Faculty of law blogs / UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

DPRU Blog submissions

We have an open call for contributions to the DPRU Blog, including:

- Research pieces, which report on new empirical or theoretical work or draw on prior research findings as and when they may be relevant to a new law, study, policy or case.

- Article or report reviews: Brief summaries of new publications that may have wide appeal.

- Opinion pieces: which express a personal viewpoint on a current issue or debate or a new law or policy, including media coverage of a case.

- News and updates: Upcoming events, new resources, recent policy developments, and Annual Reports of the activities of the DPRU.

Blog guidelines

Email us (dpru@crim.ox.ac.uk) with a draft title and a short summary of what you’d like to write about, as well as a short author bio (50 words max). You can also submit a draft post if you’ve developed it already. We will contact you and discuss further steps and a timeframe. Please keep these guidelines in mind when planning and drafting a post:

- Posts should be written in English, the original work of the contributor, and proofread for style and accuracy before submission.

- Posts should be between 750 to 1,500 words in length (we will accept longer posts only in special cases)

- While the death penalty is a sensitive topic and can attract strong feelings, submissions should not contain content that could be considered offensive, abusive, derogatory or potentially defamatory. Similarly, they should not reveal confidential information about a case, a crime victim, a prisoner (including his or her family), or a legal representative.

- Relevant sources and background should be hyperlinked, where possible and included conversationally not academically (please don’t use footnotes).

- Posts should be written in a clear and concise manner, avoiding jargon and wordiness.

- Remember that as a blog post, it’s important to appeal to a broad audience (such as readers from outside your country) so wherever possible, connect local issues to global concerns and try to avoid concepts or technical language that only an academic or a lawyer would understand (where this is unavoidable, do your best to explain those terms).

- A minimum of one relevant photo should be supplied which has no restricted rights. The following sites can be used: Freeimages.comPixabay free imagesCreative Commons and Wikimedia Commons.

- Other photos can be used by obtaining written consent. Also, you may add a photo of yourself to be uploaded at the end of the blog to appear next to your name as the author.

- Cross-posting or publication on other platforms is permissible only with the permission of the Editor of the blog and with a link back to the original article.

- The Editor has the discretion to determine whether to accept a submission for publication on the blog.

Editorial policies

While the Editor is committed to working with contributors to facilitate publication where possible, we cannot guarantee that all blogs submitted will be published. We will only publish work that we deem to be of high quality and that complies with the guidelines set out here. We reserve the right to edit content, spelling, grammar, etc. upon approval from the author and the right to reject a blog post. We remain committed to timely publication of blogs but at busy times there may be delays (please tell the Editor if you think your piece is time-sensitive).

As the aim of the DPRU is to promote dialogue and debate, and disseminate research and ideas, we are keen that you share your post once published, including through social media, tagging the DPRU on Twitter @DPRUOxford

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions relating to the blog and your possible involvement in it. We look forward to your contribution!