Social Currents

Submit your article electronically at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/scu. Please follow the instructions for creating an account. Then the system will walk you through a step-by-step process for manuscript submission.

English-Language Editing Services:

Authors who would like to refine the use of English in their manuscripts might consider using the services of a professional English-language editing company.

For more information, visit the SAGE Journal Author Gateway.

Manuscript Preparation:

Manuscripts should be prepared using the ASA Style Guide (Fourth Edition). All pages must be typed, double-spaced (including references, footnotes, and endnotes). Text must be in 12-point Times Roman. Block quotes may be single-spaced. Must include margins of 1.25 inches on all the four sides and number all pages sequentially.

Sections in a manuscript may include the following (in this order): (1) Title page, (2) Abstract, (3) Keywords, (4) Text, (5) Notes, (6) References, (7) Tables, (8) Figures, and (9) Appendices.

1. Title page. Please include the following:

• Full article title
• Acknowledgments and credits
• Each author’s complete name and institutional affiliation(s)
• Grant numbers and/or funding information
• Corresponding author (name, address, phone/fax, e-mail)

2. Abstract. Print the abstract (150 to 200 words) on a separate page headed by the full article title. Omit author(s)’s names.

3. Text. Begin article text on a new page headed by the full article title.

    a. Headings and subheadings. Subheadings should indicate the organization of the content of the manuscript. Generally, three heading levels are sufficient to organize text. THIS IS A FIRST- LEVEL HEAD (All caps and left-justified), This Is a Second-Level Head (Italics and left-justified; capitalize all words except prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions) and This is a third-level head (these are run-in heads, italics, indented at the beginning of the paragraph and followed by a period).

    b. Citations. Citations in the text should provide the last name of the author(s) and year of publication. Include page numbers when referring to direct quotes or specific passages. Following are some examples of text citations:

        (i) When author’s name is in the text, follow it with the publication year in parentheses-… Duncan (1959). The first time that an author's name is in the text, the full name should be included. Subsequently, only the last name should be included-...Samuel George (2003) says...George (2003) When author’s name is not in the text, enclose the last name and year in parentheses-…(George1963).
 

        (ii) Pages cited follow the year of publication after a colon-…(Duncan and Weiss 1971:71-85).

        (iii) Use the last name of both authors for joint authors-…(Martin and Bailey 1988).

        (iv) For three authors, cite all three names in the first citation in the text-…(George, Smith, and Baily1962). For all subsequent citations use “et al.”-…(George et al. 1962).

        (v) For works with four or more authors, use “et al.” throughout.

        (vi) For citation of a version published earlier, list the earliest publication date in brackets followed by the most recent publication date-…Veblen ([1866] 1900).

        (vii) Separate a series of references with semicolons.

        (viii) Use “forthcoming” for unpublished materials and N.d if no date is available-…the earlier study by Smith (forthcoming) and Bailey (N.d).

        (ix) For machine-readable data files, cite authorship and date-…(Institute for Survey Research 1976).

        (x) For e-resource citations, See section 5.3 of ASA(4^th ed).

4. Notes should be typed or printed, double-spaced, in a separate “ENDNOTES” section. Begin each note with the superscript numeral to which it is keyed in the text (e.g., “¹ After 1981, there were…”). Notes can (a) explain or amplify text, (b) cite materials of limited availability, or (c) append information presented in a table or figure. Avoid long notes: consider (a) stating in the text that information is available from the author, (b) depositing the information in a national retrieval center and inserting a short footnote or a citation in the text, or (c) adding an appendix. Each note should not exceed 100 words.

5. References are presented in a separate section headed “REFERENCES.” All references cited in the text must be listed in the reference section, and vice versa.

1. Do not use “et al.” in the Reference list at the end; names of all authors of a publication should be listed there.

Publication information for each must be complete and correct. List the references in alphabetical order by authors’ last names; include first names and middle initials for all authors when available. List two or more entries by the same author(s) in order of the year of publication. When the cited material is not yet published but has been accepted for publication, use “Forthcoming” in place of the date and give the journal name or publishing house. For dissertations and unpublished papers, cite the date and place the paper was presented and/or where it is available. If no date is available, use “N.d.” in place of the date. If two or more cited works are by the same author(s) within the same year, list them in alphabetical order by title and distinguish them by adding the letters a, b, c, etc., to the year (or to “Forthcoming”). For works with more than one author, only the name of the first author is inverted (e.g., “Jones, Arthur B., Colin D. Smith, and James Petersen”). List all authors; using “et al.” in the reference list is not acceptable. Please do not use em-dashes for same author names is consecutive references. Instead treat it as any other reference and use the full author name. Refer to the ASA Style Guide (4^th ed.) for additional examples:

• Books:

Bernard, Claude [1865] 1957. An Introduction to the Study of Experimental Medicine. Translated by H.C. Greene, New York: Dover.

