Journal of Research in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education

Aims, Scope, and Journal Policies

ISSN: 2577-6789 (Electronic)

A. Aims & Scope

The objective of the Journal of Research in Science Mathematics and Technology Education (JRSMTE ) is to publish original, fully peer-reviewed articles on a variety of topics and research methods in science, mathematics, and technology education. Priority is given to interdisciplinary research that integrates science, mathematics, and technology education.

Mathematics Education: We publish research that explores innovative teaching methods, curriculum development, assessment strategies, and the integration of technology in mathematics education. Studies that address issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion in mathematics education are particularly welcome.

Science Education: JRSMTE features articles that contribute to the understanding of science teaching and learning at all educational levels. Topics include inquiry-based learning, science curriculum and policy, teacher education, and the use of digital tools and resources in science classrooms.

Technology Education: The journal covers research on the integration of technology in education, including the development and evaluation of educational technologies, digital literacy, and the impact of technology on teaching and learning processes. We also welcome studies on the role of technology in STEM education and interdisciplinary approaches.

Interdisciplinary Research: Recognizing the interconnected nature of mathematics, science, and technology, JRSMTE encourages submissions that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries. Research that examines the integration of these subjects, as well as their application to real-world problems, is highly valued.

B. Fee, Publication frequency & DOI

All processes of publishing are free of charge.

JRSMTE is published online every January, May, and September in a year.

JRSMTE assigns a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to each published article.

C. Special Issue

JRSMTE publishes an annual Graduate Student Special Issue, soliciting articles that were written during graduate studies in areas of Science, Math, and Technology Education, including those that were part of a recent graduate thesis. All of the articles submitted to JRSMTE, whether submitted for regular or Special Issues, go through the same rigorous peer review process. 

D. Peer Review Policy

Our journal has adopted a double-blind reviewing policy, where both the referee and author remain anonymous throughout the process. Please remove all identifying features from the paper itself, ensuring that the Authors’ identity is not revealed.

All contributions will be initially assessed by the executive editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the final decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor’s decision is final.

The peer-review process takes place in 10 steps.

  1. Submission of Paper: The corresponding author submits the paper to the journal via an online system Make a submission.
  2. Editorial Office Assessment: The journal checks the paper’s composition and arrangement against the journal’s Author Guidelines (Author Guidelines) to make sure it includes the required sections and stylizations. The quality of the paper is not assessed at this point.
  3. Appraisal by the Editor-in-Chief (EIC): The EIC checks that the paper is appropriate for the journal and is sufficiently original and interesting. If not, the paper may be rejected without being reviewed any further.
  4. EIC Assigns an Associate Editor: Associate Editors handle the peer review.
  5. Invitation to Reviewers: The handling editor sends invitations to individuals he or she believes would be appropriate reviewers. As responses are received, further invitations are issued, if necessary, until the required number of acceptances is obtained – commonly this is 2.
  6. Response to Invitations: Potential reviewers consider the invitation against their own expertise, conflicts of interest, and availability. They then accept or decline. If possible, when declining, they might also suggest alternative reviewers.
  7. Review is Conducted: The reviewer sets time aside to read the paper. The first read is used to form an initial impression of the work. If major problems are found at this stage, the reviewer may feel comfortable rejecting the paper without further work. Otherwise, they will read the paper several more times, taking notes so as to build a detailed point-by-point review. The review is then submitted to the journal, with a recommendation to accept or reject it – or else with a request for revision (usually flagged as either major or minor) before it is reconsidered.
  8. Journal Evaluates the Reviews: The handling editor considers all the returned reviews before making an overall decision. If the reviews differ widely, the editor may invite an additional reviewer so as to get an extra opinion before making a decision.
  9. The Decision is Communicated: The editor sends a decision email to the author including any relevant reviewer comments.
  10. Next Steps: If accepted, the paper is sent to production. If the article is rejected or sent back for either major or minor revision, the handling editor tries to include constructive comments from the reviewers to help the author improve the article. At this point, reviewers are also sent an email or letter letting them know the outcome of their review. If the paper was sent back for revision, the reviewers are expected to receive a new version, unless they have opted out of further participation. However, where only minor changes were requested this follow-up review is done by the handling editor.
  11. JRSMTE does not accept appeals to the review process. However, authors may edit their manuscript and resubmit any time after a rejection; a cover letter may be included to argue for your paper’s inclusion in spite of initial unfavorable reviews.

