A farmer walking through a green field with a herd of cows

Natural Sciences Education Author Instructions

The cooperating organizations are Agricultural & Applied Economics Association, American Association for Agricultural Education, American Institute of Biological Sciences, American Phytopathological Society, American Society of Animal Science, American Society of Horticultural Science, American Society of Plant biologists, Crop Science Society of America, Ecological Society of America, Entomological Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

Scope

The NSE Editorial Board welcomes submissions of articles from all cooperating professional societies and all natural science disciplines presenting original teaching methods in such areas as natural resources, life sciences, agriculture, and K-16 education.

The journal accepts reports of original research pertaining to concepts of resident, graduate, extension, and industrial education; analyses and syntheses of existing knowledge or research, instructional techniques and methodology, surveys of instruction, and other studies that contribute to the development or better understanding of educational efforts; reviews or digests of a comprehensive and well-defined scope; case studies; computer software papers; news features; K-12, undergraduate, and graduate education; and profiles of prominent educators.

Articles may confirm and strengthen the findings of others, revise established ideas or practices, or challenge accepted theory, providing the evidence presented is significant and convincing. Manuscripts based chiefly on personal philosophy or opinion are acceptable if they conform to the above criteria. The journal encourages “Letters to the Editor,” including comments and criticisms of published articles and editorials, suggestions for journal improvement, and other educational concerns or viewpoints.

Manuscript Types

The journal publishes contributions under the headings of Original Research Articles, Web Lessons, Profiles, and Case Studies. The NSE editorial board will also consider Letters to the Editor.

Original Article. Original research pertaining to concepts of education in such areas as natural resources, life sciences, agriculture, and K-16 education.
Research Note. Reports on many topics relevant to teaching and learning natural sciences, including pedagogical methods and related research. This may include description of educational activities that explore natural science concepts with hands-on and often inquiry-based methods, facilitating active learning in classrooms, labs, and informal settings.
Web Lessons and Learning Activities. One page article, describes the educational objectives of a web lesson. Follows the specific web lesson article format, including web lesson title, URL, abstract, key words, contact, and development paragraph.
Profile. Short article that profiles the life and career of a noted educator
Case Study. Article about problem-solving and decision-making experiences in education. Follows the specific case study article format, including The Case, Teaching Notes, The Decision, Discussion Questions, etc.
Student Manuscript. By invitation only, reserved for the Darrel S. Metcalfe Student writing contest winners
Invited Review. Invited review articles provide an in-depth critical review of a topic of general interest or current importance and should emphasize synthesis rather than comprehensiveness.
Letter to the Editor. Comments and criticisms of published articles, or discussion other educational concerns or viewpoints.
Book Review. Short description of a book related to education in the areas of plant science, natural resources, animal science, ecology, and the environment.

Case Studies, Slide Sets, and Software Articles. See our guidelines page for more information.

Manuscript Submission

Templates

Download the NSE Manuscript Submission Template and Pre-Submission Manuscript Formatting Checklist.

Submission

Submit manuscripts at the NSE Manuscript Submission Site. Submissions to NSE may not be previously published in their entirety or simultaneously submitted to any other scientific or technical journal. American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) journals follow the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA style) for references. Consult our Publications Handbook and Style Manual for specific questions about style.

Creating the Manuscript File

Microsoft Word or LaTeX files may be submitted for review. For your convenience, we encourage you to use our Word template. The manuscript should be double-spaced, using page and continuous line numbers. See our LaTex File Submission Guidelines for instructions on submitting LaTeX files.

Peer Review and Revision

All manuscripts submitted to NSE undergo single blind peer review. The editor assigns papers to an associate editor, who will solicit at least two reviews. After evaluating the completed reviews, the associate editor will recommend a decision to the editor. Authors will be prompted to provide a list of potential reviewers. These reviewers must not have a conflict of interest involving the authors or paper, and the editorial board has the right to not use any reviewers suggested by authors. See the ASA, CSSA, SSSA Editorial Policies information page for additional information on review policy. All revisions to the manuscript during the review process will be made by the author only, and revisions will be given the same manuscript number, with an R number on the end (e.g., NSE-2019-04-0023-ORA.R1). Each revision has the opportunity for another round of review—the manuscript status “awaiting reviewer selection” is automatic and does not indicate a resubmission. Authors have 30 days to review and return their manuscript following reviewer and associate editor comments. Manuscripts may be released if revisions are not received, and the paper will have to be submitted as a new manuscript. Soon after submission, the editorial board will decide whether send the paper through review. For papers that are reviewed, the average time from submission to final decision is about 80 days. It is common for accepted papers go through at least one revision.

