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Information for Authors and Reviewers

Philosophy of Literacy Connections

For more information, please see Literacy Connections Aims and Scope page.

Information for Authors and Reviewers

Who Can Submit?

Anyone may submit an original article to be considered for publication in Literacy Connections provided they own 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).

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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 Literacy Connections, the author is stipulating that the material is not currently under review at another journal (electronic or print) and that they will not submit the material to another journal (electronic or print) until the completion of the editorial decision process at Literacy Connections. If you have concerns about the submission terms for Literacy Connections, please contact the editors.

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Formatting Requirements

Literacy Connections requests that the initial submission is in a Word document and follows APA 7th edition format. There are additional guidelines 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 Microsoft Word file.

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Rights for Authors and New Prairie Press

As further described in our submission agreement (the Submission Agreement), in consideration for publication of the article, the authors assign to New Prairie Press all copyright in the article, subject to the expansive personal--use exceptions described below.

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Attribution and Usage Policies

Reproduction, posting, transmission or other distribution or use of the article or any material therein, in any medium as permitted by a personal-use exemption or by written agreement of New Prairie Press, requires credit to New Prairie Press as copyright holder (e.g., New Prairie Press © 2024).

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Personal-Use Exceptions

The following uses are always permitted to the author(s) and do not require further permission from New Prairie Press provided the author does not alter the format or content of the articles, including the copyright notification:

  • Storage and back-up of the article on the author's computer(s) and digital media (e.g., diskettes, back-up servers, Zip disks, etc.), provided that the article stored on these computers and media is not readily accessible by persons other than the author(s);
  • Posting of the article on the author(s) personal website, provided that the website is non-commercial;
  • Posting of the article on the internet as part of a non-commercial open access institutional repository or other non-commercial open access publication site affiliated with the author(s)'s place of employment (e.g., a Phrenology professor at the University of Southern North Dakota can have her article appear in the University of Southern North Dakota's Department of Phrenology online publication series); and
  • Posting of the article on a non-commercial course website for a course being taught by the author at the university or college employing the author.

People seeking an exception, or who have questions about use, should contact the editors.

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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 the submission of the Article.

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Purpose of Peer Review

The goal of peer review in a scholarly journal is to make sure the information authors and researchers share is accurate, trustworthy, and clear. Peer reviewers look at the articles, reflections, or lesson plans to make sure they're correct, well-written, and helpful for other teachers and researchers. These experts help catch any mistakes and give suggestions to make the writing even better. Therefore, when educators read this journal, they can rely on the information to improve their teaching methods and make their classes even better.

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Process of Peer Review

When Literacy Connections receives 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 Literacy Connections.

If the manuscript is appropriate for Literacy Connections, 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. The journal 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 the journal em>Literacy Connections
  • Clarity and readability of the manuscript
  • Adequate literature review to understand the study/project when appropriate
  • Soundness of study design, when appropriate
  • Relevant evidence in results
  • Trustworthiness of the manuscript
  • Focus on practitioner learning from research or project

When reviewing the manuscript, reviewers are encouraged to use the following rubrics :

  • Reviewing an Empirical Manuscript for Literacy Connections (which includes data collection)
  • Reviewing a Non-Empirical Manuscript for Literacy Connections

    • 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 Literacy Connections and 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 Literacy Connections 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 Literacy Connections 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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