From Manuscript to Article: Publishing Educational Technology Research

The publishing process is often challenging for new educational technology scholars. This article provides insights into the publication process to help them understand and to increase the chances that their work will be accepted for publication in high-quality peer-reviewed journals. Suggestions for developing a program of research, a description of the peer-review process, a table of potential publication outlets, and examples of correspondence with editors are included to help demystify the process. ********** The following is a reprint from Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, [Online serial] 4(2), 89-136. Available: http://www.citejournal.org/vol4/iss2/editorial/article1.cfm Note from the JTATE Editor: Due to the important content of the information incuded in this article, "From Manuscript to Article: Publishing Educational Technology Research," we are reprinting all of it, including appendices with the exception of a 16 page Table that lists, "Journals that Publish Articles on Educational Technology." This Table can be located at the following url: http://www.citejournal.org/articles/v4i2editorial1htm.htm Debra Sprague, George Mason University Note from the CITE Co-Editors: One of the most popular sessions at the annual conference of the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education is the editorial panel. The editors of the SITE journals and their counterparts at other educational technology periodicals review the background, intended audience, and submission protocols for their respective journals. These sessions are popular because they ensure that the publication efforts of participants are appropriately directed. The following article by Niederhauser, Wetzel, and Lindstrom provides an extension of these editorial panels by including in-depth information about publishing that would apply to any peer-reviewed academic journal. This information should be invaluable as a follow-up for participants who attend these sessions at SITE, as well as to graduate students and others who may not yet have extensive publishing experience. We envision this initial article as a base document that can be supplemented by other editors, changing over time to reflect the changing nature of the field. Glenn Bull and Lynn Bell, University of Virginia Publishing one's research in blind peer-reviewed (or peer-refereed) academic journals is often an intimidating task for new educational technology scholars. Many emerging scholars have had limited opportunities to write for a professional audience during their graduate careers, and the experiences they have had may not transfer to the new setting. Proposals submitted for conference presentations are typically brief, receive little feedback for revision, and are not held to journal publication standards. Actual papers presented at conferences are typically published in proceedings or as an ERIC document without additional review or editing. Further, the traditional five-chapter thesis or dissertation tends to be unsuitable for publication those who do try to publish it as a journal article often find themselves rewriting the entire manuscript. Thus, few educational scholars fully understand the blind peer-reviewed publication process when they enter the profession. Becoming a proficient academic scholar, however, is a developmental process. Participating in the knowledge sharing process in an educational community can be an academics most important and rewarding work. Publication is the mechanism that advances the field and is an immediate concern for assistant professors in the "publish or perish" world of the academy. There are many options available for publishing one's work, including reviewed and nonreviewed research, theoretical, or practice-based outlets, as well as book chapters and monographs. However, publishing in blind peer-reviewed journal articles tends to be viewed as most desirable for those judging work for promotion decisions. …