Mason, Karen O. 1974. Women’s Labor Force Participation and Fertility. Research Triangle Park, NC: National Institutes of Health.

U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1960. Characteristics of Population. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

• Periodicals:

Goodman, Leo A. 1947a. “The Analysis of Systems of Qualitative Variables When Some of the Variables Are Unobservable. Part I – A Modified Latent Structure Approach.” American Journal of Sociology 79: 1179-1259.

____.1947b. “Exploratory Latent Structure Analysis Using Both Identifiable and Unidentifiable Models.”Biometrika 61: 215-31.

Szelenyi, Szonja and Jacqueline Olvera. Forthcoming. “The Declining Significance of Class: Does Gender Complicate the Story?” Theory and Society.

• Collections:

Clausen, John A. 1972. “The Life Course of Individuals.” Pp. 457-514 in Aging and Society, vol. 3, A Sociology of Age Stratification, edited by M. W. Riley, M. Johnson, and A. Foner. New York: Russell Sage.

Sampson, Robert J. 1992. “Family Management and Child Development: Insights from Social Disorganization Theory.” Pp. 63-93 in Advances in Criminology Theory, vol. 3, Facts, Frameworks, and Forecasts, edited by J. McCord. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction.

• Dissertations:

Charles, Maria. 1990. “Occupational Sex Segregation: A Log-Linear Analysis of Patterns in 25 Industrial Countries.” Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Sociology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA.

• Web Sites:

American Sociological Association, 1997. “Call for Help: Social Science Knowledge on Race, Racism, And Race Relations” (ASA Action Alert, October 15). Washington, DC: American Sociological Association. Retrieved October 15, 1997 (http://www.asanet.org/racecall.htm).

Boorstein, Michelle. 2003. “Homeless Needs Outrun Success in Finding Shelter Site.” Washington Post, October 19, 2003, p. C05. Retrieved October 20, 2003 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46989-2003Oct18.html)

Kao, Grace and Jennifer Thompson. 2003. “Racial and Ethnic Stratification in Educational Achievement and Attainment.” Annual Review of Sociology 29: 417-42. Retrieved October 20, 2003 (http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.soc.29.010202.100019).

6. Tables should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text and must include table titles. Tables will appear in the published article in the order in which they are numbered initially. Each table must include a descriptive title and headings for all columns and rows. Gather general notes to tables as “Notes:”; use a, b, c, etc., for table footnotes. Use asterisks*, **, and/or *** to indicate significance at the p<.05, p<.01, and p<.001 levels, respectively, and always specify one-tailed or two-tailed tests.

All tables must be cited in text

Please make sure tables are in editable format and not supplied as images.

7. Figures should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text and must include figure captions. Figures will appear in the published article in the order in which they are numbered initially. All artwork must be submitted on disk or as camera-ready art. Figures must be executed by computer or by a graphic artist in black ink on white paper; lettering must be done in pen and ink or be typeset; photographs must be black-and-white on glossy paper.

All figures must be cited in text

Please make sure there is no typographical errors in the figures as they are not copyedited by us.

IMPORTANT: All figures (including all type) must be legible when resized to fit one or two column widths, 2-9/16 and 5-5/16 inches wide, respectively. PERMISSION: The author(s) are responsible for securing permission to reproduce all copyrighted figures or materials before they are published in SCU. A copy of the written permission must be included with the manuscript submission.

8. Endnotes. Endnotes should be placed as text at the end of the manuscript. They should be indicated with superscripts within the text.

9. Appendices should be lettered to distinguish them from numbered tables and figures. Include a descriptive title for each appendix (e.g., “Appendix A. Variable Names and Definitions”). Cross-check text for accuracy against appendices. 

Peer Review Policy:

Social Currents adheres to the double blind peer view process, meaning that the reviewer’s name is withheld from the author, and the author’s name is withheld from the reviewer.

Please note that as part of the submission process you may be asked to provide the names of a number of peers who could be called upon to review your manuscript. Recommended reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Please be aware of any conflicts of interest when recommending reviewers. Examples of conflicts of interest include (but are not limited to) the below: 

• The reviewer should have no prior knowledge of your submission
• The reviewer should not have recently collaborated with any of the authors
• Reviewer nominees from the same institution as any of the authors are not permitted

Please note that the journal’s editors are not obliged to invite any recommended/opposed reviewers to assess your manuscript

Authorship:

All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.

Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.

Acknowledgements:

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section.Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.

Third party submissions

Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

• Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
• Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
• Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

Where appropriate, SAGE reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

Writing assistance

Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

Supplemental Materials:

This journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information, please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplementary files.