Transparent Reviewing Process (see the flowchart).

E. Guidelines for Reviewers

JRSMTE values the essential role that reviewers play in maintaining the quality and integrity of the research we publish. We rely on the expertise and dedication of our reviewers to provide constructive and timely feedback to authors. Below are the guidelines to ensure a rigorous and fair review process:

Confidentiality

  • Treat all manuscripts as confidential documents.
  • Do not share, discuss, or distribute the manuscript or its contents with others without explicit permission from the Editor-in-Chief.
  • Do not use any information obtained during the review process for personal advantage or to disadvantage others.

Objectivity and Fairness

  • Provide an objective and unbiased evaluation of the manuscript.
  • Avoid personal comments or criticisms; focus on providing constructive feedback.
  • Disclose any potential conflicts of interest that might bias your review and recuse yourself if necessary.

Timeliness

  • Complete your review within the agreed timeframe. If you cannot meet the deadline, inform the editorial office immediately.
  • If you feel unqualified to review the manuscript or unable to provide a timely review, notify the editorial office as soon as possible.

Review Report

  • Provide a clear, thorough, and detailed review report.
  • Address the following aspects:
    • Assess the novelty and contribution of the research to the field.
    • Evaluate the appropriateness and rigor of the research methods used.
    •  Consider the clarity, validity, and reliability of the results and their interpretation.
    • Comment on the organization, readability, and overall presentation of the manuscript.
    • Ensure that the references are relevant, adequate, and correctly cited.
    • Verify that the research adheres to ethical guidelines, particularly concerning human or animal subjects.

Recommendations

  • Provide a clear recommendation to the editor regarding the manuscript’s suitability for publication:
    • Accept: The manuscript is suitable for publication with minor or no revisions.
    • Minor Revisions: The manuscript requires minor changes before it can be accepted.
    • Major Revisions: The manuscript needs significant changes and requires another round of review.
    • Reject: The manuscript is not suitable for publication in its current form.

Constructive Feedback

  • Offer specific suggestions for improvement to help authors enhance their manuscript.
  • Point out any areas where the manuscript lacks clarity or where additional data or analysis is needed.

Ethical Standards

  • Report any ethical concerns you may have, such as potential plagiarism, data fabrication, or image manipulation.
  • Ensure that the manuscript adheres to the journal’s ethical guidelines.

F. Open Access Policy

JRSMTE operates under an open access policy to ensure that all published research is freely available to the public without any subscription or paywall barriers. By providing immediate and unrestricted access to our content, we aim to promote the global exchange of knowledge and enhance the visibility and impact of the research we publish.

Authors are required to agree to an open access license (CC-BY) upon submission, which allows others to share, use, and build upon the work provided proper attribution is given to the original authors. This policy aligns with our commitment to disseminate high-quality research widely and support the principles of transparency and accessibility in academic publishing. According to the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), open access is defined as free, immediate, online availability of research articles coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment. More details on DOAJ's definition of open access can be found here.

G. Open Citations

Our open citations policy aligns with our dedication to enhancing the discoverability and credibility of scientific research. We are proud to support the Initiative for Open Citations (I4OC), which advocates for the unrestricted availability of scholarly citation data. By participating in I4OC, we ensure that our citation data can be integrated with various indexing and discovery services, thus broadening the reach and influence of the work published in JRSMTE. This policy ensures that citations are not locked behind paywalls, enabling a wider and more efficient dissemination of knowledge.

