Journal of Computer Assisted Learning

Edited by:
Charles Crook

Print ISSN: 0266-4909
Online ISSN: 1365-2729
Frequency: Bi-monthly
Current Volume: 26 / 2010
ISI Journal Citation Reports® Ranking: 2008: 29/112 Education & Educational Research
Impact Factor: 1.065

TopAuthor Guidelines

1. GENERAL

Journal of Computer Assisted Learning is a bi-monthly, peer-reviewed, international journal which covers the whole range of uses of information and communication technology to support learning and knowledge exchange. It is a rich source of material for research students in areas such as collaborative learning, multimedia resources, knowledge engineering, open, distance, and networked learning, the developmental psychology of learning with technoloogy and resource evaluation. The research themes are treated in a way which will maximise their influence on developments and practice in the learning sciences, in education, vocational training and professional development.
Each volume includes one, sometimes two, Special Issues and these provide readers with an in-depth perspective on a specific topic.
First published in 1985, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning continues to have the aim of making the outcomes of contemporary research and experience accessible. During this period there have been major technological advances offering new opportunities and approaches in the use of a wide range of technologies to support learning and knowledge transfer more generally. Further and fuller details about the journal's aims and processes are available on the Editors' own website: http://jcal.info.
Please read the instructions below fully for details on the submission of manuscripts, the journal's requirements and standards as well as information concerning the procedure after a manuscript has been accepted for publication in Journal of Computer Assisted Learning. Authors are encouraged to visit Wiley-Blackwell's Author Services for further information on the preparation and submission of articles and figures.

2. ETHICAL GUIDELINES

Journal of Computer Assisted Learning adheres to the below ethical guidelines for publication and research.

2.1. Authorship and Acknowledgements
Authorship: Authors submitting a paper do so on the understanding that the manuscript has been read and approved by all authors and that all authors agree to the submission of the manuscript to the Journal. You will be asked to confirm that this is the case on submission. ALL named authors must have made an active contribution to the conception and design and/or analysis and interpretation of the data and/or the drafting of the paper and ALL must have critically reviewed its content and have approved the final version submitted for publication. Participation solely in the acquisition of funding or the collection of data does not justify authorship and, except in the case of complex large-scale or multi-centre research, the number of authors should not exceed six.
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning adheres to the definition of authorship set up by The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). According to the ICMJE authorship criteria should be based on 1) substantial contributions to conception and design of, or acquisition of data or analysis and interpretation of data, 2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content and 3) final approval of the version to be published. Authors should meet conditions 1, 2 and 3.
It is a requirement that all authors have been accredited as appropriate upon submission of the manuscript. Contributors who do not qualify as authors should be mentioned under Acknowledgements.

Acknowledgements: When submitting your manuscript, please also submit a separate 'Acknowledgements' page as a 'Supplementary File not for Review', which should include any of the items below relevant to your manuscript:

• Specify contributors to the manuscript other than the authors accredited
• Conflict(s) of interest
• Declaring sources of research funding
• Confirming that all co-authors had complete access to data supporting the manuscript
• Confirming approval from a relevant ethics/review board for research procedures used
• Suppliers of materials should be named and their location (town, state/county, country) included

Please do not include any of the items above in your main manuscript file.

2.2 Conflict of Interest and Source of Funding
Conflict of Interest: Authors are required to disclose any possible conflict of interest. These include financial (for example patent, ownership, stock ownership, consultancies, speaker's fee).
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning requires that sources of institutional, private and corporate financial support for the work within the manuscript must be fully acknowledged, and any potential conflicts of interest noted. As of 1 March 2007, this information will be a requirement for all manuscripts submitted to the Journal and will be published in a highlighted box on the title page of the article. Please include this information under the separate headings of 'Source of Funding' and 'Conflict of Interest' at the end of your manuscript.
If the author does not include a conflict of interest statement in the manuscript then the following statement will be included by default: 'No conflicts of interest have been declared'.

Source of Funding: Authors are required to specify the source of funding for their research when submitting a paper. Suppliers of materials should be named and their location (town, state/county, country) included. The information will be disclosed in the published article. At the point of submission, you will be asked if all such funding information has been declared.
Note to NIH Grantees: Pursuant to NIH mandate, Wiley-Blackwell will post the accepted version of contributions authored by NIH grant-holders to PubMed Central upon acceptance. This accepted version will be made publicly available 12 months after publication. For further information, see www.wiley.com/go/nihmandate

2.3 Appeal of Decision
The decision on a paper is final and cannot be appealed.

2.4 Permissions
If all or parts of previously published illustrations are used, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder concerned. It is the author's responsibility to obtain these in writing and provide copies to the Publishers.

