Manuscripts, ideally between 5000 and 7000 words (max 8,000), should be submitted online at the Journal of Youth Studies' Manuscript Central site. New users should first create an account. Once a user is logged onto the site submissions should be made via the Author Centre.

Manuscripts should be typed double spaced, with ample margins. Each article should be accompanied by an abstract/summary of maximum 200 words on a separate page, which should be added where required during online submission. The full postal address of the author who will check proofs and receive correspondence and offprints should not be included in the uploaded manuscript, but included along with an e-mail address in the author's user account details on the system. All pages should be numbered. Footnotes to the text should be kept to a minimum.

Contributors should bear in mind that they are addressing an international audience. Jargon should be avoided where possible and all authors should use non-discriminatory language. In empirical reports the breakdown of the research sample (e.g. class, race, ethnicity, sex, age and disability) should be clearly stated and acknowledged in the discussion. Authors should define their choice of terms clearly.

Tables, figures and captions to illustrations. Tables and figures should be completely understandable independent of the text. Tables must be typed on separate pages and not included as part of the text. The captions to illustrations should be gathered together and typed on a separate page. Tables and figures should be numbered by Arabic numerals. The approximate position of tables and figures should be indicated in the manuscript and they should be referred to in the text. Please supply clear, good resolution images (minimum of 300 dpi) of figures in a finished form suitable for reproduction. Figures will not normally be redrawn by the publisher.

Proofs will be sent to authors if there is time to do so. They should be corrected and returned to the editor within three days. Major alterations to the text cannot be accepted.

Free article access: Corresponding authors will receive free online access to their article through our website (www.informaworld.com) and a complimentary copy of the issue containing their article. Reprints of articles published in this journal can be purchased through Rightslink® when proofs are received. If you have any queries, please contact our reprints department at reprints@tandf.co.uk

Copyright. It is a condition of publication that authors assign copyright or license the publication rights in their articles, including abstracts, to Taylor & Francis. This enables us to ensure full copyright protection and to disseminate the article, and of course the Journal, to the widest possible readership in print and electronic formats as appropriate. Authors may, of course, use the article elsewhere after publication without prior permission from Taylor & Francis, provided that acknowledgement is given to the Journal as original source of publication, and that Taylor & Francis is notified so that our records show that its use is properly authorised. Authors retain a number of other rights under the Taylor & Francis rights policies documents. These policies are referred to at www.informaworld.com/authors_journals_copyright_position for full details. Authors are themselves responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyright material from other sources.