Journal of Business and Technical Communication

Types of Submissions

JBTC publishes several types of submissions: article-length studies, approaches and practices, commentaries, book and software reviews, and comments and responses.

Article-Length Studies: Article-length studies, which should present the results of research, are usually 6,000 to 12,000 words. Reports of empirical research should include details of the research design and methodology, either in the text or in an appendix.

Approaches and Practices: Approaches and practices are short pieces—3,000 to 6,000 words—published in a section of the journal devoted to pedagogical tips and industrial how-tos.

Commentaries: Commentaries—which may range from 2,000 to 3,000 words—are opinion pieces addressing issues of importance to the profession.

Book Reviews: Book reviews critically examine recent additions to the book market. Reviews may range from 800 to 1,200 words. Queries regarding reviews should be submitted to the Book Review Editor, Christa Teston, at teston.2@osu.edu.

Comments and Responses: Comments and responses are exchanges between readers and authors about pieces that have appeared in JBTC. These submissions should not exceed 2,500 words.

Submitting Manuscripts

Manuscripts should be submitted to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jbtc.

When submitting your manuscript, you will need to upload a manuscript file with no identifying author information (designate as Main Document) and a separate title page document (designate as Title Page) with author details, including title of the manuscript, the name(s) of the author(s), and the affiliation(s) of the author(s). Also submit a separate document designated Autobiographical Note, of about 40 words.

Documentation should conform to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 5th ed. (APA) (2001) and should be placed on a page(s) labeled "References" at the end of the manuscript. Instead of footnotes, use endnotes, but substantive notes should be incorporated in the text whenever possible. To hide your identity during the review process, refer to your own previously published research by using the word AUTHOR rather than your name.

Upload all Figures, Images, and Tables as a separate document(s). Indicate where figures, images, or tables should be inserted in the text by typing on a separate line—in all capital letters—INSERT TABLE/FIGURE ABOUT HERE after the paragraph where the table/figure is first mentioned.

Everything in the manuscript, including cover page, abstract, autobiographical note, indented quotations, notes, and references, should be double-spaced. Employ the same point size and the same font style throughout the manuscript, and leave the right margin unjustified. In addition, do not end lines with a hyphen.

If the manuscript is accepted, authors are responsible for submitting all visuals for accepted manuscripts in camera-ready copy suitable for publication. (Specifications for preparing visuals will be furnished on acceptance.) Authors are responsible for obtaining the necessary permissions and for the accuracy of all references, figures, and tables.

If data from human subjects is used, it must be gathered under the auspices of the human subjects review board or equivalent body at the author’s institution, and a statement to that effect must be included in the manuscript.

Submission of a manuscript implies commitment to publish in the journal. Authors submitting manuscripts to the journal should not simultaneously submit them to another journal, nor should manuscripts have been published elsewhere in substantially similar form or with substantially similar content. Authors in doubt about what constitutes prior publication should consult the editor.

Please submit queries regarding manuscript submissions to engljbtc@iastate.edu. 

Peer Review Process

All article-length studies, approaches and practices, and commentaries are refereed, double blind. Readers' reports are routinely provided to authors. Authors are typically informed of the decision within three months. At least one round of revision is common for accepted manuscripts.

Book and Software Reviews

Headings for book reviews should include the following information: title of book, author or editor, place of publication, publisher, date of publication, and number of pages in the book (or analogous information for software).

Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be prepared using the APA Style Guide (Sixth Edition). All pages must be typed, double-spaced (including references, footnotes, and endnotes). Text must be in 12-point Times Roman. Block quotes may be single-spaced. Must include margins of 1inch on all the four sides and number all pages sequentially.

The manuscript should include four major sections(in this order): Title Page, Abstract, Main Body, and References.

Sections in a manuscript may include the following (in this order): (1) Title page, (2) Abstract, (3) Keywords, (4) Text, (5) Notes, (6) References, (7) Tables, (8) Figures, and (9) Appendices.

1. Title page. Please include the following:

• Full article title
• Acknowledgments and credits
• Each author’s complete name and institutional affiliation(s)
• Grant numbers and/or funding information
• Corresponding author (name, address, phone/fax, e-mail)

2. Abstract. Print the abstract (150 to 250 words) on a separate page headed by the full article title. Omit author(s)’s names.

