Part One:The Review Process at JRME

Or, How a Manuscript Becomes

A Paper

From 2006 NCTM Pre-Session, “Getting Published: Conversations with JRME Panel

Members”

The Editorial Staff at BYU

• Steve Williams, Editor

• Jackie Voyles, Assistant Editor

• Dan Siebert, Associate Editor

• Keith Leatham, Associate Editor

• Rebecca Woods, Secretary

Manuscript Submission

• Go to http://jrme.byu.edu• Click on "Register as new user"  • Receive a password by email • Log on and enter your contact and other relevant information.  • Your account is verified • Submit a manuscript by following the appropriate links from

the main page.  • Submit one blinded and one unblinded copy. 

– MS Word or PDF– Comply with APA Publication Manual, Fifth Edition.  – Should not exceed 40 pages in length, not counting cover

page, abstract, references, tables, or figures. 

Manuscript Processing

• Assigned a number (e.g. 062xx)• Checked for appropriateness

– Can be returned as inappropriate (e.g. a mathematical proof, lesson plans)

– Can be returned without review (e.g. an entire dissertation, something so long that it clearly will not review well)

• Checked for proper attention to blinding– Authors may be asked to revisit this issue

• Read for content

A Note About Blinding

• Basic idea: You should make anonymous any citations (and corresponding references) that would be likely to divulge the identity of the authors of the paper.

• Two approaches:– Refer to “Author,” “Author A, Author B & others”,

etc.– Refer to your other work in the 3rd person: “We

build on the work of Williams and Baxter, 1996, to create . . .”

• Can be challenging in some cases.

Assigning Reviewers

• Editorial staff meets weekly to assign potential reviewers – One JRME Editorial Panel member

– Three or four other reviewers, chosen according to:• Methodological expertise

• Mathematical expertise

• Theoretical expertise

• Grade level interests

• Other possible considerations

Inviting Reviewers

• Manuscript’s abstract sent to potential reviewers– The abstracts are all potential reviewers see before

deciding whether to review a manuscript. Therefore,

– The abstract should accurately describe the key aspects of the study. Help the potential reviewer make the right decision!

• Reviewers are assigned and the manuscript sent for review

• Wait a few weeks. . . .

Consideration of Reviews

• Reviewers make one of four possible recommendations:– Accept as is– Accept pending revisions but without further

review– Reject, but encourage the author to revise and

resubmit the manuscript for further review– Reject

Editorial Decision

• The editor reads the manuscript and the reviews and makes one of four decisions:– Accept as is – Accept pending revisions but without further review– Reject, but encourage the author to revise and

resubmit the manuscript for further review – Reject

• Decision letter and blinded reviews made available to author by email and links to database.

About the Decision:

• The editor’s decision is not just an average of the reviewers’ recommendations.

• When the decision is Revise and Resubmit:– One year time limit

– Sent to 1 or 2 original reviewers, if available, and 1 or 2 new reviewers.

– A better chance of being accepted (about 60% of accepted manuscripts are resubmissions; acceptance rate for resubmissions is about 4 times overall acceptance rate)

More About the Decision:

• When the decision is Accept with Revision:– Contingent upon acceptably addressing issues

outlined in reviews and decision letter– A four month time frame for revisions

(negotiable)– Final acceptance letter to frame, show to the

Dean, send to parents, sell on ebay, etc.– Copyright forms

Notification of Reviewers

• Blinded decision letter and blinded reviews made available to each reviewer by email and links to database.

• Part of the educative role that JRME plays in our scholarly community.

• Enriches the intellectual life of the reviewers.

Moving Toward Publication:

• Editing:– APA format

– Style

– Copy editing

– Sent to NCTM for more copy editing

– Enters the publication queue

– Layouts (galleys)

– Page proofs

• Publication

Celebration!

Some Items of Interest

• JRME receives about 150 – 170 manuscripts per year, of which we can publish about 15-20.

• Acceptance rates: – 2002: 12%,

– 2003: 13%,

– 2004: 7%.

– The acceptance rate for the 11-year period 1994 through 2004 was 13%.

Part Two: Kinds of Manuscripts Appropriate

for JRME

We encourage the submission of a variety of manuscripts:

• Reports of research, including experiments, case studies, surveys, philosophical studies, and historical studies;

• Articles about research, including literature reviews and theoretical analyses;

• Brief reports of research; • Critiques of articles and books; and • Brief commentaries on issues pertaining to

research.

Reports of Research Studies

• Research reports should be tersely and clearly written. The importance and relevance of the research topic to mathematics education should be presented in the rationale or the discussion. Any analysis should be suited to the data and the research questions. Reports of many types of research are encouraged, including experiments, case studies, surveys, philosophical investigations, and historical studies.

• Articles about research. The journal welcomes literature reviews and syntheses of research in an area, as well as theoretical analyses of research.

Brief Reports

• Appropriate when a fuller report is available elsewhere or when a more comprehensive follow-up study is planned. A brief report of:– a first study might stress the rationale, hypotheses, and plans for

further work; – a replication or extension of a previously reported study might

contrast the results of the two studies, referring to the earlier study for methodological details;

– a monograph or other lengthy nonjournal publication might summarize the key findings and implications or might highlight an unusual observation or methodological approach.

• Under some circumstances brief reports may be recommended after a longer manuscript has been reviewed.

• A brief report should not exceed six manuscript pages. Brief reports have a shorter publication lag than articles.

Critiques of Articles

• Constructive critiques are invited that respond to articles that have appeared in JRME or other research journals. Critiques should stimulate discussions and present ideas. They should initiate a potential dialogue in print through thoughtful criticism and a presentation of alternatives.

• A critique should not exceed six manuscript pages. When a critique is accepted for publication, the editor will send a copy to the author of the original article along with an invitation to respond within a specified period of time. Whenever possible, the critique and the response will be published in the same issue.

Research Commentary

• Analyses, critiques, or proposals pertaining to the character of research in the field of mathematics education.

• Should provide a clear, logical presentation of a position developed from an explicit rationale. An argument should be substantiated by data or illustrations when they are appropriate. Topics for this section may include, but are not restricted to, the following:

– Commentaries on research methods – Discussions of connections between research, policy, and practice – Analyses of trends in policies for funding research – Examinations of evaluation studies – Critical essays on research publications – Exchanges among scholars holding contrasting views about research-related

issues • Research commentary articles will be peer reviewed and should be 8-12

manuscript pages in length and are generally not to exceed 20 manuscript pages.