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Author Guidelines

IMPORTANT: Before you can submit a manuscript, you must create a user account and check the "Author" box in your user profile. Once this box is checked, you may select the "Submit a Manuscript" button to the right and follow the prompts for submission.

Quick Reference Guides


How to Submit a Paper to JMBE (pdf) - step by step instructions regarding submitting a paper; also includes instructions for responding to reviews and how to submit a revised paper

Instructions to Reviewers (pdf) - step by step instructions for Editorial Board members invited to review papers

 

Quick links
Use these links to jump to the information you need, or scroll down the page.
Generic Publication Guidelines
Authors' Professional Responsibilities
Specific Author Guidelines: Research Section
Specific Author Guidelines: Perspectives Section
Specific Author Guidelines: Curriculum Section
Specific Author Guidelines: Tips and Tools
Specific Author Guidelines: Reviews
Online Submission Guidelines

GENERIC PUBLICATION GUIDELINES

Editorial Style
The editorial style of ASM journals conforms to the ASM Style Manual for Journals (American Society for Microbiology, 2010, in-house document) and How To Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 6th ed. (Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, 2006), as interpreted and modified by the editors and the ASM Education Department. The ASM copyeditors and the Education Department reserve the privilege of editing manuscripts to conform with the stylistic conventions set forth in the aforesaid publications and in these Instructions.On receipt at ASM, an accepted manuscript undergoes an automated preediting, cleanup, and tagging process specific to the particular article type. To optimize this process, manuscripts must be supplied in the correct format and with the appropriate sections and headings.Authors who are unsure of proper English usage should have their manuscripts checked by someone proficient in the English language.Manuscripts may be editorially rejected, without review, on the basis of poor English or lack of conformity to the standards set forth in these Instructions.

References
References should be in alphabetical order and numbered appropriately within the text. This part of the report immediately following the manuscript's main body provides the bibliographic information for each and every source cited. Arabic numerals in parentheses serve to identify references in text, tables, and legends. Please review the ASM Style Guidelines for References provided. If you have questions, please refer to existing papers in the journal. The JMBE strongly encourages authors to use professional literature citations from recognized genres of scholarly publications such as peer-reviewed journal articles and authored or edited books. In so doing, the reliance on reputable primary rather than secondary sources is obviously preferred. The appeal to electronic encyclopedias and/or online knowledge-sharing tools should be made only in those circumstances where more generally recognized scholarly sources are unavailable and/or incompatible with the author's intent. When such is the case, these citations must be embedded parenthetically in the manuscript's narrative as opposed to being included as entries in the References section.

Revisions
When you prepare a revised version of your manuscript, it is essential that you carefully follow the instructions given in the Editor's letter regarding preparation of the same, in particular preparation of the annotated copy as well as providing a supplementary file that addresses point-by-point the concerns of the reviewers. Failure to do so will cause a delay in the review of your revision and may result in return of the revision to you, without review, for proper preparation.

Revisions received more than 3 months after requested may be sent for another review cycle, at the Editor's discretion. If a revision is not received within 6 months after requested, your file may be closed.

Copyediting
After final acceptance of your manuscript, it will be copyedited before publication to conform to the editorial style of the ASM Style Manual for Journals (American Society for Microbiology, 2010, in-house document) and How To Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 6th ed. (Greenwood Press, Westport, CT, 2006), as interpreted and modified by the editors and the ASM Education Department.. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to read the copyedited manuscript he or she will receive and to answer all queries fully.

Public Knowledge Project’s (PKP) Open Journal system (OJS) Software Specifications
The journal adheres to an electronic and open access format based on the Open Journal System (OJS) software application package developed in conjunction with Canada’s Public Knowledge Project. Documentation for this software is available via a Public Knowledge Project publication titled OJS in An Hour (see http://pkp.sfu.ca/files/OJSinanHour.pdf).

Publisher’s Article Preparation Service for Authors Via Multimed, Inc.
The journal’s publishing firm, Multimed, Inc., provides an article preparation service to prospective authors. This service ensures compliance with the journal’s specific author guidelines/instructions, online manuscript submission procedures, and related OJS specifications for the entire publication process.