2.5 Copyright Assignment
Authors submitting a paper do so on the understanding that the work and its essential substance have not been published before and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. The submission of the manuscript by the authors means that the authors automatically agree to assign full copyright to Blackwell Publishing if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication. The work shall not be published elsewhere in any language without the written consent of the publisher. The articles published in this journal are protected by copyright, which covers translation rights and the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute all of the articles printed in the journal. No material published in the journal may be stored on microfilm or videocassettes, in electronic databases and the like, or reproduced photographically without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Correspondence to the journal is accepted on the understanding that the contributing author assigns full copyright to the publisher to publish the letter as part of the journal or separately from it, in the exercise of any subsidiary rights relating to the journal and its contents.
Upon acceptance of a paper, authors are required to assign the full copyright to publish their paper to Blackwell Publishing. Assignment of the full copyright is a condition of publication and papers will not be passed to the publisher for production unless copyright has been assigned. (Papers subject to government or Crown copyright are exempt from this requirement; however, the form still has to be signed). A completed Copyright Transfer Agreement must be sent to the Production Editor, before any manuscript can be published. Authors must send the completed Copyright Transfer Agreement by regular mail/fax/e-mail upon receiving notice of manuscript acceptance, i.e., do not send the form at submission.
For questions concerning copyright, please visit Wiley-Blackwell's Copyright FAQ.

3. SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS

Manuscripts should be submitted electronically via the online submission site http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jcal. The use of an online submission and peer review site enables immediate distribution of manuscripts and consequentially speeds up the review process. It also allows authors to track the status of their own manuscripts. Complete instructions for submitting a paper are available online and below. Further assistance can be obtained from the Editorial Office by telephone: +44 (0) 1509 223 034 or by e-mail: jcal@lboro.ac.uk.

3.1. Getting Started

• Launch your web browser (supported browsers include Internet Explorer 6 or higher, Netscape 7.0, 7.1, or 7.2, Safari 1.2.4, or Firefox 1.0.4) and go to the journal's online Submission Site: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jcal
• Log-in or click the 'Create Account' option if you are a first-time user.
• If you are creating a new account.
  - After clicking on 'Create Account', enter your name and e-mail information and click 'Next'. Your e-mail information is very important.
  - Enter your institution and address information as appropriate, and then click 'Next'.
  - Enter a user ID and password of your choice (we recommend using your e-mail address as your user ID), and then select your area of expertise. Click 'Finish'.
• If you have an account, but have forgotten your log-in details, go to Password Help on the journals online submission system http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jcal and enter your e-mail address. The system will send you an automatic user ID and a new temporary password.
• Log-in and select 'Author Center'.

3.2. Submitting Your Manuscript

• After you have logged in, click the 'Submit a Manuscript' link in the menu bar.
• Enter data and answer questions as appropriate. You may copy and paste directly from your manuscript and you may upload your pre-prepared covering letter.
• Click the 'Next' button on each screen to save your work and advance to the next screen.
• You are required to upload your files.
  - Click on the 'Browse' button and locate the file on your computer.
  - Select the designation of each file in the drop-down menu next to the 'Browse' button.
  - When you have selected all files you wish to upload, click the 'Upload Files' button.
• Review your submission (in HTML and PDF format) before sending to the journal. Click the 'Submit' button when you are finished reviewing.

3.3. Manuscript Files Accepted
Manuscripts should be uploaded as Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rft) files (not write-protected) plus separate figure files. GIF, JPEG, PICT or Bitmap files are acceptable for submission, but only high-resolution TIF or EPS files are suitable for printing. The files will be automatically converted to HTML and PDF on upload and will be used for the review process. The text file must contain the entire manuscript including title page, abstract, text, references, tables, and figure legends, but no embedded figures. Figure tags should be included in the file. Manuscripts should be formatted as described in the Author Guidelines below.
Please note that any manuscripts uploaded as Word 2007 (.docx) will be automatically rejected. Please save any .docx file as .doc before uploading.

