Journal of Physics Teacher Education Online


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Submission Guidelines

As of July 13, 2010, JPTEO supsended normal publication. JPTEO will continue as an irregular publication serving the Physics Teacher Education group at Illinois State University as well as those who are directly affiliated with its work. Effective this date, this publication will no longer be peer reviewed and will include only articles authored by or in cooperating with members of the ISU Physics Teacher Education group.

At this time, the submission guidelines for Journal of Physics Teacher Education Online will be similar to those employed by AAPT's The Physics Teacher.

Length of Manuscripts

Articles should not exceed 4000 words or, preferably, 3000 words with pictures and diagrams. It is advisable to submit a draft or outline of a proposed article before undertaking its writing.

Style and Level

Papers should be appropriate to the indicated audience - high school physics teacher and university-level physics teacher educators. Authors should not assume that readers possesses a detailed background in the preparation of physics teacher candidates. When educational terms are used, they should be defined when first used.

Suitability of Articles

Articles should contribute something meaningful or new to the high school physics teacher preparation knowledge base. Articles that merely rephrase what is already commonly understood are not acceptable.

Readability of Articles

Articles should use standard English and be easily readable to English-language readers. Non-native English speakers should have their manuscripts reviewed locally for grammar before submitting. JPTEO does not have the editorial staff to make substantial revisions of manuscripts for the purpose of readability.

Preparation of Manuscripts

Only electronic submission of manuscripts will be considered for publication. Items must be submitted as MSWord files (.doc or .docx), or using either rich text format (.rtf), or text format (.txt). A cover e-mail letter should contain: a brief, relevant title, name of the author(s) and institution(s), a short (100-150 words) abstract. Manuscripts should be formatted to fit 8.5-inch x 11 inch paper; please do not use A4 formatting. Please do not use breaks between paragraphs; paragraphs should be separated by indents not blank lines.

Illustrations

If images are to be included in a article, authors should submit digital artwork or images. Digital images must be submitted at a 300 dpi resolution or better. Refer to each illustration in the course of the text. Prepare captions for all artwork and type them sequentially on a separate page at the end of the manuscript. If illustrations are taken from another publication, authors should obtain permission to use them before sending them to Journal of Physics Teacher Education Online.

Digital images should not be embedded in the article file, but saved separately as GIFs, TIFFs or JPEGs. Graphs and drawings should be submitted in a GPS, TIFF or EPS format at 300 dpi. Because the quality of computer-generated graphs, error bars, pictures, and diagrams sometimes renders them unreadable when reduced to column size, authors are encouraged to look critically at such artwork before submission.

Tables should be prepared on separate sheets and placed at the end of the text. Number tables sequentially with Roman numerals, and refer to them in the text at the appropriate places. Each table must be intelligible by itself, with a title, clear column headings, and units where needed.

References

Identify each reference sequentially in the text using the latest version of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA) format (e.g., Strauss, 1996). Do not use footnotes, only end notes; do not use numbers or icons to make references.

Use sources that are widely available, generally avoiding scholarly journals and articles in languages other than English. Use this form to reference a book:

Serway, R.A. (1996). Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 4th ed. New York: Saunders, New York.

and to reference an article:

Campbell, S.J. (2000). Newton's second law for systems with variable mass. The Physics Teacher, 38(3), 345-354.

Submission of Manuscripts

Manuscripts should be sent as e-mail attachments addressed to the Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Physics Teacher Education Online, wenning@phy.ilstu.edu. The e-mail cover letter should include both work and home telephone numbers, fax number, and the complete mailing address, including country, of the principal author. Authors of accepted articles and notes will receive page proofs before publication. Alterations in the proof should be limited to corrections.

Submission Deadlines for Non-Peer-Reviewed News Items

Journal of Physics Teacher Education Online will be published electronically during February, May, August, and November. Deadlines for submission of short news items not requiring the usual peer review process will fall two months before each publication month (e.g., December, March, June, and September) and will be included as time and space permits.

Page last updated September 22, 2009

Journal of Physics Teacher Education Online is independently
governed by its editorial staff who are solely responsible for its content.
JPTEO is published by the Illinois State University Department of Physics in cooperation with
ISU's Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology (CeMaST).
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