The Synergist Writers' Guidelines and Publication Policies

The Synergist is intended to provide AIHA members with news and information about the occupational and environmental health and safety fields and the industrial hygiene profession. The Synergist focuses on industry trends and news, governmental and regulatory activities, key issues facing the profession, appropriate technical information and news on association events and activities.

To fulfill this mission, The Synergist relies on contributions from AIHA members and allied professionals. Industrial hygiene professionals possess a wealth of knowledge on occupational and environmental health and safety issues. The Synergist encourages AIHA members to submit ideas for articles, contribute copy and offer their services as story sources.

If you are interviewed for a Synergist article, please remember it’s the policy of The Synergist not to submit copy to interviewees for review prior to publication. If contributing writers’ articles are edited substantially, an edited version will be sent to them to check technical accuracy.

Technical articles beyond the abilities of editorial staff to evaluate are reviewed for technical accuracy by AIHA’s staff IHs, or, if the article is not within their areas of competency, by a member of the Synergist Editorial Advisory Board or a professional recommended by the board. The members of the Editorial Advisory Board are listed in the masthead of each month’s Synergist. 

Guidelines

Short, punchy and to the point. Less is more. All submissions will be edited for space, style and clarity. For specific word count information, consult with editorial staff. Articles should be submitted on disk or sent via e-mail. Handwritten submissions will not be accepted.

Clarity. Think of the basics of newswriting, the five Ws―who, what, when, where, why. When writing, think of how your work will affect other industrial hygienists. Why should they care? What impact will it have on them? What’s new or different? Updates on current or continuing projects also are good. Focusing on practical applications and relevance to daily jobs is a key component for all materials.

Simplicity. The Synergist is designed to be a quick read. Keep prose simple and readable. Pretend you're explaining what you do to someone outside the profession. Avoid jargon. Offer suggestions on steps to implement ideas discussed in articles. Synergist readers particularly appreciate practical articles that they can use in their daily work.

Please include contact names, addresses and phone/fax numbers with all articles so that readers wanting more information may contact the source directly.

For more information on contributing to The Synergist, contact synergist@aiha.org.