Family Relations follows the guidelines of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition. Please also consult the Family Relations style guide.

General Formatting Original Manuscript

• Double-space all parts of the manuscript, including abstract, quotes, references, and tables.
• The components of the manuscript should be arranged in the following order:

1. MS Title Page
2. Structured Abstract (Objective, Background, Method, Results, Conclusion, Implications)
3. Text of article with sections including: Methods, Results, Discussion, and Implications
4. Notes (Place notes indicating grant support on the title page.)
5. Reference list (APA style)
6. Tables (if any)
7. Figure titles & figures (if any)
8. Appendices (if any)

• See the APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition, Crediting Sources section for guidelines for citing works in text and the Reference Examples section for preparing the reference page.

Tables & Figures

• Insert a Table or Figure location note in the body of the manuscript following the first mention of a table or figure in text (e.g., Table 1 about here, or Figure 1 about here).
• Figures must be high quality laser prints or camera-ready prints. Include one laser print or camera-ready print of each figure at the time of acceptance.
• Titles and notes to Figures must be typed, double-spaced, on a separate manuscript page.
• Tables and Figures should be kept to a minimum (see the APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition, Displaying Results section).
• Format for Tables

Manuscript Length

• Use 1-inch margins.
• Use the following fonts and corresponding point sizes: Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans Unicode 10, Times New Roman 12, or Georgia 11.
• Taken together, title page, abstract, text, references, and tables and figures, should be approximately 35 double-spaced manuscript pages in total.

References

• Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) and URLs are now formatted the same way. Both are presented as hyperlinks and the label DOI is no longer needed; the words “Retrieved from” are only used when the retrieval date is also needed.

Additional Items Required

• Title should be no longer than 12 words in length.
• A structured Abstract up to 200 words in length should precede the body of the paper. Use the headings: Objective, Background, Method, Results, Conclusion, Implications.
• Immediately below the Abstract, list up to six key words, in alphabetical order, by which the paper may be indexed.
• Family Relations articles no longer carry footnotes, although a brief note acknowledging grant assistance, and/or previous presentation may be placed at the bottom of the title page.

Brief Reports Manuscripts

1. Title Page
2. Structured Abstract using the headings: Objective, Background, Method, Results, Conclusion, Implications for Emerging Ideas and Translating Discovery Science; Objective, Background, Experience, Conclusion, Implications for Letters from the Field.
3. Text of Emerging Ideas and Translating Discovery Science manuscript with sections including: Methods, Results, Discussion, and Implications; Text of Lessons from the Field manuscript with sections including: Objective, Background, Experience, Conclusion, and Implications.
4. Reference List (up to 20 references)
5. Tables and Figures (up to a combined total of 4)

Brief Report Manuscript Checklist:

• Manuscripts can be up to 3000 words, not inclusive of title page, abstract, and references, a maximum of 20 references, and up to a combined total of 4 figures or tables. 
• Background information and introduction of objective and goals should be succinct, approximately 500 to 750 words. 
• The method and results sections should be similar in detail and content as a full-length manuscript—providing the reader with a clear understanding of the work completed and reported.
• The discussion section is replaced with a Conclusion/Implications section that clearly states a summary of the objective and how it contributes to next steps in advancing family science.