Submissions

Author Guidelines

General advice to authors

We are keen to encourage new or experienced writers to submit to the journal and contribute to the growing knowledge community in relation to enhancing the learner experience in higher education. To help authors develop papers ready for submission, detailed guidance for the various article types accepted by the journal are provided below. The journal is committed to publishing high quality research-informed articles. Therefore, in developing manuscripts, authors should: • Explain differences in results that contradict other published results • Ensure that new, innovative techniques for presenting information contain adequate comparison to currently-accepted approaches for presenting the same information Here are some examples of content that should be avoided in manuscripts being submitted • Subject matter outside of the scope of the Journal (refer to journal focus and scope) • Significant technical content without substantive pedagogic information • No insights provided as to how the derivations enhance classroom learning or apply to classroom learning • Limited evidence of taking the student voice into account. • Detailed written descriptions but insufficient supporting figures, tables, graphs, pictures, or diagrams If authors are ensure whether or not their papers are appropriate for the journal, they are welcome to contact the journal for guidance.

Guidelines for research articles

Articles reporting original pedagogic research focussed on enhancing the learner experience are welcomed. The focus should be on 'why' the learner experience needs to be improved in that particular aspect/area and 'how' this might be addressed. The research needs to have incorporated the student voice in a meaningful way, and be underpinned by educational literature in the field. Empirical research papers should normally be between 3000 and 6000 words (including References) and include the following points: • An Abstract of 100-150 words outlining the aim, method, findings and conclusion of the study • An introduction reviewing relevant literature in the area which proivides a basis for identifying the issue to be studied, and leads to a statement of research aims and questions • A detailed description of methods employed, including explanation of how the student voice was incorporated into the work • Presentation of results obtained, including a description of analytical tools and processes employed • Discussion of findings with a focus on their contribution to pedagogic literature, and implications for the enhancement of learner experiences • A summary of conclusions and their implications for practice, along with recommendations emerging from the work As the focus of ELEHE is on research engaging with the student voice in HE, we encourage authors to report their research methods in full. If your methods are unusual, please report both successes and difficulties so that other researchers can learn from your experience.

Manuscript preparation for research articles

The title of the paper should be typed in Times New Roman (boldface 14pt) and is left-justified. The author’s name should be typed in Times New Roman (italics 12pt) and also left-justified. Authors should each supply 25-word biographies for inclusion in the Author section (footer of page 1). The principal author’s email address should be supplied. A 100-150 word abstract is required. Manuscripts must be typed single spaced using 12 point characters. Only Times, Times Roman, Times New Roman and Symbol fonts are accepted for the text. Section and subsection titles should be typed in Arial or Helvetica fonts using 11 and 10 point characters, respectively. Paragraph spacing for these should be 12pt above and 8pt below the heading. Pages should be numbered at the bottom right of each page. The text should be left-justified on an A4 page (21 cm x 29.7 cm); the left margin should be 4.5 cm and the right margin should be 2.5 cm. Paragraphs are separated by 6 points and with no indentation. The text of the papers should be written in one column. The maximum length of a refereed paper or article is 6,000 words (including References) although this may be negotiated with the Editor. Figures and tables Figures and tables should be used sparingly, as appropriate. If used, they should be left-justified, numbered consecutively throughout the text, and each should have a caption underneath it. Care should be taken that the lettering is not too small. All figures and tables should be included in the electronic versions of the full paper. Figures and tables should be boxed. Quotations Quotations of 20 words or less should be incorporated in the text with quotation marks. Longer quotations should be put in a new paragraph without quotation marks and using the Roman script in italics. All quotations should be attributed with Harvard referencing, for example, (Smith, 2000, 12). In longer quotations they should follow on a separate line, right-justified (see examples). Conclusion All authors are encouraged to conclude their paper with a section describing the practical applications of their research, i.e., answering the “so what?” question. What effect should your work have on the HE practitioner or the research community? Is there anything the community should be doing differently as a result of your research? Have you identified areas for future research? If so, please state them here. References Please use Harvard-style references, inserting the name and year in the text thus (Cook and Davies, 1997). The list of references should be ordered alphabetically according to the first author surname. If there is no author, order alphabetically by title.

