Scholarly Writing: Advice from Editors

Overviews of Publications Represented by Panelists

2013 AIR Forum

Assessment Update
Edited By: Trudy W. Banta

Call for Contributions

The editor welcomes short articles and news items for Assessment Update. Guidelines follow for those who
would like to contribute articles on outcomes assessment in higher education.

• Content: Please send an account of your experience with assessment in higher education. Include
concrete examples of practice and results.
• Audience: Assessment Update readers are academic administrators, campus assessment practitioners,
institutional researchers, and faculty from a variety of fields. All types of institutions are represented in
the readership.
• Style: A report, essay, news story, or letter to the editor would be welcome. Limited references can be
printed; however, extensive tables cannot be included.
• Format: In addition to standard manuscripts, news may be contributed via letter, telephone, or fax
(317) 274-4651. The standard manuscript format is a 60-space line with 25 lines per page. Articles may
also be sent to <aupdate@iupui.edu> as a Microsoft Word attachment. Please include your complete
postal mailing address.
• Length: Articles should be four to eight typed, double-spaced pages (1,000–2,000 words). Short news
items and content for the Calendar and Book Review sections may be 100–500 words in length.
Annotations of recent publications for the Resources feature should be about 50–100 words long.
• Copyright: Articles shall not have been registered for copyright or published elsewhere prior to
publication in Assessment Update.
• Deadlines: Each issue is typically planned four months before its publication.

Please address mailed contributions and comments to Trudy W. Banta, Editor, Assessment Update,
Rm. 140 Administration Bldg., 355 N. Lansing St., Indianapolis, IN 46202-2896.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1536-0725

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 Innovative Higher Education
Published by Springer
Editor: Libby V. Morris

Innovative Higher Education is a refereed scholarly journal that strives to package fresh ideas in higher
education in a straightforward and readable fashion. The four main purposes of Innovative Higher Education
are:

1. to present descriptions and evaluations of current innovations and provocative new ideas with
relevance for action beyond the immediate context in higher education;
2. to focus on the effect of such innovations on teaching and students;
3. to be open to diverse forms of scholarship and research methods by maintaining flexibility in the
selection of topics deemed appropriate for the journal; and
4. to strike a balance between practice and theory by presenting manuscripts in a readable and
scholarly manner to both faculty and administrators in the academic community.

Instructions for Authors

Manuscripts generally should not exceed 20-25 pages in length.

Manuscripts may be submitted electronically to kaygi@uga.edu

The manuscript and any related files should be sent as attachments in Word. The author’s cover letter should
be provided in the email itself. Include all contact information for the corresponding author, i.e., complete
address information.

Visit the website for more information, including tips for authors.
http://www.springer.com/education+%26+language/higher+education/journal/10755

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John M. Braxton, Editor; Susan R. Jones, Associate Editor for Book Reviews; Kristen A. Renn, Associate Editor for
International Research and Scholarship; Vasti Torres, Associate Editor for On the Campus/Research in Brief

Feature Manuscripts: The Journal of College Student Development is interested in feature manuscripts concerning
student development, professional development, professional issues, administrative concerns, and creative programs to
improve student services. Authors may focus on recent original research, replication of research, reviews of research,
graduate education in student affairs, or essays on theoretical, organizational, and professional issues. Both quantitative
and qualitative research manuscripts are considered. Manuscripts should address one of the following:
• Support for the extension of knowledge in the area of developmental theory;
• Support for increasing sophistication in the assessment of developmental change and the factors contributing
thereto;
• Support for practitioner efforts to apply theoretical developmental constructs to programs in the field; or
• Support for increasing our knowledge of organizational behaviors so that effective tactics and strategies might
be applied to the implementation of developmentally focused programs on the campus.

