William Allan Kritsonis, PhD

The Lamar University Electronic Journal of Student Research Summer 2007

On Writing Well for Professional Publication in National Refereed Journals in Education
William Allan Kritsonis, PhD
Professor and Faculty Mentor Doctor of Philosophy Program in Educational Leadership College of Education Prairie View A&M University Member of the Texas A&M University System Visiting Lecturer (2005) Oxford Round Table University of Oxford, England Distinguished Alumnus (2004) Central Washington University College of Education and Professional Studies

Kimberly Grantham Griffith, PhD
Associate Professor and Faculty Mentor
Lamar University Department of Professional Pedagogy College of Education and Human Development
________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT This article contains practical advice on how to get published in professional journals. The contributing writers have almost 600 years combined experience in professional education. Because of their strengths and success in publishing, all were asked – independently of one another – to succinctly state advice on getting published at the national level. The article offers individual guidance, assistance, and direction in writing for professional publication in refereed, peer-reviewed, blind-reviewed, juried, academic and scholarly journals. See: www.nationalforum.com _______________________________________________________________________

Introduction There will always be an expectation that certain members of the academic community contribute to the body of professional and technical literature in their respective fields. Most of this activity is focused at large research universities in which faculties have been recruited on the basis of their being producing publishing scholars, or at the junior ranks, have the promise of becoming such professionals. Currently, second, third, and fourth tier colleges and universities are placing increased pressure on faculty to be more productive publishing scholars. While the expectation has not reached the proportions of “publish or perish” – given tenure, due process, and admitted heavy teaching loads – many institutions are establishing what amounts to a “publish or prosper” stance. Most institutions in higher education initiating this kind of publishing expectation are meeting with mixed success, and in some cases, extraordinary resistance from faculties. The faculties say that the universities expect scholarly productivity, yet do little to support these kinds of efforts with released time, secretarial assistance, graduate students, money for various expenses, merit pay, and salary differentials. Concerning publishing expectations in higher education, one of the most challenging and difficulty tasks is for faculties to publish in national refereed journals. While the debate is expected to continue indefinitely, the reality is that more faculty will need to acquire the knowledge and skills required in successfully writing for professional publication. Many others – including some educators at the K-12 and community college level – want to become more proficient as producing publishing scholars. Whatever the motivation, few undergraduate or graduate students experience formal programs that provide them the depth education and training necessary to become highly skilled in the publication enterprise.

Purpose of the Article The contributing writers in this article have almost 600 years of combined experience in the professional education arena. Among them they have produced approximately 1500 publications of various types. Because of their strengths and successes in the area of publication, all were asked – independently of one another – to succinctly state their 10 or 12 best prices of advice on getting published. While it is was expected that there would be some overlap, there is a high degree of variation among the six contributors. Each has a point of view that differs from the others. All have something to offer to the serious person who wishes to meet with success in writing for professional publication.

Dr. Fenwick W. English
R. Wendell Eaves Distinguished Professor of Educational Leadership The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 1. Study the publication to which you desire to submit your manuscript. 2. Don’t submit manuscripts blindly without knowing what that journal usually publishes. 3. Know something about the journal’s reviewers, their backgrounds, and scholarship. 4. Don’t be sloppy. Before submitting your manuscript be sure it adheres to all the stipulations and standards outlined for that journal. 5. Some journals are for primarily an academic audience. Others are for practitioners. They are different. Standards of evidence are different. 6. All journals are not the same. Know the differences.

Dr. Jeanne Marcum Gerlach
Associate Vice President for K-16 and Dean College of Education The University of Texas at Arlington 1. Be sure to narrow your focus for the article. One article cannot report substantively on five or six questions. 2. The author should have a clear theoretical framework to support the study. 3. The author should review relevant literature to support the study. 4. Be sure to define and operationalize key terms. 5. The author should provide a rational for the study itself, not just the methodology used in the work. 6. Be sure to provide a theoretical framework which will guide the interpretation of the data garnered for the study. 7. Be careful not to confuse quantitative research terminology with qualitative research terminology. 8. The author should give a rationale for the population being studied.

9. The author should provide independent checks on the coding system and analysis. 10. Be sure to provide an analysis and interpretation of the data. 11. Be sure you draw conclusions that could not have been drawn without the research. 12. Be sure the conclusions are justified by the data.

Dr. John J. Chiodo
Professor of Education The University of Oklahoma Co- editor of Action in Teacher Education 1. Read, read, read. The more you know about a topic the better your own research will be. 2. If you see your idea for an article published in a variety of journals, chances are editors of journals will no longer be interested in it when you finish your manuscript. 3. Get a copy of Cabell’s Directory for Publishing Opportunities in Education and Curriculum. Beaumont, TX: Cabell Pub. Co. 2005 and study the requirements for the journal(s) you are thinking about as possible outlets for your manuscript.

4. Have several journals in mind when you start writing your manuscript. 5. Don’t think about writing, set up a schedule and just do it! 6. There are descriptive articles and research based articles that are published. Generally speaking it seems that editors are more interested in research based manuscripts. 7. Good introduction and good conclusions make for good articles. 8. Be creative in your research. Look at a topic in a different way or combine ideas from previous research. 9. Know your research methodology. Poor research methodology will cause an editor to quickly reject your manuscript. 10. Everyone get rejections. Sulk for a day and then get back and learn from the comments. Reviewers have a lot of experience and they took the time to comment on your manuscript. Use their comments in the revision process. 11. Revise, revise, and revise.

