TEXT PREPARATION PROCEDURE
"Uniwersyteckie Czasopismo Socjologiczne / Academic Journal of Sociology" (UCS) is a journal in which we publish original sociological texts, most often theoretical and empirical treatises in the form of scholarly articles. In addition to this primary means of expressing authorial ideas, we also welcome other texts with a scholarly character: review articles, commentaries (e.g., memoirs), post-research reports, and reports. We expect authors to demonstrate knowledge of sociological theory and research methodology, as well as an original approach to data analysis. We prefer a theoretically grounded approach (assuming the use of library research of contemporary and historical literature) with reference to the results obtained in their own research.
ARTICLE STRUCTURE AND FORMATTING
Authors are requested to prepare their manuscripts according to the following structure and formatting principles. This facilitates the editorial work and ensures consistency across all texts published in the "Uniwersyteckie Czasopismo Sociologiczne / Academic Journal of Sociology" (UCS).
The journal accepts original manuscripts only in Polish or English. Texts cannot be previously published in any language or be currently under review in another journal.
Authors are required to use the official UCS Word template when preparing manuscripts: TEMPLATE. Individual sections of the article should be pasted into the template provided here.
Before beginning work on your manuscript, please carefully read these guidelines and familiarize yourself with the template.
1. TEXT FORMATTING (Basic Guidelines)
File format: Microsoft Word (.docx).
Font: Times New Roman, 12 pts.
Please DO NOT use:
Use standard Word tools for paragraphs, lists, headings, and tables.
Heading Hierarchy
For section and subsection titles, use Word's built-in heading styles:
Headings should not be created by manually changing font size or simply using bold.
2. MANUSCRIPT STRUCTURE
1. Author(s), affiliation, ORCID
2. Title in original language
3. Translated title
4. Summary in original language
5. Keywords in original language (max. 6)
6. Translated summary
7. Translated keywords (max. 6)
8. Introduction (statement of the problem and statement of the article's objectives)
9. Main body of the article (e.g., theoretical background, methods, analysis of source texts)
10. Results and/or discussion
11. Conclusion
12. Statements (Authorship, Research Funding, etc.)
13. Bibliography
14. Appendix (if needed)
If extensive data (large tables, extensive method descriptions, additional figures) must be presented in an appendix, which must be referenced in the main text.
Research reports, summaries, and review articles may have a less formal structure than scientific articles. However, they must include at least:
Review articles must include the publication details of the book under review, present its content, and provide a scientific assessment.
3. SUMMARY AND KEYWORDS
Summary length: 700–800 characters (min. 400, max. 1200); one paragraph.
An summary is not a simple abstract. It should concisely state the problem. The research problem, the solution, and the proposed conclusions (without revealing everything). It should intrigue readers from sociology and other social sciences and encourage them to read the entire article.
The summary must accurately reflect the content of the article and must not exaggerate the significance of the results.
The abstract should avoid citations and rarely used abbreviations.
Keywords: please provide a maximum of six keywords
4. FIGURES, TABLES, AND ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
In accordance with the European Accessibility Act (EAA) and relevant accessibility regulations, the UCS Editorial Board requires that all graphic elements be accessible to people with disabilities. This applies to both figures (photos, drawings, diagrams, maps, graphs, logos, etc.) and tables.
4.1. Figures and Images (Content, Files, and Alt Text)
Image Files to be Uploaded to the Platform
In addition to figures embedded in the manuscript file:
Each figure must be uploaded to the journal platform as a separate, high-resolution image file (e.g., JPG, PNG, or other standard image format), along with the submitted manuscript;
Editable Figures
If figures are graphs or diagrams prepared in Excel, they must also be submitted as an editable Excel file.
Please include all graphs in a single Excel file and upload it to the submission system along with: the manuscript, the separate image files.
