We have now received many articles and have been able to identify certain patterns in which submissions the reviewers are recommending for publication or rejection. Based on this experience, we would like to offer a few tips.
1. Use an issue, dilemma or problem as your starting point. It should berecognisable and in one way or another be relatable to teachers and researchers in Higher Education.
This applies to all our different sections. Pieces that simply report a trial, empirical data or a project and where it is unclear why this is important, problematic or interesting are unlikely to be met with approval. Ensure that the issue, dilemma or problem is made clear right from the beginning of the article. For example, this may be done through the use of a specific and representative example or on the basis of a clear description of the situation.
If your angle has a degree of originality, casts new light on a matter or relates to a current issue, this will increase the likelihood that you will be published.
2. Relate to the research front (if it is a research article or a reflection in which this is appropriate), but only choose research and theories that position your issue or problem, or in other ways gives relevant input to your study and your interpretations.
Make it clear how your issue relates to the work you are referencing. Avoid listing research solely for the purpose of demonstrating the breadth of your reading.
3. A description of your method is important if you are reporting an empirical study. Prioritise methodological information that helps the reader to understand your interpretations or in some way may be controversial, and try to minimise redundant information.
If your article is more theoretical or reflective, it is not always necessary to include a separate methodological chapter. Instead, articulate, problematise and discuss your assumptions. Ethical considerations should be included where relevant. If you are unsure, consult sources such as the Swedish Research Council’s ethical principles.
4. If you are researching your own teaching or teaching context, please be aware of the particular ethical challenges this may entail. As a teacher, you generally have access to study and examination data, course evaluations or other materials where students’ understandings and experiences are expressed. Such data may often be used, quite unproblematically, for development of courses and teaching and learning activities. But for research, the same data cannot readily be used without first considering research ethics.
Researching your own teaching or supervision practice also means you take on two roles in relation to your students (or colleagues): the role of the teacher (potentially exercising law-given authority) and the role of the researcher. These roles may be difficult to separate, and there are many questions that legitimately might interest the researcher that the teacher/supervisor never should pose to his/her students.
The ethical principle of informed consent also applies here, i.e. the student should consent to participating in any research before the study begins. Even if you are clear about the fact that you are acting in the role of researcher, it can be very difficult for students to say no to participate or otherwise protect their own integrity if the question is asked by their teacher. It should therefore be ensured that the students are given the opportunity to decline to participate.
We would like to see thematic titles instead of traditional research article headings (purpose, theory, method, etc.). Do not hesitate to depart from the traditional form of an article if it helps to make the article clearer or more reader friendly. However, bear in mind that it should be clear which issues, dilemmas or problems form its basis, what has been done and how this relates to other research and theories. Guide the reader through the article using summaries and metatext. Ensure you actually cover what you set out to cover in the introduction.
Ensure that your use of terminology is clear and articulated (i.e. that it is clear how you understand or use ambiguous terms). Exemplify and specify. Mercilessly review and delete anything that is not important and that distracts from the focus of the article.
Ask a “critical friend” to read through your text and provide you with feedback before you submit. We would like to receive your article in as finished a state as you can get it by yourself. The reviewers then provide their views on whether the article should be published or not, and provide advice for final finishing touches. If the text is not sufficiently ready, it will be rejected unless there are particularly strong reasons not to.
Högre utbildning accepts the following article types:
Articles are first reviewed by editors, and later by a double-blind peer review. A submission may be based on empirical studies, or they may have a methodological or theoretical/conceptual orientation or provide a review of the literature. Articles can also be texts that problematise or shed new light on relevant issues in higher education.
In order for a submission to be accepted and published as an article, it must be imbued with a scientific approach and include a well-defined question and a link to relevant scientific literature. The submission must also make a specific contribution to the scientific development of knowledge in the field of higher education.
A reflective practice essay is normally only reviewed by the editors and involves a critical analysis of or reflections on educational practice or other specific activities in higher education. In addition to individual cases, the essay should present examples, issues or perspectives and discuss why these are of interest.
The review may address both Swedish and foreign textbooks. Articles or themed submissions in scientific journals, or for new policies or conferences may also be critically reviewed. A review should address the relevance of the text to the Higher Education reading circle. Submissions in this category are examined by the editorial staff.
An open category for contributions that critically examine, problematize or conduct a deeper discussion on issues of importance to higher education. This category is open for essays or debate articles, but we also welcome other formats, and short as well as long texts. We expect submissions to this category to be at a high scholarly level with a scientific or philosophical foundation. The editorial board decides whether a contribution will be reviewed by the board or by external experts.