Dr. Rosemary Papalewis
Endowed Professor Northern Arizona University Flagstaff, AZ The scholarship for teaching translates into a series of practices for your professional career path. Outstanding teaching is not maintained without research writing, presentations at conferences and publishing. Being a professor requires not only active consumption skills of research, but also active publications skills which contribute to the body knowledge in your particular area. I define scholarship publishing as two areas: research based and position pieces. Research based is writing which reports your active lines of research. When I was mentored into the professorate, I was advised to always have three lines of research going. Position pieces, otherwise know as “binder and fillers” for the vitae/RTP are pieces where you express an opinion (validated by other literature, of course) or idea, or describe a model you have developed (again, validated by literature). In the long-term, research based publishing is the writing to strive for, as it validates your right to express yourself in position pieces. Research based scholarship insures your on-going contribution to the knowledge base. As you found from completing your dissertation, you probably had 5 more studies you could have followed up on (and, hopefully you will/did). Answering questions in your lines of research should continue to generate on-going study. I recommend the following tips: 1. Overall, write always planning to publish it! 2. Always do a presentation with a written paper ready. 3. In preparing the written paper, identify at least 3 referred journals you can submit to (making sure they all use the same writing style, i.e., APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.). 4. Choose refereed journal with fairly quick turn around. 5. Always email or phone the editor to ascertain interest in your topic. 6. Always present from your “draft” and immediately clean up your paper following your presentation, based on any feedback received. 7. Submit your paper to the first journal; if revisions are requested (usually) pick and choose which revisions make sense to you. Don’t become disheartened with this process! 8. If rejected, reviews comments and change as indicated. If no comments were made, submit to the second journal you had already identified. Usually by the

third journal your article will be picked up for publication (as in, third times’ a charm!). 9. Co-authoring is a good way to “learn the ropes”. So, find a Mentor that publishes. Find a Mentor that publishes research based studies. Approach the “mature faculty” and ask them what they are publishing, and what their research lines are. Ask to be included. 10. Develop rough drafts and share them. Rule of thumb, pen to paper means you have a second or third author. 11. Become a juror to a refereed journal. 12. Become active in your professional organizations, to serve as a reader to their conference proposals. 13. Chair dissertation/theses’ committees, with as thought towards publishing with your students. 14. Try to find ways to use your classes/field work students in data collection activities. Beyond novice level, the ultimate scholar-practitioner continues to research, write, present and publish, thus continuing to improve their teaching. Given this, I recommend the following tips: 1. Begin to shoot for the top journals in your field, those that may take a year or longer to read and react to your paper. 2. At this point, your goal is not numbers of publications, but serious addition to the knowledge base. 3. Write that book you may have always wanted to. 4. Mentor novice professors in the art of publication. 5. Actively involve novice professors in presentations. Overall, there is no substitute for writing and staying in practice. The more you write the better a writer you will become. Find your own “ebb and flow” and guarantee yourself some writing time. Write weekly, with a certain day and time reserved. Set goals of how many articles you intend to submit per year. Review your state and national presentation possibilities and frame your writing around these. My tendency is to write for presentations during the semester (usually under time duress) and then rewrite for publication during winter and summer break. Good luck.

Dr. Jeffrey N. Weatherly
Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology University of North Dakota 1. Know your outlet. Different journals have different readerships and different standards. If you publish your work in only a few journals or only in low-tiered journals, then your work will have little impact on the field. 2. Prepare a good manuscript. Reviewers and editors will always have comments and suggestions for improvement no matter how well you prepare a paper. However, few reviewers or editors get compensated for their time. A poorly prepared paper will do little to make them positively inclined toward your work. If you do not care enough about it to prepare it properly, why should they? 3. Be conservative and open to other interpretations. You undoubtedly have an opinion about the conclusions that should be drawn from your paper. It is a rare paper, however, that can counter every possible alternative explanation. If alternatives exist, you should acknowledge them. 4. Do not take criticism personally. Few reviewers or editors will be unprofessional enough to make comments of a personal nature. Critiques of your work should be seen as opportunities for improvement. Many times, the suggested revisions to your paper will result in a stronger piece of work than the original. Sometimes, the suggestions will be on things you believe you have already addressed in the paper. If that is the case, then you obviously have not addressed them well enough. Go back and do a better job of it. 5. Expect rejection. No scholar will ever get every paper accepted the first time around. Rejection is part of the process. Take the reviewers' and editor's comments into account, decide if the paper's faults can be fixed, and, if they can, submit the paper to another journal. 6. Submit your work. I have had colleagues who will spend weeks revising single paragraphs. These individuals are then devastated months later when the paper is not accepted. Prepare a good paper and then submit it. Sometimes the best and strongest changes are made to a paper after its initial review.

Dr. Richard Blackbourn
Dean of the College of Education Mississippi State University 1. Research various journals in your field. Some may be more in line with your personal research agenda than others. They also may be thematic in nature which is important in determining how your research "fits" into their emphases. 2. Make personal contacts with editors. This can be done via email, telephone, or face to face at professional meetings. Obviously, one would not "pester" an editor, but editors being able to put a face with a name can sometimes be of help.

3. Collaborate with others. Although there is certainly a time and place for solo authorship, working with others can often produce a better product and help individuals stay on the task of writing. 4. Use conference presentations as opportunities to have your writing critiqued. While criticism is sometimes unpleasant, comments from your audience can help you hone your research into a better quality publication. 5. Encourage others to read and critique your work. This allows you to benefit from the expertise of others and allows the reader to "spot" things you might not catch.

Dr. Barry S. Davidson
Department of Psychology, Counseling and Foundation Education at Troy University 1. Keep thinking about writing. 2. Reflect on the topic you are considering researching for publication. 3. Contact prospective editors of journals to see what special topics may be highlighted as theme issues in the near future. 4. List all your ideas, wait awhile, and later organize your thoughts into sentences and paragraphs. 5. Set aside time to write daily. Maintain a writing schedule and adhere to it. 6. Consider co-authoring with a colleague to balance perspectives on sensitive subjects. 7. Ponder the advantages of forwarding your article to several readers at various institutions prior to submission to the editorial board.

8. Be willing to rewrite more drafts prior to submission to the editor of the journal you have selected to review your research. 9. Ask questions of established authors. 10. Remember to keep a positive attitude during the writing process.

Dr. Gerald J. Calais
Associate Professor Department of Teacher Education McNeese State University Factors Focusing on Journal Guidelines and Policies 1. Which professional audience do you wish to address? Each journal focuses on the needs of specific groups and their corresponding areas or topics of interest. 2. Are you familiar with the journal’s requirements when submitting your article? Obtain the latest issue of your journal and its “Instructions for Authors” brochure that addresses the journal’s audience, format, style, manuscript preparation style, and review policies. 3. What are the journal’s particular writing style requirements? The following sections are standard: (a) an abstract, (b) a literature review section, (c) a method section, (d) a results section, (e) a discussion section, and (6) a reference section. Factors Focusing on Editors’ Criteria for Critiquing Manuscripts 1. Is your writing comprehensible or how articulate is your writing? Authors should be able to state the complex as simply and comprehensibly as possible. 2. How significant is your research topic? Provide a rationale early on in your paper stating why you believe your research addresses a significant issue. This skill is developmental: both experience and extensive knowledge are instrumental. 3. Do you truly have a well designed study? Are the method and design of your study appropriate? More specifically, do your questions match the design you have employed? Is your methods section sufficiently detailed to permit replication by others? [Did you precisely describe your selection of subjects, materials, and procedures?]

