JIT Manuscript Guidelines 
New Submissions & Review Process - In Effect January 1, 2007:
As of January 1, 2007, the JIT is considering new submissions for the peer-refereed and non-refereed review processes. The JIT has converted to a completely electronic submission process for new submissions by authors as of January 1, 2007.
Articles submitted to NAIT for publication in the
Journal of Industrial Technology (JIT) must follow these manuscript guidelines.
If you have questions about the guidelines or need further information contact
Dave Monforton, JIT Administrator.
Manuscript Guidelines:
Return to Top
NAIT Membership: Confirm your membership in NAIT before you submit an article. The JIT is a NAIT member
publication and NAIT membership is a prerequisite for submission of refereed and non-refereed articles. Contact NAIT at nait@nait.org to confirm your membership, to join NAIT, or to renew your dues via the electronic form in the Membership section of the NAIT Website.
Return to Top
Return to Top
TOPICS AND TARGET AUDIENCE: The JIT publishes both peer-refereed and non-refereed scholarly and informational articles of interest to Industrial Technology students and professionals in industry and academia. Refereed articles generally fit into two broad categories: 1) original basic or empirical research, 2) applied research, 3) pedagogical research and issues, and 4) perspective (meta-analysis) papers. An examination of articles already posted to the JIT may help you decide if the JIT is the appropriate publication to which to submit your article. The target audience is industrial technology and technology management educators, students, graduates, technologists working in business and industry, and others interested in Industrial Technology and Technology Management issues. Present implications for this audience in the article.
Return to Top
Return to Top
REVIEW PROCESS:
- Peer-Refereed: The JIT uses a double-blind peer-review process for "peer-refereed" articles and each "peer-refereed" article is submitted to three reviewers for comment and criticism. Articles often go through a second review after an author's first revisions after review. The review process, either via traditional hard copy or via electronic review, will usually take between three months and one year to be completed. The cover page of each JIT article that has been published after being accepted through the peer-review process denotes the article as "peer-refereed."
- Non-Refereed: Non-refereed articles are read by the JIT Editorial panel and may be sent to one JIT Referee for comment and criticism. The cover page of a non-refereed article published in the JIT denotes it as "Non-Refereed".
Return to Top
PEER-REFEREED SUBMISSIONS
Submissions for Peer-Refereed Review should generally fit into one of these four broad categories: 1) Applied Research, 2) Basic or Empirical Research, 3) Pedagogical Research and Issues, and 4) Perspective (Meta-Analysis) Papers, including sound literature reviews that update to the state-of-the-art or which provide a synthesis and suggest new implications or directions for further research.
- A review of articles already posted to the JIT may help you decide if the JIT is the appropriate publication to which to submit your article. Your paper should present implications relevant to the JIT audience.
- The National Association of Industrial Technology (NAIT) defines industrial technology as "a field of study designed to prepare technical and/or management oriented professionals for employment in business, industry, education, and government." The JIT, as associated with NAIT, is inclusive of topics and research related to industrial technology. No topic, setting, function, research methodology, or other category is given preference or excluded given that the submission fits accepted definitions of research and pertains to industrial technology.
- As a guide, the U.S. government defines research as the "systematic investigation, including research, development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to [knowledge that can be generalized]". (45 CAR 46.102(d)). Other common definitions of research include "a systematic study directed toward more complete scientific knowledge or understanding of the subject studied" or "disciplined inquiry."
- A research paper should be clear, concise, and complete, with assumptions plainly identified and data presented (including their uncertainty) with precise logic, with relevance to practices described, and with actual accomplishments of the work clearly stated and honestly appraised.
Return to Top
NON-REFEREED SUBMISSIONS
Submissions for Non-Refereed publication: The JIT publishes non-refereed (NR) submissions related to industrial technology and technology management topics. The aim and scope of NR submissions are broader than that for JIT refereed articles.
- NR papers are usually non-research pieces of importance to the readership, or articles that have some research basis but do not meet the criteria for review as a peer-refereed article.
