For authors

Please read carefully all the instructions below to ensure that the publication process is as smooth and straightforward as possible. The guidelines are general in nature, and for each individual publication, the editors will consider the steps involved in its submission. The guidelines are written for textual publications but also apply to audiovisual publications.

The manuscript must be assigned to one of the following sections: Results, Perspectives, Practical benefits, Book reviews, and Research. For more detailed instructions on the sections, see the Submissions tab. Submitting a publication proposal requires registration in our publication system.

HAMK Pilkku publishes publications in accordance with the criteria of the Ministry of Education and Culture. Make sure that the publication 

  1. has not been previously published in the same format
  2. does not contain marketing
  3. reflects the expertise of the author(s) expertise and their connection to the work. 

Publishing in HAMK Pilkku is free of charge for HAMK staff and students. If you do not belong to the above-mentioned groups but wish to publish in HAMK Pilkku, please contact the editorial staff julkaisut@hamk.fi.

Publication process

Be sure to allocate time for the publication process. The duration of the process is always article-specific, as it is influenced by a number of factors. Typically, a manuscript is ready for publication within a few weeks of being submitted for inclusion in the process, but at its longest it can take up to a few months. 

The simplified steps in the publication process are: 

  1. Author sends the manuscript into the publication process and accepts the terms and conditions of the publishing agreement.
  2. Editorial staff accepts the manuscript into the publication process and carries out a plagiarism check.
  3. Manuscript is reviewed.
  4. Author carries out the necessary revisions.
  5. Editorial staff copyedits the manuscript and makes a decision on publication.
  6. Editorial staff publishes the manuscript.

The editorial staff checks each manuscript submitted: whether it meets the journal and department's guidelines, whether it is a clear entity, whether it fulfils the criteria of the Ministry of Education and Culture, and so on. If necessary, the editorial staff may request changes to the manuscript before the actual review process. 

All manuscripts accepted into the editorial process will be reviewed. The review will be carried out either by the editor or by an expert(s) chosen by the editor. The review is open in both directions. For manuscripts submitted to the Research section, two reviewers are normally requested, while for other manuscripts one reviewer is mainly enough.

HAMK Pilkku journal has a desk reject policy, which means that the editor can reject a manuscript even before it has been sent for evaluation. The preliminary publication decision is taken as soon as the manuscript reaches the editorial staff. Acceptance of a manuscript into the publication process does not imply a positive decision to publish but is considered by the editor at every stage of the process.

Publishing in HAMK Pilkku requires accepting the terms and conditions of our publishing agreement. The agreement is concluded when the manuscript is sent into the publication process. For more information, please see the section ”Publishing agreement and copyrights” at the bottom of this page.

The busiest periods for the editorial staff are May, June, August, November and December. During these months, processing times may be longer than usual due to the volume of manuscripts. Due to the busy schedule at the end of the year, we are unlikely to be able to process manuscripts offered in December during the rest of the year. Please bear this in mind when submitting your publication to the publication process.

Article collections 

We also publish article collections. If you are planning an article collection, please contact the editorial office as early as possible at julkaisut@hamk.fi, and send us a preliminary table of contents for the collection in the same message. You can also get more detailed instructions on how to publish a collection from the Publication services. 

The same guidelines apply to article collections as to individual publications. Collections can be published either as individual online articles or as a compiled pdf (please note the possible costs). 

Articles in a collection may be of different types, i.e. they may belong to different sections of the journal. The articles should form a single, coherent whole, but each article should be able to function on its own. Therefore, we do not recommend cross-referencing articles! There should be at least three articles in a collection, and the articles should be published simultaneously.  

All our publications will be evaluated, whether they are individual articles or part of a collection. Depending on the size of your collection, please allow about three months for the whole process (review, editing, etc.).  

Formatting the manuscript

Formulating your manuscript carefully will speed up the publication process; it will help both the editor and the reviewers to better understand the content of your article. It also reduces the number of possible revision rounds. 

Formatting the manuscript 

  • Please make sure you submit your text in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or RTF document file format.
  • You can use any font, font size and line spacing you like, but make sure that headings are clearly distinguished from the rest of the text and from each other, for example by using Word's predefined heading styles.
  • Avoid using different text highlighting techniques. You can use italics or bold as you see fit, but make sure that a single highlight has only one purpose. For example, you can use formatting in the following cases:
    • in the names of entire works (italics)
    • in non-English words (italics)
    • when you mention a very important concept for the first time (bold)
  • Use direct quotations only when necessary and separate them with quotation marks. Translate all quotations into the language in wich you have written your article.
  • Separate quotations longer than two sentences into their own paragraph.