AUTHORS’ PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Authorship
Regarding authenticity of authorship, only those individuals who contributed directly to the intellectual content of the paper should be listed as such, with the implication that all of the following criteria have been met by the author(s) listed: (a) conceived and planned the work that led to the report; (b) wrote the paper, or reviewed successive versions and took part in the revision process; and (c) approved the final version. Holding positions of administrative leadership, contributing clients, and collecting and assembling data, are not, by themselves, criteria for authorship. Other persons who have made substantial, direct contributions to the work but cannot be considered authors should be acknowledged with their permission.

Project Funding
Sources of outside support for research, including funding, equipment, and drugs, must be named in the contributed manuscript. The role(s) of the funding organization, if any, in the collection of data, its analysis and interpretation, and in the right to approve or disapprove publication of the finished manuscript must be described in the Methods section of the text.

Previous or Duplicate Publication
In Comments to the Editor, give full details on any possible previous or duplicate publication of any content of the paper. Previous publication of a small fraction of the content of a paper does not necessarily preclude its being published, but members of the Editorial Board need information about previous publication when deciding how to use space in the journal efficiently; they regard failure of full disclosure by authors of possible prior publication as a breach of scientific ethics. Please send a copy of any document that might be considered a previous publication via email to the Executive Editor, or provide this document during the submission process as a Supplementary file.

Conflict of Interest Notification
Conflict of interest exists when an author, reviewer, or editor has financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately bias or compromise his or her actions (such relationships are also known as dual commitments, competing interests, or competing loyalties). More specifically, the following considerations are illustrative and would need to be addressed: (a) Authors should identify individuals who provide writing or other assistance and disclose the funding source for this assistance. (b) Investigators must disclose potential conflicts to study participants and should state in the manuscript whether they have done so. (c) Authors should describe the role of the study sponsor(s), if any, in the study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the report for publication. If the supporting source had no such involvement, the authors should so state. (d) Editors may request that authors of a study funded by an agency with a proprietary or financial interest in the outcome sign a statement such as, “I had full access to all of the data in this study and I take complete responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.”

Such perceived conflicts--or their absence in a study-- must be disclosed by the author via the Comments to the Editor route when the manuscript is submitted. Additionally, either the presence or absence of perceived conflicts must be addressed on a Conflict of Interest Notification Page that follows the manuscript’s title page.

Informed Consent
The requirement for informed consent as needed must be accommodated in a study’s design and indicated explicitly in the published article.

SPECIFIC AUTHOR GUIDELINES: RESEARCH SECTION

Manuscripts in this category report hypothesis-driven research regarding teaching and student learning, and other facets of microbiology or biology education, including, but not limited to:

  1. outcome-based learning activities and courses that convey important concepts about biological and microbiological communities, or processes or techniques used to study organisms; outcome-based learning activities, courses, and programs that are driven by societal issues; outcome-based learning activities, courses, and programs organized according to national standards and curriculum guidelines (e.g., recommended core curricula from ASM, HAPS, or APS for microbiology, anatomy, or physiology education, respectively, or concept inventories in biology, genetics, nature of science, and more); assessment of student learning or student interventions; and
  2. assessment of teaching approaches or program effectiveness in microbiology and biology education.

Articles should range from 1,500 to 4,000 words in length. All manuscripts submitted are reviewed using the JMBE Research Section Review Criteria.

Organization and Format

Title Page—Inclusive of the following: information in the title that facilitates appropriate electronic article retrieval; authors’ names, highest academic/professional degree(s), and institutional affiliation; appropriate contact information for the corresponding author(s); source(s) of support for the work presented in the article; running head or foot line of approximately 40 characters; and number of figures and tables.

Conflict of Interest Notification Page — As characterized earlier in the “Generic Publication Guidelines” sector, a Conflict of Interest Notification Page must immediately follow the manuscript’s title page. To prevent ambiguity, authors must state explicitly whether potential conflicts do or do not exist.

Abstract — Limit the abstract to 250 words or less and concisely summarize the basic content of the paper without presenting extensive details. Avoid abbreviations and references and do not include diagrams. When it is essential to include a reference, use the same format as for the References section but omit the article title. The abstract must be complete and understandable without reference to the text.

Key Words—Include 3 to 10 key words or short phrases that describe the manuscript contents.

Introduction —This first of four parts comprising the main body of the report provides the literature-based background or context of the research problem area, the significance of the problem, the purpose of the study couched in terms of the research question or objective, and the rationale for and statement of the research hypothesis.

