Publishing in the Journal of College Counseling, Part 1: Disseminating College Counseling Knowledge Through Research Studies

This article provides information and several recommendations that the authors (the journal's editors) believe will be helpful to researchers and practitioners who wish to contribute to the college counseling knowledge base by submitting research manuscripts to the Journal of College Counseling (JCC). The authors hope that the comments made in this article will encourage more of JCC's readers to also become its writers. ********** The Journal of College Counseling (JCC), sponsored by the American College Counseling Association, publishes articles that inform the practice of counselors working in higher education settings. Published articles fall into one of three categories: Research, Professional Issues, and Innovative Practice. Research studies report on quantitative or qualitative research that has implications for professional practice on university, college, and community college campuses. Research articles strongly emphasize findings that have practice considerations in the college counseling context, and they discuss implications for future research. Professional Issues articles present in-depth analyses of contemporary issues faced by counselors in higher education settings. These articles link current issues with the extant literature and discuss the implications of such issues for college counseling practice and future research. Finally, Innovative Practice articles provide brief descriptions of innovative counseling methods, techniques, approaches, or programs; explain the rationale for adopting the innovative practice; and give recommendations for implementing the new method. Generally, Innovative Practice articles are brief reports, whereas Professional Issues articles and Research studies are full-length. The purpose of this series of articles is to provide information and several recommendations that we, as editors, believe will be helpful to researchers and practitioners who wish to contribute to the college counseling knowledge base by submitting manuscripts to JCC. In this article, we first offer some general information about the manuscript submission and review process. Next, we discuss some important methodological and conceptual issues concerning Research articles. In a subsequent article to be included in the next issue of JCC, we will discuss ways of communicating more clearly and successfully when writing Professional Issues and Innovative Practices articles. Manuscript Submission and Review Process The JCC submission and review process should be as free as possible of mystique or undue anxiety--on the part of writers, reviewers, and editors. Everyone involved understands there can be high stakes when submitting his or her work for peer review. Our view is that writing and submitting a journal manuscript should be a uniquely rewarding professional endeavor that is personally and professionally gratifying. Scholarship helps establish the writer "as a contributor to the field and as a person who possesses a degree of expertise on a topic" (Steenbarger & Manchester, 1996, p. 194), generates recognition, and contributes to career enhancement. As much as possible, the JCC submission and review process is conducted in an atmosphere of collegiality and with a goal of supporting practitioners' and researchers' professional development as contributors to the field. Once a manuscript is received by the JCC editor, it is sent to three editorial board members for blind peer review. Reviewers focus on the content and structure of the manuscript. Specific, concrete suggestions, often with examples, are typically offered for revising and improving the manuscript. Reviewers usually make an extra effort to explain their critiques and show writers how to improve their submissions. Our goal is that the review process will result in a positive learning experience for both author and reviewer. Reviewer comments, along with a decision letter from the editor, are generally sent within 3 months of original receipt of the manuscript. …