Guidelines for Authors

The Journal of College Science Teaching is an award-winning, peer-reviewed journal that publishes reports of investigations and innovations in the natural sciences at the college level. The journal, founded in 1971, has a long-standing commitment to improving college science education through clear and concise communication, broad applicability, and a positive community spirit. As our readership includes engaged professionals from every discipline and in all aspects of college-level instruction and support, the journal encourages reports of work that are inter- or multidisciplinary or are of a sufficiently broad nature to be readily applicable to other disciplines within the natural sciences.

The journal publishes print issues on a bimonthly basis. Each issue includes several regular columns as well as general submissions (see Column Submissions). Manuscripts should be submitted in English. Authors unfamiliar with the journal are strongly encouraged to examine recent issues before they submit their work. Every writer’s work can benefit greatly from a review by a colleague unfamiliar with the work reported. Often, colleagues in other disciplines within the natural sciences or in English or Communications departments can provide highly useful direction.

Regular article submissions are limited to 3000 words for the body of the text, and tables and figures should be limited to those that support the reader’s understanding. Manuscripts submitted must not be under consideration elsewhere. Work reported in the manuscript must not be published elsewhere in whole or in substantial part. Any arrangements to transfer such copyrights must be made prior to formal submission of a manuscript to the Journal of College Science Teaching. All coauthors listed on a paper must have made significant and original contributions to the work in total.

All manuscripts submitted for consideration must be prepared for fully blinded peer review. This includes removal of all indications of the authors’ identities and removal of direct indication of the institution, if at all possible. Acknowledgments and references to grant numbers should also be removed if these offer information about author or institution identity. References to authorship or institution in supplements such as software programs, datasets and graphic files should also be removed. Information removed for purposes of blinding may be reinserted in the article during final copyediting prior to publication.

Abstracts for regular articles in the Journal of College Science Teaching are intended to guide readers, rather than provide comprehensive information about the study and its results. Abstracts should be limited to 50 words.

Column Submissions

The Research and Teaching column regularly published in the Journal of College Science Teaching varies slightly in format from regular features. Research and Teaching articles report the results of more extensive and disciplined studies in college-level science instruction. Manuscripts of up to 4000 words may be submitted and abstracts of 200 words are permitted. All manuscripts intended for consideration by the Research and Teaching editor should be prepared for fully double-blinded peer review as outlined above. Manuscripts should be submitted to the electronic system with an indication in the comments field that consideration by Research and Teaching is intended by the authors.

In addition to Research and Teaching, authors may submit manuscripts for consideration to our Favorite Demonstrations or Case Studies columns. Please see our Call for Papers for further information. Brief editorial pieces may be submitted for consideration by the Field Editor for our Point of View column. Column submissions may be made through our online system with an indication of the intended target in the appropriate field.

Copyright

NSTA will hold the copyright to all accepted manuscripts. Authors will transfer copyright upon submission, and that copyright will be returned to the author should the manuscript not be accepted for publication in the Journal of College Science Teaching. In accord with NSTA’s mission to improve science education, reprinting and dissemination of your manuscript, with an appropriate reference, is usually granted on request.

If the author is not the copyright owner of all images submitted, it is the responsibility of the author to obtain permission from the copyright owner. Be sure to include the name and affiliation of the copyright owner of all images in the corresponding figure caption.

Charges

The Journal of College Science Teaching is a publication of the NSTA, and members defray the costs of print publication. In order to facilitate support of NSTA’s mission, as of September 1, 2008, we will require that the corresponding author be or become an NSTA member upon acceptance of the manuscript for publication. Costs are modest: $75 for annual membership dues, and include a subscription to the print edition of the journal. Should an author choose not to join NSTA, a page charge of $75 will be assessed upon acceptance of the manuscript. Special circumstances may warrant waiving this fee. Contact the Field Editor should this be a concern.

Photographs

Photographs of actual activities and settings are encouraged. All photographs should illustrate the use of all appropriate safety equipment and procedures. If a photograph of an individual is published in the journal, a signed model release will be required of every identifiable individual depicted.

If the author is not the owner of the copyright of a submitted image, it is the author’s responsibility to obtain permission for use. Include the name and affiliation of the copyright owner in the image’s caption.

Submission Process

All manuscripts should be submitted electronically through the website. Cover pages are inappropriate for electronic submissions. Please begin the first line of your manuscript with the title. Please be sure that tracked changes have been accepted in the final, submitted manuscript to enhance the readability of the manuscript for review.

Manuscripts will be assessed and either forwarded for fully-blinded peer-review by members of the journal’s Review Board, or, should the manuscript be deemed inappropriate for consideration in the journal, the corresponding author will be contacted via e-mail by the Field Editor. First decision is typically reached within eight weeks of the date of submission. Authors should note, however, that our Review Panel is comprised of dedicated volunteers. There are times when the directed attention required to provide thoughtful review useful to authors requires additional time. However, if you have been waiting for more than ten weeks for first decision, contact the Field Editor directly.

Should revisions be requested prior to further review, please make every attempt to return a revised manuscript within six months. A revised manuscript returned for consideration after six months from the date of request may be treated as new manuscript at the discretion of the Field Editor.

Accepted manuscripts are usually published within eighteen months of the date of acceptance. When a manuscript has been chosen for inclusion in a specific print issue of the Journal of College Science Teaching, contact with the author is made to remove the blinding and to make final editing changes. Accepted manuscripts not yet published may referred to as “in press.”

Questions about manuscript preparation and submission may be most efficiently answered through our Guidelines for Authors or through our Call for Papers, available on our website. Other questions may be addressed directly to the Field Editor or Managing Editor through e-mail.