Method— This part of the report’s main body includes information pertinent to the selection and description of the participants; technical information regarding the operational methods, apparatus/instrumentation, and procedures so as to allow replication of the study; and sufficiently-detailed statistical methods, inclusive of confidence interval and effect size calculations when possible to augment null hypothesis significance testing.

Results—This part of the report’s main body provides quantitative results via descriptive and/or inferential statistics as well as qualitative results where appropriate. The results should adhere to a logical and coordinated sequencing of text, tables, and illustrations, with an effort to avoid unnecessary repetition in the narrative of the data displayed in the tables and illustrations.

Discussion—This fourth and final part of the report’s main body focuses on new and important features of the study as well as the justifiable conclusions that follow from them. Rather than repeating data or other information from the earlier Introduction or Results sections, this section provides the following coverage: summarizing succinctly the main findings of the study; exploring plausible explanations or mechanisms of the findings; comparing and contrasting the results with other pertinent studies acknowledged earlier in the report; stating the limitations and delimitations of the study; and exploring the implications of the study’s findings for future research and clinical practice.

References— See Generic Publication Guidelines section above.

SPECIFIC AUTHOR GUIDELINES: PERSPECTIVES SECTION

Articles in this journal section are intended to place into broader perspective a particular, current topic of microbiology or biology education. Articles will focus on a defined topic or problem of specific interest to science educators. Topics include assessment methods, student engagement, curricular changes, K-20 and graduate and/or professional education, approaches to various educational challenges, and other science education topics. Authors may also comment on current advances and future directions in microbiology and biology education.Manuscripts (invited or independently submitted) must be previously unpublished and will be peer-reviewed. The manuscript should include the author’s reactions, responses, thoughts, prospects, or viewpoints, but should not primarily discuss her/his own work. Authors are encouraged to adopt a personal writing style, presented within a scholarly context that cites references, and framed by personal experience or insight. When emphasizing the opinions or viewpoints of the authors, the manuscript should remain balanced and include factual data to substantiate arguments. With rare exceptions, Perspectives should have no more than two authors.Some examples of recent Perspective topics include: improving the integration of mathematics in undergraduate biology education; identifying why many students fail introductory science courses; using bioinformatics to involve undergraduates in basic research; incorporating microbiology in the nursing curriculum; developing an assessment plan; incorporating collaborative learning in the curriculum; implementing the ASM core curriculum in a microbiology majors' program; preparing for and demonstrating scholarly work; and, managing student research. Articles should range from 1,000 to 3,000 words in length. All submitted manuscripts should follow the JMBE Perspectives Section Review Criteria. Manuscripts may be edited substantially by JMBE editors in consultation with the author.

Organization and Format

Title Page—Inclusive of the following: information in the title that facilitates appropriate electronic article retrieval; authors’ names, highest academic/professional degree(s), and institutional affiliation; appropriate contact information for the corresponding author(s); source(s) of support for the work presented in the article; running head or foot line of approximately 40 characters; and number of figures, tables, and supplemental materials.

Conflict of Interest Notification Page — As characterized earlier in the “Generic Publication Guidelines” sector, a Conflict of Interest Notification Page must immediately follow the manuscript’s title page. To prevent ambiguity, authors must state explicitly whether potential conflicts do or do not exist.

Abstract— An abstract of 250 words or less should concisely summarize the basic content of the paper without presenting extensive details. Avoid abbreviations and references, and do not include diagrams. When it is essential to include a reference, use the same format as for the References section but omit the article title. The abstract must be complete and understandable without reference to the text.

Key Words— Include 3 to 10 key words or short phrases that describe the manuscript contents.

References— See Generic Publication Guidelines section above.

SPECIFIC AUTHOR GUIDELINES: CURRICULUM SECTION

Manuscripts in this journal section include innovative classroom activities and laboratory exercises for teaching undergraduate biology and microbiology. All curriculum resources (i) are innovative and use pedagogical approaches that actively engage students, (ii) include detailed instructions and support materials, (iii) are field tested and provide evidence of student learning, and (iv) contain modifications and extensions to allow easy implementation by the broad range of faculty in undergraduate biology education. All curriculum resources must be appropriate for an undergraduate microbiology or biology classroom or laboratory.Manuscripts for this category should range from 1,000 to 4,000 words in length not including supplementary materials (e.g., student handbooks, instructor guides, rubrics, sample tables, worksheets, and exams).All manuscripts submitted are reviewed using the JMBE Curriculum Section Review Criteria.

