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Policies

Contents

Reviewers

The Journal welcomes the work of dedicated persons interested in the scholarship of teaching and learning.

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Christians in Higher Education welcomes educators in higher education who are interested in becoming reviewers for The Journal to examine the Scholarship's Mission and History to gain a better understanding of our purpose, goals, and procedures. Reviewers help us achieve these goals and purposes by reading and reviewing articles in various areas of expertise when needed.

To apply to become a reviewer, please print out the Reviewer Application Form. Then, fill it out and submit it along with your curriculum vita via e-mail to the General Editor @ sotl_ched@oru.edu

Contact Dr. Lim if you have any questions about becoming a reviewer or about the application process.

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Review Process

Potential authors submit manuscripts to The Journal editor following the submission guidelines. Once a manuscript is submitted, authors are kept apprised as their manuscripts pass the various stages of the peer review procedure. If an author so desires, he or she may withdraw the paper at any time during the review process and submit it to a different journal.

The review process begins when the editor reviews each manuscript to determine the following qualities:

  • appropriate content for inclusion in The Journal, and
  • sufficient quality in both content and writing style for inclusion in The Journal .

After the editor has approved the manuscript as having both these qualities, it is then sent to the appropriate associate editor. If the editor does not deem the manuscript as publishable in The Journal, the author is promptly notified. Previously published manuscripts, whether published through print or electronic media, are not considered for publication in The Journal.

The associate editor then oversees the double-blind peer review process. All information on the manuscript that identifies the author(s) is removed before the manuscript is sent to the reviewers. Each manuscript has a minimum of two reviewers. If the reviewers do not reach a consensus, the manuscript may be sent to an additional reviewer. The editorial board reserves the right to make the final decision regarding the publication of a manuscript.

Reviewers consider the following criteria in critiquing manuscripts:

  • Originality/creativity (including either original research, creative classroom ideas, or creative pedagogy).
  • Clear organization according to the submission and formatting guidelines, using appropriate headings and conclusions and logical thought processes.
  • Quality of writing (scholarly and accurate, with all terms or jargon defined and used appropriately and all scientific or math equations and formulas correct).
  • Adequate literature review (use of theoretical and/or historical references indicating a familiarity with with current issues through the inclusion of noted, current authors on the subject).
  • Research design and methodology (appropriate design for research, e.g., adequate sample, reliable and valid instruments; supporting tables, graphs, and other applicable documentation; and IRB approval if applicable).
  • Logical results (adequately reflected and supported by data).
  • Relevance to The Journal readers (incorporation/application of Christian principles, appeals to a wide audience, addresses scholarship of teaching and learning).

Based on the reviewer recommendations, the editor makes one of four decisions:

  • Publish without major revision.
  • Publish with acceptable revision.
  • Withhold a publishing decision until significant revisions are made, following a re-review process.
  • Do not accept.

For more information, see these examples of good reviews:

Almost all manuscripts have to be rewritten to some extent. This is not an indication that the manuscript is weak. Rather, because it is the intention of the editorial board to make each issue of The Journal carry the strongest possible message of Christian scholarship, rewriting is seen as a means of strengthening all submissions. If revisions are requested, the revised manuscript is reviewed by the editor and sent to the original reviewers for reconsideration. In some cases revised manuscripts may also be sent to new reviewers. A decision to publish is acknowledged by the editor via email. Upon receiving a notification that the manuscript will be published, the author(s) is to submit an electronic copy of the final manuscript in Microsoft Word format to the editor.

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Submission Guidelines

All submissions must conform to the most recent edition of APA guidelines. Exceptions are cited under the format guidelines. Upon acceptance, authors must submit bios within 48 hours.

Reviews

Reviews should be 1500 words maximum and are not double-blind peer reviewed. They are critical analyses of books, videos, software, Internet sites, or media that may be utilized by Christians in higher education to supplement and enhance teaching and learning. Reviews should include each of the following components:

  • Introduction: how to purchase or access the item in question, availability, to whom it appeals, cost, pricing structure, etc.
  • Implementation: ideas, procedures to implement the item in question for a higher educational setting.
  • Discussion: strengths, weaknesses, and overall effectiveness of item in question in such a setting.
  • Recommendations

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Empirical Articles

There are no length parameters to empirical articles, which are expected to be double-blind peer reviewed. Empirical articles are based on original research such as case studies or classroom research. The research may be descriptive, qualitative or quantitative, and contribute to knowledge, theory, and practice. Content must be accurate, scholarly, and reflect a Christian worldview. Empirical articles should include each of the following components:

  • Abstract: Limited to 250 words
  • Introduction: Present the specific problem, define variables, and include the theoretical background and literature review, if not contained in a separate section.
  • Theoretical Background/Literature Review (if not included in the introduction).
  • Materials and Methodology: Discuss research questions/essential questions, subjects, instruments (reliability and validity), procedures, and IRB approval.
  • Results
  • Discussion/Conclusion
  • References