H. Data Sharing Policy

Authors are encouraged to share the data underlying their research findings to support the integrity and validation of their work. Authors must include a data availability statement in their manuscript, detailing where the data can be accessed and under what conditions. Exceptions to data sharing may be considered in cases where data contains sensitive information or where legal and ethical constraints prevent public sharing. Authors are expected to ensure that their data is shared in compliance with ethical standards and legal requirements, protecting the confidentiality and rights of any human subjects involved. 

.I. Preprint Policy

JRSMTE supports the early sharing of research via preprint servers and other early sharing platforms and our authors are permitted to share a Preprint of their article anywhere at any time.

If your article is subsequently published in JRSMTE, or if you choose to post the Preprint after the publication of the Final Published Version, then we strongly encourage you to add the following information to the Preprint in order to maximize the readership and citation of the final Version of Record:

  1. Citation details of the Version of Record;
  2. A link from the preprint to the Version of Record via DOI (digital object identifier); and
  3. The wording as set out below:

This is the version of the article before peer review or editing, as submitted by an author to JRSMTE. JRSMTE is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at [INSERT DOI].

J. The Policy of Screening Plagiarism

JRSMTE adheres to the international policies against plagiarism. JRSMTE uses the Turnitin platform for plagiarism detection. Before submitting articles to reviewers, those are first checked for plagiarism, by a member of the editorial team.  We define plagiarism as a case in which a paper reproduces another work with at least 15% similarity and without citation or quotation marks surrounding quoted material, with attribution.

Plagiarism is the presentation of another person’s thoughts or words as though they were your own, without permission, credit, or acknowledgment, or because of failing to cite the sources properly. Plagiarism can take diverse forms, from literal copying to paraphrasing the work of another, including translation from another language. In order to properly judge whether an author has plagiarized, we emphasize the following possible situations:

Paraphrasing involves taking ideas, words, or phrases from a source and crafting them into new sentences within the writing. This practice becomes unethical when the author does not properly cite or does not acknowledge the original work/author. 

K. Authorship and Copyright without Restrictions

To prevent the unethical addition of co-authors, all authors and co-authors should have made a substantial contribution to the manuscript, and should be well-versed in the manuscript’s central thesis, findings, and implications.

The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions and will retain publishing rights without restrictions.

The submitted papers are assumed to contain no proprietary material unprotected by patent or patent application; responsibility for technical content and for protection of proprietary material rests solely with the author(s) and their organizations and is not the responsibility of the JRSMTE or its Editorial Staff. The main (first/corresponding) author is responsible for ensuring that the article has been seen and approved by all the other authors. It is the responsibility of the author to obtain all necessary copyright release permissions for the use of any copyrighted materials in the manuscript prior to the submission.

L. Author(s) Rights

It is important to check the policy for the journal to which you are submitting or publishing to establish your rights as an author. JRSMTE’s standard policies allow the following re-use rights:

  • The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright without restrictions.
  • The journal allows the author(s) to obtain publishing rights without restrictions.
  • You may do whatever you wish with the version of the article you submitted to the journal.
  • Once the article has been accepted for publication, you may post the accepted version of the article on your own personal website, your department’s website, or the repository of your institution without any restrictions.
  • You may use the published article for your own teaching needs.
  • You may use the article in a book authored or edited by you at any time after publication in the journal.
  • When posting or re-using the article please provide a link to the appropriate DIP for the published version of the article on the JRSMTE Journal.

M. Intellectual Property Policy

JRSMTE is committed to respecting and upholding intellectual property rights. Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to adhere to the following guidelines to ensure the protection and ethical use of intellectual property:

  1. Authors must ensure that their submitted work is original and has not been previously published elsewhere, except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis. Any form of plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, is strictly prohibited.

  2. By submitting their work to JRSMTE, authors agree to publish their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license. This license allows others to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the work, even commercially, as long as the original author is properly credited. Authors retain copyright of their work.

  3. Authors must obtain necessary permissions for the use of any third-party copyrighted material (e.g., figures, tables, or extensive quotations) in their manuscripts. Proper attribution must be given to the original sources.

