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Contributor Guidelines*

*Note: Until further notice, the International Public Management Association for Human Resources is not accepting manuscripts for publication in Public Personnel Management.

As a leading journal in public sector human resources, Public Personnel Management particularly encourages manuscripts from a practitioner’s perspective, as well as submissions on emerging national and international trends in public personnel management. Articles in response to previously published manuscripts are also welcome.

  • Public Personnel Management, the journal of the International Public Management Association for Human Resources (IPMA-HR), encourages contributions on all aspects of personnel management in the public sector. Manuscripts for publication should be sent to the editor. Authors are strongly advised to consult one or more recent issues of the journal before submitting manuscripts for publication. For questions or guidance in developing a manuscript, you may contact Elizabeth Kirkland, Editor, at ekirkland@ipma-hr.org.
  • Manuscripts are subject to a blind review process. Reviewers submit their recommendations as to acceptance, revision or rejection. In the cases of revision or rejection, the unidentified reviewers comments will be sent to the author.
  • Contributions should be accompanied by a statement that if accepted for publication in Public Personnel Management, they will not be published elsewhere without the agreement of the editor.
  • Articles are accepted for publication on the understanding that they are subject to editorial revision and that the right of publication in any form or language is reserved by the Association.
  • Manuscripts should be in English. Submit five copies of the manuscript. If less than five are submitted, you will be requested to send the additional copies. Manuscript copies must be double-spaced throughout, and submitted on 8 1/2” x 11” white paper, single sided. Pages must be numbered consecutively. Manuscripts must also be submitted on a diskette at the time of submission in Microsoft Word text format. All diskettes must be PC-readable. Authors should keep an original of the manuscript. Manuscripts may also be submitted via email to Debbie Tankersely-Snook at tankersely@ipma-hr.org. E-mail submissions must be sent as “attached” files with the attached file in Microsoft Word text format.
  • Place the title of the manuscript, the author’s name, address, telephone number, email address (required) and a biographical sketch of no more than 50 words on a separate cover page—please DO NOT send complete resumes for a biographical sketch. In the case of coauthors, respective addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, and biographical sketches should be clearly indicated, as well as the author who is to receive correspondence (primary author). Please notify the editor of any change of address that occurs while a paper is under review, or in the process of publication.
  • The essential contents of the manuscript should be summarized in a single-paragraph abstract on a separate sheet following the cover page. The title of the article should appear again above the abstract, without the author’s name, as a means of identification. Manuscripts are circulated for review without identifying the author.
  • The title of the article should appear again on the first text page of the manuscript, without the author’s name, as a means of identification.
  • All tables, photographs, maps, charts and diagrams should be referred to as “Figures” or “Tables” and should be presented either in position or at the end of the manuscript. All tables, charts and diagrams should also appear on the diskette. They should be numbered consecutively (in arabic numerals) as they appear in the text and should have informative titles. Their positions in the manuscript should be indicated if presented at the end of the article.
  • For general style and submission questions, IPMA-HR follows the guidelines included in the APA (American Psychological Association) Publication Manual; or, you may contact the editor.
  • Public Personnel Management does not accept manuscripts that use the author/date style of references. Authors should use the automatically coded endnotes (not footnotes) function in the MS Word program. References should be presented as endnotes and be numbered consecutively in superscript. All notes should be presented in a separate, double-spaced listing at the end of the article in both the paper copy and diskette versions of the manuscript.
  • Because of the difficulties of scheduling and transmission delays, proofs of articles accepted for publication cannot be sent to authors.
  • Articles may be reproduced for internal, noncommercial use without authorization, provided the source is identified. Requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or translate articles should be made to the editor.

Send articles to: Editorial Office Public Personnel Management 1617 Duke Street Alexandria, VA 22314. E-mail: publications@ipma-hr.org.