Submissions

Articles

Submissions of up to 7,000 words on evaluation theory and practice, including innovative methodological approaches, standards of practice, strategies to enhance the implementation, reporting and use of evaluations. Articles reporting original empirical research on evaluation are of particular interest.

Manuscripts will be evaluated through double-blind peer review in relation to:

• Interest and relevance to evaluation practice in Canada and abroad
• Clarity and conciseness of the article.
• Originality of the issue, method or practice reported in the article.
• Sufficient review of literature and appropriate theoretical foundations.
• Credibility of the analysis.
• Validity of conclusions and implications.

Further information about our peer review process can be found here.

Roots and Relations (R&R)

Submissions will be accepted in the following formats; written, audio-recorded, video-recorded, visual representations such as photo collage and, artwork.

All submissions must be accompanied by an abstract and the authors must identify which door the submission address and in what ways. Word counts and file formats will be refined with CJPE based on capacities and platform we use for submission.

Submissions to CJPE’s Roots and Relations (R&R) need to demonstrate evidence of innovation and of the generation of new knowledge, concepts, methodologies, understandings or community . They must also address the responsibilities below. As part of our broader community responsibilities, as your submission moves forward it will be supported by advisors (i.e., non-elder support to submission authors) and/or Elder advisors (i.e., Indigenous). See also R&R submission and criteria graphic.   

All full first-draft submissions must include the following: 

1. The lead author must be Indigenous, while there can be non-Indigenous team members. 
2. The submission must connect to evaluation explicitly. 

Responsibilities to consider when submitting to R&R are listed below. The editors will reflect, discuss and determine by consensus how well these responsibilities are met. While we strongly encourage consideration of each responsibility in your submission, it is not necessary to address all of them. These include:

1. Addressing Indigenous traditional knowledge, language, culture, theories, methods, and celebrating traditional ways of knowing, being and doing, and/or or contemporary lifestyles; 
2. Contributing to reconciliation, Nation-to-Nation, Indigenous data sovereignty, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or other First Nations and/or Indigenous-developed policy and/or governance frameworks; 
3. Engaging authentically with communities on issues that Indigenous community members, Indigenous governments or Indigenous organizations want investigated (e.g., education, community wellness, justice, impact of climate change);
4. Providing communities with solutions to current and upcoming concerns;
5. Speaking to issues of equity, diversity, inclusion, and sustainability; and/or
6. Influencing public debate and helping to shape or impact public policy.

The authors must identify in the abstract which Medicine Wheel door the submission addresses and in what ways.

Upon review, reflection, and discussion of your full submission by the R&R Editors, you will be notified via email regarding the next steps in the R&R submission and publication process.

Any questions you have may be directed to the R&R Editorial Team: Larry Bremner and Dr. Nicole Bowman.

Research and Practice Notes

A Research and Practice note is a brief, structured description and analysis of a subject of importance to evaluation practice. This type of manuscript results from the systematic examination of one or many dimensions of evaluation practice and seeks to share lessons learned with other practitioners and researchers.

These papers should be no longer than 3,000 words including references. The dimensions of evaluation practice that could be the subject of a practice note include (but are not limited to): managing an evaluation function, planning evaluation work, designing evaluation methods and data collection strategies, engaging evaluation stakeholders, employing innovative evaluation methods and strategies, conducting evaluation projects, reporting and communicating evaluation results, fostering evaluation use, and teaching evaluation.

Research and Practice Notes should be structured in the following way:

• Introduction and/or context section to orient the reader
• Brief description of the dimension(s) of practice being examined, with references to relevant literature
• Overview of method(s) used to systematically examine or analyze the dimension(s) of practice to extract what was learned (e.g., reflective case study, post-mortem, key informant interviews, analysis against theoretical model or framework, etc.)
• Description and analysis of what was learned, with emphasis on highlighting the factors that are thought to account for success (or lack of success)
• Conclusions and implications for evaluation practice, theory and/or research, in Canada or elsewhere

Manuscripts will be subject to double-blind peer review. The evaluations will be based on the following criteria:

• Relevance to the practice of evaluation
• Credibility of the analysis
• Validity of conclusions and implications
• Originality
• Clarity and conciseness
• Reader interest