Guidelines for short reports

Contributions of up to 2000 words which describe work in progress or a smaller piece of innovative work where a regular length paper would not be appropriate. The papers will therefore usually have a more practical or experimental focus. The work will still be refereed, but as work is usually earlier in the research process this should be reflected in the reviewers comments. The papers will normally include the following: • An Abstract of 50-100 words outlining the aim, method, findings and conclusion of the study • A short introduction, only including most relevant literature in the area which provides a basis for identifying the issue to be studied, and leads to a statement of research aims and questions • A description of methods employed, including explanation of how the student voice was incorporated into the work and a short presentation of results obtained focusing on the student voice. • Discussion of findings with a focus on implications for the enhancement of learner experiences. For work in progress, authors should indicate where the work will go next and what is still left to achieve. • A summary of conclusions and their implications for practice, along with recommendations emerging from the work As the focus of ELEHE is on research engaging with the student voice in HE, though the work being reported is often early work, indicative impact on the student learning experience should be shown. Manuscript preparation for short reports The title of the paper should be typed in Times New Roman (boldface 14pt) and is left-justified. The author’s name should be typed in Times New Roman (italics 12pt) and also left-justified. Authors should each supply 25-word biographies for inclusion in the Author section (footer of page 1). The principal author’s email address should be supplied. A 50-100 word abstract is required. Manuscripts must be typed single spaced using 12 point characters. Only Times, Times Roman, Times New Roman and Symbol fonts are accepted for the text. Section and subsection titles should be typed in Arial or Helvetica fonts using 11 and 10 point characters, respectively. Paragraph spacing for these should be 12pt above and 8pt below the heading. Pages should be numbered at the bottom right of each page. The text should be left-justified on an A4 page (21 cm x 29.7 cm); the left margin should be 4.5 cm and the right margin should be 2.5 cm. Paragraphs are separated by 6 points and with no indentation. The text of the papers should be written in one column. The maximum length of a refereed short paper or article is 2000 words (including References) longer papers should be submitted as research articles. Figures and tables Figures and tables should be used sparingly, as appropriate, normally no more than two. If used, they should be left-justified, numbered consecutively throughout the text, and each should have a caption underneath it. Care should be taken that the lettering is not too small. All figures and tables should be included in the electronic versions of the full paper. Figures and tables should be boxed. Quotations Quotations of 20 words or less should be incorporated in the text with quotation marks. Longer quotations should be put in a new paragraph without quotation marks and using the Roman script in italics. All quotations should be attributed with Harvard referencing, for example, (Smith, 2000, 12). In longer quotations they should follow on a separate line, right-justified (see examples). Conclusion All authors are encouraged to conclude their paper with a section appropriate to the paper’s length describing the practical applications of their research, i.e., answering the “so what?” question. What effect should/could your work have on the HE practitioner? Is there anything the community should be doing differently as a result of your research? Have you identified areas for future research? If so, please state them here. References Please use Harvard-style references, inserting the name and year in the text thus (Cook and Davies, 1997). The list of references should be ordered alphabetically according to the first author surname. If there is no author, order alphabetically by title.

Guidelines for critical case studies

We welcome 3-4000 word critical case studies of institutional practice out of which original conceptualisations of enhancing the student experience can be considered (the 'what' questions). Examples of topics might include: Widening access; international students; globalisation; service users group (please note that these are only examples) Papers submitted under this section should include an abstract of 100-150 words. Critical Case study content should include the following points: • An introduction and the aim and background of the case which should include identification of the problem, situation or the case studied and how the information was gathered • A discussion of the strengths, and factors that contributed to its success • A consideration of the weaknesses of the case, and factors that contributed to a failure • Consideration of the external threats and opportunities and how they compare with the factors that contribute to success or failure • A description of the key issues that emerge from the analysis • A summary of conclusions and their implications for practice, along with recommendations emerging from the work