Writing style and spelling 

  • Use subheadings, as they make it easier to read. Prefer headings that describe the content of the text (e.g. "UAS as a place for building expertise") rather than the structure (e.g. "Materials and methods"). If you submit your manuscript to Research section, you can use numbering in the headings.
  • Write abbreviations open in the text (e.g. → for example; n. → about; mm. → among others, etc.).
  • Write the numbers 1 to 10 in letters (one, two, three, ...).
  • Use the percentage sign (%) only for numeric figures.
  • Explain key concepts.
  • Explain unusual abbreviations. Pay particular attention to abbreviations used in the context of higher education and projects; they may not be familiar to the reader.
  • Avoid excessive use of abbreviations: if a concept appears once or twice in the text, there is no need to use the abbreviation.
  • Where possible, use gender-neutral language.
  • If you write in English, make sure you use only one language variant (e.g. American English or British English).
  • If necessary, ask for external help to check the language of texts even before submitting them to the editorial process. 

Figures and tables 

  • Submit figures as separate files, either as gif, jpg or tiff files (resolution at least 300 dpi).
  • Provide figures and tables as editable spreadsheet files. Please note that for technical reasons it is not possible to use formatting or colour coding for tables.
  • Number the images, figures and tables used in the article consecutively. Name the files to match this numbering. Refer to all figures and tables in the text.
  • Format the figures according to the HAMK brand guidelines.
  • Provide an explanatory caption for all images, including the source and/or the person who took the image. Only use images that you are allowed to use.
  • Add alternative text to all images and tables. For example, you can find instructions on how to create an alternative text here.

Referencing

  • Format your text references and bibliography according to the APA 7 citation model. For summarised instructions, see for example the HAMK Thesis Guide.
  • Use in-text references according to the citation model. Do not use footnotes and embedded hyperlinks in the text.
  • Finalise the bibliography carefully. Check that you have included all the sources you use in both the textual references and the bibliography, and that there are no extra sources. If there are any issues with the bibliography, it will be sent back for correction.
  • Place the list of sources at the end of the paper under the heading "References".

Using Artificial Intelligence 

The use of AI is not strictly forbidden, but we expect responsible usage from all our authors. 

Using AI in creating publications 

You can use AI for ideation and structuring, but it cannot be used to produce entire writings. The majority of the content in all publications must be human-created. Please also note the following:

  • Do not list AI as an author. Authorship requires taking responsibility for the publication – something AI cannot do.
  • Do not use AI as a source, unless your research specifically examines AI-generated content. In that case, clearly note the prompts used, the AI-generated output received, the date, and the AI service URL.
  • Indicate the use of AI at an appropriate point. If the manuscript contains content created using AI, record the prompts used visibly.
  • If you have used AI for language editing, translation, or text improvement, it does not need to be mentioned separately.

Using AI in reviewing publications 

The use of AI in the review of publications offered to HAMK Pilkku is prohibited. 

Using AI in editorial work 

The editorial staff may use AI applications (e.g., Grammarly) for language editing of English texts without separate notice. If the editorial staff wishes to use AI in any other way during the editorial process, this will be agreed upon separately with the author. The author may refuse such usage if desired.

Research integrity 

Häme University of Applied Sciences is committed to the Finnish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity in all its activities. We at HAMK Pilkku follow the same principles and expect the same from all our authors. Authors commit to the Finnish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity when submitting their manuscripts for inclusion in the editorial process. 

You can read about research integrity on the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity TENK website.

Publishing agreement and copyrights 

In the spirit of open science, HAMK Pilkku is an open access platform where all publications are openly and freely available to anyone. We use the Creative Commons licence CC BY-NC-SA, which means that anyone can share, copy and modify a publication, as long as they mention the author, provide a link to the original work and redistribute the material under the same licence. In addition, commercial use of the publications is prohibited. Find out more about CC licences on the Creative Commons website. 

Publishing at HAMK Pilkku requires accepting terms and conditions of the publishing agreement. Author accepts the agreement when submitting the manuscript into the editorial process through the publishing system (from the ”submissions” tab). You can read the publishing agreement here. Please note that if the manuscript has several authors, the author who acts as the primary contact (i.e., submits the manuscript into the system), accepts these terms and conditions on behalf of themselves and all their possible co-authors. The primary contact author is thus also responsible for informing all their possible co-authors of these terms and conditions, and for making sure they understand these terms and conditions

The responsibility for publication rests with the authors themselves. Neither Häme University of Applied Sciences nor the editorial staff of HAMK Pilkku are responsible for the content of the publications or the rights associated with them.