Author Info

Author Instructions for TALES from CCBC

MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES

At this time, TALES accepts author submissions for original research and reviews.

Original Articles

Original articles should demonstrate direct scholarship in a course through intervention, data collection and analysis of results. These manuscripts should be restricted to 5,000 words, no more than 40 references, and no more than 10 figures or tables (total).

Authors, click here to download a template for your submissions.

Review Articles

All review articles are subjected to the same peer-review and editorial processes as original articles. The text of review articles must be limited to 3,500 words, with a maximum of 6 figures and tables (total) and up to 80 references. 

Conference Proceedings

Conference Proceedings record the pertinent events of a conference or other meeting sponsored by a society or association such as abstracts or reports of papers presented by the participants. Conference proceeding are a way to engage with leading edge research prior to official journal publication. They may include: findings, innovations, or best practices.

MANUSCRIPT FORMAT AND STYLE

Text

All text should be black, in 12-point font and in Times New Roman. The entire body of the manuscript should be double-spaced with 1” margins, should use paragraph style (not block paragraphs), and margins should be flushed to the left (not justified). Use single spaces after periods and Oxford commas. Please also remove all field codes from your manuscript file by converting and saving into plaintext.

Word Count

See Manuscript Categories above for word limits. This word count includes the entire text of the manuscript, reference list, tables and figures (excluding the abstract page).

Title Page

All manuscripts must have a title page including the full title.

Include this information, completely spelled out unless noted:

 

  • Author first names, middle names or initials, last names (e.g. Kiara S. Robinson)
  • Author degrees in abbreviations (e.g. Kiara S. Robinson, PhD)
  • Institutions (e.g. Community College of Baltimore County, Howard Community College)
  • Departments (e.g. School of Mathematics and Science)
  • Street addresses (institutional, not personal)
  • Phone number (work number)
  • E-mail addresses (work email)
  • A running title (at most 35 characters and spaces) -- A shorter version of the title, which will be used on subsequent pages of the published article in the page folio

Abstract Page

An abstract page must be included after the title page. The abstract is a paragraph that summarizes your article and it may consist of up to 250 words. Please ensure the abstract appears on a separate page from the rest of the text. Per APA style, the abstract should describe:

  • The problem under investigation
    • Why is this important and what did you expect/hope to find?
  • The group studied (e.g. class subject, number of students, ages of students)
  • The essential features of the study method—particularly the interesting features of the study methodology and those likely to be used in electronic searches
  • The basic findings, which can be quantitative and qualitative
    • Qualitative data may include survey results, observations and themes
    • Quantitative data may include including class averages, percentages, effect sizes and confidence intervals and/or statistical significance levels
  • The conclusions and the implications or applications

Headings

Headings must be used to differentiate between sections of your manuscript. For Original Articles, sections must include:

  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion and Conclusion
  • References

Acknowledgments

An optional section for brief acknowledgments is permissible but not required. Place acknowledgments after the Discussion and Conclusion section before the References.

References

References should be formatted in the APA (American Psychological Association) style. Examples can be found by clicking here.

Click here for a resource that may be used to create APA-style citations freely online.

Tables

Submit tables as editable tables within the manuscript – not as images. Place each table on a separate page. In the top row of the table provide a title for the table. In the bottom row of the table define all abbreviations used in the table if necessary. Abbreviations are accepted, but not required. Please refer to the author template for table structure. The body of the manuscript must reference the table in at least one section.

Figures

Provide a legend for each figure that describes the image. At the end of the legend spell out all abbreviations that appear on the image, if any. For any images with recognizable students, release forms must be signed by the students and provided to the journal. The body of the manuscript must reference the figure in at least one section.

Abbreviations

Minimize use of abbreviations; any abbreviations used must be defined at first mention (except for units of measurement when used with numbers). Abbreviations may be used in tables and figures for space considerations but must be defined in the final row in tables and at the ends of figure legends. The AMA Manual of Style lists standard scientific abbreviations.

Anonymity of Subjects – Informed Consent

To maintain anonymity, do not use participant names, initials, or any unnecessary identifying details. One option would be to use pseudonyms for the participants. Another would be to label students as “participant 1,” “participant 2,” and so forth. Authors should obtain written consent from any participant if there is any doubt that anonymity cannot be maintained.

Footnotes/Endnotes/Supplemental Information

TALES does not use footnotes, endnotes, or supplemental sections. Insert such information into the text.

Cover eMail

All manuscripts must be submitted with a brief introductory email. Please include in the email:

  • why the manuscript is innovative, provocative, timely, and of interest to a broad audience
  • a statement that all authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript
  • a statement that these have not been published or submitted for publication in any other journal

Manuscript Submission

All manuscripts should be emailed as a Microsoft Word file to TALES’ Editor-in-Chief, Robin Minor (rminor@ccbcmd.edu).

Peer Review and Editing

Manuscripts will be sent for blind peer review with author names and affiliations removed. All manuscripts accepted for publication will be edited in the journal offices to adhere to TALES’ house style. The corresponding author will receive a proof for approval before publication. The peer review process at TALES is meant to be a positive experience that enhances the overall quality of the articles published in TALES. The peer review process may take more than one round of review, and sometimes articles will need additional time for revisions and review and may publish in a later issue of the journal when necessary.

Licensing, Copyright, and Article Processing Charges

TALES is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License. All articles published in TALES carry the same CC BY NC 4.0 license. Authors retain their copyright.

There is no article processing charge to publish in TALES.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

  •  Provide a separate Title Page with names, degrees, and affiliations for all authors
  •  Designate a corresponding author and provide complete postal address, email address, and telephone number
  •  Provide a separate Abstract Page with structured abstract <250 words
  •  The body of Original Articles must include at least these sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion, References
  •  Cite references, figures, and tables consecutively in the text
  •  Check all references for completeness and accuracy
  •  Clearly number figures and provide figure legends
  •  Include information pertaining to Informed Consent when necessary