In keeping with the international scope of ACPA- College Student Educators International, the Journal of College Student
Development welcomes manuscripts that report scholarship on international issues related to college students, student
development, and student affairs and services in postsecondary or tertiary education. Such manuscripts might describe
research occurring outside the United States, such as studies of student development or emerging issues in student
services administration in one or more countries, or they might address international issues connected to US
institutions, such as international students in the US or US students participating in international experiences at home or
abroad. We particularly invite submissions that are scholarly in nature (i.e., having a theoretical base and sound
empirical methods), but will also consider submissions that describe best practices in student development outside the
US, provided that these submissions contribute new knowledge to the literature. Country-specific and comparative (i.e.,
comparing an issue in two or more nations) topics are welcome.

The Associate Editor for International Research and Scholarship is available to consult with authors who are considering
submitting a manuscript that is international in scope. Authors who are not familiar with the peer review system of
manuscript evaluation are encouraged to contact Kristen A. Renn, Associate Editor, at any time for clarification and
advice on manuscript preparation and submission. She may be contacted via e-mail (renn@msu.edu).

Research in Brief: Articles submitted for the Research in Brief section should report meaningful research that does not
require a full-length manuscript. Articles should present research about instruments/instrument development, methods,
campus interventions, or analytical tools which may be helpful to researchers or consumers of research in conducting
and understanding student services, student development, and the student affairs profession. Research focused on
specific campus interventions and research which examines the student affairs profession with regards to training,
administration, etc. are also typically considered for the Research in Brief section. Rigorous studies that are focused on a
single campus and/or narrowly focused studies may also be considered for the Research in Brief section. The criteria for
review are similar to those used in the review of feature articles.

On the Campus: Articles submitted for the On the Campus section should describe new practices, programs, and
techniques. Practices reviewed should be related to theory and research. Authors should be able to provide additional
background or supplemental information at the request of interested readers.

Visit the website for more information, including submission instructions.

http://www.jcsdonline.org/ http://www.editorialmanager.com/jcsd/
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Published by the National Resource Center for the First-Year Experience and Students in Transition

Editor: Paul A. Gore

Submission Guidelines

Journal of The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition is a semiannual refereed journal providing current
research on the first college year and other significant student transitions. The primary purpose of the Journal is to
disseminate empirical research findings on student transition issues that inform practice in all sectors of postsecondary
education. Topics appropriate for the Journal include:

Explorations into the academic, personal, and social experiences - including outcomes related to success, learning, and
development - of students at a range of transition points throughout the college years. These transitions include, but are
not limited to, the first college year, the transfer transition, the sophomore year, the senior year and transition out of
college, and the transition to graduate work.

Transition issues unique to specific populations (e.g., non-traditional, traditional, historically underrepresented students,
transfer students, commuters, part-time students)

Explorations of faculty development, curriculum, and pedagogical innovations connected to any of the transitions
identified above

The Journal of The First-Year Experience and Students in Transition does not publish manuscripts describing program
evaluations or assessments.

The Journal is an empirically based, peer-reviewed resource for educators with a wide range of research backgrounds.
Therefore, all statistical material should be presented as clearly and succinctly as possible. It is important that all
relevant methodological information is included in the Method section; however, the article focus should be on the
findings, the significance of those findings, and their policy implications.

Authors are invited to submit an electronic copy of an original manuscript of 15-20 double-spaced typewritten pages
(approximately 3,700 to 5,000 words), accompanied by an abstract of 100-150 words in accordance with the Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th Edition). References, tables, and figures should be included in
addition to page count noted above. Authors' names and institutions should not appear on the manuscript.

Manuscript submissions are handled online via PeerTrack. If you are a first-time user of this system, you will need to
register at http://www.editorialmanager.com/fyesit/. Once you have created an account, you can upload your
manuscript to the Journal's online review system.

For more information, contact Dr. Paul A. Gore, Jr., Editor, via e-mail at
NRCJOUR@mailbox.sc.edu or paul.gore@utah.edu

http://sc.edu/fye/journal/index.html

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New Directions for Institutional Research
Editor: Paul Umbach

New Directions for Institutional Research (NDIR) is a quarterly sourcebook published by Jossey-Bass under the
sponsorship and policies of the Association for Institutional Research. Each NDIR volume focuses in detail on a
specific topic relating to institutional research, higher education planning, or higher education management in
general. Individuals interested in becoming a volume editor should contact Editor Paul Umbach
paul_umbach@ncsu.edu or Associate Editor Tricia Seifert tricia.seifert@utoronto.edu, or incoming Editor John
Ryan (January 2014) jfryan@uvm.edu.