3.4. Blinded Review
All manuscripts submitted to Journal of Computer Assisted Learning that the Editor and Deputy Editor agree are appropriate for inclusion will be reviewed by two experts in the field. The Journal of Computer Assisted Learning uses double-blinded review. The names of the reviewers will thus not be disclosed to the author submitting a paper and the name(s) of the author(s) will not be disclosed to the reviewers.
To allow double-blinded review, please submit (upload) your main manuscript and title page as separate files. Please upload:

• Your manuscript without title page under the file designation 'main document'
• Figure files under the file designation 'figures'
• The title page, Acknowledgements and Conflict of Interest Statement where applicable, should be uploaded under the file designation 'title page'

All documents uploaded under the file designation 'title page' will not be viewable in the HTML and PDF format you are asked to review at the end of the submission process. The files viewable in the HTML and PDF format are the files available to the reviewer in the review process.

3.5. Suspension of Submission Mid-way in the Submission Process

You may suspend a submission at any phase before clicking the 'Submit' button and save it to submit later. The manuscript can then be located under 'Unsubmitted Manuscripts' and you can click on 'Continue Submission' to continue your submission when you choose to.

3.6. E-mail Confirmation of Submission
After submission you will receive an e-mail to confirm receipt of your manuscript. If you do not receive the confirmation e-mail after 24 hours, please check your e-mail address carefully in the system. If the e-mail address is correct please contact your IT department. The error may be caused by spam filtering software on your e-mail server. Also, the e-mails should be received if the IT department adds our e-mail server (uranus.scholarone.com) to their whitelist.

3.7. Manuscript Status
You can access ScholarOne Manuscripts (formerly known as Manuscript Central) any time to check your 'Author Center' for the status of your manuscript. The Journal will inform you by e-mail once a decision has been made.

3.8. Submission of Revised Manuscripts
Revised manuscripts must be uploaded within three (3) months of authors being notified of conditional acceptance pending satisfactory revision. Locate your manuscript under 'Manuscripts with Decisions' and click on 'Submit a Revision' to submit your revised manuscript. Please remember to delete any old files uploaded when you upload your revised manuscript. Please also remember to upload your manuscript document separate from your title page.

4. MANUSCRIPT TYPES ACCEPTED

Original Article: Contributions should normally be between 4000 and 7000 words in length.

Review Article: Authors who are planning or preparing larger review-type articles should contact the Editor.

Special Issues: The journal welcomes proposals for Special Issues. Guidelines may be found at http://www.jcal.info/special_issues/index.htm.

Letter to the Editor: The purpose of this section is to allow readers to comment on material published in the journal. Letters submitted will be reviewed by the Editor for appropriateness and if found acceptable, will be forwarded to the author(s) for comment. Both the letter and the comment of the author(s) will be published in the same issue if possible.

5. MANUSCRIPT FORMAT AND STRUCTURE

5.1. Format
Language: The language of publication is English. Authors for whom English is a second language must have their manuscript professionally edited by an English speaking person before submission to make sure the English is of high quality. It is preferred that manuscripts are professionally edited. A list of independent suppliers of editing services can be found at http://authorservices.wiley.com/bauthor/english_language.asp. All services are paid for and arranged by the author, and use of one of these services does not guarantee acceptance or preference for publication.

Abbreviations and terminology: Spelling should conform to that of standard dictionaries (e.g. the Shorter Oxford Dictionary or Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary). Style should conform to that of standard manuals of English usage. Scientific measurements should be given in SI units. Abbreviations should be defined when they are first used.

5.2. Structure
The paper should be separated into three parts, comprising: 1) the title page (including e-mail address and full postal address); 2) a double-spaced Word file (without your name and address) but with title, abstract, keywords and main article text, with references, figures and figure legends, and tables at the end of the document; and 3) one file for each of the figures submitted.

• Include all figure legends, and tables with their legends if available.
• Do not use the carriage return (Enter) at the end of lines within a paragraph.
• Turn the hyphenation option off.
• Take care not to use l (ell) for 1 (one), O (capital o) for 0 (zero) or ß (German esszett) for β (beta).
• Use a tab, not spaces, to separate data points in tables.
• If you use a table editor function, ensure that each data point is contained within a unique cell, i.e. do not use carriage returns within cells.

Title Page: The title page should contain the following information in the order given: 1) name, address, fax number and e-mail address of author responsible for correspondence and proofs; 2) a running title, not exceeding 35 letters and spaces; 3) full title of the manuscript; 4) authors' full names; and 5) authors' institutional affiliations, including postal code, city and country. Authorship of papers is not divulged to referees, so it is helpful if author's name(s) and institutions are only referred to on the title page which is retained by the Editor.

Abstract: Supply an abstract (without subheadings) of 100-200 words. Below the abstract, provide up to six keywords that will assist indexers in cross-indexing your article.