Organization and Format

Title Page—Inclusive of the following: information in the title that facilitates appropriate electronic article retrieval; authors’ names, highest academic/professional degree(s), and institutional affiliation; appropriate contact information for the corresponding author(s); source(s) of support for the work presented in the article; running head or foot line of approximately 40 characters; and number of figures, tables, and supplemental materials.

Conflict of Interest Notification Page —As characterized earlier in the “Generic Publication Guidelines” sector, a Conflict of Interest Notification Page must immediately follow the manuscript’s title page. To prevent ambiguity, authors must state explicitly whether potential conflicts do or do not exist.

Abstract—Limit the abstract to 250 words or less and concisely summarize the basic content of the paper without presenting extensive details. Avoid abbreviations and references and do not include diagrams. When it is essential to include a reference, use the same format as for the References section but omit the article title. The abstract must be complete and understandable without reference to the text.

Key Words— Include 3 to 10 key words or short phrases that describe the manuscript contents. Include “classroom exercise” or “laboratory exercise” as appropriate.

INTRODUCTION —The introduction should provide sufficient background information to allow the reader to evaluate the applicability of the curriculum activity to their needs. The introduction should provide the rationale for design of the curriculum activity, and sufficient background information to allow the reader to evaluate the activity without referring to previous publications. The introduction should indicate whether the exercise is a classroom or laboratory activity and contain the following subsections: intended audience, learning time, student prerequisite knowledge, and learning objectives.

Intended audience. Indicate the intended audience for the activity. For example:

  1. Microbiology/Biology majors Allied health majors Biotechnology majors Science education majors
  2. Nonmajors

Learning time. Indicate the approximate class or lab time required and/or any follow-up in one or more subsequent periods. If the activity is a longer exercise, consider alternate arrangments of activity units to allow the exercise to be completed in one long period or spread over several periods. Alternate activity timelines may also be described in the modifications section.

Prerequisite student knowledge. Indicate prerequisite knowledge and skills that students should have before using this activity. Prerequisite knowledge includes both laboratory skills and background knowledge needed.

Learning objectives. Provide a list of clearly stated learning outcomes. Learning objectives must describe student behaviors that are measurable and testable. They may start with the phrase "At completion of this activity, students will…." Well written submissions will include assessment examples that directly test these stated learning objectives.

PROCEDURE — The procedure section includes all information needed to allow adopting instructors to repeat the activity with their classes. The procedure section includes the following subsections: materials, student instructions, faculty instructions, suggestions for determining student learning, sample data, and safety issues.

Materials. Provide a clear and complete list of materials, indicating whether they are readily available or need special ordering. Materials should be organized in terms of "items per student," "items per group," and "items per lab." Multi-unit activities should indicate the materials needed for each unit. Include recipes or references for all media and solutions. Materials may be provided as a supplemental file (please indicate this availability in the text of the main document).

Student instructions. Provide a clear and complete instructions for students to perform this activity. Instructions may be provided in handout form as a supplemental file (please indicate this availability in the text of the main document). Instructions should not contain information that would be relevant only to your class (e.g. class number, date, etc.).

Instructor version. Summarize the steps of the procedure for the faculty member's benefit and include any explanations that are needed to help the faculty make the activity work smoothly. Include all preparation steps and any special clean-up or follow through required. Include any hints, tricks, or pitfalls to avoid. Also appreciated are suggestions for acquiring hard-to-get materials or special items. Please try to include those things that you do automatically, which someone else may not know but contribute to the success of the activity. These instructions will not be handed out to students. Please keep in mind that not all instructors have the same background as you - many JMBE readers have been trained in fields outside of traditional microbiology and rely on detailed faculty instructions to ensure the success of the activity. Faculty instructions may be provided as a supplemental file (please indicate this availability in the main text of the document).

Suggestions for determining student learning. Please share the assessment methods that you have used to determine if students have achieved your stated learning objectives and the methods you use to assign grades. Examples of questions, assignments and/or rubrics should be provided (please indicate this availability in the main text of the document).

