Guidelines for submitting articles to Plymouth Institute of Education Online Journal (PIEOJ)

Instructions for authors on preparing their work for submission
Hands typing at a laptop computer.
The editorial team are looking forward to seeing your submissions, whether you are a student, recent graduate or early career researcher. The following instructions will ensure your paper can move through peer review, production and online publication smoothly. Please take the time to read and follow them as closely as possible.

How to prepare an article for submission

All articles submitted for publication must be in English and must be anonymised to help the double-blind peer review process (please do not include your name or any identifying information in the main text). Articles must meet the requirements of the chosen submission (see below for different examples) and should be submitted as a Microsoft Word document using the provided submission template.
Submissions may be edited from a longer piece of submitted academic work, which will, therefore, require adaptations, such as a newly written introduction and conclusions section, so that the writing stands alone for the purposes of this journal. For postgraduate work, it may focus on findings and your analysis, or perhaps your methodology and methods of working if unusual. Feedback from the formal tutor assessment process will probably have identified what makes your work noteworthy so you can specify your contribution in the submission.
Along with your article, you will be asked to submit a separate document with all additional information about the submission, which we call submission metadata. This is provided separately in order to protect the anonymity of your submission. All contributions should be formatted according to Harvard style guidelines and the style sheet as outlined below.

How to submit an article

Include the following items in an email:
  1. Your anonymised article for consideration (using the submission template).
  2. Submission metadata.
Article submissions should be sent to societyandculture@plymouth.ac.uk.

How articles are reviewed

Each article submitted will be first assessed by a member of the journal editorial team. If deemed suitable for publication, the process of double-blind peer review will be initiated. This means that the identities of both the reviewer and the author are concealed throughout the process. The scholarly feedback received on the submission is intended to be supportive and developmental, and it will help authors not only improve their article but also learn about the publication process. The authors are encouraged to respond to the requests for revisions constructively and supply a note explaining all the adaptations.
The Plymouth Institute of Education Online Journal follows the Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers (COPE). Authors are asked to confirm that the necessary ethical protocols have been followed in the production of their research. Authors will retain copyright of their original contributions and are free to publish them elsewhere.
Ethics and ethnography
 

Types of submissions

Research papers
Research papers will typically report on research undertaken to inform an aspect of current practice in Education and will include the following components:
  • Title (a clear and succinct statement that adequately represents the paper);
  • Abstract (a summary of the paper’s perspective, contribution and key findings, 100–200 words);
  • Keywords (4–6);
  • Introduction (a concise description of the research problem and how it fits within current literature; background information);
  • Methods (an explanation of your procedures);
  • Results and Discussion (logical presentation of your original research results and what they mean, how they compare to other research, and how they respond to the gaps in literature);
  • Conclusions (clarification of the article’s key message and its contribution to the field);
  • References (include only works cited in the article).
  • Word count: between 4,000 and 6,000 words.

Case studies
Case studies will typically focus on a new approach or solution to a problem in the field of Education and will include the following components:
  • Title (a clear and succinct statement that adequately represents the case study);
  • Abstract (a summary of the author’s approach and contribution, 100–200 words);
  • Keywords (4–6);
  • Introduction (context for the case study and how it fits within existing literature);
  • Methods, results and discussion, as appropriate (an explanation of your approach and reflection on the outcomes);
  • Conclusions (clarification of the article’s key message and recommendations for the field);
  • References (include only works cited in the article).
  • Word count: between 3,000 and 4,000 words.

Opinion pieces
Opinion pieces will typically express an opinion on an aspect of practice within the field of Education and will include the following components:
  • Title (a clear and succinct statement that adequately represents the opinion piece);
  • Abstract (conveys the key point of the piece, 100–200 words);
  • Keywords (4–6);
  • Introduction (context for the opinion piece and the proposed argument);
  • Appropriate subtopics or themes (grounded in the literature);
  • Conclusions (a response to the posed problem and possibly a call to action);
  • References (include only works cited in the article).
  • Word count: between 2,000 and 3,000 words.

Brief communications
Brief communications will typically offer a brief argument on current debates in the field of Education. Their aim is to stimulate new ideas or discussion or inspire an interest in an issue important to the author. They may also be a response to a previously published article in the journal, a preview of planned research, a reflection on research, an invention of a new concept, or a very specific aspect of own research that doesn’t warrant a more comprehensive publication. Brief communications will include the following components:
  • Title (a clear and succinct statement that adequately represents the piece);
  • Abstract (a summary of the article’s key point, up to 100 words);
  • Keywords (4–6);
  • Structure appropriate to the topic and tone of the piece (can be less formal and more creative);
  • References (include only works cited in the article).
  • Word count: between 700 and 1,200 words (including references).