- Appropriate content includes: book reviews; opinion pieces and editorials; reports on new programs and curricula, or development and implementation of the same; accreditation and certification information; and other topics of interest to the JIT audience.
- Reports on new development in programs, administrative issues, curriculum development and delivery that do not include comparative research with existing or traditional approaches and do not otherwise fit JIT categories for refereed publication are normally considered for non-refereed publication.
- An article not accepted for publication after peer-review may be, at the discretion of the Editorial Panel, considered for publication as a non-refereed article, though the will not publish a paper as a "non-refereed" article if it was originally submitted for peer-review and not accepted, unless the author agrees to its publication as a refereed article.
- A submission for consideration as a non-refereed article might be best described as editorial, informational, or otherwise; however, the grammar, clarity of purpose, and other quality measures of an NR submission should be on par with that of a refereed submission.
- Submissions must be in English and be a maximum of 10 pages of text (for exceptions consult the JIT Administrator).
- A submission for consideration as a non-refereed article should be submitted in electronic format adhering to the current edition of the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association and otherwise comply with the JIT Manuscript Guidelines and Submission Guidelines.
Return to Top
Return to Top
REQUIRED FORM, STYLE AND CONTENT OF DOCUMENT AND TEXT:
Read and comply with these requirements regarding your paper:
- File Format: Submit your paper in an MS Word document. Do not send a "read-only" document.
- "Blind Review" and Author Identities!: Provide author-identifying information on the cover page only (see below for required information).
- Do not include biographical information about any authors in the text or at the end of the article.
- Remove "identifiers" in MS Word properties: Your MS Word settings may identify you by name or have other information that can help identify you and compromise the blind review process. Go to the "Tools" menu, select "Options", click the "User Information" tab, and delete any text in the "name", "initials", and "mailing address" fields.
- "Blind Review" and Institutional Names!: Do not include institution names within the text of the article where that would identify the author's institution. In such cases, the name of the institution should be replaced, where appropriate, with "XXXX University", "XXXX College", "Alpha University" or another "alias"; note both the actual institution name on the cover page and the "alias" so that appropriate changes can be made if the paper is accepted for publication.
- Peer-Refereed or Non-Refereed?: Indicate your choice of "Peer-Refereed" or "Non-Refereed" consideration in your email or cover letter with each paper submission and on your cover page (see below for Cover Page requirements). (General information articles should be submitted as non-refereed manuscripts.)
- Target Audience: Write for the target audience - a common question asked by reviewers is "Why am I reading this?" Is your paper useful to the Industrial Technology professional in academia or industry? Do you relate your conclusions to industrial technology and educational practice or practical applications?
- Well-Written: Prose must be written cleanly and correctly. Authors should use peers and professional editors to assist them in finalizing articles before submission. Poor grammar, spelling, syntax, language usage, and lack of organization will obscure the best research and analysis and make your paper unreadable - and unacceptable.
- Third-Person Format: The JIT, like other technical and scientific journals, accepts papers written in "third person" format. Use "the author" or "the authors" rather than "I" or "we."
- APA & NAIT Format: Prepare manuscripts according to the current edition of the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA style), except where the APA style is superseded specifically by these manuscript guidelines. Include an introduction, purpose, methodology, findings, and implications in the research.
- Cover Page: Required Identifying Information & Required Content: The cover page of the paper must include:
- The title of the paper.
- Author Identifying Information: Include the complete names (including title, i.e., Dr./Mr./Ms.) of the authors with one author identified as corresponding author; include the institutional affiliations of all authors.
- Author Contact Information: Include an email address and a daytime phone number for all authors, and a preferred mailing address.
- Institutional Alias: If an institutional "alias" is used in the text, note both the actual institution name and the "alias" on the cover page.
- Review Category: State whether the paper is submitted for peer-refereed or non-refereed consideration.
