Submissions

Author Guidelines

Peer Review Process

All articles are to be submitted in Microsoft Word format. Microsoft Word assures all articles are formatted similarly, while also providing technical support to those wishing to publish or peer review articles. In an effort to be consistent with expectations, all peer reviewers are given this publication guide along with the peer review rubric in order to provide researchers and authors with feedback. In addition, peer reviewers are selected based on their area of expertise as well as having received a terminal degree. When selecting peer reviewers, experience working in rural education communities as a researcher or practitioner is valued as well.

Peer reviewers will provide specific feedback through the use of the Microsoft Word comment feature. Peer reviewers are encouraged to dialogue with the researcher or author through the comments left using the comment feature in Word. When providing feedback to submissions, peer reviewers are encouraged to offer compliments as well as constructive critiques. Through this process, researchers and authors are reminded that this collective process is an effort to make their article or editorial stand strong as a scholarly work.

Peer reviewers may consider using some of the following comments at the beginning of the document to provide supportive and encouraging feedback:

Once an article has been evaluated using the Microsoft Word comment feature, CoRE requires all peer reviewers to evaluate submissions through the use of a rubric (Appendix A). The rubric provides for both quantitative and qualitative feedback. This rubric assists in determining whether or not articles need further work or be published as is. 

Rubric scores will be analyzed by CoRE and combined into a summary document. The summary document as well as specific feedback from the peer reviewers will be returned to the researcher or author. 

If there is a significant difference in the feedback between the initial two reviewers, then a third reviewer will conduct an open review. The average of three reviewers or an average of the reviews most closely related will determine if an article will be submitted to the editorial team before publishing or if the author will be asked to make changes. 

Research-based Submissions

Articles representing original, empirical research using qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods related to rural education generally include: an abstract, an introduction, a literature review, a theoretical/conceptual framework, methods, and results/analysis sections. The researcher should provide sections relevant to teaching and learning in rural communities. Methods should be clearly outlined and support the research question or stated purpose of the article. A brief description of methodologies less familiar to educators and the lay community should be included. The results/analysis section should be clear and aligned to other sections of the article. All research-based articles should adhere to the expectations of the most current APA Manual. 

Scholarly Essay Submissions

In general, articles representing scholarly essays should contain a well-developed argument which answers guiding question(s) or addresses current issues impacting rural education. The writing should provide reasoning in regard to the chosen topic, evidence, and examples that support the thesis statement. Oftentimes, scholarly essays are nonfiction; however, they can also be expository in nature. All scholarly essays should adhere to the most current APA Manual.

The Revision Process

Whether submitting a research-based article or a scholarly essay, the same revision process will take place. Below are the steps to the revision process for CoRE.

1. Researchers/authors submit their writing to CoRE;

• CoRE peer reviewers complete an open review of the submission;

1. Feedback is collected and summarized for the researcher/author;
1. If accepted as is, feedback along with a waiver will be sent to the researcher/author. Time will be permitted for any changes using track-changes the researcher/author would like to make prior to publication.
2. If a submission is provisionally accepted,
3. If a submission is declined, but encouraged to resubmit,
4. If a submission is declined. 
2. All works are subject to editorial determination of alignment with the vision and mission of CoRE.

Publication Criteria

Submissions should follow the following guidelines:

• CoRE accepts articles and essays up to 10,000 words, including abstract, list of keywords, appendices, and references, and reserves the right to return any submission that exceeds this length.
• All submissions should be typed in Microsoft Word using double-spaced, type size 11-point font, Arial, with 1-inch margins on all sides.
• Please refer to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th Ed.) for APA formatting, reference, and citation styles.
• CoRE defers to the preference of the author in regard to naming and capitalization of racial, ethnic, and cultural groups. However, articles and essays should be consistent throughout the document.
  

Evaluation Rubric

Submissions are evaluated using an open peer review process. Peer reviewers use the rubric found in Appendix A and their expertise to evaluate each submission.

Conclusion

It is an honor to work alongside researchers and authors to advance rural education.