3. Text. Begin article text on a new page headed by the full article title.

a. Headings and subheadings. Subheadings should indicate the organization of the content of the manuscript. Generally, three heading levels are sufficient to organize text. Level 1 heading should be Centered, Boldface, Upper & Lowercase, Level 2 heading should be Flush Left, Boldface, Upper & Lowercase, Level 3 heading should be Indented, boldface, lowercase paragraph heading that ends with a period, Level 4 heading should be Indented, boldface, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading that ends with a period, and Level 5 heading should be Indented, italicized, lowercase paragraph heading that ends with a period.

b. Citations. For each text citation there must be a corresponding citation in the reference list and for each reference list citation there must be a corresponding text citation. Each corresponding citation must have identical spelling and year. Each text citation must include at least two pieces of information, author(s) and year of publication. Following are some examples of text citations:

(i)Unknown Author: To cite works that do not have an author, cite the source by its title in the signal phrase or use the first word or two in the parentheses. Eg. The findings are based on the study was done of students learning to format research papers ("Using XXX," 2001)

(ii) Authors with the Same Last Name: use first initials with the last names to prevent confusion. Eg.(L. Hughes, 2001; P. Hughes, 1998)

(iii) Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year: For two sources by the same author in the same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) with the year to order the entries in the reference list. The lower-case letters should follow the year in the in-text citation. Eg. Research by Freud (1981a) illustrated that…

(iv) Personal Communication: For letters, e-mails, interviews,and other person-to-person communication, citation should include the communicator's name, the fact that it was personal communication, and the date of the communication. Do not include personal communication in the reference list. Eg. (E. Clark, personal communication, January 4, 2009).

(v) Unknown Author and Unknown Date: For citations with no author or date, use the title in the signal phrase or the first word or two of the title in the parentheses and use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date"). Eg. The study conducted by of students and research division discovered that students succeeded with tutoring ("Tutoring and APA," n.d.).

5. Notes. If explanatory notes are required for your manuscript, insert a number formatted in superscript following almost any punctuation mark. Footnote numbers should not follow dashes ( — ), and if they appear in a sentence in parentheses, the footnote number should be inserted within the parentheses. The Footnotes should be added at the bottom of the page after the references. The word “Footnotes” should be centered at the top of the page.

6. References. Basic rules for the reference list:

• The reference list should be arranged in alphabetical order according to the authors’ last names.
• If there is more than one work by the same author, order them according to their publication date – oldest to newest (therefore a 2008 publication would appear before a 2009 publication).
• When listing multiple authors of a source use “&” instead of “and”.
• Capitalize only the first word of the title and of the subtitle, if there are one, and any proper names – i. e. only those words that are normally capitalized.
• Italicize the title of the book, the title of the journal/serial and the title of the web document.
• Manuscripts submitted to JBTC should strictly follow the APA manual (5th edition).
• Every citation in text must have the detailed reference in the Reference section.
• Every reference listed in the Reference section must be cited in text.
• Do not use “et al.” in the Reference list at the end; names of all authors of a publication should be listed there.

Here are a few examples of commonly found references. For more examples please check APA (6^th Ed).

Books:

Book with place of publication--Airey, D. (2010). Logo design love: A guide to creating iconic brand identities. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.

Book with editors & edition-- Collins, C., & Jackson, S. (Eds.). (2007). Sport in Aotearoa/New Zealand society. South Melbourne, Australia: Thomson.

Book with author & publisher are the same-- MidCentral District Health Board. (2008). District annual plan 2008/09. Palmerston North, New Zealand: Author.

Chapter in an edited book--Dear, J., & Underwood, M. (2007). What is the role of exercise in the prevention of back pain? In D. MacAuley& T. Best (Eds.), Evidence-based sports medicine (2^nd ed., pp. 257-280). Malden, MA: Blackwell.

Periodicals:

Journal article with more than one author (print)--Gabbett, T., Jenkins, D., & Abernethy, B. (2010). Physical collisions and injury during professional rugby league skills training. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 13(6), 578-583.

