[Authors] should regard the reputable publication of an article as an honor…. [Their] obligations are the same as those of all writers. The first is integrity, whether it be scientific or artistic, and the second is craftsmanship. Craftsmanship here is almost synonymous with literacy. …By maintaining ruthlessly high literary standards… [authors] are forced to express themselves gracefully.
Berne, E. (1966). Principles of Group Treatment New York: Oxford University Press, p. 194
The Transactional Analysis Journal (TAJ) welcomes submissions from all theoretical perspectives and fields of application, including quantitative and qualitative research, case studies, literature surveys, book reviews, and reflective essays.
Only original material—not previously published in English and not under review by another English-language publication—is eligible for consideration and inclusion in the TAJ. As an exception, any paper previously published in a language other than English will be considered if professionally translated into English prior to submission.
Since the TAJ is a refereed journal, all suitable submissions undergo anonymous peer review. Authors are expected to familiarize themselves with the criteria used by the peer reviewers, summarized below, and to adhere to the technical requirements for submission. Authors whose writing is translated into English are responsible for submitting a professional English translation. Manuscripts that do not meet these requirements will be returned for correction and resubmission.
Toward Integrity, Craftsmanship, and Grace
At least one of the TAJ’s coeditors and two anonymous peer reviewers evaluate each submission in terms of its ideas and their contributions to the evolution of transactional analysis theory, principles, and practice:
- How is the paper relevant to organizational, educational, counseling, or psychotherapy applications?
- Is there an adequate review of the relevant transactional analysis literature as well as the literature of other related fields, such as cognitive research, neuroscience studies, organizational behavior and consultation, mother/infant research, systems theory, educational theory and practice, psychoanalytic perspectives, ethics, anthropology, social/political literature, etc.?
The editors and reviewers also consider whether the author’s writing is professional and clear:
- Is the title both engaging and reflective of the paper’s content?
- Does the abstract conform to the standards and functions outlined in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th Edition (parts of which are available online at http://www.apastyle.org/manual/index.aspx)? Is it “accurate, concise, quickly comprehensible, and informative”?
- Does the overall structure of the paper help to represent the author’s ideas and facilitate the reader’s understanding?
- Does the text include subheadings that help organize the material for readers?
- Is the author’s writing style easy to read and lively? Is it professional, for example, taking care to avoid use of the male pronoun when referring to people in general?
- If the paper includes figures, tables, or other graphic images, are they necessary, easily understood, and integrated well into the main text and with the ideas of the paper?
- The editors and reviewers also check to see that the paper has been prepared with care, especially in regard to proper grammar, correct (American English) spelling, and an absence of typographical errors:
- Are quotations and publications referenced correctly in the main text of the paper, giving author name, year of publication, and page number(s)?
- Is the reference list at the end of the paper formatted according to the guidelines offered in the APA Publication Manual? (Additional guidelines for formatting references can be found at the end of this document.)
- Does the author preserve anonymity by referring to her or his previous publications in the third person, for example, “Smith (2001) has argued…” instead of “In an earlier paper, I (Smith, 2001) argued…”?
Submission Requirements for Authors
If you are an author considering a submission to the TAJ, the first step is to determine that your paper is well written in terms of content, structure, and style. The second step is to prepare your manuscript according to the following technical requirements and then to submit it as a Word document via e-mail to the TAJ managing editor, Robin Fryer, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Please make sure that:a) Your manuscript is not longer than 8,000 words (not counting the abstract and reference list), and your abstract is not longer than 150 words.
b) All text—including references, quotes, and tables—is single-spaced.
c) Any material in footnotes has been integrated into the main text of your paper (since the TAJ does not use footnoting).
d) Your manuscript is free of any information that would identify you as its author.e) All figures or other graphic images are either 2½" or 5¼" wide; have clear, dark simple lines and no shades of gray or other colors; and uses Arial font for all wording (with American English spelling). Indicate titles and preferred location in text, not in figures themselves. Tables will be reformatted later, so just make sure they are clear and easy to read.
Along with your manuscript, please send a separate cover letter, signed by you, giving the title of your submitted manuscript. In addition:
a) State whether or not your manuscript is under consideration or has been previously published elsewhere.
b) Please retype or copy and paste the following paragraph into your letter:
In signing this letter, I assert that I have obtained permission from any client(s) whose confidential information has been disclosed in the above-titled submission, and/or have protected confidentiality by sufficiently disguising the identity of any client(s) described therein, and therefore agree to hold the Transactional Analysis Journal and the ITAA blameless in the event of any lawsuit or legal action resulting from the publication of such information.
c) Submit a short biographical statement that can eventually be used at the end of your article. It should include your name as you would like it to appear in the publication, your professional degree(s), your TA certification (if any, including applicable fields of specialization), a brief description of your current professional work, and your postal and e-mail addresses where readers can contact you if they wish.
d) Please also include in your letter the best number(s) to reach you by phone if necessary. (These numbers will not be published.)
NOTE: You can send your signed letter as an e-mail attachment with your manuscript, either by inserting a digital signature into a Word document or by printing the letter, hand signing, and then scanning it. You can also fax a signed copy to 510-232-0310 or mail a physical copy of the signed letter to: Robin Fryer, 1700 Ganges Avenue, El Cerrito, CA 94530-1938, USA.
Next Steps
Once you have met the above submission requirements, your manuscript will be sent to one of our coeditors, who will review for basic readability (i.e., professionally written English, clarity of the ideas presented, and relevance for the transactional analysis community). After that, your paper will be sent to the anonymous peer reviewers.
If your paper is accepted for publication, further edits may be required. We will also ask you to prepare the manuscript for publication according to the requirements we will provide.NOTE: For Formatting Guidelines, Please go this Page
