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About the Journal of Family Theory & Review

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The Journal of Family Theory & Review (JFTR) seeks to encourage integration and growth in the multidisciplinary and international domains of inquiry that define contemporary Family Science. The journal publishes original contributions in all areas of family theory, including new advances in theory development, reviews of existing theory, and analyses of the interface of theory and method, as well as integrative and theory-based reviews of content areas, and book reviews. The journal draws from a broad range of the social sciences, although scholarship is favored that is based within the disciplines of Family Science, sociology, and allied disciplines, developmental and social psychology, communications, and health and allied fields. Families are viewed broadly and inclusively to include individuals of varying ages and genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities, and nationalities.

JFTR is peer-reviewed and published quarterly in March, June, September, and December beginning in 2009.

JFTR editors consider book reviews and review essays an important part of its mission. Authors who wish to have their books reviewed, or those who wish to write a review or review essay, are encouraged to contact the book review editor.

Consistent with its mission, JFTR does not publish empirical reports with the exception of meta-analyses of content areas.

Potential authors are encouraged to contact the editor with any questions regarding the development or preparation of a manuscript.

 

JFTR’s Many Venues and Voices

The Journal of Family Theory & Review (JFTR) is a multidisciplinary journal with a goal to advance theory and critical review in the field of family science. JFTR encourages integration and growth in the intersectional, interdisciplinary, and international domains of inquiry that define contemporary family science. The journal does not publish empirical reports, with the exception of meta-analyses. It publishes original articles in the following areas. See JFTR’s March and June 2023 issues for recent examples.

Theoretical Advances

The process of theorizing and generating new interpretations of established frameworks is the life’s blood of JFTR. The journal publishes original contributions in all areas of family theory, including advances in theory development, critical analyses of existing theory, new applications of theory, new interpretations of conceptual positions or concepts once thought to be distinct, and essays in the conduct of theory construction.

Critical Literature Reviews

Also central to the mission of JFTR is critically evaluating a research literature, especially from the viewpoint of one or more theoretical positions. JFTR publishes integrative reviews of content areas, including systematic reviews, scoping reviews, narrative reviews, and meta-analyses.

Methodological Innovations

Although JFTR is a theory and review journal, we also publish methodological innovations and analyses at the interface of theory and method. The journal welcomes publishing advances in the methods of theory development, as well as advances in the methods for conducting integrative reviews.

Book and Media Reviews

Critical book and media reviews are generally 8-12 APA-style manuscript pages that analyze books and media in a scholarly way. These can situate books and media within existing research within family science, provide an explicit discussion of underlying family theory, and offer examples of how the book and other media might be useful in teaching, research, and/or practice.

Emerging Voices Feature

JFTR’s Emerging Voices feature offers brief and timely theoretical commentaries (10-15 manuscript pages) from students and new professionals about current topics and ideas that they would like to bring to the interdisciplinary study of families. We invite submissions that feature underrepresented issues in family science and that demonstrate innovative theoretical thinking on topics that resonate with the new generations of scholars.

Reflexive Voices Feature

JFTR’s Reflexive Voices feature unearths the messy side of scholarship, by revealing the person behind the science, and champions the often invisible and complicated intersections across lived experience and knowledge production. In a Reflexive Voices paper, family theorizing and scholarship is positioned in dialog with the author’s analysis of their personal, professional, and political commitments.

Original Voices Feature

JFTR’s Original Voices feature invites highly prolific and esteemed scholars to analyze the theoretical implications of their work and augment their legacy of scholarship. Original Voices manuscripts are invited by the JFTR Editor.

 

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The Journal of Family Theory & Review is a member of, and subscribes to the principles of, the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

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Copyright and Permissions

Copyright © 2023 by the National Council on Family Relations. All rights reserved.

Written permission to reprint articles or to reproduce materials from this journal for publication, or to use in the classroom, or for research and other scholarly purposes must be requested from Wiley. NCFR reserves the right to deny any permission at its sole discretion. Additional information can be found on the NCFR permissions webpage.