Guidelines for Authors

Winter 2009 Issue Submission Deadline: August 15, 2009

JOLT welcomes papers on all aspects of the use of online multimedia educational resources for learning and teaching. Topics may include, but are not limited to: learning theory and the use of multimedia to improve student learning; instructional design theory and application; online learning and teaching initiatives; use of technology in online education; innovative online learning and teaching practices.

JOLT is published quarterly in March, June, September, and December. Submission deadlines for these issues are November 15th, February 15th, May 15th, and August 15th, respectively. The JOLT Editorial Board seeks to publish all works in a timely manner. While deadlines are set for each issue, space considerations and editorial decisions may delay the publication of a manuscript.

TYPES OF MANUSCRIPTS

Research Papers: Full-length papers concerned with the scholarly use of multimedia educational resources in learning and teaching. These papers would discuss the research literature on the scholarly use of multimedia resources in teaching and learning placing the resource used in context. The paper will show application(s) of the online learning resource(s) in actual teaching situations, and include some measure (both quantitative and qualitative research is encouraged) of the learning impact of the resource(s) on students.

Theoretical/Conceptual Papers: These papers present non-empirical work related to the scholarly use of multimedia resources in teaching and learning in order to determine major issues of importance for future research, to understand these issues in relation to theory and application, to find the frontier of research on a problem, to relate a problem to existing theory, or to put a conceptualized problem in the context of previous research.

Position Papers: Position papers can describe a problem or an issue with a suggested solution or direction. These papers should support the position with both a logical argument and a review of the theory and/or the research literature.

Case Studies: Case studies highlight a particular instructional challenge and setting in which multimedia resources were used to address that challenge. They present what theory and/or the research literature reports on the problem or issue, what was done to try to solve or explore it, the results of the project and implications and suggestions for others interested in addressing similar challenges or in future research.

Instructional Design Notes: Brief papers that describe a new online learning object and may include a MERLOT peer review or suggestions for use in teaching and learning.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS:

To be considered for the Wnter 2009 issue, manuscripts must be submitted by August 15, 2009.

1. All manuscripts must be submitted to the JOLT Editors (jolteditor@merlot.org ) in electronic format.
2. Manuscripts must be submitted in letter format (8 ½ x 11-inch) using Microsoft Word and should not exceed 6,000 words (approximately 15 pages). Documents must be submitted in the Word *.doc format, not *.docx.
3. Manuscripts must be written in English, double-spaced, including quotations and references, and employ a 12-point Arial (sans serif) font.
4. Authors should indicate in their cover letter the type of paper (Research Paper, Case Study, Position Paper, etc.) at the time the manuscript is submitted.
5. Headers, footers, footnotes and end-notes should NOT be employed.
6. Use of personal pronouns ("I", "we", "our", etc.) is strongly discouraged. Use third-person (e.g., "the author") whenever possible.
7. All manuscripts must include a brief but informative abstract. It should not exceed 200 words and should describe the scope of the work and the main findings. References to the literature should not be included.
8. A set of 5-10 keywords should follow the abstract to assist in indexing the article. These should not duplicate words appearing in the title and should be listed in order of importance.
9. A separate cover page should be included with all submissions that includes the full name and affiliation of each author and the postal address, telephone number, and e-mail address of the author designated as the contact person.
10. Authors' names or other identifying information should not appear on any of the manuscript pages themselves.
11. Where appropriate, the following suggested format is recommended:
       Title with authors, affiliations, and e-mail addresses
       Abstract followed by 5-10 keywords
       Main text (Introduction, Literature Survey, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions)
       Acknowledgments
       References
       Appendices
12. Articles may include graphics and hyperlinks to online multimedia objects or other online materials, where the latter are indicated and linked using the hyperlink tool provided in MS Word. Authors should ensure that all links are active at the time of submission.
13. All tables must be generated using the Table function in Word.
14. The following spellings should be used in all manuscripts submitted: online, website, homepage, Internet, Web, URL, e-mail, e-journal, HTML, PDF, download, screenshot, freeware, and CD-ROM.
15. Elements of style, including headings, tables, figures and references should be prepared according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association 5th Edition, 2001. An excellent online guide of APA style elements can be found at: http://www.vanguard.edu/faculty/ddegelman/index.aspx?doc_id=796.
16. Articles are accepted for consideration with the understanding that they are original material, have not been published elsewhere, and are not currently being considered for publication elsewhere.
17. Once the Editors determine that the manuscript’s format and content are appropriate for the journal, the manuscript is then sent through a double-blind peer review by two reviewers selected by the Editors-in-Chief. Names of reviewers will not be released to authors, nor will reviewers know the identities of authors whose work they review. The reviews occur in a timely manner by members of the JOLT peer review panel, using specific review criteria developed by the JOLT Editorial Board.  Authors will be notified of the recommendations of the review panel and will be provided copies of the reviewers' comments. Review panel recommendations include acceptance of the manuscript as submitted, acceptance of the manuscript with prescribed changes, or rejection of the manuscript.
18. Once an article has been accepted for publication in the Journal, the authors will be expected to submit a final draft of the article, including any recommended changes, in a timely manner.
19. Authors should note that all articles published in JOLT will be copyrighted using a Creative Commons "Attribution-Non Commercial-Share Alike" license. This license allows the authors to retain the copyright, but also allows others to copy, distribute, and display the copyrighted work, and derivative works based upon it, under certain specified conditions. Details regarding this license and its conditions can be found at the Creative Commons web site: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/.