International Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning
Discussion Paper
Full Paper Title
Abstract
In this document, the requirements for submissions to “International Journal for Innovation and
Quality in Learning (INNOQUAL)” are described. Please review this document carefully to learn
about the formatting of text, table captions, references, and the method to include the indexing
information. You are advised to use this file as a template to insert or create the content of your
paper.
Equally importantly guidelines are provided how you can submit your paper to INNOQUAL as
public discussion paper as well as paper to be considered for publication in the journal. Some
recommendations on writing for a worldwide readership are given.
An abstract not exceeding 300 words should appear on the top of the first page, after the title of
the paper in a section titled "ABSTRACT" (without section number).
KEYWORDS: Here 4 - 8 keywords on the content of your papers shall be added, separated by
commas
International Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning
Discussion Paper
1
Introduction
INNOQUAL follows a hybrid peer review model. All submitted papers will be published
as open discussion papers, if they meet the technical standards as laid out in this document.
The scientific community will be invited to comment on discussion papers. Furthermore a
double-blind review with two selected referees will be organised by the INNOQUAL Editorial
Board.
Two tools are used to put this model into practice: Google docs and an Online Submission
System. As author, you have two modalities to submit your paper:
1 Submit your paper as a google doc
2 Submit a word/open office/rtf document
The first option is encouraged by the INNOQUAL editorial board, since you will keep control
over the open document, receive notifications on comments and the publication process will be
quicker. It is a prerequisite to have either a google account or a gmail account in order to submit
your paper in this modality. Although this might be conceived as downside, we have not found
other wide-spread online document sharing tools with clear control over sharing access and
evolved commenting functionality.
These guidelines present how to submit a paper without using google docs.
It is expected that authors will submit carefully written and proofread material. Careful checking
for spelling and grammatical errors should be performed. Papers should be between 4.000 6.000 words or 7 - 11 pages in length.
Papers should clearly describe the background of the subject, the authors work, including the
methods used, results and concluding discussion on the importance of the work. Papers are to
be prepared in English, either American or British as long as consistency is kept throughout the
document. Technical terms should be explained unless they may be considered to be known to
the readership. All arguments made should be backed up either with empirical evidence or
references.
2
Layout
A uniform appearance will give INNOQUAL discussion papers and journal readers a
visually pleasant read. It is therefore strongly suggested to authors to use the example of this
file to construct their papers.
All text paragraphs should be single spaced, with first line intended as above. Larger spacing
should only be used before and after headings and subheadings as shown in this example.
Position and style of headings and subheadings should follow this example. No spaces should
be placed between paragraphs.
International Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning
Discussion Paper
2.1 Headings and document structure
Please follow the numbering and heading style of this document:
Abstract
no number
Introduction
1
Your chapters
2-x
Conclusions
x+1
(Acknowledgement) x+2
References
no number
Please assign numbers to subchapters as well as for this subchapter.
2.2 Header and page numbers
Authors are asked to not replace the logo in the document header. It is not necessary to assign
page numbers.
2.3 Fonts and alignment of text
Papers should use 11-point Arial font. The styles available are bold, italic and underlined. It is
recommended that text in figures should not smaller than 10-point font size. The text should be
justified (not left aligned).
2.4 Tables and Figures
Figure captions and table headings should be sufficient to explain the figure or table without
needing to refer to the text. Figures and tables not cited in the text should not be presented. The
following is an example for Table 1.
Table column 1
Table column 2
Table column 3
Row 1
12
a
Row 2
34
b
Row 3
56
c
Row 4
78
d
Table 1 Title of the Table
International Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning
Discussion Paper
Tables and figures should be placed close after their first reference in the text. All figures and
tables should be numbered with Arabic numerals. Table headings should be centred below the
tables. Figure captions should be centred below the figures as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1 INNOQUAL Review Process
4 Steps towards Submitting an INNOQUAL
Discussion Paper
INNOQUAL follows a hybrid review model in which all submissions meeting the technical
standards will be published as online discussion papers. INNOQUAL discussion papers will be
published in an electronic format as google docs. At a later stage, your paper will be converted
into Portable Document Format (PDF). Even if your paper has not been accepted by the
INNOQUAL editors, it will stay online at our website http://innoqual.efquel.org/discussion-paper/
The below text will guide you through the steps how to make your paper a discussion paper.
