Author Guidelines

Overview of the Journal 

Health Inquiries is an open-access, student-led journal that aims to advance interdisciplinary discourse about diverse ways of knowing and doing health research. It allows for the navigation of multiple research paradigms, critical reflection on one’s epistemological position, and engagement in pluralistic, transformative approaches to health research. Health Inquiries provides real-world experiential learning opportunities, including manuscript preparation following author guidelines, editorial and peer-review processes, scholarly feedback integration, and final publication. Health Inquiries publishes a range of interdisciplinary and critically engaged perspectives on health research. It is managed and populated by PhD Health students and PhD Health faculty member, Dr. Shanon Phelan.    

 

Audience  

Submissions published in Health Inquiries are intended for multiple audiences. The primary audience is students across the health disciplines, while secondary audiences include educators, researchers, clinicians and anyone with an interest in health research and methodology. 

 

Commitment to Inclusion and Respect 

We are committed to fostering a space where diverse voices, identities, and experiences are welcomed. As outlined by the Canadian Code of Human rights, every person has the right to freedom from discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed, sex, sexual orientation, age, marital status, same-sex partner status, family status or disability. Health Inquiries retains the right to refuse submissions that are judged to discriminate. 

 

Guidelines for Authors 

Health Inquiries is a peer-reviewed journal which exclusively welcomes contributions from people who are or have been enrolled in HLTH 6000 at Dalhousie University. Authors are encouraged to consider the journal’s aim and scope. We welcome submissions that should fall under one or more of the following categories: 

A) Written commentary; or 

B) Creative Commentary*, including but not limited to:  

  • Short video 
  • Podcast episode 
  • Infographic or visual essay 
  • Digital story/stories 
  • Illustrated comic/zine  
  •  Creative writing/short story/poetry 
  • Artistic/creative representation 

*Creative submissions in which the scholarly argument and context are not sufficiently communicated within the work itself (e.g., a still image or artistic representation) must include an artist/creator statement of up to 750 words. 

 

Health Inquiries values all submissions. In general, to be acceptable, submissions should influence thinking in the field of health research and motivate action. Strong submissions will demonstrate: 

  • A clear and compelling position 
    The commentary offers a meaningful response to "What is science?" and develops an argument rather than simply describing paradigms or summarizing literature. 
  • Paradigmatic depth 
    The author demonstrates understanding of relevant ontological, epistemological, and axiological commitments and shows how these commitments matter for health research. 
  • Disciplinary engagement 
    The commentary critically considers how particular traditions within the author's field shape what is recognized as science and knowledge. 
  • Meaningful engagement with scholarship 
    Literature is used to develop, complicate, challenge, or substantiate the author's argument. 
  • Reflexivity 
    The author considers how their own location, assumptions, experiences, and relationships to knowledge shape their position. 
  • Ethical reasoning 
    The commentary considers what the author's understanding of science means for how health research should be conducted and for relationships among health researchers, participants, communities, and knowledge. 
  • Intellectual openness 
    The author demonstrates an ability to encounter other positions seriously, including perspectives that complicate or challenge their own. 
  • Effective scholarly communication 
    The submission communicates ideas clearly, intentionally, and appropriately for its chosen format and audience. 

 

Title Page & Abstract   

A title page, formatted as a Microsoft Word document (.docx), should briefly and clearly state what is included in the submission including the following elements: 

  • The title of the piece 
  • Authors and their affiliations 
  • The corresponding author’s full name and contact information* (email and preferred phone) 
  • An abstract (max 250 words) that clearly and concisely summarizes the content and purpose of the work 
  • Up to five keywords to support indexing and discoverability 
  • Wordcount (for written submissions) 
  • Under the heading “Ethical Considerations,” authors must include a statement confirming that informed consent was obtained for any submissions containing potentially identifiable information (e.g., photographs, audio/video recordings, or detailed personal descriptions). Authors must explicitly state that participants provided consent for the use and publication of these materials. If the submission does not include identifiable information, this should also be clearly stated.  
  • Acknowledgment of any funding source(s).  
  • Acknowledgment if submission is based on prior work(s). 