Alt Text for Figures
To meet accessibility requirements, each figure must have a short alternative text (alt text) that can be read by screen readers. In UCS, authors do not enter alt text directly into the figure properties of the manuscript file.
Instead: Prepare a separate Word file, e.g., titled "Alt text for figures – [short article title]"; This file must list all figures in the order they appear in the manuscript; For each figure, provide the full title first, followed by the alt text on the next line. Sample structure:
Figure 1. Full Figure Title Alt text: …
Figure 2. Full Figure Title Alt text: …
Rules for creating alt text: Alt text should be short and informative (usually 1–3 sentences). It should explain what the figure shows and why it is important to the article. Describe key information that is accessible to sighted readers: key objects, relationships, variables, axes, units, trends, and key comparisons.
For graphs/charts:
List the variables on the axes,
Provide units (if applicable),
Indicate the time period (if applicable),
Briefly describe the main trend or comparison (e.g., which group has the highest value). Alternative text must be consistent with the article's content and factually correct.
If a figure is purely decorative and contains no substantive content, this should be clearly indicated, e.g., "Alt text: decorative image – no informational content." Alternative text is essential to ensure that blind, visually impaired, or deafblind readers have access to the same information as sighted readers.
4.2. Tables and Short Descriptions Tables are numbered sequentially:
Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, etc.
Each table must contain: a title placed above the table, a short description placed between the table title and the table itself. A short description (1–3 sentences) should: concisely indicate the type of data being presented, list the main columns and – if applicable – the units of measurement, highlight the most important pattern, difference, or trend (e.g., which group has the highest mean value, how values change over time or between scenarios). Such descriptions are required for both accessibility and clarity – they facilitate quick understanding of the table content, including for people using assistive technology.
TYPES OF SUBMISSIONS
The "Universyteckie Czasopismo Socjologiczne / Academic Journal of Sociology" accepts the following types of manuscripts: Scientific articles – original texts presenting new research results, theoretical, or empirical-theoretical analyses that fit the journal's profile. Reports – thematic studies on scientific events: conferences, symposia, or seminars, etc. Research reports – texts presenting data obtained primarily from empirical research. Review articles – scholarly reviews of recently published books. Glossaries – accompanying texts, memoirs, polemics, or comments on published texts. All types of submitted manuscripts must meet the ethical requirements adopted by our Editorial Board.
LITERATURE AND CITATION STYLE
The journal uses a modified version of the Chicago style: author: year (latest edition), adapted to UCS guidelines.
In the text, parenthetical citations should be used in the form: (Author year: page) – e.g., (Sztompka 1986: 86–89).
At the end of the manuscript, a Bibliography section should be included that:
includes all items cited in the text and only those items,
is arranged alphabetically by author surname and year of publication,
maintains a consistent order of elements (author, year, title, publishing information) and consistent use of italics and punctuation.
In the Bibliography section:
for all authors, the surname should be given first, followed by the first initial,
while for editors of collective works, cited in the same bibliographic footnotes, the first initial(s) of the first name(s) should be given first, followed by the last name.
DOI and URLs
Many scientific articles have a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). Please provide it, especially for publications in Polish journals, to make them easier to find online.
The DOI is a stable URL, beginning with https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxx.
If a DOI is available, please provide it in this form at the end of the bibliographic description. This DOI is preferred over long, specific links to databases (e.g., JSTOR, ScienceDirect).
For sources without a DOI, you can provide a short, stable URL leading to the journal, book, or repository where the material is available, or omit the URL if it is a standard paper publication.
Citation rules are provided on the UCS website under the "Submit a paper => Submit a paper" tab.
ETHICAL AND LEGAL STATEMENTS
At the end of the manuscript (before the References), a Statements section should be included, containing the following subsections, depending on the nature of the research:
Authorship – For multi-authored articles, a short paragraph should be included detailing the contributions of individual authors. Use the template below, substituting the authors' initials for X.X., Y.Y., and Z.Z.:
"Concept: X.X. and Y.Y.; formal analysis: Y.Y.; research: X.X., Z.Z.; methodology: Z.Z.; project animation: X.X.; review: X.X. and Z.Z.; visualization: Y.Y.; drafting of the manuscript: Z.Z.; final drafting of the manuscript: X.X. and Z.Z. All authors have read and approved the published version of the manuscript."