Nevertheless, make sure to also read the chapter four as to guarantee that your papers is
eligible for publication in the INNOQUAL journal.
International Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning
Discussion Paper
3.1 Using this Document as a Formatting Template
Please save this file as template on your local disc. Subsequently copy the document to
compose your paper.
3.2 Steps towards INNOQUAL Publication - Registration as Author
INNOQUAL is published using the Open Journal System OJS after the public discussion and
recommendations by our reviewers, you are asked to create a user account and password here:
http://papers.efquel.org/index.php/innoqual/user/register
This will allow the INNOQUAL team the access your contact data and affiliation as authors.
Figure 8 Filling in the registration form
It is recommended to fill in all form fields, since the information will be used for later publication,
if your paper has been accepted. You will be able to keep track with the review process and you
only need to insert your details once, which is relevant for potential other submissions.
International Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning
Discussion Paper
Figure 9 Tell the platform that you are a paper author
3.3 Uploading your Paper
You can also indicate that you will be a journal reader (hence receiving notifications on
publications) or apply as INNOQUAL reviewer.
Now, you are ready to “submit”. Login with at http://papers.efquel.org/index.php/innoqual/ and
select “New Submission” on the right hand side bar”.
Figure 10 Select “New Submission” from your sidebar as soon as logged in
From there on you will be guided through the submission procedure in 5 tabs.
International Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning
Discussion Paper
Figure 11 Sharing the URL to your discussion paper
You will be asked to upload your paper. Please upload a word/open office/rtf document version
of your paper as displayed online.
4 During the review process and information on
publication
Authors are invited to follow up with the discussion, comment on public comments as soon as
your papers has been shared at http://innoqual.efquel.org/discussion-paper/
Guidelines how to do so can be found online. You are more than welcome to promote the list of
current discussion papers through social media. For all Twitter users, please use the hashtag
#INNOQUAL . Reviewers are encouraged to take public comments into account when advising
the INNOQUAL editors on the inclusion of your paper for an INNOQUAL issue.
5
Conclusion
Conclusions of your paper should state concisely the most important propositions of the
paper as well as the author’s views of the practical implications of the results.
6
Acknowledgements
A short acknowledgement section can be written between the conclusion and the
references. Sponsorship and financial support acknowledgments should be included here.
Acknowledging the contributions of other colleagues who are not included in the authorship of
International Journal for Innovation and Quality in Learning
Discussion Paper
this paper is also added in this section. If no acknowledgement is necessary, this section should
not appear in the paper.
References [and In-text Citations]
Proper references must be included throughout the text and the list of references must be
provided in this section. The references inserted in the text and the list of references must be
done following one consistent scientific citation and bibliography style throughout the text.
INNOQUAL recommends to use the style guide of the American Psychological Association
(APA style) for in-text citations and the list of references.
Some examples for citations in the main body, appendices, tables and figures shall be given
here. Works by a single author are cited “Smith (2005) argues that...” or “.. as previously
shown (Smith, 2005)”. Works by multiple authors are cited with all names the first time the
reference occurs, e.g. “Smith, Miller, and Johns (2010) demonstrated...” or “... as argued
previously (Smith, Miller, and Johns, 2010)”. Subsequently, only the surname of the first other is
cited, for example “Smith et al. (2010) proved...”. For two authors an ampersand ‘&’ is used.
Referencing websites: Website references must also be reported. URLs should be ‘clickable’.
Include retrieval dates only if the source material is likely to change over time (e.g. wikis or
blogs). APA provides an excellent style guide on references retrieved from the internet.
List all cited references (including citations in tables, figures and appendices) in alphabetical
order according to the first-named author. The titles of papers, patents and books or monograph
chapters and the initial and final page numbers are to be included. A concise list of examples for
journal papers, book/monograph sections or chapters, and conference proceedings is provided
by Simon Fraser University Library (n.d.). Please added spaces after each references as below.
European Foundation for Quality in e-Learning. (2011). Mainstreaming Open Educational
Practices - Recommendations for Policy. Retrieved from
http://efquel.org/wpcontent/uploads/2012/12/Open-Learning-Recognition.pdf
Simon Fraser University Library Citation Guide: APA (6th ed., 2010). (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.library.cornell.edu/resrch/citmanage/apa