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Reviewer Guidelines
Acceptability of a manuscript for publication in the Symbolic Mathematics in Chemistry feature column of JCE and JCE Online depends on its applicability to our readers--a pedagogical component, a clearly stated place in the curriculum, and appropriate content--and on its meeting standards of quality in presentation and content.
Content
Components of a Publishable Symbolic Mathematics Document
- Some essential element that cannot be readily reproduced in the traditional print medium
- Clear goals and objectives for the student
- Interactive components that students can use for learning. Embedded interactivity is one of the most important components of a pedagogically effective symbolic mathematics document.
- Embedded clear directions enabling students to use the document effectively
- Strong pedagogical content in the following areas
- Shows how the subject discussed would fit into the curriculum.
- Demonstrates an improved presentation of the chemistry content or facilitation of learning of that content by students.
- Contains some other clearly stated pedagogical component.
- Appeal to either
- a general audience (the majority of our readers)
- a clearly identifiable special audience (a specialized portion of our readers)
- Be useful to its intended audience:
- be original (not duplicate previously published material)
- be accurate
- include a bibliography appropriate for the topic especially references to other JCE publications.
Presentation
A publishable symbolic mathematics document should
- Include a useful, accurate Abstract, suitable for publication in the print Journal of Chemical Education and in the JCE Online version of JCE. The abstract should clearly present the important concepts addressed by the symbolic mathematics document, the pediagogical approach, and suggestions of how to use the symbolic mathematics document in the curriculum.
- Begin with a clear and concise Introduction, stating why a reader should take the time to use this symbolic mathematics document.
- Contain clear goals and objectives for the user. Goals are overarching aims of the document. Objectives are the performance criteria that are expected to be met by students completing the study of the material presented in the symbolic mathematics document. Performance criteria are measureable outcomes from use of the document.
- Contain ample opportunity for student input and interactivity. For example, students should be directed to create animations, reflect on graphs, create their own equations patterned after those of the author, and write about their observatons as part of the activities included in the document.
- Recognize and cite recent relevant publications, especially those in JCE, and those that provide the reader with fundamental concepts related to the document.
- Be concise, but should not sacrifice clarity for brevity. It should be of a length appropriate for its content and the stated goals and objectives of the lessons and activities being addressed.
- Be written in clear and proper English, at a level suitable for its intended audience, and contain hints on how to accomplish operations in Mathcad that are beyond the average skill of student users.
A good symbolic mathematics document can be primarily text if it is an instructional type document accompanied by a primarily computational document.
The Review
Reviewers comments should be aimed at helping the author improve the manuscript. Even if you think a document should never appear in JCE, other reviewers' evaluations may lead the Column Editor to request a revision for possible publication. If the clearest way to comment is to annotate the manuscript, feel free to do so.
We suggest the following review method
- Use the source document
- Annotate the source document using text in a color not used elsewhere in the document
- Place annotations at those locations where you are suggesting changes.
- Transmit the annotated file to the feature editor as an email attachment. The feature editor will forward the annotated document to the author for revision.
- A summary of annotations also should be included in the Comments section of the email review.
Send completed reviews by email to jcereviews@chem.wisc.edu; of course, all identifiable headers and addresses will be removed before the review is forwarded to the author.
We suggest the following format for your email review
- Review of JCE manuscript number and list of authors
- Should/could this paper be published?
- General evaluation, i.e. a brief synnopsis of the more detailed comments
- Your detailed comments
Submit suggestions to improve the review process to the Feature Column Editor, Theresa Julia Zielinski , or to jceonline@chem.wisc.edu.
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