Sample data. Provide examples of student work and/or expected student outcomes to help provide faculty with a fuller sense of the range of outcomes for the activity. Possibilities include text submitted by students, data gathered, photographs or short movie clips, etc. Remove any identifying names. Sample data may be provided as a supplemental file (please indicate this availability in the main text of the document).

Safety issues. Address all safety issues faculty and students need to know when attempting this activity. Safety concerns may include (but are not limited to): biosafety level of strains used; chemical considerations; UV; environmental unknowns; etc. If there are no safety issues, state "None."

DISCUSSION — The discussion section should highlight the activity's effectiveness in achieving the stated learning objectives, and provide evidence of student learning. The discussion may elaborate on how the activity may be adapted to different course situations or different student audiences. The discussion may include the following subsections: field testing, evidence of student learning, and potential modifications.

Field Testing. Please indicate course conditions in which you have used this activity (size of class, audience, etc.). Include student and faculty feedback so other faculty can better judge how this activity might work for them. If appropriate, include the results from any informal assessments or surveys of this activity as an indication of student and faculty responses to the activity.

Evidence of student learning. Tell us how you know that this exercise is effective. Provide results from assessments that demonstrate student learning across stated learning objectives. Appropriate examples of evidence include pre-/post-testing, normalized learning gains, and/or post activity assignments /questions with statistics of student performance toward different objectives. Perceived learning as measured by student attitude surveys, while effective in demonstrating student interest, are not appropriate as evidence of student learning.

Possible modifications. (optional) Outline ways your activity can be modified or extended to broaden its appeal for faculty in other settings or facing alternate curriculum goals. For longer activities, elaborate on alternate timelines to adapt the activity to different course schedules.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS — The source of any financial support received for the work being published must be indicated in the Acknowledgments section. It will be assumed that the absence of such an acknowledgment is a statement by the authors that no support was received.

REFERENCES — List references that would be especially suitable as background for faculty or supplemental material for students. See Generic Publication Guidelines for acceptable Reference formatting.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS(If applicable) — Append any useful or needed information that does not fit easily into the categories above as appendices. If your activity includes specific questions for student to answer, please include answer keys here.

Overall Common Problems that Require Major Revision

  1. Activity is not novel, or closely duplicates a previously published activity Abstract or description is not concise or comprehensive Expected outcomes are not provided Results of field testing are not included (evidence of student learning not provided) Safety issues are not addressed
  2. Activity does not allow active learning (i.e. it is a ‘cookbook’ exercise)

SPECIFIC AUTHOR GUIDELINES: TIPS AND TOOLS

Manuscripts in this journal section describe practical, technical, and feasible advice for improving teaching and learning in the microbiology or biology classroom or laboratory. Brief, practical ideas for innovative and engaging ways to teach biological concepts are welcome. This section provides a forum for sharing short and quick ideas or thoughts on best practices in microbiology and biology education that have not been rigorously tested. Assessment of the topic is NOT required, and authors should feel free to solicit feedback and form partnerships to expand the depth and breadth of best practices. Topics may include assessment tools, class management approaches, discussion starters, field activities, in-class activities, laboratory activities, independent project ideas, service learning ideas, or study tools, among others. Examples of previous tips include using colony lysis and PCR amplification for environmental bacterial identification, using popular fiction as a teaching tool in a microbiology course, ways to provide microbiology/biology career education, and using a crossword puzzle, art project, or music to teach microbiology. Queries are welcome. Articles should range from 800 to 1,100 words in length, with the goal of the text and figures fitting on two printed pages. Abstracts are not required for Tips and Tools manuscripts. All manuscripts submitted are reviewed using the JMBE Tips and Tools Section Review Criteria.

Organization and Format

Title Page— Inclusive of the following: information in the title that facilitates appropriate electronic article retrieval; authors’ names, highest academic/professional degree(s), and institutional affiliation; appropriate contact information for the corresponding author(s); source(s) of support for the work presented in the article (if any); running head or foot line of approximately 40 characters; and number of figures, tables, and supplemental materials.

Conflict of Interest Notification Page— As characterized earlier in the “Generic Publication Guidelines” sector, a Conflict of Interest Notification Page must immediately follow the manuscript’s title page. To prevent ambiguity, authors must state explicitly whether potential conflicts do or do not exist.

