should not be listed in the references section. If such a reference is essential, it may be added parenthetically or as a footnote in the text. Second, the authors should verify all references with the original publication prior to submitting the manuscript. Stylistically, authors should utilise the in-text parenthetical reference system with complete references alphabetised at the end of the text.

2. Submission procedure
Papers shall be submitted electronically via the on-line submission system, in the style as prescribed below.

3. Language editing
Papers should be language edited, or this service can be purchased from the NISPAcee.

4. Paper length
The final version of the completed paper should not exceed 7000 words.

5. Style
NISPAcee requires the following stylistic points to be followed for all manuscripts.

5.1 Format and Language
Papers should be submitted in RTF, DOC format and written in English. If necessary, the tables, graphs, or other graphics can be submitted separately in other formats, e.g., XLS, PDF, EPS, TIF, JPG.

5.2 Titles and Subtitles
Titles should by typed in capital letters in Times New Roman size 12 and bolded. Names of authors should follow below the title in italics with a footnote indicating the author(s)’ institution, city and country.
Subtitles should appear in bold with only the first letters capitalised. Subtitles and the main body of the text of the paper should be in Times New Roman, size 10. New paragraphs should not be indented.

5.3 Keywords
Times New Roman; size 10 font, no words in italics; Keywords:bold, colon; proper nouns, places - first letter Uppercase, e.g. Slovakia; abbreviations - all Uppercase, e.g. NGO; all other words lowercase, e.g. synthetic; comma between words; nothing after last keyword

5.4 Numbering Sections
For purposes of clarity, sections and sub-sections of the text should utilise the scientific numbering system. Please note that no more than two levels of sub-sections should be used whenever possible.

5.5 Bullets and Numbering
<Tab> should be used after each bullet or number prior to beginning the text, and <enter> after each bulleted or numbered sentence. Each bulleted or numbered sentence / phrase should be followed by ";” with the exception of the final point, which should end with a period (".”).
Example:

• <Tab> Deciding about the organisation of the process and about the feedback to politicians; <Enter>
• <Tab> Recruitment and selection of the ‘policy-making team’; <Enter>
• <Tab> Monitoring the progress, deciding about the pace and deadlines; <Enter>
• <Tab> Judging the interim drafts and products. <Enter>

5.6 Notes
Note that numbers should be placed within the main body of the text in superscript. Notes should be numbered consecutively from "1” and collected at the end of the page.

5.7 Tables, Illustrations (Graphs, Figures)
The tables, graphs, or other graphics should be written in English and can be submitted in the text or separately in RTF, DOC format or in other formats, e.g.XLS, PDF, EPS, TIF, JPG.

5.8 References
APA format (7th edition) is requested.

Article processing charge

Authors who do not hold NISPAcee individual membership or are not from the NISPAcee member institution are charged € 400 to cover the open access publishing costs. Authors who hold NISPAcee individual membership or are from the NISPAcee member institution are charged € 300 to cover the open access publishing costs. All authors are responsible for language editing, otherwise editing of their papers will be charged by NISPAcee 200 Euro that consider each paper respectively.

Open Access License

This journal provides immediate open access to its content under the Creative Commons CC BY NC ND 4.0 license. Authors who publish with this journal retain all copyrights and agree to the terms of the CC BY NC ND 4.0 license.

Open Access Statement

The journal is an Open Access journal that allows a free unlimited access to all its contents without any restrictions upon publication to all users.