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Review Process

International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning is an open, double-blind peer reviewed electronic journal published in May and November each year by the Center for Teaching Excellence at Georgia Southern University. For general submission rules, see the Policies page. If you have concerns about the terms of submission or review for IJ-SoTL, please .

  1. All submissions must be previously unpublished manuscripts and must only be submitted to IJ-SoTL (multiple submissions of a manuscript to more than one publication at a time are not accepted).
  2. All submissions will undergo an initial review by co-editors for fit with the mission and purpose of IJ SoTL as well as adherence to general academic standards for coherence and integrity.
  3. After passing the initial review by co-editors, submissions are sent out to members of the editorial board for blind peer review. Each reviewer will give a recommendation about publication of a manuscript according to the following list of options:
    • Accept
    • Accept with Minor Revisions
    • Major Revisions Required for Acceptance
    • Reject
  4. Each reviewer may include specific and narrative comments for the author of the submission about its content, argumentation, research methodologies, data, conclusions, etc. These comments will be given to the author, without identifying the reviewers.
  5. If the reviews’ recommendations are substantially different, the editors may ask 1-2 additional editorial board members to read and evaluate the submission. The timeframe of the review process varies from as short as three months to six months or more based upon review timeline.
  6. When all reviews have been received by the editors, a decision will be made regarding publication, and authors will be contacted.

Criteria for Review of SoTL Articles

Research articles are first pre-screened by the editors for suitability before being sent for blind review by three members of the Editorial Review Board. During pre-screening, the editors may reject an article if it is deemed unsuitable for the journal or otherwise unacceptable for further review. Reviewers will consider the general criteria for any authentic scholarship as described in Scholarship Assessed: Evaluation of the Professoriate by Glassick, Huber and Maeroff (1997).

  1. Clear goals
    Does the scholar state the basic purposes of his or her work clearly?
    Does the scholar define objectives that are realistic and achievable?
    Does the scholar identify important questions in the field?
  2. Adequate preparation
    Does the scholar show an understanding of existing scholarship in the field?
    Does the scholar bring the necessary skills to his or her work?
    Does the scholar bring together the resources necessary to move the project forward?
    Does this manuscript directly address the related discourses within the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (i.e., cite other SoTL literature)?
  3. Appropriate methods
    Does the scholar use methods appropriate to the goals?
    Does the scholar apply effectively the methods selected?
    Does the scholar modify procedures in response to changing circumstances?
  4. Significant results
    Does the scholar achieve the goals?
    Does the scholar's work add consequentially to the field?
    Does the scholar's work open additional areas for further exploration?
  5. Effective presentation
    Does the scholar use a suitable style and effective organization to present his or her work?
    Does the scholar use appropriate forums for communicating work to its intended audiences?
    Does the scholar present his or her message with clarity and integrity?
  6. Reflective critique
    Does the scholar critically evaluate his or her own work?
    Does the scholar bring an appropriate breadth of evidence to his or her critique?
    Does the scholar use evaluation to improve the quality of future work?

Further, the board members review articles with the following questions in mind:

Relevance for SoTL
Does the paper focus sufficiently on a SoTL question or inquiry?
Does the paper have a purpose and provide knowledge applicable to the teaching and learning process?
Does the paper give evidence of significant and ethical SoTL research?

Content
Are the paper's conclusions valid based upon the evidence systematically gathered and upon the argumentation provided?
Does the paper provide new knowledge or otherwise advance the scholarship of teaching and learning?
Does the paper have originality of approach or questions pursued, or a unique perspective on familiar approaches or questions?

International Significance & Relevance
Is the paper on a topic that would be of value for an international readership?
Is the paper intellectually accessible for college faculty in various countries and higher education systems?
Does the paper serve to promote international knowledge, conversations or collaborations about the topic, or about SoTL in general?