Key Words— Include 3 to 10 key words or short phrases that describe the manuscript contents.

Introduction— Introductory material should include the audience for which the tip is intended, and whether the tip is specific to classroom or laboratory (or both). A brief description of the tip is appropriate.

Procedure(s)— The body of the article should describe materials and methods, and information on how to make the tip work in the classroom or laboratory. Helpful hints or caveats for the instructor and students are desirable.

Conclusion— Comments on results of field testing of the activity or tip are appropriate here. Although assessment is not required, results of assessment may be included. Student comments are welcome.

References (optional)—
List references that offer additional information as appropriate. See Generic Publication Guidelines for acceptable reference formatting. Note: When an activity or tip has been presented elsewhere, even in preliminary form (for example a poster at a conference such as the American Society for Microbiology Conference for Undergraduate Educators), it is imperative to note such prior publication in an acknowledgement or reference, as appropriate. Thus search results for JMBE may produce two results, one as a conference proceeding, and another as a manuscript.

SPECIFIC AUTHOR GUIDELINES: REVIEWS

Manuscripts in this journal section consist of reviews of new books, textbooks, computer simulations, videos, DVDs, CD-ROMs, websites, and other multimedia programs that facilitate undergraduate students' understanding about the microbial world. Suggestions for items to be reviewed are accepted throughout the year and must include the title, author, publisher, and distributor information, including cost. Reviews of journal articles (Journal Watch) and websites (Web Watch) are also welcome.The Editor is particularly interested in reviews that provide constructive critique of the material, not simply descriptive overview. A useful review will compare the text edition or digital resource to previous versions or similar alternatives, in a way that helps the potential adopter make an informed choice. It is especially helpful if the reviewer has used the text or resource in their teaching and can include details or specific examples of sections, activities, or programs they found either well-done, marginal, or of little help.All reviews need not be glowingly positive and in some cases the Editor may request a "point" and "counterpoint" opinion from more than one reviewer. The goal will consistently be to provide useful and trustworthy information about books and other resources for educators who are struggling to choose among a myriad of available material in print and online.Articles should range from 500-600 words in length. Abstracts are not required for these manuscripts.

ONLINE MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION PROCEDURES

Overview
Please note that the guidelines below contain information pertaining to online manuscript submission. The following information will help you prepare your manuscript for electronic submission to the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education web-based peer review system. Submit manuscripts to http://jmbe.asm.org. You will be able to monitor the progress of your manuscript through the peer review process.

Formatting and Submitting Online

User Account Information—
Log on to the Journal of Microbiology and Biology Educationat http://jmbe.asm.org. Select the “Login” page. All authors, reviewers and editors must log in to use the system. If you are already registered with the system, you may login with a username and password. Select “User” on the upper bar, and under Function, select “Author” to submit an article or track the status of your current submissions.

If you want to submit an article and do not have a username and password, you must select the “Register Here” link to log in. Under Online Submissions, you should select “Go to Registration” link to register your username and password. After this, follow the instructions above to begin article submission.

Submission Steps—
After selecting “Author”, you may submit an article by selecting “Submit” under the Function column. If you wish to track articles already submitted, select “Track” under the Function column. If “Submit” is selected, the next page begins a five-step process to submit a manuscript online.

Step 1: Start Submission. Under “A. Journal Section”, a drop down menu allows the selection of type of article. The author should complete the submission checklist indicating the article is prepared in the proper format and has not been previously published. “Comments to the Editor” about aspects of this article may be offered, but this is optional. Select Save/Continue to proceed to the next section.

Step 2: Submission Metadata. The first, middle and last name of each author, affiliation, and email address are required for each author. An optional biographical statement may be added as well for each author. Spaces are provided for the Submission Title and Submission Abstract. A space is provided for the author to name Agencies that provided support for the work presented in the submission.

Step 3: Submission Upload. Four steps are required to submit the manuscript, which must be on the hard drive of the computer. 1. Click Browse which open a Choose File window for locating the file on the hard drive. 2. Locate the submission file and highlight it. 3. Click Open on the window, which places the address in the box on this page. 4. Click Upload on this page, which uploads the file from the computer to the journal’s website and renames it following the journal’s system. The file can be viewed by clicking on the file name. A new or revised file can be uploaded, deleting the one that currently appears. After clicking “Upload”, the upload window clears; click Save/Continue to move to the next step.