Journal article – 8 or more authors-- Crooks, C., Ameratunga, R., Brewerton, M., Torok, M., Buetow, S., Brothers, S., … Jorgensen, P. (2010). Adverse reactions to food in New Zealand children aged 0-5 years. New Zealand Medical Journal, 123(1327). Retrieved from http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/123-1327/4469/

Internet Sources:

Internet – no author, no date--Pet therapy. (n.d.). Retrieved from htttp://www.holisticonline.com/stress/stress_pet-therapy.htm

Internet – Organisation / Corporate author-- SPCA New Zealand. (2011). Your dog may be dying from the heat [Press release]. Retrieved from

http://www.rnzspca.org.nz/news/press-releases/360-your-dog-may-be-dying-...

• Examples of various types of information sources:

Act (statute / legislation)--Copyright Act 1994. (2011, October 7). Retrieved from http://www.legislation.govt.nz

Blog post-- Liz and Ellory. (2011, January 19). The day of dread(s) [Web log post]. Retrieved from

http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Victoria/Melbourne/St-Kilda/...

Brochure / pamphlet (no author)--Ageing well: How to be the best you can be [Brochure]. (2009). Wellington, New Zealand: Ministry of Health.

Conference Paper--Williams, J., & Seary, K. (2010). Bridging the divide: Scaffolding the learning experiences of the mature age student. In J. Terrell (Ed.), Making the links: Learning, teaching and high quality student outcomes. Proceedings of the 9th Conference of the New Zealand Association of Bridging Educators (pp. 104-116). Wellington, New Zealand.

DVD / Video / Motion Picture (including Clickview&Youtube)--Gardiner, A., Curtis, C., & Michael, E. (Producers), &Waititi, T. (Director). (2010). Boy: Welcome to my interesting world [DVD]. New Zealand: Transmission.

Magazine--Ng, A. (2011, October-December). Brush with history. Habitus, 13, 83-87.

Newspaper article (no author)--Little blue penguins homeward bound. (2011, November 23). Manawatu Standard, p. 5

Podcast (audio or video)--Rozaieski, B. (2011). Logan cabinet shoppe: Episode 37: Entertainment center molding [Video podcast]. Retrieved fromhttp://blip.tv/xxx

Software (including apps--UBM Medica.(2010). iMIMS (Version1.2.0) [Mobile application software].Retrieved from http://itunes.apple.com

Television programme--Flanagan, A., & Philipson, A. (Series producers & directors).(2011). 24 hours in A & E [Television series]. Belfast, Ireland: Channel 4.

Thesis (print)--Smith, T. L. (2008). Change, choice and difference: The case of RN to BN degree programmes for registered nurses (Master’s thesis). Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand.

Thesis (online)--Mann, D. L. (2010). Vision and expertise for interceptive actions in sport (Doctoral dissertation, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia). Retrieved fromhttp://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/44704

Non-English reference book, title translated in English

Real Academia Espanola. (2001). Diccionario de la lenguaespanola [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (22^nded.). Madrid, Spain: Author

IMPORTANT NOTE: To encourage a faster production process of your article, you are requested to closely adhere to the points above for references. Otherwise, it will entail a long process of solving copyeditor’s queries and may directly affect the publication time of your article. In case of any question, please contact the journal editor at ljpeters@iastate.edu

7. Tables. They should be structured properly. Each table must have a clear and concise title. When appropriate, use the title to explain an abbreviation parenthetically. Eg. Comparison of Median Income of Adopted Children (AC) v. Foster Children (FC). Headings should be clear and brief.

8. Figures. They should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text and must include figure captions. Figures will appear in the published article in the order in which they are numbered initially. The figure resolution should be 300dpi at the time of submission.

IMPORTANT: PERMISSION - The author(s) are responsible for securing permission to reproduce all copyrighted figures or materials before they are published in JBTC. A copy of the written permission must be included with the manuscript submission.

9. Appendices. They should be lettered to distinguish from numbered tables and figures. Include a descriptive title for each appendix (e.g., “Appendix A. Variable Names and Definitions”). Cross-check text for accuracy against appendices.

Note for authors whose primary language is other than English:

Authors who would like to refine the use of English in their manuscripts might consider using the services of a professional English-language editing company. We highlight some of these companies at http://www.sagepub.com/journalgateway/engLang.htm.

Please be aware that SAGE has no affiliation with these companies and makes no endorsement of them. An author's use of these services in no way guarantees that his or her submission will ultimately be accepted. Any arrangement an author enters into will be exclusively between the author and the particular company, and any costs incurred are the sole responsibility of the author.

For more information, please refer to the SAGE Manuscript Submission Guidelines.