Columns

In our columns, experts linked to the Society of Social Work Research write about social work, society and research. You can read the latest columns on the Finnish version of the website. Column texts from years 2006-2014 can be read in the archive.

Guidelines for column writers

The Finnish Society of Social Work Research publishes columns mainly on a monthly basis. Some of the columns are submitted by the society’s board, but you can also suggest a topic for a column yourself. Please contact the society’s secretary to agree on a topic and a schedule.

The text style of the column is quite free. In a column, the author expresses their opinion or views on a current topic. It may be discussed from several different angles and may raise controversial issues, but the content must remain tightly focused on the core issue. The style of the column is to popularise science and scientific knowledge.

Use general language. Use scientific terminology only when necessary. Explain scientific concepts. Although the text is reflective and opinionated, the reader must be able to distinguish fact from opinion. Where possible, cite sources consistently, following the Janus journal’s citation policy.

Write the column with a broad audience in mind: social work researchers, developers, managers and practitioners in a variety of positions, service-users, students, policy-makers and others.

The recommended length of the column is 1000 words (approximately 1.5 A4 pages). You can write in Finnish, Swedish or English.

Please send your column to the secretary and the chair of the Society of Social Work Research by the 15th of the agreed month. Let the secretary and the chair know if you need more time to write.