Brief description of publication process

1. Once you feel you have a topic that will add to the series, prospective editors should contact the Editors.
We will discuss your topic, answer questions, and provide detailed information about how to put together
a volume.
2. Prospective editors then submit a prospectus (see example provided) that is reviewed by the NDIR
editorial staff and an external reviewer, if warranted. A prospectus includes the following:
a) The overall purpose of the volume
b) A description of each of the chapters, including title, paragraph summary, and author(s)
c) A proposed timeline for publication
3. The editorial staff makes a decision regarding the volume and provides editors feedback on prospectus.
4. Editors work closely with chapter authors, reviewing and providing feedback on drafts of chapters, to
ensure a high-quality product.
5. Editors work with editorial staff for timely delivery of an appropriately formatted volume.
6. Upon delivery, the NDIR editorial staff reviews the volume and offers volume editors feedback on
chapters. This may require more than one round of volume revisions.
7. Editors work with chapter authors to make appropriate revisions and deliver a final revised copy of the
volume.
8. Editors then work with the publisher and their chapter authors to respond to copyedited volume.

Helpful hints for volume editors

Before getting started, we encourage you to review several of the volumes and do a comprehensive search
to be certain that your volume does not overlap too much with another in the series.

Keep in mind that the series’ primary audience is institutional researchers.

Volumes are approximately 35,000-40,000 words, which is approximately 140-160 double-spaced pages.
This includes all supporting materials (e.g., TOC, editor’s notes), references, tables, and figures.

Visit the website for more information and a list of recent volumes.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1536-075X
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 Research in Higher Education
Published by Springer
Editor: Robert K. Toutkoushian

Research in Higher Education is directed to those concerned with the functioning of the post-secondary
education, including two-year and four-year colleges, universities, and graduate and professional schools. It is
of primary interest to institutional researchers and planners, faculty, college and university administrators,
student personnel specialists and behavioral scientists. Generally, empirical studies are sought which
contribute to an increased understanding of an institution or allow comparison between institutions, which
aid faculty and administrators in making more informed decisions about current or future operations, and
which improve the efficiency or effectiveness of the institution. Of particular interest are topics such as:
administration and faculty; curriculum and instruction; student characteristics; alumni assessment;
recruitment and admissions; prediction and student academic performance; campus climate; retention,
attrition and transfer. Brief notes of a methodological nature will also be considered for publication.

Manuscripts will be evaluated according to

a) significance in contributing new knowledge

b) technical adequacy
c) appropriateness for Research in Higher Education
d) clarity of presentation.

Visit the website for more information, including submission guidelines.

http://www.springer.com/education+%26+language/higher+education/journal/11162

https://www.editorialmanager.com/rihe

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 AIR Professional Files
Coordinating Editor: Christopher M. Mullin

Articles published in biannual Professional File volumes (Spring and Fall) are journal-length publications
grounded in relevant literature that synthesize current issues, present new processes or models, or share
practical applications related to institutional research. The pieces included in Professional Files differ from
articles published in traditional academic journals in that they address fundamental aspects of institutional
research work and are less focused on theory and theoretical perspectives. A Volunteer Coordinating Editor
provides leadership for Professional Files. Volumes are published electronically in the AIR eLibrary.

Instructions for Authors

Authors are encouraged to submit journal-length publications (approximately 5,000-10,000 words, including
figures, tables, and references) for consideration. All submissions undergo a blind peer-review process led by
the Volunteer Coordinating Editor, Christopher M. Mullin. Authors may find the rubric used in the peer review
process to be a helpful guide. Submissions may be emailed to publications@airweb.org in the form of Word
documents; please include contact information for all authors.

Visit the website to see the rubric used in the peer review process, to download recent issues
from the eLibrary, and view older issues in the archive.

http://www.airweb.org/publications

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