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Policies

Review Policy

Information for Authors

Other Policies

Peer Review Process

When Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Researchreceives an article, the author will be notified via email that the submission has been received. The Editor will review the submission to determine if the manuscript fits the aim and scope of Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research.

If the manuscript is appropriate for Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research, it will be sent out for peer review by at least two experts and/or practitioners in the field.

Reviewers are asked to complete the review within four weeks.

Reviewers will need to provide feedback to the author and the editor.

The goal is to provide constructive feedback that will help the author(s) improve the quality of the work. Networks expects reviewers to use professional language when providing comments. Reviewers should use the following criteria in providing their feedback and determining a recommendation:

  • Focus on the aim and scope of Networks
  • Clarity and readability of the manuscript
  • Adequate literature review to understand the study/project
  • Soundness of study design
  • Relevant evidence in results
  • Trustworthiness of the conclusion
  • Focus on practitioner learning from research or project

In making a decision on the manuscript, reviewers will select from the following recommendations:

  • Accept the article with minor (or no) revisions – the article is of high quality and relevant to Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Researchand needs only editing revisions or some minor revisions that are outlined in the reviewer’s report.
  • Encourage major revisions as described in the reviewer's report – the article fits the aim and scope of Networks and has the potential to be publishable. But there are significant revisions that need to be completed. Resubmission would require another round of reviews and does not guarantee publication.
  • Reject the article without an option to resubmit – the article does not fit the aim and scope of Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research or the submission has significant flaws that could not be addressed through revisions.

When submitting feedback, the reviewer will need to provide feedback for the author AND for the editor. The feedback to the author goes to the Editor and will be compiled with other reviewer’s feedback. If there is a lack of consensus among the peer reviewers, the Editor may send it out for another review or make a final decision based on the compiled feedback. The Editor will then convey the decision and reviewers’ compiled feedback to the author.

If a reviewer would like to provide revision comments/edits on the document, the reviewer can download the document and then upload when completed. However, please ensure that the reviewer’s name is removed from the document’s Properties. If the reviewer provides the document file, the Editor will provide the author access to the file.

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Information for Authors

Who Can Submit?

Anyone may submit an original article to be considered for publication in Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research provided he or she owns the copyright to the work being submitted or is authorized by the copyright owner or owners to submit the article. Authors are the initial owners of the copyrights to their works (an exception in the non-academic world to this might exist if the authors have, as a condition of employment, agreed to transfer copyright to their employer).

Please note Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research has no article processing or submission charges.

General Submission Rules

Submitted articles cannot have been previously published, nor be forthcoming in an archival journal or book (print or electronic). Please note: "publication" in a working-paper series does not constitute prior publication. In addition, by submitting material to Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research, the author is stipulating that the material is not currently under review at another journal (electronic or print) and that he or she will not submit the material to another journal (electronic or print) until the completion of the editorial decision process at Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research. If you have concerns about the submission terms for Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research, please contact the editors.

Submitting to the Journal

Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research has three sections. The submission forms include a "Type of Submission" to indicate the intended section:

Full-length articles (normally 2,000-4,000 words). These articles will typically report a completed investigation or offer a critical review of a number of investigations that share a common theme or topic.

Reflections (short article) (about 300-750 words). These might describe work in progress, raise issues arising from such work, or discuss general issues related to methodologies, ethics, collaboration, etc. in educator inquiry. These articles need to be have a clear purpose statement connecting it to the Focus and Scope of Networks and conclusion.

Book Reviews (about 750-1000 words). These will typically provide a sense of the main arguments and presentation style of the author. In addition, reviews will take the perspective of a critical friend in terms of the author's assumptions, arguments and evidence, drawing, where possible, on other work on the same topic or issue.

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Formatting Requirements

Initial formatting of the manuscript:

  • Include an abstract. (about 150 words)
  • Do not include a title page. Do not include any identifying information.
  • Do not include headers or footers. These, along with page numbers, will be added as part of our publication process if your manuscript is accepted.
  • Submit your manuscript, including tables, figures, appendices, abstract etc., as a single file (Word, RTF, or PDF files are accepted).
  • Double-space your text.
  • Submit your manuscript in APA Format (6th Edition).

Where available, DOIs (digital object identifiers) for citations must be provided and hotlinked in the Word document. As a member of CrossRef, our publisher, New Prairie Press, is required to include DOIs. Use the free DOI lookup on CrossRef's website to check your citations.

There are additional rules governing the formatting of the final submission. See Final Manuscript Preparation Guidelines for details.

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New Prairie Press recommends the use of the Creative Commons license. The Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research requires authors to agree to Creative Commons Attribution and Non-commercial licenses. Authors who publish with the Networks: An Online Journal for Teacher Research agree to the following terms:

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.

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Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. Users have the right to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of these articles.

Archival Policy

Contents of the Journal are archived for perpetual access through New Prairie Press' participation in CLOCKSS (Controlled Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) and Portico and managed through the Digital Commons Publishing platform. New Prairie Press also participates in LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe). Once published, the contents are never changed.

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General Terms and Conditions of Use

Users of the New Prairie Press website and/or software agree not to misuse the New Prairie Press service or software in any way.

The failure of New Prairie Press to exercise or enforce any right or provision in the policies or the Submission Agreement does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any term of the Submission Agreement or these policies is found to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Submission Agreement and these policies remain in full force and effect. These policies and the Submission Agreement constitute the entire agreement between New Prairie Press and the Author(s) regarding submission of the Article.

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