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MACQUARIE MATRIX: UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH JOURNAL

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macquarie matrix

Instructions to Contributors

Style guide

Macquarie Matrix follows the conventions of the American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual. A brief outline of our main style requirements for submission is presented below. A more comprehensive APA style guide may be found at http://www.mq.edu.au/on_campus/library/research/referencing/


Font

Calibri 12 pts. Double spacing and margins of at least 2.5 cm.

Title

Should describe the contents of the manuscript. Use bold for the title, centred, capitalise only the first letter in the first word and any proper nouns.

Author's name

Give the names of the contributing authors as they are to appear in the text, centred, initials closed up. For more than one author, separate names with commas, except for the last which is separated from the previous name by the word "and".

Affiliation

List the affiliation of each author as Department, Faculty, Centre, University, etc.

Abstract

Use the heading “Abstract” in bold, text smaller. Maximum 150 words. Describe the question posed in the paper, the methods used to answer this question, the results obtained, and the conclusions.

Keywords

Use the heading “Keywords” in bold, text smaller. Include five or six key words. These should reflect what the work is about, and may be used by search engines.

Layout

Single column, left aligned

Headings

  • First-level headings (e.g. Introduction, Conclusion) are in bold
  • Second-level headings should be in bold italics
  • Third-level headings should be in italics

Paragraphs

First paragraph after a heading or new section should be left-aligned. Indent second and following paragraphs.

Tables & Figures

Tables and Figures should be placed within the manuscript. Every Figure or Table must be referred to in the text. Try not to split a Table or Figure over two pages. Number Figures, Tables and Appendices separately, with consecutive numbers. Figure and Table captions are to be left-aligned, above the Figure or Table. (Note: a photograph is a Figure.)

Quotations

For quotations over 40 words, indent left and right, in 10 pts font size

Equations

Leave two blank lines before and after each equation.

Lists

Use numbers or bullets

Acknowledgements

Optional: used to thank people who have contributed in some way but are not authors; goes before the references

Appendix

Goes after the references, number them consecutively, title in bold

Page numbers

Number pages consecutively at the bottom right of the page.

Numbers & units

Numbers: spell out one to nine and any numbers at the start of a sentence; then 10, 15, 123, etc. Use numerals for percentages, e.g. 5%, except at the start of sentence (e.g. “Five percent…”)

Dates

5 February 1986
in the twenty-first century
in the 1960s

Creating a blind copy

Two copies of the work must be submitted. One complete copy with authors names, affiliations etc. labelled ‘Not for review’, and one blind review copy labelled ‘For review’. The requirements for the blind copy are:

  • remove all authors’ names below the title
  • remove all the authors’ affiliations
  • where possible, take out any identifying information from the text (e.g. author names, course details)
  • insert XX, YY etc. for authors’ names in the references, i.e. within the text, and in the reference list at the end.