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Theoretical Articles

There are no length parameters to theoretical articles. Like empirical articles, these should be double-blind peer reviewed. Theoretical articles should examine, build on, and contribute to current scholarship of teaching and learning trends and theories. The purpose of theoretical articles is to promote and disseminate new ideas--the discovery and discussion of theories and concepts in the scholarship of teaching and learning. Theoretical articles should include each of the following components:

  • Abstract: Limited to 250 words
  • Introduction: Present the specific problem and include the theoretical background and literature review, if not contained in a separate section.
  • Literature Review: (if not included in the introduction)
  • Application
  • Discussion/Conclusion
  • References

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Editorials

Editorials are not double-blind peer reviewed, but are are invited articles expressing opinions on current issues regarding the scholarship of teaching and learning. Ideas for editorials may be submitted to the editor for consideration.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor should not exceed 1500 words and are not double-blind peer reviewed. Letters to the Editor are comments on or responses to previous articles, reviews, or editorials. They are subject to editorial review and the author’s reply. Responses from the original author will be sought and are also subject to editorial review. JoSTL reserves the right to publish or not publish letters to the editor.

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Range of Content

Authors should be Christian faculty from any type of higher education institution. Co-authors may be Christian faculty, graduate students, or graduate assistants. The following guidelines should govern submissions:

  • Acceptable research includes classroom action research, descriptive, qualitative or quantitative research, and case studies.
  • Types not acceptable include unrevised lectures or other oral presentations.
  • Original research should contribute to knowledge, theory, and practice in the field of scholarship of teaching and learning.
  • Content must be accurate and scholarly.
  • Articles may include a specific Christian component. Biblical references are encouraged.
  • Submissions should avoid excessive technical jargon and acronyms. Those used should be clearly defined.
  • Submissions should not have appeared or be under consideration for publication in other journals.

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    Formatting Requirements

    Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Christians in Higher Education has no general rules about the formatting of articles upon initial submission. There are, however, rules governing the formatting of the final submission. See Final Manuscript Preparation Guidelines for details. Although bepress can provide limited technical support, it is ultimately the responsibility of the author to produce an electronic version of the article as a high-quality PDF (Adobe's Portable Document Format) file, or a Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or RTF file that can be converted to a PDF file.

    It is understood that the current state of technology of Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) is such that there are no, and can be no, guarantees that documents in PDF will work perfectly with all possible hardware and software configurations that readers may have.

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    Rights for Authors and Digital Showcase

    The following describes the copyright status for the content found in The Journal and on The Journal's website.

    Website

    The design and content of this website, together with all content of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Christians in Higher Education, are Copyright © 2009 by Oral Roberts University. All rights reserved. Published by Oral Roberts University. Unauthorized reproduction of this content is prohibited by federal law. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this content may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior, written consent of Oral Roberts University.

    Journal Contents and Research

    Pursuant to a copyright assignment received from the author, the Scholarship owns all rights to the accepted manuscript, including but not limited to exclusive rights to publish and/or electronically distribute an accepted manuscript. In addition, the Scholarship has the right to indefinitely archive and make permanently retrievable any published manuscript. As copyright owner, the Scholarship will exercise its exclusive publication rights in all published contributions for one year after the date of publication in The Journal.

    After that time, authors will enjoy a nonexclusive license from the Scholarship (1) to republish their contribution in revised or unrevised form in a scholarly book consisting entirely of their original work, and (2) to republish the contribution in revised or unrevised form in a scholarly collection or anthology of essays. If authors desire a nonexclusive license for any other use of the contribution, no earlier than one year after the date of publication of the contribution in The Journal, such a license must be agreed to beforehand by the editors of The Journal.

    Reuse or Republication

    Any reuse or republication of a contribution originally appearing in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Christians in Higher Education must credit, by volume and issue numbers, as the source of first publication, and acknowledge Oral Roberts University’s copyright in the contribution. Commercial use of contributions originally published in The Journal is expressly prohibited without the written consent of the author and of the editors of The Journal, and appropriate credit to The Journal as the source of first publication. Users may download or print one copy of an article from The Journal for private, educational or personal scientific purposes in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. Requests for multiple copies can be made to the Editor of The Journal. Authors warrant to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for Christians in Higher Education that they own the copyright in their contributions. All co-authors of or contributors to a given contribution must assign all copyrights in that contribution to The Journal as a condition of publication in The Journal.

    Fair Use Guidelines

    Except for materials that are in the public domain, or use of copyrighted materials that clearly falls within fair use as defined by U.S. copyright law, authors are responsible for securing and archiving permissions to use the copyrighted work of others in their contributions. This includes but is not limited to multimedia images, sound, clipart, data, files, software code, text, or other copyrighted materials and student works of any format. Unless explicit permission to identify is given in writing, an individual student’s work or associated grades should be unidentifiable (as required by FERPA guidelines). In addition, authors must obtain any Institutional Review Board (IRB) compliance that may be necessary.

     

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