4. What techniques did you use to present your results or findings? Did you report and analyze your data appropriately and does your data analysis match your research methods? 5. How reliable are your results? How replicable and generalizing are your results? 6. Does your article meet the journal’s rudimentary requirements? This component focuses on a variety of pitfalls that authors should strive to avoid (e.g., spelling errors, outdated literature review, inappropriate citing of references, failure to include descriptive statistics.

Dr. Mary Alice Kritsonis
National Research and Manuscript Preparation Editor National FORUM Journals 1. Find someone who has been successful at getting published. Cultivate a friendship, and solicit their counsel. 2. Make a personal commitment to write something – anything – regularly or at least periodically. But before you make this commitment, make a more important one. Read regularly. 3. Get it into your head that the only people who get published are those who write something. 4. Don’t wait for inspiration. It rarely comes. Set time aside when you write, read, write some more, re-write, revise, read, and so on… 5. Realize that great minds and great writers are not the only ones to get published. If you read, you will learn this. All writing cannot be great. Good is better than much of the manuscripts published. 6. Getting published is a game. Learn the rules. It makes the game more fun and your chances of winning are much better. 7. Start small. Success is the best encouragement. Write a book review, an article for the local paper, find a journal that isn’t swamped with manuscripts, ask you mentor(s) for help, and call or write editors to find out what they want or need. 8. Write about what you know best and what you’re interested in. It helps to have a leg up on the substance of an article; the technical dimensions are hard enough.

9. Technical know-how can’t be bypassed. Use correct English, follow slavishly the style, format, length, and other requirements of the specific publication to which you are submitting, present spotlessly clean, beautifully typed copy, ad write a nice humble letter telling why your manuscript is so wonderful and deserving of publication. Before you send it off, have a least two of the most critical people you know (no friends) review it for anything and everything. It’s always painful, but it usually helps tremendously. 10. One of the best ways to get started is to collaborate with someone – preferably someone who has had success in getting published. This may mean taking second or third co-author, but your day will come. 11. A by-line is more than ample reward for most writers – that is unless you earn your living at it. If you do, you don’t need my advice.

Dr. Robert H. Anderson
Professor Emeritus at the Harvard Graduate School of Education Dean Emeritus at Texas Tech University President of Pedamorphosis, Inc. 1. Be sure that the article is about something that excites you. 2. Check out the purposes and the focuses of the journals to be sure your piece deals with the interests of their audiences and their editors. 3. Read the editor’s instructions to authors carefully and abide by them. 4. Don’t trust your typist. Check every word, every reference, and every statistic. 5. Submit clean, crisp, fresh-looking pages. Don’t submit dog-eared, coffee-stained, messy material. 6. Have a friend check your paper editorially – grammar, spelling, organization, readability, interest level. 7. Don’t quote your own previous writing(s) unless it has a legitimate reason for being there. 8. The first four paragraphs are crucial – if the reader is not hooked by then, he/she won’t stay with it. 9. Have a good, catching, but accurate title. The title is what the reader depends on to know what the article is about.

10. Be sure to submit a stamped return envelope and as many copies as required.

Dr. Karolyn J. Snyder
Professor Emeritus University of South Florida President of International School Connection, USA. 1. Have a fresh message to present, one which you can state for yourself in a sentence. 2. Begin an article by stating your message; proceed to develop/present your idea/data, conclude by restating your message. 3. Develop a model, an organizing pictorial representation of the ideas you discuss; use it to introduce the concepts you will develop in your manuscript. 4. Develop a working knowledge of APA and The Chicago manuscript styles. 5. Develop sentences and paragraphs that are succinct and easy to understand. 6. Establish a clear, concise relationship of your work to the current body of knowledge in your field (10-20% of the manuscript. 7. Write for the specific interests of the journal board and its audience. 8. Use scholarly language when writing for research publications (dialogue among scholars), and more practical language for practitioner publications (working concepts for practitioners). 9. Develop a working relationship with a colleague; read and critique each other’s manuscripts before the final copy. 10. Regard the writing and preparation activity as fun.

Dr. Edgar Bennett
Tutor (Professor) Oriel College University of Oxford, Oxord, England. 1. Became familiar with the preferred form, style, and formatting of articles published in the journal by closely studying several past issues of the periodical.

2. Keep the problem that is being investigated in the forefront throughout the writing process. 3. Ensure the flow of the manuscript follows a logical sequence of events and meets the test of reasonableness. 4. Write clearly worded, concise statements utilizing vocabulary appropriate to the readership. 5. Use only the latest reported evidence that is pertinent to your thesis as supportive documentation. 6. Generalizations stated should be supported by the sampling and statistical techniques in research articles. 7. Finding no significant difference in a tested hypothesis is within itself a fact worthy of being reported. 8. Substance of the article should be pertinent to identified needs of the profession. 9. Adequate detail should be included to permit replication of the study by other researchers and writers. 10. All graphics, tables, and exhibits should help to clarify the points being made in the written portion of the article.

Dr. John Costakos
Associate Professor Emeritus California State University at Sacramento 1. Know the publishing ground rules. 2. Decide carefully on the reason/timing of your article. 3. Research and use current quotes in the field and document contributions in the field if possible. 4. Know your audience and your vision. 5. Are you trying to build alliance or promote thought and controversy? 6. If you want to inspire, keep your article upbeat and show optimism.

7. Sell your ideas but keep your ego in check. 8. Be sure your article has value for your audience. 9. Share good news. 10. Have a proactive mindset. 11. Be concise in your observation and reflection of thought. 12. What kind of strategies or ideas can you contribute to influence your audience? 13. Don’t leave any ideas hanging. 14. Express your thoughts with clarity, pose good questions for thought. 15. Keep equity and diversity in mind.

Clarence Johnson
Director of Safe and Secure Schools Aldine Independent School District (Houston, Texas) PhD Candidate in Educational Leadership Prairie View A&M University Member of the Texas A&M University System 1. Be an aggressive and eager learner. 2. Have adequate writing skills. 3. Proofread your materials carefully. 4. Focus and write on current local, national and global issues. 5. Stay focused on the topic being written. 6. Follow the format required by the publisher. 7. Give accurate data and research that support your material. 8. Follow the instructions of an excellent mentor. 9. Meet all editorial and publishing deadlines.