Optimizing Your Abstract for Search Engines
Many students and researchers looking for information online will use search engines such as Google, Yahoo or similar. By optimizing your article for search engines, you will increase the chance of someone finding it. This in turn will make it more likely to be viewed and/or cited in another work. We have compiled these guidelines to enable you to maximize the web-friendliness of the most public part of your article.

Main Text
All pages should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals but tables and figure legends, including magnifications and acknowledgements, should be submitted in separate files. Tables and figures should be referred to in the text together with an indication of their approximate position recorded in the text margin. Authors should retain one copy of text, tables and illustration as the Editor cannot accept responsibility for damage or loss of manuscripts. Follow this order when typing manuscripts: Main text, References, Figures, Tables, Appendix.

5.3. References
All publications cited in the text should be presented in a list of references following the text of the manuscript. References within the text should cite the authors' names followed by the date of publication, in chronological date order, e.g. (Lewis 1975, Barnett 1992, Chalmers 1994). Where there are three or more authors, the first author's name followed by et al. will suffice, e.g. (Barder et al. 1994), but all authors should be cited in the reference list. All references should be cited from primary sources.
References follow the Harvard style, i.e. they are listed in alphabetical order of first authors' names. When a paper is cited, the reference list should include authors' surnames and initials, date of publication, title of paper, name of journal, volume number (and issue number where volume pages do not run on), and first and last page numbers.

For example:

Scardamalia M. & Bereiter C. (1994) Computer support for knowledge-building communities. The Journal of the Learning Sciences 3, 265-283.

Cornford J. & Pollock N. (2002) The university campus as resourceful constraint: process and practice in the construction of the virtual university. In Distributed Learning: Social and Cultural Approches to Practice (eds Lea M.R. & Nicholl K.), pp. 170-181. Routledge Falmer, London.

Schofield J.W. (1995) Computers and Classroom Culture. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

References are only acceptable if already published or if formal acceptance has been given for publication. Accepted papers not yet published may be cited as references in the text, and in the reference list should include the title, the designated journal and the words 'in press' in parentheses. Unpublished work, personal communications, and information from unpublished sources must only be cited where absolutely necessary, and only in the text as 'unpublished observations' in parentheses.
The editor and publisher recommend that citation of online published papers and other material should be done via a DOI (digital object identifier), which all reputable online published material should have - see www.doi.org/ for more information. If an author cites anything which does not have a DOI they run the risk of the cited material not being traceable.
We recommend the use of a tool such as EndNote or Reference Manager for reference management and formatting.
EndNote reference styles can be searched for here: www.endnote.com/support/enstyles.asp
Reference Manager reference styles can be searched for here: www.refman.com/support/rmstyles.asp

5.4. Tables, Figures and Figure Legends
Tables: Tables should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals, e.g., Table 3. Each table should be inserted on a separate page with a heading which makes it self-explanatory. In column headings, symbols and units should be given according to SI. Any abbreviations used in the tables should be defined in a footnote.

Figures: Figures should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals, e.g., Figure 2. Any abbreviations used in the figures should be defined in a footnote. Each figure should have a legend containing sufficient information to make the figure intelligible without reference to the text.

Preparation of Electronic Figures for Publication
Although low quality images are adequate for review purposes, print publication requires high quality images to prevent the final product being blurred or fuzzy. Submit EPS (line art) or TIFF (halftone/ photographs) files only. MS PowerPoint and Word Graphics are unsuitable for printed pictures. Do not use pixel-oriented programs. Scans (TIFF only) should have a resolution of at least 300 dpi (halftone) or 600 to 1200 dpi (line drawings) in relation to the reproduction size (see below). Please submit the data for figures in black and white or submit a Colour Work Agreement Form (see Colour Charges below). EPS files should be saved with fonts embedded (and with a TIFF preview if possible).
For scanned images, the scanning resolution (at final image size) should be as follows to ensure good reproduction: line art: > 600 dpi; halftones (including gel photographs): > 300 dpi; figures containing both halftone and line images: > 600 dpi.
Further information can be obtained at Wiley-Blackwell's guidelines for figures: http://authorservices.wiley.com/bauthor/illustration.asp
Check your electronic artwork before submitting it: http://authorservices.wiley.com/bauthor/eachecklist.asp

Permissions: If all or parts of previously published illustrations are used, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder concerned. It is the author's responsibility to obtain these in writing and provide copies to the Publisher.