- Peer-Refereed Categories: If the paper is submitted for the peer-referee process, you must designate one of the four categories: 1) Basic or Empirical Research, 2) Applied Research, 3) Pedagogical Research and Issues, or 4) Perspective (Meta-Analysis) Papers.
- Keywords: Suggest three to seven (3 to 7) JIT Keywords on your cover page; these topical categories assist in assignment of qualified reviewers.
- Body of Paper: The text of the paper, including the abstract, should begin on the first page after the Cover Page.
- Abstract: An abstract of 150 to 400 words is required for each JIT submission. It should be on the first page after the Cover Page and precede the body of the paper. The abstract should make clear the Industrial Technology focus of your paper, along with the other normal elements of an abstract.
- References & Footnotes:
- Use APA format. Cite each reference in text using the author-date method, with the surname of authors and the year of publication: 1) Jones (1985), and 2) Further work shows (Jones, 1985).
- Follow the format in the APA style manual for your reference listing, and consult published JIT articles for examples.
- References should not be footnoted.
- Do not include references not cited in your paper.
- Headers: Include the article title, or a shortened version of the same, as a running header at the top of each page of the article. (Use the header formatting function to correctly preserve the title as a header.)
- Headings: Clearly indicate headings and their hierarchy in the text. Avoid UPPER CASE in headings; the prefers Bold text for headings, Italicized text for subheadings, and Underlined text for secondary subheadings.
- Length of Paper: The JIT puts a premium of concise and effective writing. Your article, excluding the cover page, figures, tables, illustrations and references, should not exceed fifteen (15) typewritten, double-spaced 8.5" x 11" pages.
- Fonts, Margins & Line Spacing:
- The text shall be either 10 or 12 point font, either Arial, or Times New Roman style; for ease in review, 12-point text is preferred.
- Use one (1) inch margins.
- Double space all text in the body of the paper
- The abstract, and text related to tables, figures, photo captions, appendices and references may be single-spaced.
- Pagination: The paper shall be numerically paginated at the bottom-center or bottom right of the page, with pagination beginning on the first page of the text.
- URLs and Email Addresses within the text or references are permitted, but do not include hyperlinks.
- ARTWORK - TABLES, FIGURES, PHOTOS: Please read and comply with these requirements regarding graphic content within your paper document:
- General Info: Submit clean, crisp, camera-ready artwork (lines and figure text should be solid black).
- Placement: Artwork may be included in the text (this method is generally preferred by reviewers), placed at the end of the text, or placed at the end of the text with preferred insertion points noted within the text; the final design of published article and placement of artwork will be determined by the JIT staff.
- Captions: Identify artwork with table/figure numbers and brief captions. Use proper APA style and placement of captions.
- After an article has been accepted, submit copies of the artwork with final revision, even if artwork is embedded in text. Identify artwork with brief article title, and table/figure number. Send originals if your article is accepted. Electronic artwork is preferred if you can provide EPS or TIF files.
- Submission: Consult the Electronic Submission Guidelines for complete details on how to submit your paper to the JIT and for an email link to do so.
Return to Top
Return to Top
ACCEPTANCE: If your article is accepted, submit a short biographical statement for each author, a photo of each author (preferably a head-shot; a high-resolution electronic photo, at least 2.5" x 2.5" and 300 dpi), an electronic version and hard copy of the article, including original artwork. Send an MS Word document, but do not send “read only” files.
Return to Top
Return to Top
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: All articles published in the JIT are copyrighted by NAIT. Articles submitted to the JIT cannot be submitted to other publications while under review. Articles published in other copyrighted publications may not be submitted to the JIT and articles published in the JIT may not be published in other publications without written permission of NAIT.
Submit all correspondence to:
Mr. Dave Monforton, Administrator
Journal of Industrial Technology
3300 Washtenaw Avenue, Suite 220
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-4200
Email: Dave Monforton, JIT Administrator.
Phone: 734-677-0720
Fax: 734-677-0046
You must follow these guidelines when submitting articles to the JIT. Nonconforming articles will not be considered.
Return to Top