Publication Fees
Högre utbildning is free of charge for both authors and readers.
Authorship
Note that the author submitting a manuscript is the primary contact person for all editorial correspondence throughout the entire process for peer reviews and language editing processes, if applicable.
An individual may only be referred to as an author if that individual meets the criteria of the Vancouver recommendations, through:
The persons named as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, and all who meet these four criteria should be identified as authors. Assistants who do not meet the criteria for authorship should also be acknowledged, e.g. in a note. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged.
Language
All articles must be written in a Scandinavian language (Swedish, Norwegian or Danish) or in English – either British or American (as long as consistency is observed). Ensure professional language editing of the manuscript before submitting the final version.
Summary, abstract
Articles must include a summary and an overview of about 150–200 words. After the summary and overview, add 3–5 keywords. Avoid using the same words appearing in the title. An identical summary and identical overview, in addition to keywords, should also be entered as metadata in the publishing system during the submission process. Articles in any of the Scandinavian languages must have a supplementary summary and keywords in English. These must also be entered as metadata.
Manuscript layout and design
Submit the manuscript in two versions. One should be a complete manuscript as a Word document that includes all illustrations, tables, charts and images. These must be placed correctly in the text. The other version should be an anonymised manuscript (see below).
Use a traditional layout for the manuscript and insert consecutive page numbers, footnotes, etc. To simplify and facilitate the review process, keep the following in mind:
Section heading
Do not number section headings. Use a maximum of three levels for headings.
Format, line spacing and font
Use a 12-point, double-spaced Times New Roman font for the entire manuscript, including text with the intentional use of quotes. Do not use any unnecessary features in the format and layout of the manuscript (explanations, motivations, hyphens). Use a single space between words. Insert an empty row before and after headings.
Quote
Use double quotation marks for quotes. Use single quotation marks for a quote within a quote. Use the original text when quoting existing texts in languages that are understood by most readers, and if necessary, insert an existing translation in your own language in the footnote or final note. If the work has not been translated, use your own translation, but include a note and comment addressing this (e.g. Gramsci, 1947, p. 13; my translation).
Illustrations, tables, charts and images
Place suggested illustrations, tables, charts and images in the appropriate places throughout the text. Include references to these in the text of the manuscript. Abbreviations should be explained in the legends.
Accepted manuscripts must include illustrations, tables, charts and images with a resolution of at least 300 DPI.
If illustrations, tables, charts and images have been obtained from sources that are not copyrighted by the author, the author is solely responsible for securing permission from the copyright owner to reproduce these illustrations, tables, charts and images in publications throughout the world, as well as online. All reproduction costs charged to the copyright owner must be paid by the author.
When reproducing illustrations, charts or images, parentheses should be added to the legend, as follows: (Reproduced with permission from XXX).
References
Higher education uses the APA (American Psychological Association) reference system, 7th edition. For more detailed information, see the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition, http://www.apastyle.org/ and http://blog.apastyle.org/.
Footnotes and endnotes
Insert any footnotes or endnotes using the automatic function for this in Word (or in a corresponding word processing program). Avoid the overuse of footnotes or endnotes.
If you wish to submit a text that has already been published elsewhere (journal, book, report, blog), the following rules apply to republication:
If you wish to submit a text that has already been published (in a journal, book or report, or on your own or your institution’s website, or equivalent), this is republication of an article. In such cases, or if you submit a reworked version of a previously published text, this must be specified in the submission with a clear reference, and you must still have copyright or have received permission from the copyright holder.
If the text has been reworked, this should also be indicated with a reference to the original publication. In addition to quality, the editors will also evaluate the value of potential republication.
As part of the submission process, authors must check that their submission meets the following criteria. Submissions that do not meet these criteria may be returned to the author.
When submitting a manuscript, this should be anonymised and in a Word format (.doc, .docx or .rtf). The summary and abstract should be pasted into a text field and should also be included in the manuscript. A title page and cover letter should be sent along with the anonymous manuscript.
See instructions: Ensuring a blind review
Title page
When submitting manuscripts to the journal, ensure that the title page, which provides information about the author’s identity, is uploaded separately as an add-on file during the submission process.
Organise the title page in the following manner:
Cover letter
A cover letter is mandatory. This enables the editors to understand what the manuscript is about and what the authors wish to accomplish with its publication.
The initial part of the cover letter should contain:
In the second part of the cover letter, we would like authors to answer the following questions in a few words:
Högre utbildning is a scholarly electronic journal that is freely available following the principle of open access. The journal's overall purpose is to support the development of knowledge relevant for teaching and education at universities and other higher education institutions.