Book reviews
Book reviews will typically focus on a new approach or solution to a problem in Education and include the following components:
  • Title (a clear and succinct statement that adequately represents the author’s take on the book);
  • Keywords (4–6);
  • A short summary of the book’s purpose and its main argument or ideas;
  • Evaluation of the main argument or ideas;
  • Evaluation of the evidence used;
  • Discussion of the book’s relationship to the wider scholarship of its subject area (where it agrees or disagrees with other works, for example);
  • An exploration of how the book relates to a given aspect of the practice or theory of Education.
  • Reviewer’s recommendation (clarification of the value of the book for the field);
  • References (include only works cited in the review).
  • Word count: typically up to 1,000 words.
Submissions should follow these guidelines:
  • Use Calibri style font, 12 point, 1.5 spacing, left-aligned.
  • British English spelling is preferred; use ‘s’ in place of ‘z’ in words such as analyse or organise.
  • Use single quotation marks, except where ‘a quotation is “within” a quotation’. Please note that long quotations should be indented without quotation marks or italics.
  • Headers and sub-headers should be presented as follows: Main header; Sub-header; Sub-sub-header.
  • One line space before a main header. Only one space between sentences. Indent the first line of all new paragraphs. No extra lines between paragraphs.
  • Avoid unnecessary capital letters; when in doubt use a lower case initial letter.
  • Do not use footnotes, unless necessary.
Tables and graphs should present new information rather than duplicating what is in the text. Readers should be able to interpret the table without reference to the text. Please supply as separate files and make it clear where they should be positioned in the text as follows:
<Insert Table 1 here>
Using Third Party Material
The use of short extracts of text and some other types of material is permitted on a limited basis for the purposes of criticism and review without securing formal permission. References must be given.
Originality
Please note that the journal may use software to screen papers for unoriginal material. By submitting your work you are agreeing to originality checks during the peer-review and production processes.
Using AI
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Charges
There are no submission or publication fees for this journal.
Referencing
REFERENCING in TEXT
Placement Cite sources in the text using parentheses/brackets (author's surname, publication date and page number if quoting directly). Give full details in the reference list (under References). Place the reference at the appropriate point in the text; normally just before punctuation. If the author’s name appears in the text, it is not necessary to repeat it, but the date should follow immediately, i.e., Jones and Smith (2012) researched this subject. Brown’s (2012) argument is informative.
Multiple authors in the same parentheses - separate authors with semicolons; the order of the references is flexible, i.e., alphabetical or chronological. Two authors: Smith and Jones (2012) or (Smith and Jones, 2012), three authors: Smith, Jones, and Khan (2012) or (Smith, Jones, and Khan, 2012), four or more authors Smith et al. (2012) (Smith et al., 2012).
Multiple sources / same author(s) If citing more than one work by an author, do not repeat the name: (Smith, 2010, 2012; Khan, 2012) (Smith, 2010, 2012, p.84; Khan, 2012, pp.54–60) (Smith, 2012a, 2012b, p.82; Khan, 2012, p.9).
Repeat mentions in the same paragraph. Place the bracketed citation after the last reference in the paragraph or at the end of the paragraph before the final full stop. If you refer to a different page though, put the full citation at the first reference and then include only the page number at the next mention: Text (Smith, 2012, p.54) … more text (p.57) … ‘quoted text’ (p.68).
Citation of the source follows a quotation but may also be put before the quotation: As Smith points out, ‘quoted text’ (2012, p.67). As Smith (2012, p.67) points out, ‘quoted text’.
Organization as author. The organization can be listed under its acronym so the text citation is shorter: in the text: (BSI, 2012), in the reference list: BSI (British Standards Institution) (2012).
Author with 2 works in the same year. Put a, b, c after the year (Jones, 2011a, 2011b).
Secondary source. When you have not seen an original document, cite the source of your information not the original (assuming that the secondary source is correct): Smith's argument, as quoted in Khan (2012)
