Guidelines for research articles

We are keen to encourage new or experienced writers to submit to the journal and contribute to the growing knowledge community in relation to enhancing the learner experience in higher education. To help authors develop papers ready for submission, detailed guidance for the various article types accepted by the journal are provided below. 

The journal is committed to publishing high quality research-informed articles. Therefore, in developing manuscripts, authors should:

• Explain differences in results that contradict other published results
• Ensure that new, innovative techniques for presenting information contain adequate comparison to currently-accepted approaches for presenting the same information

Here are some examples of content that should be avoided in manuscripts being submitted 

• Subject matter outside of the scope of the Journal (refer to journal focus and scope)
• Significant technical content without substantive pedagogic information
• No insights provided as to how the derivations enhance classroom learning or apply to classroom learning
• Limited evidence of taking the student voice into account.
• Detailed written descriptions but insufficient supporting figures, tables, graphs, pictures, or diagrams

If authors are ensure whether or not their papers are appropriate for the journal, they are welcome to contact the journal for guidance.

Guidelines for research articles

Articles reporting original pedagogic research focussed on enhancing the learner experience are welcomed. The focus should be on 'why' the learner experience needs to be improved in that particular aspect/area and 'how' this might be addressed. The research needs to have incorporated the student voice in a meaningful way, and be underpinned by educational literature in the field. Empirical research papers should normally be between 3000 and 6000 words (including References) and include the following points:

• An Abstract of 100-150 words outlining the aim, method, findings and conclusion of the study
• An introduction reviewing relevant literature in the area which proivides a basis for identifying the issue to be studied, and leads to a statement of research aims and questions
• A detailed description of methods employed, including explanation of how the student voice was incorporated into the work
• Presentation of results obtained, including a description of analytical tools and processes employed 
• Discussion of findings with a focus on their contribution to pedagogic literature, and implications for the enhancement of learner experiences
• A summary of conclusions and their implications for practice, along with recommendations emerging from the work

As the focus of ELEHE is on research engaging with the student voice in HE, we encourage authors to report their research methods in full. If your methods are unusual, please report both successes and difficulties so that other researchers can learn from your experience.

Manuscript preparation for research articles

The title of the paper should be typed in Times New Roman (boldface 14pt) and is left-justified. The author’s name should be typed in Times New Roman (italics 12pt) and also left-justified. Authors should each supply 25-word biographies for inclusion in the Author section (footer of page 1). The principal author’s email address should be supplied. A 100-150 word abstract is required.

Manuscripts must be typed single spaced using 12 point characters. Only Times, Times Roman, Times New Roman and Symbol fonts are accepted for the text. Section and subsection titles should be typed in Arial or Helvetica fonts using 11 and 10 point characters, respectively. Paragraph spacing for these should be 12pt above and 8pt below the heading.

The text should be left-justified on an A4 page (21 cm x 29.7 cm); the left margin should be 4.5 cm and the right margin should be 2.5 cm. Paragraphs are separated by 6 points and with no indentation. The text of the papers should be written in one column. 

The maximum length of a refereed paper or article is 6,000 words (including References) although this may be negotiated with the Editor. 

Figures and tables
Figures and tables should beused sparingly, as appropriate. If used, they should be left-justified, numbered consecutively throughout the text, and each should have a caption underneath it. Care should be taken that the lettering is not too small. All figures and tables should be included in the electronic versions of the full paper. Figures and tables should be boxed.

Quotations
Quotations of 20 words or less should be incorporated in the text with quotation marks. Longer quotations should be put in a new paragraph without quotation marks and using the Roman script in italics. All quotations should be attributed with Harvard referencing, for example, (Smith, 2000, 12). In longer quotations they should follow on a separate line, right-justified (see examples).

Conclusion
All authors are encouraged to conclude their paper with a section describing the practical applications of their research, i.e., answering the “so what?” question. What effect should your work have on the HE practitioner or the research community? Is there anything the community should be doing differently as a result of your research? Have you identified areas for future research? If so, please state them here.

References
Please use Harvard-style references, inserting the name and year in the text thus (Cook and Davies, 1997). The list of references should be ordered alphabetically according to the first author surname. If there is no author, order alphabetically by title.


The Journal Enhancing the Learner Experience in Higher Education can be found at: http://journals.northampton.ac.uk/index.php/elehe/index