Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Information for contributors

Author Guidelines

The following guidelines are for authors submitting a manuscript, as well as those preparing the final version of articles or book reviews which have been accepted for publication. Failure to follow these guidelines will delay the review and publication process.

General instructions for manuscripts



Authors should not submit more than one manuscript at a time to the CJAL.  Only one manuscript per author will be assigned to the review process at a time.

The CJAL will not normally consider more than one submission from the same author or the same group of authors within a 12 month period.

Authors have the right to withdraw their manuscript from the CJAL but should inform the editors as soon as possible and do so before the review process begins so as not to inconvenience reviewers.

Preparing Articles and Book Reviews 

Authors submitting manuscripts are required to adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition) as well as the following:

Articles

1. Include the following information at the beginning of the article:
a. the title; 
b. an abstract (between 10 and 15 lines, maximum 150 words), in either English or French. Please note, should your manuscript be acceptable for publication, you will be required to provide an abstract in the other language.

2. Be sure to anonymize the manuscript (i.e., remove any references or information that may identify you as the author(s)). Any reference(s) to an author's own work should be cited as "Author (year)" in the manuscript at the time of submission. Ensure that all personal information is cleared from the file's properties.

3. Limit English manuscripts to a maximum of approximately 10,000 words in length including notes, tables, figures, and references.

4. Submit the manuscript using the process outlined in the Online Journal System.


Please note: Before beginning the double anonymized peer-review process, all submissions are verified for evidence of plagiarism.

Book reviews

1. Review of an approved title listed on our website. For unsolicited books, please contact our book review editor: [email protected]
2. A limit of one book review submission (single or group-authored) to CJAL every three years.
3. Content/format:

• Begin the review with the complete APA (7th ed.) reference for the book and indicate the number of
 pages (Roman and Arabic).
• On a separate line, indicate the first and last
 names as well as the institutional affiliation of the reviewer(s).
• Length – no more than 1000 words (approximately 2 pages, single spaced).
• Overview of the book.
• Brief review of individual chapters.
• Critical evaluation – contribution to the field, target audience, etc.

Please note: All book review submissions will be screened by the book review editor, and the decision to publish is up to the discretion of the editorial team. A submission does not constitute a guarantee of publication.

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.

1. The submission has not been previously published, nor is currently being considered for publication by another journal.

2. Electronic texts must be prepared in Microsoft Word (or RTF).
3. All elements of the text must be double-spaced, including long
quotations, notes, examples, footnotes and references.
4. The text uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses).
5. All illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
6. The manuscript follows the guidelines outlined in the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition.
7. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the "Preparing Articles and Book Reviews" section of the Author Guidelines.