 

Note: Health Inquiries will communicate with authors by email; authors must specify if they wish for an alternate method of communication and provide contact details. 

 

Formatting  

Written Submissions 

  • Microsoft Word document (.docx) 
  • Submissions must not exceed 1500 words 
  • Format according to APA 7 style guide, including font, line spacing, margins, headings, and other formatting requirements

 

Audio/Video Submissions 

  • .mp3 format for Audio 
  • .mp4 or .avi formats for Video 
  • Submissions must be no longer than 10 minutes in length 

 

Infographic or Visual Essay 

  • .tiff, .png, or .pdf formats 
  • minimum of 300 dpi, preferably 600 dpi for complex illustrations/images 

 

Images 

  • Accepted file types include .tiff, .png, or .pdf  
  • Minimum of 300 dpi, preferably 600 dpi for complex illustrations/images 
  • Maximum 2250 pixels (width) X 2625 pixels (height) 

 

References 

All references must be formatted in accordance with APA 7th edition guidelines. For written submissions, references should be included at the end of the document. For audio submissions, authors may upload a separate file (.docx) to accompany their piece. Proof of payment for licensed artwork or other imagery provided is required. 

 

Releases 

Health Inquiries expects that, as a rule, figures included with research submissions will be original figures generated by the authors. If this is not the case, the author must inform the editors at submission and include written permission for use of such figures before acceptance. Furthermore, a copy of a permission letter or e-mail must be included for any work described in the submission as "personal communication" and for any licensed but unpublished work cited.  

 

Accessibility Considerations 

Please include the following elements to support accessibility:  

  • Subtitles and transcripts for audio submissions 
  • Alt-text for images 
  • Colourblind-friendly palettes  

 

Media-hosting platforms 

All accepted audio submissions are hosted by Health Inquiries on the Health Research Internet Archive, ensuring long-term accessibility, discoverability, and preservation.  

 

Statement about AI use 

As this is a research publication, authors are expected to engage with, cite, integrate, synthesize, critique, and reflect on original scholarly sources. Citation of AI-generated content in place of original thought or original scholarly sources is not acceptable. We discourage the use of AI-driven tools; however, authors may choose to use AI to facilitate brainstorming ideas (e.g., ChatGPT) and checking spelling/grammar (e.g., Grammarly). It is permissible to purposefully include AI-generated content to critique and/or comment on the use(s) of AI-driven tools, provided it is cited as any other reference material.  AI-generated submissions will not be accepted. Authors are required to include a statement specifying whether AI-driven tools were used.  

 

AI and associated infrastructure produce electronic waste, consume large quantities of water and electricity, and rely on extractive industries to operate. The proliferation of these technologies has foregone the necessary considerations of impact, specifically through an equity lens, in the pursuit of convenience and efficiency for privileged populations. Circumstances that necessitate the use of AI may include assistive technologies. Authors have a moral imperative to weigh the necessity of AI use in their submissions to Health Inquiries. 

 

Content-related Issues  

Contributions under consideration or published in full elsewhere will not be considered for publication in Health Inquiries. This policy does not apply to conference abstracts or prior postings on recognized community preprint servers. If part of a contribution has appeared or has been submitted elsewhere, the corresponding author must specify in the covering letter which part of the contribution will appear or has appeared elsewhere, indicating the publication (or preprint server) concerned. Health Inquiries must be consulted if authors wish to publish/publicize any part of their submission elsewhere during the consideration process.  

 

Copyright and Reservation of Rights 

All authors published in HI retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work simultaneously licensed under an International Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (CC-BY-NC 4.0), which means that anyone may share, copy, and adapt the material for non-commercial purposes, as long as they credit the author and this journal.  

 

Authors are encouraged to deposit the published version in an institutional / disciplinary repository immediately on publication in HI. Include a citation and link to the final published version (including the final publisher's PDF) when the issue is available, with a link to the HI website.