10. Think on the “cutting edge” of material being submitted.

Dr. David E. Herrington
Assistant Professor Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling Prairie View A&M University Member of the Texas A&M University System 1. Select and define the purpose of your writing based on current interests of your target audience. Avoid trying to accomplish multiple purposes with multiple audiences. Keep it simple. Identify your audience and topic and stick to it. 2. Outline the article carefully. Let the outline guide, not dictate the direction your writing will take. 3. Plan to start the article with a major point or outcome. Capture the interest of the reader early in the article. 4. Avoid technical jargon. Use simply terminology and vocabulary that is not regional or dated. 5. Keep sentences short and easy to read and comprehend. 6. Provide examples of major points. Build a bridge between the idea and the applicability of the point be emphasized. 7. Write with a specific audience in mind. Define the audience at the inception of the article and keep that audience in mind throughout the development of the article. 8. Write as though you were talking to the audience. Communicate. 9. Avoid being formal. Be down to earth and believable. 10. Make narrative clear, concise, and to the point. Avoid unnecessary verbiage. Don’t strive to impress people with your vocabulary unless that is a requirement of the journal. 11. Select the journal to which the article will be sent with care and precision. Be sure your audience is within their readership. 12. Follow journal guidelines carefully.

13. Set aside your work when you finish. Read it later from a fresh perspective. Accept all criticism no matter how harsh. Be thorough in your editing for simplicity. Eliminate everything that does not contribute to your main purpose. 14. Know your editor well. Be sure to comply with all of her requirements. Make the editor’s work easier. She will appreciate it.

Dr. Richard A. Hartnett
Chair and Professor Education Leadership Department West Virginia University 1. Read the major journals in your field and become familiar with their requirements and topical patterns. 2. Determine whether your study fits their scholarly focus. If not, find alternative outlets for publication. 3. Outline (sentence form is best) your article assiduously to insure unity and cohesiveness. 4. Learn to be a vigilant editor and ask others (particularly experts in the field) to examine your manuscript for style and content. Expect to go through multiple drafts before submission. 5. If reviewers request changes before the article is accepted for publication, follow their advice and identify for the editor the changes you have made based on their corrections.

Dr. Kimberly Griffith
Associate Professor and Editor The Lamar University Electronic Journal of Student Research Lamar University College of Education and Human Development Department of Professional Pedagogy Beaumont, Texas 1. Brainstorm ideas for research and possible publication. Look at current journals to see what is current or a “hot” topic. Many also have a “Call for Papers” listing the topics they plan to publish in future editions. Ask professional educational organizations what topics are popular or important issues in their field of education. 2. Think about what interests you. You have to live with the topic until you

complete it. If you are not interested in the topic, it will become boring or be difficult to keep on task and complete.

3. Find out if a colleague or another person in the field of education has a project, interest, etc. that you could work on with them. 4. Find out if a textbook company is looking for someone to write a chapter in a textbook. These might be on their website or they might send an email to those on their list-serve. 5. Determine the type of manuscript you want to write. Understand the difference between and “article” and a “manuscript.” A manuscript is work that is submitted for possible publication. An article is a manuscript that has been published. Examples of manuscript types include the following: Objective survey of the literature available on a topic Analysis of literature to support the author’s viewpoint Interpretive paper on a specific theory, concept, etc. Theory paper that develops a new conceptual framework Research paper - describing the study, participants, results, conclusions, etc. o Chapter for a textbook (They are the easiest to be accepted since they do not have to go through a blind peer-review process) o Other types of papers as indicated in the professional journals you read o o o o o 6. Know what types of manuscripts a journal typically publishes. The library should have current issues for your review. Many can be found online. 7. Review the types of article in several issues of the journal. Do they accept a variety of topics for publication or do they have a theme for the issue? Read the submission or author guidelines. Many can be found online. Look at the expertise of the members of the editorial board for ideas on their research interests. 8. The acceptance rates of journals can range from 80% to 5%. Look at publishing in journals where the turnaround time may be shorter. Journals which have very high submission rates have high rejection rates. Look at using your time wisely. Don’t “tie up” a manuscript for 18 months if the journal has a low acceptance rate. 9. Ask colleagues to whom journals have they submitted manuscripts. They can give good advice on the “where to” and “where not to” submit.

10. Determine to which journal you will submit your manuscript. It is important to know where you are going to know how to begin the writing process. It is like taking a trip. You can have a well organized vacation by using a map or a “fly by

the seat of your pants” experience without the map. You save time, energy and have a greater chance for successful publication by knowing where you are going. 11. Remember research ethics. Only submit your manuscript to one journal at a time. You can submit to another journal if you receive notice that your manuscript will not be published by the editor.) 12. When possible, collaborate in the writing process. A group of two or more can share ideas and the work. Decide on the topic. Decide the role and responsibility of each team member. (Use each other’s talents. Some are better at writing, others at finding the references, others at editing, etc.) Set timelines. Meet on a regular basis to keep each other on task, and make changes as needed. 13. Schedule a time to write every day. Make it automatic. Thirty to ninety minutes a day or at least three times a week. This will help you to stay on target and not get overwhelmed at the last minute when your writing project is due. 14. Develop an outline for your manuscript. You can read the published articles in the journal where you plan to submit and determine what type of outline to develop. 15. Write your introduction and summary first. Most problems are found in these sections. They become a guide to your manuscript (a roadmap)! It will keep you focused on the route you are taking. 16. As you write make sure the manuscript indicate you know what is current on that topic. Make sure to have at least one to two references from the same year you plan to submit your manuscript (a roadmap)! It will keep you focused on the route you are taking. 17. Make sure your manuscript has a solid conceptual basis. 18. Make sure that findings in your conclusion have been substantiated in your paper. 19. When the paper is well organized and near completion have a couple of colleagues review and edit it. Does it make sense to someone else who has read it? 20. Does it follow the publication style? (APA, Chicago, MLA, etc.) 21. Tips for submitting your manuscript after it is completed: o Make sure you have the exact copies required. o Write a cover letter with the current editor’s name. o The cover letter should be neat and a brief description of your manuscript, why you are submitting it and your contact information. o If an online submission, are all guidelines for submission followed?