This declaration is required only for multi-authored articles.
Research Funding – information on the sources of research funding; if no funding was provided, enter "Not applicable."
Statement of the relevant ethics committee –
if ethics committee approval was required:
"This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of INSTITUTION NAME (protocol code XXX and approval date)."
if committee approval was not required: "Not applicable."
Informed Consent Statement – where it concerns research involving human participants; otherwise: "Not applicable."
Data Availability Statement – information on where and under what terms the data is available (repository, at the author's request, etc.), or "Not applicable."
Acknowledgements – thanks to the individuals and institutions supporting the research, and information on the use of generative AI tools (including which tool was used and what it was used for).
Conflict of interest – Clearly state any potential conflicts of interest or state: "The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this research."
If any subsection is not applicable, do not remove the heading – enter "Not applicable" below it.
ADDITIONAL DECLARATIONS REQUIRED WHEN SUBMISSION
When submitting a manuscript to the "University Journal of Sociology/Academic Journal of Sociology," the corresponding author is required to complete a short online form. In this form, please indicate whether the submitted publication:
Relates to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),
Refers to research on Polish history, religiosity, culture, literature, or language as essential elements for preserving identity and the memory of the past,
Incorporates a gender equality perspective into the design, implementation, or interpretation of research (where applicable).
The form must be completed at the manuscript submission stage: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/tSy0cq5cmX?origin=lprLink.
Completing this form is mandatory and helps the journal and the university meet national and international reporting obligations.
PUBLICATION AGREEMENT
For each manuscript accepted for publication, authors are required to sign a Publishing Agreement with UKSW Scientific Publishing House.
The Publishing Agreement form should be downloaded from the journal's website: DOWNLOAD
The document must be completed, printed, and signed by hand (a trusted signature is acceptable).
It should then be scanned.
The scanned version of the agreement should be uploaded to the submission system along with the manuscript and all additional files (image files,
Excel file with graphs, file with alternative text for figures).
The publication process cannot be completed without a properly signed and submitted publishing agreement.
CHECKLIST BEFORE SUBMISSION OF AN ARTICLE
Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure that:
1. The manuscript is written exclusively in English or Polish.
2. The manuscript was prepared using the official UCS template (Word): [Download].
3. The manuscript structure follows the UCS template, and section and subsection titles use the Heading 1, 2, and 3 styles.
4. The abstract is 400–1200 characters long and is written as a single paragraph.
5. A maximum of 6 keywords is provided, including SDG designations where appropriate.
6. All figures and photos in the manuscript are numbered, have titles, and, where applicable, their sources are cited.
7. All figures have been uploaded as separate high-resolution image files (Figure-1, Figure-2, etc.) to the submission system.
8. All graphs have been collected in a separate Excel file and uploaded with the submission.
9. A separate Word file with alternative text (alt text) for all figures has been prepared and uploaded.
10. All tables are numbered, have titles, and short descriptions placed between the title and the table.
11. All required declarations (Authorship, Funding, etc.) are present, with appropriate text or the note "Not applicable."
12. The References section uses the Chicago author: year style, and all in-text citations correspond to those in the References.
13. Where possible, the DOI is provided as https://doi.org/....
14. Each use of GenAI tools is briefly described in the Acknowledgements section.
15. The online declaration form (SDGs / Polish heritage research / gender perspective) was completed: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/tSy0cq5cmX?origin=lprLink.
16. The signed and scanned Article Publication Agreement was uploaded to the submission system along with the manuscript. [Agreement]
10.21697/ucs
English
Język Polski
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