Author Guidelines

Author Guidelines for Submission:

Matrix aims to publish research articles normally between 5000 and 10,000 words in length, including bibliography. Longer pieces might be considered for publication at the discretion of the Editorial Collective.

Research Notes, or shorter contributions between 3000 and 5000 words, including bibliography, are welcome. There is a separate Research Notes section in the journal.

Twice per year, a Call for Papers will be issued with a submission deadline.

Submissions not relating to a particular Call for Papers may be submitted to the Editorial Collective for consideration at any time of the year. Material received will be considered for the next available issue where suitable. The Editorial Collective reserves the right to hold back material for subsequent issues when necessary.

As a publication based in Canada, Matrix publishes material in English and in French. Submissions made in languages other than English and French must be translated into English or French by the author. We encourage submissions in the language of the community featured in the article and will consider publishing it alongside the English or French translation.

Prospective authors should be aware that original research articles published in Matrix are subject to rigorous double-blind peer review by multiple referees. The number of referees consulted will depend on the nature and scope of the submission. See Blinding Your Article for Double-Blind Peer Review, below.

On occasion, Matrix will commission the reprinting of articles relevant to the journal's themes which have previously been published elsewhere, where they (a) retain currency for researchers regarding either the history of research and/or current ideas, and (b) hitherto have not been fully available to researchers in a digital medium and/or a readily accessible venue.

Comments by referees may remain confidential at the discretion of the Editorial Collective.

Every effort will be made to maintain the anonymity of the referees.

Authors will be expected to accept Matrix' copyright agreement once the article has been accepted for publication (see below).

Charges and/or Fees

Authors of articles, notes, reports, book reviews, and other submissions will not be subjected to any charges or fees, and will receive no remuneration from this open access publication.

Submissions

1. Submissions of articles should include an abstract of no more than 200 words, a list of up to five keywords, and a brief biography of the author(s). The abstract should not include references or refer to illustrations within the article itself.
2. The font size should be 12 point. The beginning of each paragraph should be demarcated by an extra line space.
3. We accept numbered footnotes or endnotes. All pages must be numbered.
4. Papers must be accompanied by a scheme indicating the divisions of the text and the relative importance of the various headings, sub-headings, etc (a small Table of Contents, if you will). 
5. Both line drawings and photographs must be numbered in a single sequence within each paper and should be given a number in the text, thus (Fig. 9). Tables should be separately numbered, thus (Table 4).
6. The author(s) should certify in writing that they have written the manuscript in its entirety and that it contains only original and accurate information.
7. The peer review process and copy-editing of an article requires a substantial commitment of time by Matrix' Editorial Collective and reviewers. There is NO paid editor or staff working for the journal. Submitting an article to Matrix implies a commitment by the contributor(s) to publish in the journal. The author(s) must certify in writing that neither the article submitted nor any version of it has been published, nor is it publicly available online, nor is it being considered for publication elsewhere, nor will it be submitted elsewhere for consideration for publication while the manuscript is under review by the Editorial Collective of Matrix: A Journal for Matricultural Studies. Such certification should accompany the manuscript. 

Blinding Your Article for Double-Blind Peer Review

To ensure the integrity of anonymous peer review, every effort should be made to prevent the identities of the authors and reviewers from being known to each other. This involves the authors, editors, and reviewers (who upload documents as part of their review) checking to see if the following steps have been taken with regard to the text and the file properties:

• The author(s) of the document have deleted their names from the text, with 'Author' and year used in the references and footnotes instead of the author's name(s), article title, etc.

Plagiarism or Undeclared AI Content

We do our best to adhere to the highest standards of academic editorial integrity. In support of these standards, we regularly review submissions for plagiarism and undeclared AI content using Quetext online detection tool, among others. We will work hard to ensure that any reported or identified issues of misconduct will be addressed in an appropriate and timely manner.