In general, JCAL publishes papers that relate to grounded empirical research - often drawing on the literature of a range of traditions within social science including Psychology, Sociology and Education?
However, papers which report on innovative technology-based systems are also acceptable provided that the use of the technology is justified on educational grounds. Clear statements for the pedagogical rationale for the systems development must be made at the beginning of the paper.
Research notes (see sub-editor's guidelines)
Email submission: what to send
Material for publication, as an email attachment and this is the preferred method. Such submissions hould be sent to:: jcal@lboro.ac.uk were they will normally be received by the Editor
(You may need to access: JCALKEYWORDS and the COPYRIGHT FORM)
It will help if you send your paper in the following three parts that will comprise at least three attachments
It is safest if all your files have been sent as PC WORD files. They should be sent as .DOC files. Only use .RTF files if you are using a different word processor as .RTF files are considerably larger and may distort Tables.
On-Paper submission procedures
Please sent three copies of the full paper (as described as Part (2)
above under "email submission").
You should also send a single sheet of paper showing the title of your paper
and your full email and postal address. Postal submissions should be made to
"Charles Crook, Department of Human Sciences, Loughborough University,
Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK
Only in exceptional circumstances will colour images be published. Thus, only send figures and photographs that are in greyscale transformation. Aim for the highest quality you can achieve.
One file should be supplied for each figure in electronic format. While figures should be presented at the end of the Word file text, for production puposes they will also be required in their native formats as separate files. Either they should be in the package that was used to generate them (e.g., Excel, Powerpoint) or in a standard graphic format (e.g., TIFF or EPS).
General guidelines on paper presentation
The main text should be preceded by a short abstract of 100-200 words and the whole manuscript should normally be between 3000 and 7000 words double spaced in 12-point font.
Figures: Each figure should have a legend containing sufficient information to make the figure intelligible without reference to the text. Figures should be referred to in the text together with an indication of their approximate position All the legends must be typed together, in double spacing, on separate sheet or sheets.
Tables: These should be typed on separate pages Tables should be referred to in the text together with an indication of their approximate position They should be understandable without reference to the text. Each table should have a short descriptive heading.
Abbreviations and terminology: Spelling should conform to that of standard dictionaries (e.g. the Shorter Oxford Dictionary or Webster's New Collegiative Dictionary). Style should conform to that of standard manuals of English usage. Contributors who are not fluent in English should seek skilled advice on the composition of their manuscripts. Scientific measurements should be given in SI units. Abbreviations should be defined when they are first used.
Language: Many submissions are by authors for whom English is not a
first language. Unfortunately, the Editor has no resources for helping correct
into conventions of clear English. Authors are expected to submit mauscripts
that are readily understood by Reviewers and, then, by readers. If you are uncertain
about the clarity of your writing, it would be wise to take advice from a colleague
speaking English as a first language. Alternatively there are professional agencies
who can help. Here are links to a few:
http://www.ipmenu.com/iptranslation.htm
List of translation services for various languages
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~mattgred/resources.html#Translation
a list of translation sites
http://www.writescienceright.com
Professional translation service
http://www.sfep.org.uk/dir2004/dir_index.html#electronic
Publishers list of proof reading editors
The reference list should be in alphabetical order and should conform to conventions indicated in the following examples:
Schofield, J.W. (1995) Computers and classroom culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kerawalla, L. and Crook, C.K. (2002) Children's computer use at home and at school: context and continuity. British Educational Research Journal. 28, 751-771.
Harding, R. D. (1979) Towards a new computer language. In Computers in the Life Sciences (ed. R. Lewis), 64-129. Croom Helm, London.
Noble, D. (1998) Digital diploma mills part III. The bloom is off the rose. Retrieved 18/09/2003 from http://www.vpaa.uillinois.edu/reports_retreats/tid/resources/noble.html
Wouters, P., & Gerbec, D. (2003). Interactive Internet? Studying mediated interaction with publicly available search engines. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication [On-line], 8(4). Available: http://www.ascusc.org/jcmc/vol8/issue4/wouters.html
Following the refereeing process and any changes that may have been negotiated
with the Editor, authors will be sent 'proofs' as email attachments. These may
be changed according to queries sent as Annotations/Comments by the Editor.Proofs,
which will be in camera-ready form showing final layout, will be sent to the
author's email address and should be returned to the Publisherr within three
days of receipt.
Authors will be provided with electronic PDF offprints of their paper. These will be sent to the corresponding author at the email address on the title page of the paper, unless advised otherwise.
The purpose of this section is two-fold. Firstly, it allows readers to comment on material published in the journal. In this instance, letters submitted will be reviewed by the Editor for appropriateness and if found acceptable, will be forwarded to the author(s) for comment. Both the letter and the comment of the author(s) will be published in the same issue if possible. Secondly, the 'Letters to the Editor' sections will provide a forum for comments from colleagues throughout the world on general issues affecting the well-being of our discipline.
It is the responsibility of authors to ensure that permission is obtained for
reproduction of any copyright material and that this permission is acknowledged
in their papers. Copies of all letters obtaining permission for the reproduction
of copyright material should be sent to the Editor. Papers accepted become the
copyright of the journal.
A copyright clearance form must be signed
and posted to the Editor as soon as a paper is accepted for publication. No
pulbication is possible without this form. The publishers copyright policy is
as follows
Copyright and Photocopying © 2004 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission in writing from the copyright holder. Authorization to photocopy items for internal and personal use is granted by the copyright holder for libraries and other users registered with their local Reproduction Rights Organisation (RRO), e.g. Copyright Clearance Center (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA (www.copyright.com), provided the appropriate fee is paid directly to the RRO. This consent does not extend to other kinds of copying such as copying for general distribution, for advertising or promotional purposes, for creating new collective works or for resale. Special requests should be addressed to Blackwell Publishing at: journalsrights@oxon.blackwellpublishing.com.
Please ensure that you have read the following checklist before submitting your manuscript to the Editor.
Common problems with submitted papers
The following are often obstacles to speedy review, acceptance or final publication. As JCAL is concerned to provide authors with as fast a turnaround as possible, potential authors may find them helpful as a prompt before final submission.