Submissions

This journal is not accepting submissions at this time.

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • The text is formatted following the appropriate template, employing specifications outlined in the author guidelines where necessary, and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points within the text, rather than at the end.
  • Documents subject to peer-review (posters, literature reviews, research and scholarly articles) must remove the authors name and affiliation from the entire document and file name to ensure anonymity.
  • The manuscript adheres to the APA 7 style guide.
  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
  • Authors have read and understood Pathfinder's Statement on Publication Ethics and Statement on Conflicts of Interest.
  • Authors agreement is completed and included in the submission.

Author Guidelines

General Guidelines

All work submitted to Pathfinder must adhere to the following guidelines. If the submission does not follow the guidelines, it will be returned to the author. 

Submissions should relate to topics in the fields of libraries, archives and/or information science and fall under the submission types outlined below.

Any work that is under review by another journal will not be accepted.

Submissions should be accompanied by a completed author's agreement. 

File Format

File formats differ depending on the document type. 

Articles, literature reviews, news, reflections, and teaching resources: Microsoft Word. Manuscript Template.

Poster: PDF with dimensions of approximately 142.24 X 88.9cm. Example templates can be found at colinpurrington.com.

Book Review: Microsoft Word. Book Review Template.  

Languages

The editorial team at Pathfinder believes strongly in supporting the ability of authors to publish in both of Canada's official languages. Unfortunately, as a small student run journal, we do not currently have the capacity to accept submissions in French. The manuscript will be published in the original language of the submission where a translation is provided.  If you speak French and would like to volunteer as a peer reviewer or translator, please contact the editorial team with an expression of interest at pfjeditor@gmail.com.

Si vous parlez français et souhaitez vous porter volontaire en tant que pair réviseur ou traducteur, veuillez contacter l'équipe éditoriale avec une manifestation d'intérêt à pfjeditor@gmail.com.

Document Guidelines

General document guidelines for each type of submission are below. Section policies are located in the About the Journal page. Please note that the word counts given below do not include the abstract, references, figure legends or table captions. 

FIP Extended Abstracts

Pathfinder publishes the conference proceedings for the Forum for Information Professionals. Authors will be contacted by conference organizers providing information about this opportunity. The following guidelines must be followed for submissions in concert with the general guidelines for submission outlined above:

- 1000-1500 words not including references and other matter.

- Format. Microsoft Word. Extended Abstract Template.

Original Research

3000-5000 words.  Should include scope, objectives, methods, analysis and commentary, and reference list. 

☑ Open Submissions ☑ Indexed ☑ Peer Reviewed

Both quantitative and qualitative research papers are encouraged. Such manuscripts will generally include a statement of problem, a review of the research literature, description of methodology, results, and implications for future research.

Scholarly Articles

2000-5000 words. Should include introduction, methods (if appropriate), conclusion, and reference list.

☑Open Submissions ☑ Indexed ☑Peer Reviewed

Authors are encouraged to submit a range of scholarly work including, but not limited to:

Critical scholarship. Manuscripts from authors who work within contemporary alternative research paradigms, or who ground their work in critical theory, philosophy, narrative studies, postmodern and post-structural studies, historical research, discourse analysis, and/or post-colonial and feminist studies. 

Position Papers. Papers that describe a problem or an issue, then suggest a solution or direction. The position is supported with logical argument and a review of theory/literature.

Case Studies. Papers that describe a particular case setting or event and a problem or issue in that framework. They present a report on the theoretical and scholarly context and report attempted solutions, results, and implications for practice. 

Book Reviews

500-1000 words.

☑Open Submissions ☑ Indexed ☐ Peer Reviewed

Should include bibliographic citation, relevance of the material to the field (particularily if it is not obviously related), an assement of quality (both strengths and weaknesses if they exist), and indicate which parties may benefit from purchasing the item for their collection.

Literature Reviews

Literature Reviews 

3000-5000 words. Should include introduction, methods, analysis and commentary, conclusion, and reference list.

☑ Open Submissions ☑ Indexed ☑ Peer Reviewed

Literature reviews may be either qualitative or qualitative summaries that explore the research literature on a topic in order to determine directions of importance for future research. They offer useful context to understand the issues in relation to theory, practice, and previous research. 

Reflections

Reflections

1000-2000 words. Should explain and describe events, results, conflicts, complicating actions, and how practitioners responded. The author(s) should also evaluate the experience and explore its meaning for future practice. Both historical and contemporary narratives are encouraged. 

☑ Open Submissions ☑ Indexed ☐ Peer Reviewed

Pathfinder publishes reflections, personal accounts, and narratives that give readers a fresh perspective about the practice of LIS work. These submissions should explain and describe events, results, conflicts, complicating actions, and how practicioners responded. The author(s) should also evaluate the experience and explore its meaning for future practice. Both historical and contemporary narratives are encouraged. 

Research Posters

300-800 words.

☑ Open Submissions ☑ Indexed ☑ Peer Reviewed

Research posters will concisely summarize information and/or research through the use of brief text mixed with tables, graphs, and pictures.

Conference Reports

1000-2000 words. Abstract should contain the title and date of the event.

☑ Open Submissions ☑ Indexed ☐ Peer Reviewed

Should concisely summarize and synthesize the main ideas, conclusions and recommendations from significant conferences and meetings. Authors are also invited to incorporate reflections on their attendance or participation in the conference, as well as its impact on their professional development and/or career progression.

Teaching Resources

Teaching Resources

No word count. Should foreground classroom practice and contextualize it in sound research and theory. 

☑ Open Submissions ☑ Indexed ☐ Peer Reviewed

Pathfinder seeks teaching resources to enhance and support the teaching practices of LIS professionals in school libraries, learning commons, and other relevant positions. Such submissions may include innovative teaching methods, materials, and evaluative criteria.

Copyright Notice

Authors retain all copyright for their work published by Pathfinder. The specific copyright information for each work is included with the work itself. Pathfinder retains the right of first publication. Use and reproduction rights of any articles or abstracts on the Pathfinder website are granted for individual, non-commercial, and educational purposes only, and if properly cited for electronic materials. Otherwise, permission must be obtained from Pathfinder or the authors.

All other materials are covered by a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-SA).

Privacy Statement

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This journal’s editorial team and its hosting service, the University of Alberta Libraries, use this data to guide their work in publishing and improving this journal. Data that will assist in developing this publishing platform may be shared with its developer Public Knowledge Project in an anonymized and aggregated form, with appropriate exceptions such as article metrics. The data will not be sold by this journal, the University of Alberta Libraries, or PKP nor will it be used for purposes other than those stated here. The authors published in this journal are responsible for the human subject data that figures in the research reported here. 

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