Colour Charges: It is the policy of Journal of Computer Assisted Learning for authors to pay the full cost for the reproduction of their colour artwork. Therefore, please note that if there is colour artwork in your manuscript when it is accepted for publication, Wiley-Blackwell require you to complete and return a Colour Work Agreement Form before your paper can be published. Any article received by Wiley-Blackwell with colour work will not be published until the form has been returned. If you are unable to access the internet, or are unable to download the form, please contact the production editor via email: jcal@wiley.com.

5.6. Supporting Information
Publication in electronic formats has created opportunities for adding details or whole sections in the electronic version only. Authors need to work closely with the Editors in developing or using such new publication formats.
Supporting Information, such as data sets or additional figures or tables, that will not be published in the print edition of the journal, but which will be viewable via the online edition, can be submitted.
It should be clearly stated at the time of submission that the Supporting Information is intended to be made available through the online edition. If the size or format of the Supporting Information is such that it cannot be accommodated on the journal's website, the author agrees to make the Supporting Information available free of charge on a permanent website, to which links will be set-up from the journal's website. The author must advise Blackwell Publishing if the URL of the website where the Supporting Information is located changes. The content of the Supporting Information must not be altered after the paper has been accepted for publication.
The availability of Supporting Information should be indicated in the main manuscript by a paragraph, to appear after the References, headed 'Supporting Information' and providing titles of figures, tables, etc. In order to protect reviewer anonymity, material posted on the author's website cannot be reviewed. The Supporting Information is an integral part of the article and will be reviewed accordingly.

Extra issues: Larger papers or monographs may be published as additional issues (numbered as the ordinary issues), the full cost being paid by the author. Further information may be obtained from the Editor.

6. AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Upon acceptance of a paper for publication, the manuscript will be forwarded to the Production Editor who is responsible for the production of the journal.

6.1 Proof Corrections
The corresponding author will receive an e-mail alert containing a link to a website. A working e-mail address must therefore be provided for the corresponding author. The proof can be downloaded as a PDF (portable document format) file from this site.
Acrobat Reader will be required in order to read this file. This software can be downloaded (free of charge) from the following website: http://get.adobe.com/reader/. This will enable the file to be opened, read on screen, and printed out in order for any corrections to be added. Further instructions will be sent with the proof. Hard copy proofs will be posted if no e-mail address is available; in your absence, please arrange for a colleague to access your e-mail to retrieve the proofs.
Proofs must be returned to the production editor within three (3) days of receipt.
As changes to proofs are costly, we ask that you only correct typesetting errors. Other than in exceptional circumstances, all illustrations are retained by the publisher. Please note that the author is responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made by the copy editor.

6.2 EarlyView (Publication Prior to Print)
Journal of Computer Assisted Learning is covered by Wiley-Blackwell's EarlyView service. EarlyView articles are complete full-text articles published online in advance of their publication in a printed issue. EarlyView articles are complete and final. They have been fully reviewed, revised and edited for publication, and the authors' final corrections have been incorporated. Because they are in final form, no changes can be made after online publication. The nature of EarlyView articles means that they do not yet have volume, issue or page numbers, so EarlyView articles cannot be cited in the traditional way. They are therefore given a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), which allows the article to be cited and tracked before it is allocated to an issue. After print publication, the DOI remains valid and can continue to be used to cite and access the article.

6.3 Author Services
Online production tracking is available for your article through Author Services. Author Services enables authors to track their article - once it has been accepted - through the production process to publication online and in print. Authors can check the status of their articles online and choose to receive automated e-mails at key stages of production. The author will receive an e-mail with a unique link that enables them to register and have their article automatically added to the system. Please ensure that a complete e-mail address is provided when submitting the manuscript. Visit http://authorservices.wiley.com/bauthor/ for more details on online production tracking and for a wealth of resources including FAQs and tips on article preparation, submission and more.

6.4 Author Material Archive Policy
Please note that unless specifically requested, Wiley-Blackwell will dispose of all hardcopy or electronic material submitted two (2) months after publication. If you require the return of any material submitted, please inform the editorial office or production editor as soon as possible.

6.5 Offprints and Extra Copies
A PDF offprint of the online published article will be provided free of charge to the corresponding author, and may be distributed subject to the Publisher's terms and conditions. Additional paper offprints may be ordered online. Please click on the following link, fill in the necessary details and ensure that you type information in all of the required fields: http://offprint.cosprinters.com/
If you have queries about offprints please e-mail offprint@cosprinters.com