o If mailing the manuscript, make sure you have the post office weigh the envelope so you can buy the correct amount for postage. 22. Most editors will document they have received your manuscript through a letter or email. If you do not receive a letter within a couple of weeks documenting that your manuscript was received then call or email the editor to check to see if the manuscript was received. Sometimes forces of nature and accidents do cause a manuscript to be lost. 23. If you get an acceptance letter, GREAT JOB!! If you receive a letter indicating the manuscript was not accepted for publication. Review the editorial comments. Revise and resubmit if the editor indicates this should be done. If you have questions about the comments made by reviews, contact the editor and ask them for clarification. Ask the editor if they have a suggestion for another journal that might be more appropriate. Revise and look at other potential journals for possible publication. Don’t worry; your manuscript might not have been the “right fit” for that journal or the right time to be submitted there. Sometimes a journal receives several manuscripts on the same topic. The topic might be saturated. Look for another journal to submit the manuscript. 24. Take heart in knowing that everyone will get some “rejection” letters. One of your authors had that experience four times on her first manuscript. Although I kept writing other manuscripts and those were being accepted, the first one was rejected four times. On the fifth submission it was published. NEVER GIVE UP, JUST KEEP SEARCHING FOR THE RIGHT JOURNAL.

Dr. William Allan Kritsonis
Professor PhD Program in Educational Leadership Prairie View A&M University Member of the Texas A&M University System 1. Survey the entire market for publishing your thoughts. Look at local, state, regional, national and international publishing outlets. 2. If you believe in your thoughts and want others to be aware of them, then write them down and seek a publishing outlet. 3. In order to get practice in writing for professional publication, you must go through the publishing process. Do whatever it takes to get your efforts into print. 4. When editors make comments about your writing, take what they say seriously and do exactly what they say.

5. When an editor takes the time to tell you what needs to be done in order to get your manuscript published, do it. 6. Start off with small publication outlets in order to gain writing experience. You need to get experience relative to identifying particular publications and the types of manuscript they want to publish. 7. Write, write, write, and write. Don’t talk about writing, do it! The hardest thing to do is to sit by you and write. 8. After you have submitted a manuscript for professional publication, make certain you write a follow-up letter to the editor checking on the progress of the manuscript. This follow-up letter should be written about two or three weeks after the first submission. Write another follow-up letter a month later or at a time a decision should have been reached relative to publishing the manuscript. 9. Use the telephone. Call the editor at his office or home. You have already invested much time and effort in writing the manuscript. You have invested time in your formal and informal education. Now, invest in a telephone call relative to seeking the status of the manuscript. If the editor appears to be negative, ask him or her what needs to be done to make the manuscript acceptable. If she or he is too negative, withdraw the manuscript. 10. Get to know others who have been published and take their advice. Implement their suggestions. You learn a great deal of by talking and networking with successful colleagues who have learned how to publish. 11. Another tactic is as follows. At the time you submit a manuscript, prepare three separate envelopes to three separate journals. Send your manuscript to the top journal of your choice. If your manuscript is rejected, send it to the first alternative journal – you have already prepared the envelope. If your manuscript is rejected again, send it to the second alternative – you have already prepared the envelope.. If you manuscript is again rejected, send it to the third alternative you have already prepared the envelope. If it is rejected again, do a complete rewrite of the manuscript and resubmit to the journal of your first choice and start the process all over again.

Dr. Norman L. Butler
Lecturer in English AGH University of Science and Technology Cracow, Poland 1. Try to publish in different journals. This will add to your credibility.

2. Do not be defensive about your work. Welcome criticism. 3. Online publications are more flexible than traditional ones. 4. Offer your services as a reviewer in order to get a better understanding of the publishing process.

Dr. Linda A. Larson
Assistant Professor Department of Educational Leadership and Instructional Technology McNeese State University "If you do not write for publication, there is little point in writing at all.” —George Bernard Shaw 1. Find out who publishes in your field: Make sure you are sending your manuscript to a publisher who is interested in your type of article or book. Carefully review previous publications in the area you are targeting. If in doubt, contact the publisher. A great way to find out if a publisher is interested in your topic is to inquire. Many publishers attend professional conferences and they are usually happy to talk to you about your idea and tell you honestly if they would be interested in publishing an article or book on your topic. If you are looking for publishers another place to try is the AAUP directory or this web site www.aaupnet.org. Make sure to contact the editor and write to that person. 2. If you are a freshly minted PhD abandon the structure of the dissertation. Do not over document your article. Show your mastery of the literature on the topics. Be concise. Share the most interesting aspects of your research. 3. Select a good title: A title should always catch the eye and entice the reader to read the article. An article that is written well can fail to be published if the title does not match the quality of the article. When you are writing the title, be sure you do not get so creative that the reader does not clearly understand the context of the article or book. 4. Be persistent and set writing goals. A single article may not get you published. . The marketplace is very unpredictable. Put yourself on a schedule to write one article a month or one article per week, and then follow through with your plans. If you do not write, you cannot get published. Numerous articles in the marketplace are more valuable than one lone article. The more articles you have in circulation, the easier it is to get published. If You keep writing, in a few years you will find that you have become a scholar in your field and that people will

seek you out to offer you new opportunities for publications and presentations. Timing is important. Find out if a particular journal is featuring "theme issues" and try to tie your ideas into the theme. Doing this can increase your chances of acceptance and, perhaps, move up the date of publication. 5. This can be important in the RTP process. Read and following the rules:. In every professional journal, you will find a section that describes how to prepare your manuscript. Failure to "follow the rules" can mean rejection, time delays or the need for substantial revision. 6. Critically Review Your Article Before Submission. Even the most careful writer is bound to make spelling, and grammatical, errors. As a writer you can get so close to your manuscript that we are unaware that some of your ideas may be unclear because you are too close to the material Get several people to critique your manuscript before you send it to a journal.