  4. Authors must appropriately cite all sources and contributions from others that are included in their work. This includes any data, images, ideas, or text taken from other sources. Proper citation is essential to acknowledge the contributions of other researchers and avoid plagiarism.

  5. Reviewers and editors must treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents. They must not use any information obtained during the peer review process for personal advantage or disclose any unpublished material without the explicit permission of the authors.

  6. In the event of an intellectual property dispute or allegation of plagiarism, JRSMTE will investigate the issue thoroughly. If a violation is confirmed, appropriate actions will be taken, which may include the retraction of the published work and notification to relevant parties.

  7. All parties involved in the publication process must comply with applicable intellectual property laws and regulations. JRSMTE is committed to enforcing these laws to protect the rights of authors and the integrity of the research we publish.

N. Advertising Policy

JRSMTE does not accept advertisements. This policy ensures that our editorial content remains completely independent and free from any potential influence or bias that advertising may introduce. By not accepting advertisements, we aim to provide a clear and focused platform for the dissemination of high-quality research without any commercial interruptions or distractions. This policy indicates our dedication to an unbiased and ethical publication process, ensuring that the trust of our readers, authors, and reviewers is upheld.

O. Copyright and Access

Journal of Research in Science Mathematics and Technology Education (JRSMTE) refers to the “Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International” license. Manuscript content on this site is licensed under Creative Commons Licenses.

This license allows authors to use all articles, data sets, graphics, and appendices in data mining applications, search engines, websites, blogs, and other platforms by providing appropriate references.

JRSMTE is an open-access journal and all individual articles are available to readers without any subscription/fees.

P. Complaints and Appeals Process

JRSMTE is committed to addressing complaints and appeals in a fair, transparent, and timely manner. We take all concerns seriously and strive to resolve issues efficiently and effectively.

Complaints

Submission: Complaints should be submitted in writing to the Editor-in-Chief via email at editor@jrsmte.com, clearly detailing the issue and providing any relevant supporting documentation.

Acknowledgment: Upon receipt, we will acknowledge the complaint within five working days and begin a preliminary assessment.

Investigation: The complaint will be thoroughly investigated by the editorial team, which may involve consulting the author(s), reviewer(s), or other parties as necessary.

Resolution: We aim to resolve complaints within 30 days. The outcome will be communicated in writing to the complainant, detailing the findings and any actions taken.

Appeals

Submission: If an author disagrees with a decision made by the editorial team, they may submit an appeal in writing to the Editor-in-Chief at editor@jrsmte.com, outlining the grounds for the appeal and providing any additional evidence or arguments.

Acknowledgment: Appeals will be acknowledged within five working days of receipt.

Review: The appeal will be reviewed by an independent editorial board member who was not involved in the original decision. The reviewer will assess the appeal impartially, considering all relevant information.

Decision: A decision on the appeal will be made within 30 days of acknowledgment. The final decision, along with an explanation, will be communicated in writing to the appellant.

Both complaints and appeals are handled with the utmost confidentiality and impartiality. Our goal is to maintain the integrity and quality of JRSMTE, ensuring a fair process for all parties involved. If necessary, external experts may be consulted to ensure an unbiased resolution.

R. Archiving

The publisher of JRSMTE ensures regular electronic backups of published articles and website content. All published articles are also archived in our secondary server database and are available for access. Moreover, articles are archived by EditorialPark (https://www.editorialpark.com/) and the Library of Eastern Mennonite University.

S. Disclaimer

JRSMTE provides a platform for the dissemination of high-quality research in the fields of mathematics, science, and technology education. The views and opinions expressed in the articles published in JRSMTE are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the journal, its editorial board, or the publisher. While every effort is made to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the content, JRSMTE, its editors, and the publisher make no representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding the completeness, accuracy, or reliability of the articles published. The journal disclaims any responsibility or liability for errors, omissions, or any consequences arising from the use of the information contained within the journal. Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality and integrity of their work, and any ethical misconduct identified will be addressed according to the journal's policies.