Manuscript preparation for critical case studies

The title of the critical case study should be typed in Times New Roman (boldface 14pt) and left-justified. The author’s name should be typed in Times New Roman (italics 12pt) and also left-justified. The author should supply a short (25-word) biography for inclusion in the Author section (footer of page 1). The principal author’s email address should be supplied. A 100-150 word abstract is required. Manuscripts must be typed single spaced using 12 point characters. Only Times, Times Roman, Times New Roman and Symbol fonts are accepted for the text. Section and subsection titles should be typed in Arial or Helvetica fonts using 11 and 10 point characters, respectively. Paragraph spacing for these should be 12pt above and 8pt below the heading. Pages should be numbered at the bottom right of each page. The text should be left-justified on an A4 page (21 cm x 29.7 cm); the left margin should be 4.5 cm and the right margin should be 2.5 cm. Paragraphs are separated by 6 points and with no indentation. The text of the papers should be written in one column. Figures and tables Figures and tables should be used sparingly, as appropriate. If used, they should be left-justified, numbered consecutively throughout the text, and each should have a caption underneath it. Care should be taken that the lettering is not too small. All figures and tables should be included in the electronic versions of the full paper. Figures and tables should be boxed. Quotations Quotations of 20 words or less should be incorporated in the text with quotation marks. Longer quotations should be put in a new paragraph without quotation marks and using the Roman script in italics. All quotations should be attributed with Harvard referencing, for example, (Smith, 2000, 12). In longer quotations they should follow on a separate line, right-justified (see examples). Conclusion All authors are encouraged to conclude their paper with a section describing the practical applications of the findings from their critical case study i.e., answering the “so what?” question. What effect should your work have on the HE practitioner or the research community? Is there anything the HE practitioner or community should be doing differently as a result of your Case study? Have you identified areas for future research? If so, please state them here. References Please use Harvard-style references, inserting the name and year in the text thus (Cook and Davies, 2012). The list of references should be ordered alphabetically according to the first author surname. If there is no author, order alphabetically by title.

Guidelines for book reviews

The Book Review Section is made possible because of the willingness of professionals to review books. We have a continual need for those interested in providing an occasional book review. If you would be willing to review a book for publication in the Book Review section of ELEHE, please contact the Book Review Editor, Dr Simon Sneddon. A book review may cover only one book or monograph or several works. Its length should be between 500 and 1000 words. It should give readers an engaging, informative, and critical discussion of the work. Try to avoid simply quoting from the publisher’s blurb, without comment, or merely listing the titles of chapters, unless this is the best way to describe the content succinctly. Your review should offer more than can be found by a reader stumbling across the book in a bookshop, or advertised on a website. Sometimes, two or more books on the same topic can be reviewed together; in general, comparisons of new books with the existing literature can be most helpful. We want book reviews published in ELEHE to read well, to be authoritative, and to be useful. If you refer to other published work, give precise details in the conventional manner, listing such References at the end of your review. The most important point in developing a book review is to address the Journal’s readership: international and interdisciplinary. Language should, therefore, be direct and unnecessary jargon and technical terms avoided. The review should consider: • The intended audience for the book and who would find it useful; • The background of the author; • The main ideas and major objectives of the book and how effectively these are accomplished; • The soundness of methods and information sources used; • The context or impetus for the book - review research or policy, etc.; • A comparison with other works on this subject; • Constructive comments about the strength and weaknesses of the book; • For edited books: dominant themes with reference to specific chapters as appropriate; and implications of the book for research, policy, practice, or theory.

Manuscript preparation for book reviews

The title of the book(s) reviewed should be typed in Times New Roman (boldface 14pt) and left-justified. The reviewer’s name should be typed in Times New Roman (italics 12pt) and also left-justified. The reviewer should supply a short (25-word) biography for inclusion in the Author section (footer of page 1). The reviewer’s email address should be supplied. Manuscripts must be typed single spaced using 12 point characters. Only Times, Times Roman, Times New Roman and Symbol fonts are accepted for the text. Section and subsection titles should be typed in Arial or Helvetica fonts using 11 and 10 point characters, respectively. Paragraph spacing for these should be 12pt above and 8pt below the heading. Pages should be numbered at the bottom right of each page. The text should be left-justified on an A4 page (21 cm x 29.7 cm); the left margin should be 4.5 cm and the right margin should be 2.5 cm. Paragraphs are separated by 6 points and with no indentation. The text of the papers should be written in one column. Quotations Quotations of 20 words or less should be incorporated in the text with quotation marks. Longer quotations should be put in a new paragraph without quotation marks and using the Roman script in italics. All quotations should be attributed with Harvard referencing, for example, (Smith, 2000, 12). In longer quotations they should follow on a separate line, right-justified (see examples). Conclusion All authors are encouraged to conclude their paper with a section describing the practical applications of the book, i.e., answering the “so what?” question. What effect should the book have on the HE practitioner or the research community? Is there anything the community should be doing differently as a result of the book? References Please use Harvard-style references, inserting the name and year in the text thus (Cook and Davies, 2012). The list of references should be ordered alphabetically according to the first author surname. If there is no author, order alphabetically by title.