INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS

Aims and Scope

The Journal of Official Statistics is published by Statistics Sweden, the national statistical office of Sweden. The journal publishes articles on statistical methodology and theory, with an emphasis on applications. It is an open access journal, which gives the right to users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of all articles.

We encourage articles on the following topics:

Methodologies and policies for the collection, processing, analysis, presentation, and distribution of statistical data. Examples of such topics are: sampling design; estimation; analytical uses of data; questionnaire design; quality control; data base management; confidentiality; ethics; dissemination; presentation of quality; training of statisticians; the role of statistics in today's society; the relations between producers, users, and respondents; intra-organization collaboration; international statistical cooperation; and evaluation and identification of statistical needs. Articles may present theoretical contributions, interesting applications of existing methods, comparisons of different methods, or authoritative reviews.

Letters to the Editor provides a forum for the airing of opinions on issues pertinent to the statistical community or offers commentaries on articles that have appeared in the journal.

The Special Notes section welcomes notices and announcements of upcoming events, conferences, calls for papers, or anything that can be considered news for the statistical community.

There is a Book and Software Review section and an Index that appears at the end of every volume.

Submission of Manuscripts

Submissions should be sent to the JOS mail box (jos@scb.se) preferably in Word. It is assumed that a submitted manuscript has not been published elsewhere and is not under consideration by any other journal. All manuscripts are refereed and evaluated on content, language, and presentation. Manuscripts should be as short and concise as possible without loss of clarity.
Publication format. The maximum amount of space on a printed JOS page is the area of 13.5 cm by 20.2 cm.

Preparation of Manuscripts

Manuscripts should have generous margins, i.e., at least 2 cm on all sides and double spaced throughout, including the abstract and references.

Title. The title should be brief and specific. The title page should include the title, the author's name, affiliation, and address. (And the same information for all coauthors.)

Abstract and Key words. The abstract should be short (maximum of 150 words), descriptive, and free from citations. The key words should not repeat words used in title.

Acknowledgments, if any, are placed after the abstract and key words.

Sections should be numbered; sub- and sub-subsections may be used.

Tables, Figures, and Diagrams. A table should be numbered and have a title. Figures and diagrams should be numbered and have a title, legend, and clearly marked axes.

Mathematics. Equations cited in the text should also be numbered; numbers are placed to the right of the equation. Matrices should appear in italics and vectors in bold. All other symbols should appear in italics.

Reference citation. JOS uses the name and date system for citing a work in the text. For example:
Dalenius (1974)
Cox and Iachan (1987)
Boruch and Cecil (1979, p. 154)

To distinguish between works by an author published in the same year, use a, b, c, etc. References in the text should conform to the following style:
   1. When a reference is cited directly: as discussed by Dodge and Romig (1944)
   2. When a reference is cited indirectly: as discussed previously (Dodge and
    Romig 1944)
   3. A quotation requires a page number: "…the study has benefited from…."
    (Smith 1985, p.379)
   4. When a reference is made to a particular formula, page, section, chapter,
    appendix, etc.,the abbreviations p., pp., sec., ch., app., are used. Some
    mathematical journals use the symbol § to denote a section. This is fine,
    but it is reserved for sections only, not chapters, etc.

The Reference List. References should be arranged alphabetically and for a given author, chronologically.
   1. Author's name and year of publication.
   2. Title
   3. Details of publication. Complete name of journal. Publication site:
    Publisher, pages.

References should be given in accordance with the following style:

Lininger, C. and Warwick, D. (1975). The Sample Survey, Theory and Practice. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Pomeroy, W.B. (1963). The Reluctant Respondent. Public Opinion Quarterly, 27, 287-293.

Platek, R., Singh, M.P., and Tremblay, V. (1978). Adjustment for Nonresponse in Surveys. In Survey Sampling and Measurement, ed. N.K. Namboodiri, New York: Academic Press.

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) (1965). Health Interview Responses Compared with Medical Records. Vital Health Statistics, P.H.S. Publication no. 1000, ser. 2, Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office.