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Required Paper Format

Please bear in mind that you need to submit your full paper in order to participate as a panelist and receive a certificate on your participation.

The deadline for full paper submission is on April 27, 2023. All papers should be uploaded in PDF format.

In your paper you should follow the official IAPSS paper guidelines below.

1. General guidelines

  • Contents: Cover page, abstract, keywords, the main body of the paper, references, appendices (if applicable), name and short presentation of the author.
  • Font: Garamond 12, spacing 1.5;
  • Abstract: Max. 250 words, Garamond 12, spacing 1.15, italic;
  • Keywords: Five, Garamond 12, spacing 1.15;
  • Main Title (Heading): Garamond 16, bold;
  • Subtitles (Section Headings): Garamond 14, bold;
  • Sub-Subtitles (Sub-section Headings) (if applicable): Garamond 12, bold, italic;
  • Presentation: Garamond 12, spacing 1.15, italic.
  • Paragraphs: first line indentation 1.25 cm, no spaces between paragraphs
  • Borders: top and bottom 2,5 cm, left and right 3,00cm (default)
  • Quotes: sectioned off in more than two sentences; Garamond 11, indented 1.25 cm
  • Tables and Charts are continuously numbered, each fits on one page at maximum, and all are sourced (if original, use ”Source: Author.”)
  • Title of the submission file: LASTNAME_Initial_Title_mm_yyyy.pdf
  • References: Please adhere to the Chicago Style Manual.
  • Please avoid footnotes.

2. A good academic paper features:

  • Academic style of writing and structure (see section “Recommended Academic Paper Structure”);
  • Grammatically correct language;
  • Consistency in language conventions (e.g. usage of either British or American English, but not both) and grammatical person (e.g. usage of either first or third person singular, eventually first person plural, also depending on the number of authors of the paper);
  • Between 4,000 and 6,000 words, without bibliography and appendices.

Please see this Microsoft Word document for sample formatting; you may insert the text of your manuscript directly into the document by saving it and replacing the sample text with your submission while retaining the original formatting.

3. Recommended Academic Paper Structure

  • Cover Page
    • Title and subtitle(s) of your paper. Your Personal data incl. your full name, your institutional affiliation (university) and study degree, your email address and postal address.
  • Abstract
    • Research question, original parts of research, overview on used methodology, conclusion(s).
  • Keywords
    • General and specific, in alphabetical order.
  • Introduction
    • What is the research question and why should academics research it, scientific and societal relevance.
  • Literature review
    • What has been written on the topic previously, what conclusions did others reach.
    • (Model construction) and theoretical framework
    • What theoretical framework and approach is used and why. If applicable, causal model may be shown at this point, or later, after data investigation.
  • Conceptualization and operationalization
    • Definition of basic terms and their indicators, choice of variables and their validity testing. Formulation of hypotheses (explicit or implicit) based on the theory/theories. Elaboration of specific claim(s) in the investigated theory/theories. If applicable, the description of the causal mechanism, i.e. the chain of events purported to link your explanatory variables to the specific outcome.
  • Methodology
    • Description of the specific research method used (i.e., process-tracing, discursive analysis, MLA, etc.), its advantages and weaknesses and why it is chosen.
  • Data
    • Description of the data used, number of cases, method of case-selection, source of data, method of data collection, sampling method.
  • Analysis and findings
    • What the data show in detail, general tendencies and interesting particularities.
  • (Model construction) and Conclusions
    • Causal models may be formulated and general conclusions reached. Conclusions may or may not specifically challenge or support findings in existing literature.
  • Future research
    • Possibilities of future research for the researcher or other scholars, promising directions, requirements for future research.
  • List of References (Bibliography)
    • Structured in the required format.
  • Appendices
  • Every piece of data used shown so as to facilitate potential replications. If possible, data shared publicly and/or presented together with the manuscript.

4. Required Formatting of References

  • In text: (Author, YEAR: page; Co-author and Co-author, YEAR: page; Co-author et al. YEAR: page)
  • Reference section: Garamond 12, 6 pt before paragraph, 12 pt after paragraph, spacing 1.0)
  • Websites: use “Available at” (no WWW needed)

5. Bibliography examples

  • Surname, First Name (YEAR): Title of the Book. Edition [If applicable] City: Publisher. [If available] DOI:
      • One author: Giddens, Anthony (2009): Sociology. 6 ed. Cambridge/Malden: Polity Press.
      • Two authors: Vermeule, Adrian and Eric Posner (2010): The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
      • Three or more: Kapiszewski, Diana et al. (2015): Field Research in Political Science: Practices and Principles (Strategies for Social Inquiry). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
      • Translated and/or revised text: Plato. (1992): Republic. 2 ed. Trans. G. M. A. Grube. Rev. C. D. C. Reeve. Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company.
  • Surname, First Name and First Name Surname (eds.) (YEAR): Title of the Book. City: Publisher. [If available] DOI:
      • Goodin, Robert E. and Charles Tilly (eds.) (2008): The Oxford Handbook of Contextual Political Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Surname, First Name (YEAR): ‘Title of the Journal Article’, Journal Name Nr. (Issue Nr.): pp. XX. [If available] DOI:
  • Surname, First Name (YEAR): ‘Title of the Chapter’, in First Name Surname and First Name Surname (eds.) Title of the Book. City: Publisher. pp. XX. [If available] DOI:
      • Pettit, Philip (2008): ‘Why and How Philosophy Matters’, in Goodin, Robert E. and Charles Tilly (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of Contextual Political Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 35-57.
  • Surname, First Name (YEAR): ‘Title of the Thesis or the Conference Paper’, XX thesis, University of XX, City / XX conference paper, City, Date.
      • [Thesis] Barham, Elena (2016): ‘Passing the Buck: World Bank Anti-Corruption Reform and the Politics of Implementation’, PhD thesis, Northwestern University. Available at: https://www.polisci.northwestern.edu/documents/2016%20Janda%20Winner%20Barham1.pdf (24 June 2018).
      • [Conference paper] Ruscoe, Gordon. (1970): ‘Reviewed Work: Political Order in Changing Societies by Samuel P. Huntington’ Comparative Education Review 14(3), Papers and Proceedings: Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society, Atlanta, March 22-24, 1970, pp. 385-386.
  • Website Owner / News author or site / Project Leader (YEAR): Name of the Database / Title of the News Reports. News site (if not mentioned previously). Accessible at: http XXXXXX (the date when last accessed). [If available] DOI:
  • Legal documents

6. Note on Plagiarism

  • As the global representation of political science students, we are committed to the highest international standards of academic and scientific honesty. Therefore, we strictly refuse to accept any piece of work, oral or written, that is a product of plagiarism. We subscribe to the definition and characteristics of plagiarism of Oxford University, according to which
  • ‘Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work or ideas as your own, with or without their consent, by incorporating it into your work without full acknowledgement. All published and unpublished material, whether in manuscript, printed or electronic form, is covered under this definition. Plagiarism may be intentional or reckless, or unintentional.’[1]
  • We strongly recommend our members and other followers who are considering to submit a paper to one of IAPSS events or our journals or a contribution to our blog A Different View, to study the guidelines of Oxford University or similar guidelines[2] carefully and adhere to the referencing requirements listed therein.  

[1] University of Oxford. 2016. ‘Plagiarism’. Available at [Accessed 20.08.2016]: https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/plagiarism?wssl=1.

[2] For example, University of Melbourne. 2016. ‘Academic honesty and plagiarism’. Available at [Accessed 20.08.2016]: https://academichonesty.unimelb.edu.au/.

Should you have any questions, please, do not hesitate to contact us at wcpanels@iapss.org

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