Editorial Policy

Manuscript Guidelines for the
IEEE Transactions on Education

This information is provided to individuals who wish to submit a manuscript for publication review by the IEEE Transactions on Education.

Transactions Role and Scope

Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution of the IEEE Education Society states that the field of interest of the Education Society “the theory and practice of education and educational technology involved in the effective delivery of domain knowledge of all fields within the scope of interest of IEEE.” Manuscripts submitted to the Transactions should clearly embrace one or more of these topic areas.

Specific Transactions Interests

A recent IEEE Education Society Member survey indicated that past Transactions' papers contained too much "technical content" and failed to contain an appropriate focus on "educational content". As a result, when considering a manuscript for publication, the Transactions is currently looking for manuscripts that contain five manuscript components:

(1) curriculum content in an appropriate discipline (electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, information technology, electrical technology, or a related discipline) or on K-12 education or industrial education,

(2) a description of the course or course sequence in which the content is presented,

(3) a description of the pedagogical issue(s) being addressed,

(4) information that will assist educators in the discipline in improving instruction in the discipline, and

(5) assessment data that provides information relative to the strengths and weaknesses of the curriculum content in satisfying the pedagogical issues being addressed.

NOTE: Assessment data is considered a key part of the manuscript and must be included.

Manuscript Content

Three manuscript formats are accepted.

· Regular Papers – Contributions that are four-to-six journal pages in length

· Short Papers – Contributions that are three or less journal pages in length

· Correspondence – Contributions less than one journal page in length that address a topic or issue in a previous edition of the Transactions

A number of content issues have been noted with respect to the manuscripts that have been submitted to the Transactions in the past. Here are some examples of content that should be avoided in manuscripts being submitted to the Transactions.

· Subject matter outside of the scope of the Transactions[1]

· Significant technical content without substantive pedagogic information[2]

· Lengthy derivations with no insights provided as to how the derivations enhance classroom learning or apply to classroom learning

· Outdated technical information not in keeping with current textbooks

· Detailed presentations without sufficient supporting figures, tables, graphs, pictures, or diagrams

· Personal opinion

In developing manuscripts, authors should

· Ensure that an adequate number of references are included and that the references relate to current technical and education literature,

· Explain differences in results that contradict other published results,

· Ensure that new, innovative techniques for presenting information contain adequate comparison to currently-accepted approaches for presenting the same information,

· Avoid detailed figures, tables, graphs, pictures, and diagrams that rely on color[3],

· Understand that lengthy manuscripts will incur an “over page” charge[4], and

· Ensure that the manuscript contains an abstract, keywords, and author biographical information.

Manuscript Format

In preparing manuscripts, the following constraints should be followed.

· Use “letter-size” pages, i.e., 22 cm x 28 cm (8.5 inches x 11 inches).

· Use Arial, 12-point English font[5].

· Double space between each typed line of the manuscript.

· Provide a 2.5 cm margin (1 inch) for the top, bottom, left, and right margins.

· Place the manuscript title, name(s) of the author(s), and an informative abstract (100-words to 250-words for a regular paper, and 50-words for a short paper or correspondence) on the first page.

· Refrain from using encryption schemes when preparing PDF files.

· Clearly label location for placement of each graphic within the manuscript if the graphics are presented at the end of the manuscript.

· Use metric units.

· Use only standard symbols and abbreviations unless defined when first used in the text.

· Ensure that all acronyms, subscripts, superscripts, Greek letters, and mathematical symbols are clearly identified.

· Ensure that bibliographies are complete[6].

Manuscript Style

Manuscript authors are expected to meet the highest standards of writing quality and adhere to the following guidelines.

· Use a clear, easy-to-follow outline.

· Use first-order, second-order, and third-order headings to assist the reader in following the presentation.

· Write in the third person. (DO NOT USE FIRST PERSON!)

· Define all acronyms on first use.

If English is not the first language of the author, a person having English as a first language should be used to review the manuscript and offer editorial changes before submission.

Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts are processed using an electronic environment, Manuscript Central. From the Manuscript Central entry page at: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/te-ieee a user can create an account, and can access User Tutorials giving all necessary information to submit a manuscript and to follow its progress in the system. The manuscript is submitted electronically on the web; reviews are accomplished electronically; and an electronic record is maintained of all key interactions relative to each manuscript.

Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication, and is being reviewed by the Editorial Administrator for English grammar, punctuation, spelling, and correct word usage, the manuscript will be still be processed electronically, but by e-mail rather than online.

Manuscript Review

The review process encompasses seven steps.

· When a manuscript is received on Manuscript Central, the Editorial Administrator (EA) is automatically notified by electronic mail.

· The EA ensures that manuscript documentation has been completed and notifies the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) that the manuscript is ready for assignment.

· The EIC ensures that the manuscript appears to be appropriate for publication in the Transactions and assigns the manuscript to a subject-matter Associate Editor (AE) that will be responsible for conducting the peer review of the manuscript.

· The AE then selects a minimum of three subject-matter experts to review the manuscript and initiates the review process.

· Upon completion of manuscript review, each reviewer completes two detailed evaluations – one for the editorial leadership and one for the author(s).

· When all reviews are completed, the AE collects review comments, coordinates the comments, drafts a recommendation based upon reviewer recommendations and personal evaluation of the manuscript, and forwards the recommendation to the EIC for final editorial decision.

· The EIC reviews the recommendation along with reviewer comments, arrives at a final decision, and notifies the Corresponding Author (the author that submitted the manuscript for review) of the results of the review.

Manuscript Decisions

Manuscript evaluations are assigned one of four outcomes: Accept, Minor Revisions, Major Revisions, and Reject. Clearly, the review process results in an extremely low percentage of submitted manuscripts receiving an “Accept” evaluation on the first review. Most manuscripts require revision! Manuscripts requiring “Minor Revision” may or may not require a second review. The nature of the required revision(s) will be the determining factor. All manuscripts receiving a “Major Revision” evaluation must be subjected to a second review. Where possible, the same AE and reviewers will be used to accomplish the second review to ensure consistency between the initial review and the second review. Rejected manuscripts are given no further consideration.

Normally, manuscripts that receive a “Major Revision” decision are only give one additional review. If the author(s) failed to make satisfactory changes in the manuscript, the manuscript is rejected. Only in extremely rare cases is a manuscript allowed to receive a third review.

Manuscript Pre-Publication Activities

Once a decision has been made to publish a manuscript, the EA has the responsibility for accomplishing a final review of the manuscript for English grammar, spelling, punctuation, and correct word usage. The Corresponding Author is provided with editorial corrections that will need to be made in final manuscript preparation along with a list of all items that must be submitted in the publication packet. Once a complete publication packet has been received and verified, the manuscript is placed in the queue for a future issue of the Transactions.

Closing Comment

Authors should remember that, with the exception of the EA, all members of the editorial team are volunteers having employment making significant time demands. Service activities for IEEE must, by nature, not be a top priority. Authors should not become upset or discouraged if the time lapse between submission and decision is longer than desired.

Charles B. Fleddermann (Professor)
Editor-in-Chief
cbf@ece.unm.edu

Kirsty Mills (Dr)
Editorial Administrator
millshersee@yahoo.com

Updated: 15 July 2008