Dr. Christopher Frost
San Diego State University Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies Note: “Contrarian approach to publishing” follows. 1. The act of writing should be embedded in thinking, so a prerequisite to publishing is to “have something to say.” (Too many of the “tidbits to publishing” are addressed to those “who have to say something,” and many of the tips implicitly proffer “style and adherence to guidelines” over substance.) My contrarian principle suggests that a budding author needs to read prolifically, engage in deliberate dialogue, reflect on readings and conversations, and then follow with intentional writing embedded in reflection. 2. As an author develops a manuscript, she should continue the interpersonal stimulation by asking informed readers to read early drafts, and to respond to them. Although grammar, word choice, publication style and the like can be included, the primary emphasis here should be on the substance of the piece. Although an author should value the comments, suggestions, and edits, he should maintain final authority over the work (the “author” in “authority”). Adhering to whatever a reviewer or editor requests of you may get you published, but why publish something under your name if it does not reflect precisely what you have to say? My approach is to choose the right to select and to reject publishers, and not simply to think in terms of a publisher’s right to reject submitted work. 3. Once an author has a fairly developed manuscript on a meaningful subject in reasonably good form, then she can legitimately seek a publication source of good fit. One way to begin, of course, is to attend to publishers of articles, chapters,

and books that have stimulated your thinking on the manuscript’s topic. Beyond that, however, there is a very important tool to rely on, especially if you are publishing in arenas where “multiple submissions” are prohibited: the query letter. A well-written query letter can lead you to the publisher of “best fit” far more effectively than almost any other avenue. Simply put, you write letters to editors of journals or publishers that might possibly be interested in your manuscript. You describe your work, rationale, methods, etc., and if the manuscript is a book manuscript, include a sample chapter or two. (There are Writer’s Guides that can provide specifics to guide your queries.) By sending out, say, five query letters as you are beginning to near completion of your manuscript you should discover who is interested in your work at the outset.

Dr. Ben C. DeSpain
Professor Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling Prairie View A & M University Member of the Texas A&M University System 1. For the true neophyte or the junior professor just starting to publish, choose a topic of interest to you with multiple options for use. One of biggest hurdles to overcome is that writing and publishing is “something else” a professor must do. It is not something else; it is a vital part of what you do. It helps if the topic and the subsequent publication can also be used as a lecture for a course you teach or for a conference presentation, or even as the basis of a future chapter in a book. 2. Take a few minutes, up to 30 minutes, each day—every day—to think in a pleasant location. Always keep a small note pad handy to jot down ideas that make you curious. During the think time, practice posing good questions that cause you to wonder. Use them later as a start on a research or writing effort. 3. Read daily from several types of books and journals. Practice copying or clipping good thoughts and articles and file them in a carefully developed system for easy retrieval. This caldron of good thoughts and ideas should be revisited on a regular basis as you develop a list of topics for further consideration, research, and possible writing. 4. Pay close attention to what others are writing and to current topics of concern and interest in your field. Be sure to read multiple authors on those topics. During your think time consider what others have not said, or not said well, or even where they disagree. 5. Develop acquaintances who are editors of journals. They often face deadlines and are occasionally short on good material. Find out their future plans for theme editions of their publication. Let them know your interests and see if they have a particular twist on as idea you have that they would like to see developed.

6. Find a mentor who will drive, drag, push, pull, or roll you across the finish line to completion of a manuscript and see that it becomes a published article. That person is your ticket to success as a writer, cherish his/her friendship! 7. Schedule regular times each week to write. One hour each Saturday will yield a book of 150-200 pages each year. Devote at least one full day each week to research, reading, and writing. Such activities are considered by many as at least 1/3 of your professional life and job. Treat it like you think it is, because it is! 8. Develop a good title, and write a good succinct outline, along with a solid abstract. Always use these three tools to keep you focused and to guide your writing. 9. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Say what you have to say in a consumable way that is more about communication than about scholarship. Learn to say things well first, and then scholarly sophistication will come later, if you feel is essential. 10. Have a good editor, preferably outside your close friends, who will be brutally honest. It will help soften the sting of a letter of rejection later. 11. Pay attention to the details of what the editor asks for in the submission guidelines. Also pay close attention to what the rejection letters say and heed the advice. 12. Alternate your writing targets. Often hard copy journals may have months pass after acceptance before the article appears in print. Electronic journals are generally faster to publication. Once you start publishing, submit articles to both medium so that you are reaching both audiences and are appearing in print on a regular basis. This is a huge boos for your morale. 13. Schedule an intense writing week each year with a colleague, coauthor, or mentor. Resolve to complete at lest 3 manuscripts during the week. You may need to work up to a week long session by doing a weekend session or two before trying for the week. Use the break time between semesters or before or after summer school. After an intense session of a week of work, take a well deserved break for the balance of the vacation. You will enjoy the vacation more knowing that you have accomplished a goal.

Dr. Max Malikow
Associate Professor of Psychology Syracuse University Renee Crown Honors Program Syracuse, New York Author: Living When a Young Friend Commits Suicide (Beacon Press, 1999, co-authored with Dr. Earl A. Grollman) Teachers for Life: Advice and Methods Gathered Along the Way (Rowman and Littlefield, 2006) Profiles in Character: Fifty Stories that Will Instruct and Inspire Teenagers (University Press of America, publication date: December, 2006) 1. Accept the reality that writing for publication will require manuscript revisions, both before and after submission. 2. Writing is a work of human service. From start to finish be mindful of to whom you are writing and the benefit you hope your work will provide. In this vein, understand that your writing is neither an opportunity to show how much you know nor how well you write. The display of your expertise and talent will be byproducts of accomplishing a written work for the sake of others. 3. Write with a dictionary at your side. Make every effort to use the perfect word for every thought you want to communicate. 4. Write economically; the adage “less is more” applies to writing. 5. When citing, use recognized authorities and contemporary books and articles as references. 6. Have passion for your subject. Locate the fire that burns within you. It is close to impossible to be interesting when you are not interested. 7. Enrich your manuscript with relevant, memorable quotations, especially from influential individuals. (It is not what is said, but who says it that impresses readers.) 8. Establish a routine for writing. Many writers write early in the morning for a fixed period and follow a schedule of so many pages per day. 9. Before submission, have your work read by people who are knowledgeable in your subject and others who are representative of the audience you intend to reach. Set aside your ego and take seriously what they say about your manuscript.

10. Be deliberate in selecting a journal for submission. An excellent manuscript will be rejected by an inappropriate journal. The time invested in research to find the right journal is time well invested. 11. Do not overreact to rejections. You are going to hear “no” more often than “yes,” especially early in your career as a scholar.