Classical work. Primary source references are given in the text, not in the reference list.
Unknown date. (Author, n.d.) (Author, forthcoming)
Two dates. List the original date first, in square brackets: Author ([1890] 1983); multivolume works: (Author, 1951–71).
REFERENCE LIST
Use the heading References. Do not use a dash to replace author names.
Order. Alphabetically by last name of author. Names (including particles such as de, von, van den) should be alphabetised by the individual’s personal preference, if known, or traditional usage. A single-author entry precedes a multi-author entry beginning with the same name. Successive entries by two or more authors when only the first author is the same are alphabetized by co-authors’ last names. If references have the same author(s), editor(s), etc., arrange by year of publication, with undated works at the end. If the reference list contains two or more items by the same author in the same year, add a, b, etc. and list them alphabetically by title of the work: Green, M.L. (2012a) Book title. Green, M.L. (2012b) Title of book.
Capitalisation. Capitalise the first word of title and subtitle and any pronouns: Done, E.J. (2019) Title: Then sub-title. Location of publisher: Publisher.
Multiple authors. 2 authors: Smith, B. and Jones, S. (2012) Book title: The subtitle. Abingdon: Routledge. 3 authors: Smith, B., Jones, S. and Green, M. (2012) Book title: The subtitle. Abingdon: Routledge. 4 – 10 authors: give all authors’ names. More than 10 authors: list the first 7 authors followed by et al.
Chapter in a single-author book. Black, M. (2012) Chapter title. In Book title, page-page. Abingdon: Routledge.
Chapter in a multi-author book. Jones, B. (2012) Chapter title. In Book title, edited by J. Smith, 341–346. Abingdon: Routledge.
Edited. Smith, J. (ed.) (2012) Book title. Abingdon: Routledge. Smith, J. and Jones, S. (eds.) (2012) Book title. Abingdon: Routledge.
Edition. Smith, J. (ed.) (2012) Book title. 3rd edition. Abingdon: Routledge.
Translated. Smith, J. (2012) Book title. Translated and edited by S. Jones. Abingdon: Routledge.
Publisher. Omit initial ‘the’, and ‘Inc.’, ‘Ltd.’, ‘Co.’, ‘Publishing Co.’, etc.
Place of publication. Where two cities are given, include the first one only. If the city could be confused with another, add the abbreviation of the state, province, or country: Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Journal. If you used an online version, cite this version, including a DOI or URL. Smith, J. (2012) Article title: Subtitle. Journal Title in Full 10 (1): 30–40. doi:xxxxxxxxxxx. 2 authors: Smith, J. and Khan, N. (2012) Article title: Subtitle. Journal Title in Full 10 (1): 200–210. doi:xxxxxxxxxxx. 3 authors: Smith, J., Jones, S. and Green, L. (2012|) Article title: Subtitle. Journal Title in Full 10 (1): 33–39. doi:xxxxxxxxxxx.
Book review article. Smith, J. (2012) Review of Book title by Lisa Khan. Journal Title in Full 10 (1): 33–39. doi:xxxxxxxxxxx.
Online / early view article. Use year of online publication and include ‘Advance online publication’ or ‘Preprint’. Smith, J. (2012) Article title: Subtitle. Journal Title in Full. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/14733285.2015.1026655.
Conferences. Paper. Smith, J. (2012) Title of paper. Paper presented at the annual meeting for the Society of XXXX, Plymouth, UK, November 21–24. Poster. Smith, J. (2012) Title of poster. Poster presented at the annual meeting for the Society of XXXX, Plymouth, UK, November 21–24.
Thesis. Smith, J. (2008) Title of thesis. PhD dissertation, University of Plymouth, UK.
Unpublished work. Book or journal article. Use Forthcoming instead of the date. If an article is not yet accepted, treat as a thesis.
Internet document. Access dates not required. Smith, B. (2013) Item title. The Guardian, October 28. Available online: http://www.theguardian.com/education/2013/oct/28/ If citing an undated online item, give an access date and use the year of access as year of publication: Plymouth Library (2012) Item title. Source. Accessed June 3, 2012. http://www.ol.org/library/strategy.html
Newspaper / magazine. Cited in the text with no entry needed in the bibliography: ‘quotation from newspaper’ (Sunday Times, April 8, 2012) ... as noted in a Guardian article on February 27, 2012 ... If a reference is needed or preferred, use this style: Author (2012) Article title. Sunday Times, April 8. http://xxxxxxxxxxxxx. (If no author is identified, begin the citation with the article title.)
Report. Treat pamphlets, reports, brochures and freestanding publications such as exhibition catalogues as books. Give sufficient information to identify the document.

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