GUIDELINES FOR CHAIN REACTION AUTHORS

Contacts
Timelines
Pictures/graphics
'More information' section
Bio note
Word limits
Referencing
Defamation

Chain Reaction contacts

Jim Green
(03) 9419 8700, 0417 318 368
jim.green@foe.org.au
or
chainreaction@foe.org.au

Cam Walker
(03) 9419 8700, 0419 338 047
cam.walker@foe.org.au

Natalie Lowrey
natalie.lowrey@foe.org.au

Joel Catchlove (away from March '08 til Jan '09)
(08) 8227 1399, 0403 886 951
joel.catchlove@foe.org.au

Timelines

Please make sure to submit your article by the deadline given to you - or preferably earlier.

Please check your article carefully before submitting it as it may not be possible to make corrections.

Pictures/graphics

Please make every effort to supply a picture/graphic to go with your article.

If you have a hard-copy and no capacity to scan, please post it and we can return to you.

It is important to provide a caption to go with the picture, and the name of the photographer/designer so they can be credited.

Please get permission from the photographer/designer to use the picture/graphic.

If there are people in the photo, name them if at all possible.

All images have to be at least 300dpi and the minimum size you want them to be on the page (cm x cm).

If you want to discuss photo/graphic options/specifications, the graphic designer for Chain Reaction is Natalie Lowrey <natalie.lowrey@foe.org.au>.

'More information' section

We like to include some key literature for readers who want more information, in a sub-section titled 'More information' between the end  of the article and the references. If appropriate please include such as list. Usually we would try to avoid listing a paper both in the 'More information' section and in the references, but use your judgement.

Example:
More Information:
* Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee, 2006, "Inquiry into Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Amendment Bill 2006",  <aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/clac_ctte/aborig_land_rights>.
* Central Land Council, 2002, "Our Land, Our Life", <www.clc.org.au/media/publications/olol.asp>.
* National Indigenous Times, <www.nit.com.au>.

Bio note

Please include a short bio note at the end of your article. If you want to, include your contact details.

Word limits

Better you stick to the word limit than having editor/s cutting the article to size. Very likely that you understand the issue better than the editors. Unlikely that we can find extra space to accommodate articles that are over-length.

The word count should include the 'More information' section and the references.

Referencing

Generally we prefer draft articles to be referenced (though references may be removed during editing). Short opinion pieces, book reviews and campaign updates do not need references. If in doubt, you're welcome to discuss with a Chain Reaction editor.

You can choose between two referencing styles:

1. Referencing in the text.

Example:
The Australian Conservation Foundation noted in its October 2006 submission to the Senate inquiry on the EPBC amendments that ...

That method avoids the need for references to be listed at the end of the article. The down-side is that it is less precise. Aim to provide enough information so that readers can find the reference if they need to - in the above example, it should be reasonably simple and quick to find the Senate EPBC inquiry webpage with a web search.

Another example:
The July 15, 2005 Sydney Morning Herald reported that ...

Another example:
Katherine Murphy noted in The Age on October 4, 2006 that ...

Another example:
Katherine Murphy noted in the March 2007 edition of Chain Reaction that ...

2. Harvard (simplified variation)

Example:
According to the Australian Conservation Foundation (2006, p.15), there is a backlog of 640 threatened ecological communities requiring assessment under the EPBC Act.
... or a more declarative variation ...
There is a backlog of 640 threatened ecological communities requiring assessment under the EPBC Act (Australian Conservation Foundation, 2006, p.15).

If three or more authors, use 'et al.' ...
There is a backlog of 640 threatened ecological communities requiring assessment under the EPBC Act (Australian Conservation Foundation et al., 2006, p.15).

If more than one reference to same author and year, insert ‘a’, ‘b’, etc in both text and references ... Australian Conservation Foundation, 2006a, 2006b.

Semi-colons to separate different references ...
There is a backlog of 640 threatened ecological communities requiring assessment under the EPBC Act (Australian Conservation Foundation, 2006, p.15; Humane Society International, 2005, p.4).

References list

List alphabetically by surname.

No underlining or italics in references. Use double quote marks for all article/book titles. No full-stops (except at the end).

Example for book:
Aberbach, John, Jenny Putnam and Barry Rockman, 1981, "Bureaucrats and Politicians in Western Democracies", Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Example for journal article:
Aberbach, John, 1989, "The Balance of Power Revisited", Review of International Studies, Vol.15(2), pp.77-86.

Websites. As far as possible, use standard referencing (as described above). If there is no clear publication date, use the date that the web page was  last updated. If all else fails, include the date the page was accessed. Use <brackets> for URLs. Do not include http://

Example for website:
Australian Conservation Foundation, December 5, 2005, "Background Brief: Not the Time to Weaken Environmental Laws", <www.acfonline.org.au/uploads/res_epbcbrief.pdf>.

Defamation

Bush lawyer Greg Ogle's guide to avoiding defamation is posted at:
http://users.senet.com.au/~gregogle/Risk_Minimisation.html

Please contact one of the Chain Reaction editors if you want further advice on defamation issues.