Dr. Mark R. Riney
Assistant Professor West Texas A&M University Canyon, Texas As an assistant professor working toward a looming tenure deadline (fall 2007), these are my primary concerns. 1. After selecting a specific journal to submit an article, carefully read a variety of articles published in the given journal, and use them as models. 2. Pay careful attention to the journal’s requirements for submission (e.g., length, font size & type, etc.). This will save you time in that meeting the journal’s specific requirements for submission will eliminate having to resubmit your article. 3. Find a mentor with considerable experience in publishing journal articles. The academy has it own expectations and hidden curriculum, and novice professors often need guidance in becoming enculturated into their new profession. 4. Electronic journals often are able to publish articles more quickly than traditional journals are. Therefore, if your due date for promotion/tenure is approaching, you may want to submit your work to an electronic journal. 5. Because the publishing process frequently takes several months from the initial submission date to the actual date an article is published, try to meet your university’s requirements for scholarly work a year before you actually apply for tenure or promotion.

Dr. James A. Wood
Professor Sul Ross State University Rio Grande College Uvalde, Texas 1. Thoroughly document and cite your work. 2. Use appropriate style when writing for a journal, always investigate first.

3. Some journals are thematic, so watch for call for manuscript notices. 4. Write about topics where you have expertise. 5. Proofread your work or get others to proofread before submitting. 6. Always do an outline and rough draft when writing. 7. Taylor your manuscript to meet the needs of the publisher and don't be afraid to change the title. 8. Try to find a "catchy" title, something that will grab the reader's attention, but still fit the article. 9. Your level of vocabulary should match that of the audience. If you are writing for a research journal it is appropriate to use research terminology. 10. Consider co-authoring if you are good at writing or data analysis

Dr. Judy Johnson
Associate Professor Educational Administration and Supervision University of Arkansas at Little Rock 1. Professional Protocol. (as noted in other areas) You must understand the game if you are to play to win. 2. You cannot learn to write, and write well, unless you practice. And then you're not going to master the skill until you accept criticism, rejection, and revision; then and only then, will you excel, master the craft, and achieve your goals. 3. Priorities and Purpose. Write with a passion and a purpose. Find a topic, an issue, a subject that strikes a chord in your heart and soul; then the writing will take shape more easily, more effectively, and more economically. You will write with directness and focus if you have a purpose and have a passion about the subject. 4. Pragmatic Reality. The hardest lesson in life to learn for some of us is that everyone isn't going to be nice, professional, and ethical. It's the same with your writing; not everyone is going to like it. Get over it. Write because you have something to say that needs to be said not to get people to like it.

5. Tie your research to your experience. 6. Read Read Read - then learn from the best. 7. Excel in your professionalism -- check everything twice (and then have someone else review for accuracy) 8. Write for children -- educators touch the hearts and souls of children whom they shall never see -- your writing should be such that you KNOW someone somewhere will benefit from what you say, and then improve education accordingly (that's just Judy . . .) 9. Quitting -- not an option. (The actual presentation was called “Minding Your P’s and Q’s.” That’s a bit simplistic for your journal, but I did like some of the pieces within the workshop.)

Dr. Gwen Williams
Associate Professor West Texas A&M University 1. Identify Topic or Idea o Topic not in literature o Professional & personal experiences o Professional & personal strengths o School & work projects o Current professional issues & trends o Comments from colleagues 2. Research the Past o Confirm & clarify topic/idea o Conduct “snapshot” journal review o Review the literature o Develop a new perspective o Note journals that publish topic 3. Define Your Readers o Establish a perspective & focus o Educators? o Clinicians? o Administrators? o Researchers? o Students? o Lay Community?

Dr. Bernadette Kelley
Assistant Professor Florida A&M University

4. Target Specific Journals o Develop strategic plan for journal market o Research journal characteristics o Circulation, issues, & pages o Query letter o Type of articles & readers o Review process o Acceptance rate o Timeline > submission, decision, & publish o Select 3 journals & prioritize them o Obtain “Author Guidelines” o Identify sample articles 5. Refine Your Focus with Outcomes and Outlines o Develop purpose and 2 - 3 key objectives o Draft an outline o Model after sample articles 6. Contact Prospective Editors o Develop a one-page query letter (example) o Use various communication approaches o Contact editors (can send query letter to all) o Address editor by name 7. Plan and Prioritize o Select your first journal to target o Prepare draft accordingly o Keep to promised timeline o Ask colleagues to review draft o Use manuscript review checklist 8. Prepare and Submit o Start with ideas > gradually expand outline o Focus on content > later grammar o Develop creative title (key words) o Follow specific author guidelines o Create visuals, tables, & figures o Develop cover letter o Maintain a file o Authorship: “contribute significantly in conception and design, critical suggestions and advice, data analysis, and the writing of a manuscript” o Decide order of authors o Deal with ethical issues o Submit manuscript to only ONE journal 9. Deal with the Outcome

o o o o o o

Outcomes: Accept, Accept with Revisions, or Reject Respond quickly to reviewer comments Perceive rejection as “extra” critique Avoid emotional reactions Contact editor for questions Move on > send to 2nd journal

10. Celebrate! o E-mail colleagues o Post on bulletin board o Share with alumni o Mentor colleagues & students o Develop a support group 11. More Tips for Writing for Journals: Just Ponder This. o Why the issue is important o How this work relates to other work o Where it sits in the theoretical context o How this work is different o The news - what has been done and how it has been done o Reflection on its importance o “You need an angle" - new, different, relevant, important o Always get a colleague to review the paper o Use the reviewers’ comments to re-write the article - keep plugging away o The luck of the draw on reviewers - it is not predictable o Aim high, and then lower your sights

Teresa Ann Hughes, PhD
First Recipient of PhD in Educational Leadership at PVAMU, December, 2006 Prairie View A&M University Member of the Texas A&M University System 1. Befriend colleagues who have been published and listen to their suggestions and advice. 2. Co-Author with experienced writers. 3. Become familiar with the different venues for publication. 4. Have an eye for detail. Follow protocol for submissions and do not deviate. 5. Stay abreast of current topics and issues in your area of interest. 6. Read, Read, Read.

7. Write, Write, Write. 8. Edit, Edit, Edit. 9. Have a title that incites curiosity. 10. Let your passion about the topic come alive through your words. 11. Finally, be persistent, have patience, and always persevere.

