Article Submission Guideline

Submitted by fc on June 5, 2008 - 5:30pm
We encourage you to use your imaginiation and write free style. Here are some of the Best Practice Guidelines:
Article Style:
  • Your article should focus on providing technical solutions or viewpoints without presenting a promotional pitch for your product, service, or company.
  • Length of Article
    • Articles of General interest to most readers - generally between 3,000 and 4,500 words.
    • Articles of Specific, technical interest - generally between 500 and 3,000 words.
    • Articles that Exress an opinion, perspective, or viewpoint about a matter of importance - generally between 250 and 2,500 words.

  • Here are some more ideas for dealing with moderately or highly technical subjects:

    1. Put the most accessible parts of the article up front. It's perfectly fine for later sections to be highly technical, if necessary. Those who are not interested in details will simply stop reading at some point, which is why the material they are interested in needs to come first. Linked sections of the article should ideally start out at about the same technical level, so that if the first, accessible paragraph of an article links to a section in the middle of the article, the linked section should also start out accessible.
    2. Add a concrete example. Many technical articles are inaccessible (and more confusing even to expert readers) only because they are abstract.
    3. Explain formulae. Not everyone thinks in mathematical symbols, or always remembers what they stand for. Giving an English gloss for the "meaning" of a formula helps formulaic readers to confirm their interpretation, and allows others to follow along. Readers often request to define symbols used, at least at the end of a section or table.
    4. Add a picture. Many people learn better, and many technical concepts are communicated better, through visual depictions, rather than words or symbols. Diagrams should be related to symbolic or verbal descriptions where appropriate.
    5. Use jargon and acronyms judiciously. In addition to explaining jargon and expanding acronyms at first use, you might consider using them sparingly thereafter, or not at all. Especially if there are many new terms being introduced all at once, substituting a more familiar English word might help reduce confusion (as long as accuracy is not sacrificed). Explain these in a separate sections.
    6. Use analogies to describe a subject in everyday terms. The best analogies can make all the difference between incomprehension and full understanding.
  • Do not quote yourself in the article.
  • Supply up to 10 words or word pairs that would be most likely to get relevant finds from search engines - at the bottom of the article.
  • At the end of the article, please include the sentence, "For more information, contact" followed by the names, titles, affiliations, and contact information for one or more of the authors.
  • Update your profile with your bio (including relevant professional certifications and academic degrees). It is highly advisable to upload a picture

    • Submission:

      • Articles should be submitted on an exclusive basis. If a submitted articles has been or is currently under review at another publication, or if a submission has already been published elsewhere, authors must provide specific information to that affect
      • Submit the article directly using the web forms. If sending the article via email send article text in the following formats:
        1. Microsoft Word for Windows or Mac
        2. Rich Text Format (RTF)
        3. ASCII (text only)
      • For graphics file use GIF, JPEG, or PNG files. If you need to convert images from one format to other or resize it we recommend using http://www.picresize.com/
      • You must read and agree to the Terms Of Use at the bottom of this page.