Submissions

Current Research in Digital History accepts and publishes articles on a rolling basis. Manuscripts can be submitted to Lincoln Mullen <lincoln+crdh@lincolnmullen.com>. Questions may be sent to the same address.

Submission Guidelines

All articles to be considered for publication in CRDH should follow the guidelines below.

Content: Submissions should offer historical arguments and interpretations, and engage with the historiography rather than simply showcase digital projects. The format of short articles provides an opportunity to publish early findings and make arguments on the basis of ongoing research from larger projects. The best submissions will show how digital methods have advanced specific interpretations of history. Therefore, submissions should not only seek to engage with specialists in digital history, but also with those in one’s content area of historical inquiry.

Language and Length: Submissions should be written in English and should not exceed 3,000 words. Notes, illustrations, figure captions, and appendices do not count against this word limit.

File Type: Please send your submission as a .docx or .pdf file.

Citation Style: We use the Chicago Manual of Style shortened notes and bibliography format. In addition to the shortened notes, please include a bibliography with an entry for each source cited. Include a DOI for each bibliography entry whenever possible. This provides a permanent link to the source, and aids in citation tracking and re-use monitoring.

Figures

• Our online mode of publication means that we are able to accommodate still images, as well as the dynamic visualizations and narratives that are an increasingly core element of digital scholarship.
• Each visualization (chart, graph, table, etc.) should include a descriptive title at the top. Titles are not required for photographs or images of historical documents.
• Each figure should have a caption. We encourage authors to include captions of up to three to four sentences for each of their figures. Captions should help the figures to be read on their own without reference to the body of the paper. Captions should tell the readers what trend/pattern/anomaly the readers should be seeing, and what it means.
• Please include call outs in your text that direct readers to look at your figures. (Ex. As the histogram in figure 1 shows…)
• Figures and captions (or in the case of dynamic visulizations, a still image along with a link) should be embeded within the text of the article.

Accepted Submission Guidelines

These guidelines are for articles which have been accepted for publication and are going through the process of being published in CRDH.

File Type: Please submit the final draft of your article as a .docx or .html file.

ORCID: Authors should include an ORCID (the alphanumeric code that uniquely identifies an author and scholar) with their final draft. Authors without an ORCID can register for one at https://orcid.org/.

Figures

• For publication, all figures and visualizations must be submitted as separate files (not solely embedded in the text of your article) in the highest resolution possible. Still images should be submitted as .jpg or .png files. For basic interactive visualizations such as a map or video clip, authors should submit the relevant files or a URL link to where the visualization is hosted. Authors should contact CRDH if they have specific concerns about their files.
• Unlike in a print journal, visualizations (chart, graph, table, etc.) published online need titles that are embedded in the visualization or image file. Embedded titles are not required for photographs or images of historical documents.
• Captions should be submitted as a separate text-only .docx file.
• In the body of your text, please clearly indicate the location where you would like each figure to appear.

Code and Datasets: In order to facilitate reproducibility and data reuse, and support long-term preservation, we strongly encourage the submission of any associated data or code. This will be published as a research compendium to the original submission and will be available as a direct download from the CRDH website. We suggest that authors submit one ZIP file for their data and another for their code, along with a README.txt explaining what is contained in the files and how to re-run the code.

Publication Details: After submitting a final draft of their article, authors will receive a publication agreement, and be contacted about further production details. Articles in CRDH are published under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license. Authors will be given a chance to proofread their article prior to its publication.