Dr. Andrew J. Waskey
Associate Professor of Social Science Social Science Division Dalton State College Editor for ABC-CLIO’s Forthcoming Twenty-One Volume of the Encyclopedia of World History (Author of over 300 encyclopedia articles) Writing for Journal Articles, Book Reviews, or Books 1. Be factually accurate. Sloppy work is unprofessional, unscholarly and inexcusable. 2. Be grammatically exact. Write clearly and accurately. Master the rules of English grammar. 3. Be on time. Strictly adhere to all deadlines. Tardy writers disrupt the flow of the publisher’s work, get bad reputations, and lose future opportunities for writing. 4. Be stylish. Study the publisher’s style sheet thoroughly and strictly adhere to it. There are over a thousand style sheets in use. They vary in the details. Know the differences. 5. Be honest. Plagiarism is stealing someone else’s work. Let it not be due to sloppy handing of ideas, resources or wording. Know the fair use published material. If some fact is referenced in three or more sources it can be considered as common knowledge. 6. Absolutely do not copy material from the internet. If previously published material is used re-write it until it is fresh and original. Do this even if it is something one has previously published, because it creates copy right issues. Otherwise get permission. 7. Be warned. Publishers today are using plagiarism checkers to cover themselves.

8. Be brief. If an assignment is for an exact number of words deliver exactly that number—no more and no less. 9. Be polished. Overwriting and then grinding and polishing the article down to the exact number of words produces better quality word. 10. Be simple. Use simple sentences. Reduce long complicated sentences to increase clarity. 11. Be fussy. Fuss over every single word. What does it mean? How does it sound? 12. Be strong. Writing is hard work. Just four or five hundred good words a day is excellent production. It requires disciplined sweat. 13. Be organized. Have a system for organizing materials, filing finished articles and research materials. Editor can have a question(s) about some point months later. Research materials can be easily referenced if kept in an organized manner. 14. Be happy. When published rejoice!

Yolanda E. Smith
PhD Student in Educational Leadership Prairie View A&M University Member of the Texas A&M University System 1. Be disciplined. You can become your own worst enemy. Set a schedule that works for you and stick with it. 2. You must be organized. Keep all revisions in the same folder and file them away for later reference if needed. Select a topic that interests you. If you cannot find your topic in articles then you may actually have a research idea that is worthwhile. 3. Find time for yourself; in so doing, fresh ideas will come forth. 4. Find more than one editor to work with. Be open to constructive criticism. Follow directions. It will save you time. 5. Finally, believe in yourself, your capabilities, and most importantly, know your weaknesses and work on them daily.

Joe M. Blackbourn, Jr.
Associate Professor, School of Education University of Mississippi Editor, The Record in Educational Leadership One of my colleagues was once told by another professor that, “Publishing and the publish or perish mentality is just a game”. To this he responded, “It may be a game, but it’s the only damn game in town”. For those of us who see publishing as a key role of the professorate and the creation of new knowledge as our duty and legacy to the profession, publishing is our passion, privilege, and pleasure. However, like a game successful publishing and the development of a publication record requires specific skills, techniques, and knowledge. There are also rules and procedures that must be adhered to for success to be achieved. Success in professional publishing can also be enhanced by following several simple practices. 1. Write every day. Set aside a specific time (at least one hour) in which you isolate yourself from all other people and activities to write. Do not allowed yourself to be disturbed during this time for any reason other than an emergency. 2. Be disciplined. Don’t allow yourself to fall into a pattern of procrastination or let other matters intrude on the specified writing time. 3. Understand the critical issues and debates in your field. Keep abreast of those issues that are dominant in your profession. Discuss them with colleagues and reflect on your (and their ) positions. Invest time in articulating your position and addressing shortcomings of other positions. 4. Draw inspiration from sources outside your professional sphere. Read across disciplines, especially disciplines outside of education (my favorite is theoretical physics) and think about how the philosophy, theory, and data might apply to schools and schooling. Pop culture (especially motion pictures, music, and television programs), stories featured on National Public Radio, documentaries on the Science Channel, the Discovery Channel, and the National Geographic Channel, and trade books in science and business have all been the inspiration for some of my past articles. 5. Find a mentor. Nothing can positively enhance your chances of publishing than working with a successful professional writer. All university departments include successful writers who are willing to share their knowledge and skills with junior faculty. 6. Mentor somebody. While this may not seem to be a way to enhance your chances of publication, I have found that mentoring a junior faculty member is an excellent experience in learning and growth. I have never failed to come away from mentoring another person without learning something new and being able to improve my independent writing.

7. Network at conferences. Once you have established an acquaintance with other professionals, look for their name on the review boards of journals. Ask them to read your manuscripts and comment on your work. Being familiar with the standards of their journal, they can offer suggestions to improve your work and enhance your chances of publication. Most peer jurors will recuse themselves if ,by chance, they are assigned a manuscript that they have previously seen and commented on. 8. Know the history of your field. A wise man once said, “Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it”. I recently had a junior faculty member in Educational Leadership admit that she did not know who Fredrick Taylor was. This fact explained her support of No Child Left Behind and her reluctance to join collegial debate concerning the law. If you do not understand the profession’s past and its relation to the present and future of the field, your writing cannot be current and meaningful. 9. Be creative in the format and title of your work. This can be a means to catch the eye of reviewers and editors. Maurice Kendall’s poem “Hiawatha Designs an Experiment” (The American Statistician, 1954), Don Baer’s “A Note on the Absence of Santa Claus in Any Known Ecosystem” (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1974) or literary dialogue “Perhaps it Would be Better Not to Know Everything (Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1977), Joe Blackbourn’s “Postmodern Eye for the Education Guy” (Unpublished manuscript) are all efforts that possess eye catching features either in the title or format. Creativity in this area alone cannot guarantee success, there must also be substance within the paper. 10. Invite constructive feedback and criticism. To be successful, one must see rejection as an opportunity. Dr. James S. Payne, the most successful writer of university textbooks I have met, had his first book manuscript rejected over 100 times before he found a publisher. The lesson here is “Never give up”. 11. Take time to think. Scholarly writing and research requires thought. Thought requires brains. Together the two produce ideas. Without ideas, you have nothing to write about. Concluding Remarks In conclusion, the purpose of this article was to provide practical advice on how to get published in professional journals. The contributing writers have almost 500 years combined experience in professional education. The writers offered expert guidance in writing for professional publication in national refereed, peer-reviewed, blind-reviewed, juried, academic and scholarly periodicals.

See: www.nationalforum.com