Blog guidelines

Who can contribute

We welcome blog contributions from across the humanitarian field, whether you are a researcher, academic, practitioner or postgraduate student.

For example, you may be a researcher wishing to link your studies to current affairs or events, or you may be a research student wanting to share some preliminary research findings. We also welcome contributions from practitioners working in the field wishing to share experiences or reflections on humanitarian issues or practices.

How to contribute

Please use the form above to submit your blog or send to emily.hume@cmi.no. It is useful if you also tell us how your blog contributes to the analysis or discussion about a particular humanitarian topic or issue.

All submissions should be made electronically and in Microsoft Word (not PDF or any other format). Blog posts should ideally be between 800 and 1,200 words in length. Please do not submit blogs more than 1,500 words.

Please include the names and a short bio for each author (no more than two to three sentences per author). If you use social media, you can also include your Twitter and/or Facebook handles. Also include a title for the blog, as well as an abstract or summary (maximum 100 words).

It is also useful if you include a suitable accompanying photo or image for your blog. Please also provide a caption where possible and ensure you cite the source and have permission to use it.

Guidance for authors

The blog is intended for a general audience. Please write in an accessible way that will be easily understood. Here are some tips to assist with this:

• Use simple language as much as possible and avoid jargon.
• Short sentences help. Long sentences and long paragraphs can confuse the reader.
• Create a short, attention-grabbing title.
• Use short engaging headings to break up ideas within your blog.
• Make it relevant, for example relate writing back to current events or policy debates.
• We use British English spelling (this means colour, not color; -ise, not -ize; levelled not leveled; metres, not meters; adviser, not advisor).

Referencing

Please support major claims by hyperlinking to external resources where possible (please check all hyperlinks work). Where hyperlinking is not possible, use in-text referencing (avoid using footnotes). Add a short list of references at the end of your blog if necessary.

As a contributor, you are responsible for the factual accuracy of your work. You are also responsible for correctly citing other sources. Responsibility for any plagiarism rests with the author.

Please let us know if your blog has been published elsewhere. We can in some cases consider re-posting pieces that have previously been published, however, the author then needs to obtain permission from the original publisher to re-publish the work.

Blog review process

Please be aware that all blogs submitted for publication undergo an independent and anonymous review process. The reviewer may make suggestions to revise your blog prior to publication.

While this blog is hosted by the NCHS, the views expressed by individual authors are their own and must not be interpreted as the position of the NCHS.