Step 4: Supplementary Files. An important feature of this publishing system is the ability to upload separate graphics files. Having graphics files separate facilitates the HTML markup of the article for online viewing. An additional advantage is its ability to post and index any number of supplementary files for each published investigation. These might include samples of student work, teacher versions for exercises, teacher research instruments, data sets, information sources, etc. In addition, special permission to use figures, copyright release statements, may be included.

Step 5: Confirmation. This step allows the author to review the submission for completeness, note the file(s) name change in the system, note the submission file size, and upload date. The author should click “Finish Submission” to confirm the upload.

 

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

  1. The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration; or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor.
  2. The submission file is in Microsoft Word or RTF document file format and uses Times New Roman font or its equivalent.
  3. All URL addresses in the text are activated and ready to click.
  4. The text is double-spaced; uses a 10-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except for URL addresses); with figures and tables placed at the end of the text, rather than embedded within.
  5. The text meets this journal's formatting requirements as outlined in the Generic Publication Guidelines and the Specific Author Guidelines for the section to which the paper has been submitted.

  6. The submission provides figures to be uploaded as Supplemenatary Files in JPG or GIF with 100-150 pixels per inch (color) or 100-150 dpi (grayscale). Monochrome images have been saved in grayscale mode; color images are in RGB. No BMP, RTF, or TIF images are included. Images are at least 3 inches and no greater than 5 inches in the greatest dimension.

  7. The use of human subjects or other animals for research purposes is regulated by the federal government and individual institutions. Manuscripts containing information related to human or animal use should clearly state that the research has complied with all relevant federal guidelines and institutional policies.
 

Copyright Notice

All authors are required to agree to the Copyright Notice as part of the submission process. Unless this agreement is executed (without changes and/or addenda), ASM will not publish the manuscript.

Title of Article, Illustration, Image, or other Work (hereafter “Work”):

To maintain and protect the Society’s journal publications and to continue to afford science educators the opportunity to publish in high-quality journals, ASM requires that the Author agree to the Copyright notice if your Work is to be published by ASM.

Publisher’s Agreement to Publish:

ASM agrees to publish the above-referenced Work in consideration for this transfer to ASM of all copyrights in and to the Article, and the other provisions of this agreement. It is understood that the Author will receive no royalty or other monetary compensation.

Author’s Agreement and Representations:

The Author hereby grants and assigns to ASM, on exclusive basis, all rights under the Copyright Laws of the United States and all foreign countries in and to the above-referenced Work, for the duration of all terms of copyright and any renewals or extensions thereof. This grant includes all derivative, republication, translation, electronic publishing and subsidiary rights of any nature, whether now known or hereafter developed. The Author reserves all other proprietary rights, such as patent or trademark rights, if any. The Author warrants that the Work is original and that the Author has full power and authority to grant the rights hereunder. The Author signing below signs for and represents that he or she has been authorized by any and all coauthors to act on their behalf for this purpose, and that he or she is a joint author of the Work or has been authorized by the copyright owner to enter into this Agreement.

Republication:

ASM grants to the Author the right to republish discrete portions of this Work in any publication (including print, CD-ROM, and other electronic formats) of which he or she is author or editor, on the condition that proper credit is given to the original ASM publication. Neither the entire Work, nor significant portions thereof, may be republished in print, electronic or other form without ASM’s prior written permission.

Special Notice for U.S. Government Employees and Contractors:

ASM understands that works authored solely by U.S. Government employees within the scope of their employment are not subject to U.S. copyright, and the transfer provision of this Agreement does not apply to any U.S. Government employee who authored or coauthored this Article as a part of his or her employment (who should be identified as such below). If the Article was created pursuant to a U.S. Government contract under which the U.S. Government has publication rights, then the above transfer is made subject to those contract rights. All other provisions of this Agreement apply to U.S. Government employees and contractors.

Were (or are) any of the authors U.S. Government employees who wrote this manuscript as part of their employment duties? If yes, please list the name of the appropriate author(s) in the "comments for the editor" box.

 

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Editorial and Publishing Process

 


JMBE
ISSN: 1935-7885