Reviewing Guidelines
All reviewing is done through the publishers online service "manuscript central". Reviewers will be sent a URL that links them directly to the manuscript to be considered. The journal does not require referees to use any particular template for comments. Feedback can be provided in free format. However, converging on a firm recommendation is always welcome. Some standard questions to ask of a manuscript are listed below - this may be a helpful prompt. This is followed by a section outlining the journal's traditions.
Occasionally, referees wish to annotate the Word document using the word processor's comment facility. This is quite acceptable. Although you might wish to turn off any features that label your comments so as to identify you. Advice on this is avaiable here.
Important generic questions for review of empirical papers
- Is the Title honest - and tempting to readers?
- Does the Abstract make clear what was achieved?
- Has the work been located in a context of exisiting literature?
- Is the paper relevant to the topic of learning and learners?
- Is an element of technology central to the claims being made
- Is the text of reasonable length? (Typically 4K-7K words)
- Is the text written in good English?
- is sufficient information given about methods and analyses?
- Do conclusions and discussions follow from what was done?
However, the paper also welcomes review or theoretical papers and criteria for approval of such submissions will include whether the issues addressed are toical, relevant to the field, and approached with high standards of scholarship.
Papers of this kind (and multi-study empirical reports) may exceed the 4-7K word length cited above.
About the journal
Background: The journal has been active for over 20 years and enjoys a solid reputation for publishing empirical and theoretical papers on all matters where information and communication technology is being deployed for teaching and learning. JCAL is aimed at a broad and international audience. The editorial process is managed by a general Editor (currently Charles Crook, Loughborough University) assisted by a Deputy Editor (currently Richard Joiner, Bath University) and a book review editor (currently Andrew Ravenscroft, London Metropolitan University). Much reviewing is conducted by members of an Editorial Board – an international group of distinguished academics and practitioners in this area. The journal is published every 2 months by Wiley-Blackwells Publishing..
Content: In general, JCAL publishes theoretical articles, review papers, and papers reporting relevant empirical research. All of these will often draw upon the literature of psychology, education or computer science to furnish a disciplinary context. However, papers that describe 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 such systems development must be made at the beginning of the paper. Papers are normally between 4000 and 7000 words in length.
Style: JCAL encourages authors to write in a manner that is accessible to a potentially broad audience – one that certainly might include educational practitioners as well as researchers. The journal is also read by individuals from a wide variety of disciplinary backgrounds. However, universal accessibility is not thereby a requirement for publication. It is not intended to deter the submission of papers with a theoretical or methodological orientation that is highly specialised. Reviewers should simply judge whether the author has achieved an acceptable and sensible level of accessibility – given the nature of the material under discussion.
Pointers for review: Recurrent editorial problems are probably familiar to reviewers; they have been: manuscripts with unhelpful titles or abstracts, extravagant deployment of figures and tables, failure to engage with an adequately rich background tradition of theory or research, a limited investment in evaluating the consequences of some intervention. Comments on these as well as all other issues of presentation, argument, method or interpretation would be welcome
Form of review: Email-based commentary is encouraged. Many papers on educational technology rely on rapid publication. Reviewers are encouraged to return comments within 4 weeks, although depth of commentary remains the most useful contribution.
Relevant addresses:
General Editorial: jcal@lboro.ac.uk
Editor’s website: http://www.jcal.info/
Guide to authors: http://jcal.info/jcalguid.htm
Publishers journal website: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/toc/jca//