Author Guidelines

Mission Statement
The Iris Journal of Scholarship is an emerging student-led journal designed to give master’s and professional students an opportunity to publish their work while reflecting the diverse academic interests at Peabody College. Led by Peabody College students, the journal aims to connect the education community in scholarship across disciplines, providing interdisciplinary, multifaceted perspectives on local, national, and global issues in education and human development. Through publication, graduate students are empowered to circulate their work among policymakers, academics, professionals, and the public.

Writing an article
Authors are expected to use APA style. The APA has guidelines for references, grammar, writing and organizing research articles, and presenting data with graphics. Several copies of the most recent edition of the APA Publication Manual are available at the Peabody library (Reference BF76.7 .P83 2010) and at several other campus libraries. The Purdue OWL is also a helpful reference, especially for citations.

The Writing Studio is a great campus resource. The English Language Center is also a great resource for students whose first language is not English.

We suggest students submitting an article to IJS have a professor with expertise in the subject area review a final draft.

Types of Submissions

The Iris Journal of Scholarship is an peer-reviewed journal open to wide range of prose styles and voices which contribute new insights to the study and practice education. The following submission types will be considered for publication:

• Research Articles: Original research related to the field of education as well as analysis of existing research in the field. Research summaries and reviews of published academic articles are welcome.
• Essays: Well-developed arguments that respond to key issues in education today.
• Voices: Opinion pieces/expert views. Examples may include point-counterpoint issue analysis, interviews, etc.
• Briefs: Short-form summary of research fields or policy issues intended for public consumption. 
• Other: Writing which may not fall into the categories above. Examples may include case studies or creative pieces relevant to the study of education and the theme. For alternative formats, please include an additional explanation of your format/style with your submission.

Submitting an article
The article you submit should be a final draft. It will go through at least one round of editing, but that does not mean that you should treat it like a draft. All submissions should be submitted on the Iris Journal website. Do not send manuscripts via e-mail. Please adhere to the following guidelines when submitting a manuscript:

• Manuscripts should be submitted in .doc or .docx format.
• Authors should include a short abstract (~150 words), short author bios (less than 150 words each), and a title for the manuscript.
• Manuscripts should be free of grammatical and spelling errors.
• A reference page including all cited materials and adhering to APA guidelines should be included at the end of the article. All citations should be correct and in the proper format. The editorial team will be checking citations to ensure that the content and format are accurate.
• Any appendices should appear after the reference page.
• All tables and figures should be numbered (e.g., Figure 1) and included after the reference pages. Authors should indicate about where in the manuscript they would like each table or figure to appear (e.g., Figure 1 About Here).
• Make sure to fill in all the fields on the submission page, including information for each author, the name of the professor(s) with whom you worked, and contact information.
• All submissions will be subject to blind review. Do not include any identifiable information about the author on the manuscript. If you are citing your own work, please replace your name with the word “Author.”

We encourage authors to submit as soon as possible. The editorial team will inform authors of the status of their submission will be published by the second week of February. Acceptance of late submissions will be on a case-by-case basis.

What the editorial team is looking for in a publishable article
Topic: The topic you select should be interesting and novel and address an issue relevant to a topic area taught at Peabody College.
Citations: Citations should be thorough, in conformity with the rules of the APA, and evidence an in-depth research process.
Creativity: The work should feature a creative analysis, bringing background elements into the analysis in a well-thought out way. The content should be innovative––your goal is to contribute a new idea to scholarship.
Quality of writing: The work should be well written and avoid the use of passive voice. You should avoid excessive quotation of others ources; you want the work to represent what you have to say, not merely what someone else has said before you.
Concision: Make sure your work is concise enough to keep the reader's attention. Avoid excessively long background sections containing information not used in the analysis or not particularly relevant to the reader’s understanding.

Copyright
All authors will be expected to sign a copyright agreement. Authors will maintain their copyright rights over the article. Authors can contact the Iris Journal to have an article removed from the online edition.