Article types
All articles submitted to Children Australia will be assessed by members of the Editorial Board. See Editorial procedure for more information about assessment and review.
Submitted articles should:
- Be within journal scope;
- Clearly indicate something new or important;
- Fulfil all authorship and ethical requirements; and
- Follow journal style (see Article preparation).
Some article types require a 'Knowledge Translation and Impact' section. The aim of this section is to make findings accessible to people who can adapt and use this knowledge to inform practice and, therefore, strengthen outcomes for children, young people and families. It provides a plain-language and/or graphical synthesis of knowledge presented in the article to make clear its importance, application and benefits to the sector. We hope that it encourages practice-focused and informed evidence and works towards breaking down silos of knowledge and understanding. This section can be up to three paragraphs (600 words) of text and can include figures and tables. It might include plain-language or summarised descriptions, infographics and/or examples of practice and policy utility. To encourage adequate communication, this section is not included in the overall article word count.
Email us at editor@childrenaustralia.org.au if you have any questions or require assistance.
Article type |
Description |
Word count (excluding abstract, tables and references) |
Abstract |
Knowledge Translation and Impact section |
Format/requirements |
Editorial process |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Editorial |
Opinion or introduction; written by Editorial Board member(s) or invited by Editorial Board |
1500 |
No |
No |
None, or authors' own headings |
Assessment by Editorial Board |
Letter to the Editor |
A brief, constructive comment or call to action about an issue or published article |
500 |
No |
No |
None |
Assessment by Editorial Board for relevance, and peer review at Handling Editor's discretion |
Commentary |
A longer-form constructive comment, discussion of evidence or research focus, or call to action |
6000 |
No |
No |
None, or authors' own headings |
Assessment by Editorial Board, or peer review at Handling Editor's discretion |
Expert by experience |
Contributions by children, young people or adults about their own experiences |
300–1000 |
No |
No |
Can be text, video and/or pictures. None, or authors' own headings |
Assessment by Editorial Board |
Original Research |
Original research study presented by study authors |
5000–8000 |
Yes |
Yes |
Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, Conclusion or Background, Issue, Lessons learned |
Assessment by Editorial Board for relevance and peer review |
Research Methods and Reporting |
Article about doing (research methods and methodologies, guidelines, interpretations) and reporting on research |
5000–8000 |
Yes |
Yes |
Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, Conclusion or Background, Issue, Lessons learned |
Assessment by Editorial Board for relevance and peer review |
Review (narrative, scoping, systematic, rapid, meta-analysis) |
Synthesis of current understanding. Must present methods/protocol used |
5000–8000 |
Yes |
Yes |
Author-developed headings. Must follow PRISMA (Systematic review), PRSIMA-ScR or JBI method (Scoping) or Cochrane guidelines (Rapid) |
Assessment by Editorial Board for relevance and peer review |
Report (practitioner report, policy report, conference report) |
Report on the design, implementation or evaluation of a policy, project, program, resource, tool, technique, event or conference |
5000–8000 |
Yes |
Yes |
Background, Issue, Lessons learned or authors' own |
Assessment by Editorial Board for relevance; peer review depending on content and at Handling Editor's discretion |
Case Report |
Report on the care, or response to care, of a child, young person or family. Written, informed consent must be provided |
2000 |
Yes |
Yes |
Background, Issue, Lessons learned |
Assessment by Editorial Board for relevance and peer review |
Book review |
Review of a new book of relevance to the journal readership |
5000 |
No |
No |
None, or author’s own headings |
Assessment by Editorial Board for relevance; peer review depending on content and at Handling Editor's discretion |