JOTA follows American Psychological Association (APA) style, widely used in social and behavioural sciences. A quick guide is given below, and the 6th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (http://www.apastyle.org) should be consulted for additional information.
- Title Page
Please submit a separate title page with author names and contact details, and in the case of multiple authors, specify the corresponding author.
- Abstract
The abstract (250 words maximum) should be concise and provide information on the major findings of the manuscript. In general abstract should cover following points:
- Purpose of the paper;
- Methodology/approach;
- Findings;
- Implications; and
- Originality/value of paper
Authors should also provide up to six keywords that capture the fundamental topics of the paper.
- Main Text
Please use a serif typeface, such as Times New Roman, for the text of your manuscript. Use a sans serif typeface, such as Aria, for figure labels.
Double-space the entire manuscript. including headings, block quotations, the references list and figure captions.
Align the text to the left-hand margin, leaving a “ragged” right margin.
The main text should be subdivided into sections using minimal headings/subheadings. Headings of sections and subsections should be short, clearly defined and not numbered.
- Citations in the text
Use an author-date system for citing references within the text. For direct quotations, provide the author, year, and specific page citation or paragraph number for non-paginated material. Cite the quote source and the page or paragraph number in parentheses at the end of the quotation. For example (Slemrod, 2006, p.27) or for a nonpaginated source such as online material (Owens, 2014, para. 4). Use the abbreviation pp. for multiple pages.
When citing 2 authors, both names should be cited at every citation in the manuscript, using an ampersand (&) between the names. When citing 3 to 5 author-references, all authors must be cited at the first citation. At subsequent citations should include the surname of the first author followed by “et al”, for example:
Hashimzade, N., Myles. G.D., Page, F. & Rablen, M. (2014) and Hashimzade, N., Myles, G. D., Page, F. & Rablen, M. D. (2014) should be shortened to Hashimzade et al., (2014).
If two references with three or more surnames with the same year but different author order use only the surnames of the first two authors followed by “et al”, for example:
Ashby, J. S., Haslam, S. A., & Webley, P. (2009) and Ashby, J. S., Webley, P., & Haslam, A. S. (2009) should be referenced as Ashby, Haslam, et al., 2009; Ashby, Webley, et al., 2009.
This allows identifying both papers.
When quoting from other sources, if a direct quote is less than 40 words it should be incorporated in the text, otherwise it should be freestanding block text without quotation marks.
- Footnotes and Endnotes
Authors are expected to provide footnotes when necessary. Endnotes should be used only if absolutely necessary and must be identified in the text by consecutive superscript numbers outside punctuation and listed at the end of the article. The use of footnotes or endnotes should be consistent throughout the article.
- References
Authors should use the guidelines provided in APA 6th Edition. The following are examples for quick reference:
If there are two or more papers from the same author use the author’s name for all entries in chronological order, for example:
Slemrod, J. (1998). On voluntary compliance, voluntary taxes, and social capital. National Tax Journal, 51(3), 485-491
Slemrod,J. (2006). The role of misconceptions in support for regressive tax reform. National Tax Journal, 59(1), 57-75.
When referencing an author who is a sole author in one of the entries and the first author in the another, cite the single-author entries first, for example:
Freedman, J. (2011). Responsive Regulation, Risk and Rules: Applying the Theory to Tax Practice. UBC Law Review, 44(3), 627-662.
Freedman, J., Loomer, G. & Vella, J. (2009). Corporate Tax Risk and Tax Avoidance: New Approaches British Tax Review, 2009(1), 74-116.
References that have the same first author and different second and/or third authors are arranged alphabetically by the last name of the second author, or the last name of the third if the first and second authors are the same, for example:
Kirchler, E., Maciejovsky, B., & Schneider, F. (2003). Everyday representation of tax avoidance, tax evasion and tax flight: Do legal differences matter? Journal of Economic Psychology, 24, 535-553.
Kirchler, E., & Wahl, I. (2010). Tax compliance inventory TAX- I: Designing an inventory for surveys on tax compliance. Journal of Ecnomic Psychology, 31, 331-346.
When referencing two or more works by the same author in the same year list the entries in alphabetical order by the title of the work, for example:
Slemrod, J. (2010a). Location, (Real) Location, (Tax) Location: An Essay on Mobility’s Place in Optimal Taxation. National Tax Journal, 63, 843-864.
Slemrod, J. (2010b). Old George Orwell got it backward: Some thoughts on behavioral tax economics. FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, 66, 15-33.
For references with the same surname and initials but different first name please also provide the first name.
- Book
1) The names of the author/editor/producer, 2) Date, 3) Title and 4) Publication Information:
Alink, M., & van Kommer, V. (2011). Handbook on tax Administration. Amsterdam, Netherlands: IBFD.
- Chapter in a book
Kirchler, E., Muehlbacher, S., Kastlunger, B., & Wahl, I. (2010). Why pay taxes? A review of tax compliance decisions. In J. Alm, J. Martinez-Vazquez & B. Torgler (Eds.), Developing alternative frameworks for explaining tax compliance (pp.15-31). London: Routledge.
- Newspaper articles
Warwick-Ching, & Houlder, V. (2012, November, 16). Ten ways HMRC checks if you’re cheating. Financial Times. Retrieved from http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0f98bbc0-2db6-11e2-9988-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3FMXyMEjY
- Online sources
Where possible provide: 1) The name of the author(s) 2) Date, 3) Title and 4) DOI or if there is no DOI, a retrieval statement, including a date of retrieval if the source material has changed over time. For example:
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. (2009). Income Subject to Federal Taxation: By County. Retrieved from http://trac.syr.edu/tracirs/latest/205/.
- Appendices
Appendix of the manuscript should follow the references. Use alphabetic format instead of numeric format.
- Figures and Tables
Ensure that tables/figures/illustrations are complete with necessary superscripts shown, both next to the relevant items and with the corresponding explanations or levels of significance shown as footnotes in the tables and figures.
All Figures (charts, diagrams and line drawings) should be submitted electronically.
Figures should be of clear quality, in black and white and numbered consecutively e.g. Fig. 1, Fig. 2
If any figure has sub-parts please label as Fig.1a, Fig.1b
Tables should be numbered consecutively e.g. Table 1, Table 2
Illustrations should also be submitted electronically. Do not use screen dumps since their resolution is too low.
Ensure illustrations are clearly labelled (label the illustration with the chapter and figure number).
Supply succinct and clear captions for all tables, figures and plates.
