General guidelines for contributors of articles and book reviews are outlined below. For detailed instructions on preparing your submission packet, please consult our Submission Guidelines.
Guidelines for Contributors
The Defense Acquisition Research Journal (ARJ) is a scholarly peer-reviewed journal published by the Defense Acquisition University (DAU). All submissions receive a blind review to ensure impartial evaluation.
We welcome submissions describing original research or case histories from anyone involved in the defense acquisition process. Defense acquisition is broadly defined as any actions, processes, or techniques relevant to as the conceptualization, initiation, design, development, testing, contracting, production, deployment, logistics support, modification, and disposal of weapons and other systems, supplies, or services needed for a nation’s defense and security, or intended for use to support military missions.
We encourage prospective writers to coauthor, adding depth to manuscripts. We recommend that junior researchers select a mentor who has been previously published or has expertise in the manuscript’s subject. Authors should be familiar with the style and format of previous Defense ARJ articles and adhere to the use of endnotes versus footnotes, formatting of reference lists, and the use of designated style guides. It is also the responsibility of the corresponding author to furnish any required government agency/employer clearances with each submission.
Authors can receive 40 Continuous Learning Points (CLPs) for articles published in the Defense ARJ and 20 CLPs for book reviews.
Manuscripts
Manuscripts should reflect research of empirically supported experience in one or more of the areas of acquisition discussed above. Defense ARJ is a scholarly research journal and as such does not publish position papers, essays, or other writings not supported by research firmly based in empirical data. Authors should clearly state in their submission whether they are submitting a research article or a case history. The requirements for each are outlined below.
Manuscripts that are 5,000 words or fewer (excluding abstracts, references, and endnotes) will be considered for print as well as online publication. Manuscripts between 5,000 and 10,000 words will be considered for online-only publication, with a two-sentence summary included in the print version of Defense ARJ. In no case should article submissions exceed 10,000 words.
Research Articles
Research involves the creation of new knowledge. This generally requires either original analysis of material from primary sources, including program documents, policy papers, memoranda, surveys, interviews, etc.; or analysis of new data collected by the researcher. Articles are characterized by a systematic inquiry into a subject to establish facts or test theories that have implications for the development of acquisition policy and/or process.
Empirical research findings are based on acquired knowledge and experience rather than results founded on theory and belief. Empirical research articles should do the following:
- Clearly state the question.
- Define the research methodology.
- Describe the research instruments (e.g., program documentation, surveys, interviews).
- Describe the limitations of the research (e.g., access to data, sample size).
- Summarize protocols to protect human subjects (e.g., in surveys and interviews), if applicable.
- Ensure results are clearly described, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
- Determine whether results are generalizable to the defense acquisition community.
- Determine whether the study can be replicated.
- Discuss suggestions for future research (if applicable).
Case Histories
Defense ARJ also welcomes case history submissions from anyone involved in the defense acquisition process. Case histories differ from case studies, which are primarily intended for classroom and pedagogical use. Case histories must be based on defense acquisition programs or efforts. Cases from all acquisition career fields and/or phases of the acquisition life cycle will be considered. They may be decision-based, descriptive, or explanatory in nature. Cases must be sufficiently focused and complete (i.e., not open-ended like classroom case studies) with relevant analysis and conclusions. All cases must be factual and authentic. Fictional cases will not be considered.
Each case history should contain the following components:
- Introduction
- Background
- Characters
- Situation/problem
- Analysis
- Conclusions
- References
Care should be taken not to disclose any personally identifiable information regarding research participants or organizations involved unless written consent has been obtained. If names of the involved organization and participants are changed for confidentiality, this should be highlighted in an endnote. Authors are required to state in writing that they have complied with APA ethical standards. A copy of the APA Ethical Principles may be obtained at
http://www.apa.org/ethics/.
Book Reviews
Defense ARJ readers are encouraged to submit book reviews they believe should be required reading for the defense acquisition professional. The reviews should be 500 words or fewer, describing the book and its major ideas, and explaining why it is relevant to defense acquisition. In general, book reviews should reflect specific in-depth knowledge and understanding that is uniquely applicable to the acquisition and life cycle of large complex defense systems and services. Please include the title, ISBN number, and all necessary identifying information for the book that you are reviewing as well as your current title or position for the byline.
Audience and Writing Style
The readers of the
Defense ARJ are primarily practitioners within the defense acquisition community. Authors should therefore strive to demonstrate, clearly and concisely, how their work affects this community. At the same time, do not take an overly scholarly approach in either content or language.
Format
Defense ARJ adheres to APA style and all citations and references must be in APA format as outlined in the latest edition of the
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. For all other style questions, please refer to the latest edition of the
Chicago Manual of Style.
Copyright
Defense ARJ is a publication of the United States Government and as such is not copyrighted. We will not accept copyrighted manuscripts that require special posting requirements or restrictions. If we do publish your copyrighted article, we will print only the usual caveats. The work of federal employees undertaken as part of their official duties is not subject to copyright except in rare cases.
Online-only publications will be held to the same high standards and scrutiny as articles that appear in the printed version of the journal and will be posted to the DAU website at
www.dau.edu.
In citing the work of others, please be precise when following the author date-page number format. It is the contributor’s responsibility to obtain permission from a copyright holder if the proposed use exceeds the fair use provisions of the law (see the latest edition of Circular 92: Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code, Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office). Contributors will be required to submit a copy of the writer’s permission to the managing editor before publication.
We reserve the right to decline any article that fails to meet the following copyright requirements:
- The author cannot obtain permission to use previously copyrighted material (e.g., graphs or illustrations) in the article.
- The author will not allow DAU to post the article in our Defense ARJ issue on our Internet homepage.
- The author requires that the usual copyright notices be posted with the article.
- To publish the article requires copyright payment by the DAU Press.
Print Schedule
The Defense ARJ is published in quarterly theme editions. Our print schedule is as follows:
| Issue |
Submission Deadline |
| January |
July 1 |
| April |
October 1 |
| July |
January 1 |
| October |
April 1 |
Please carefully review our Submission Guidelines before submitting your manuscript. Incomplete packages or incorrectly formatted manuscripts will be returned to the author.
Submissions should be sent electronically, as appropriately labeled files, to the Defense ARJ managing editor at: DefenseARJ@dau.edu.
In most cases, the author will be notified within 48 hours that their submission has been received. If you do not receive an acknowledgment of receipt within two working days, please contact us to ensure that we have received your submission. Following an initial review by our Executive Editor, submissions will be referred to a panel of peer reviewers. The review process consists of multiple rounds of review and can take several months.
Prospective authors may direct their questions to the Defense ARJ Managing Editor at DefenseARJ@dau.edu or by calling 703-805-4655.