ORCID iD

Corresponding authors are required to use an ORCID iD when submitting a manuscript. More information on ORCID can be found on their website. We encourage all authors to list their ORCID iD in the manuscript.

Plagiarism Screening

Papers submitted to ASA, CSSA, SSSA journals are screened for plagiarism before being sent for review. If there appears to be major repetition from other sources, the editor will evaluate the duplication and take appropriate action as warranted.

Article Requirements

The Publications Handbook & Style Manual is the official guide for preparing and editing papers.

Accepted manuscripts are prepared for typesetting using Microsoft Word. Therefore, authors are strongly encouraged to use this software during manuscript composition. Rich-format text and TeX files are not acceptable. The file must be double-spaced and line-numbered. The file should contain the following elements:

Title page (including author byline and affiliations)
Core ideas
Abstract
Plain Language Summary (optional)
Abbreviations
Text
Supplemental Material statement (if applicable)
Data Availability statement (optional)
Conflict of Interest statement (mandatory as of 2022)
Author Contributions
Acknowledgments
References list
Figure captions
Tables*
Figures* (figures may also be submitted separately as high-resolution image files in the following acceptable formats: EPS, TIF, PDF, or JPEG)

*Tables and figures (review quality) with captions should be placed into the text document at first mention. Figures of accepted papers must be submitted separately for production as high-resolution image files in the following acceptable formats: EPS, TIF, PDF, or JPEG.

Note: When your paper is accepted, you will need to submit final files for production.

Paper Structure

Title: A short title, not exceeding 12 words, is required. It must accurately describe the manuscript contents.

Author Affiliations. On the title page include all authors' names and complete mailing addresses. Use an asterisk in the author byline to identify the corresponding author and supply the email address of the corresponding author. Professional titles are not listed. Other information, such as grant funding, may be included here or placed in an acknowledgment. The submitting author should have sent each living co-author a draft copy of the manuscript and have obtained the co-author’s assent to co-authorship of it.

Core Ideas. Include 3 to 5 summary statements that convey the core findings of the article. The purpose of these short, bullet-pointed statements is to identify the most relevant outcomes of the paper and to provide a synopsis encapsulating the significance of the research and its implications for readers. Each statement must be 115 characters or less (spaces included). If the article is accepted, the core ideas may also be used for promoting and publicizing the research.

Abstract. An informative, self-explanatory abstract, not exceeding 250 words (150 words for notes), must be included. It should state specifically why and how the study was made, what the results were, and why they are important.

Plain Language Summary. You may include a plain language summary (limit 1000 characters). The summary should be clear, concise, and free from jargon. See guidelines for writing plain language summaries here.

Abbreviations. Prepare a list in alphabetical order of abbreviations used in your article. Do not include SI units, chemical abbreviations, or abbreviations listed in the style manual as not needing definition.

Text. The main text of the manuscript typically includes an Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and a conclusion. The Results and Discussion sections may be combined into one section. The author(s) can either (i) include a separate Conclusion, which will appear as a subheading under the Discussion section, or (ii) provide the conclusion (with no heading) at the end of the Discussion section. In either case, the conclusions should be no longer than 200 words. Within the 200 words, the conclusions and implications of the work should be provided. In some instances, no conclusions may have been drawn from the study. In this case, the implications of the study should be provided. In other words, if the author(s) decides to forego the inclusion of a Conclusion subheading within the Discussion section, then the final paragraph of the Discussion section should provide the conclusions (if any) and the implications of the study.

Supplemental Material. Supplemental material may be included in the online version of articles at the discretion of the editors. The material must be submitted along with the original manuscript and will undergo peer review. Authors are encouraged to submit materials that contribute to the content and quality of the article or to use supplemental material as a means to shorten the text of manuscripts. Ancillary information such as some experimental data, including schematics of apparatus and maps of study sites, or material of interest mainly to specialists, are examples of potential supplemental material. When using supplemental material to shorten the text of a manuscript, keep in mind that the Materials and Methods section should provide enough detail to allow the reader to determine whether the interpretations are supported by the data.

Supplemental tables and figures should be cited in order in the main manuscript, as Supplemental Table S1, etc. Supplemental material should be formatted with a cover sheet listing authors and manuscript title, and the number of pages, figures, and tables. Tables and figures should be numbered Supplemental Table or Supplemental Figure S1, S2, etc. The journal program manager may limit the quantity of supplemental material posted. Ideally, the supplement should consist of a single PDF or MS Word file (rather than a series of files with individual images or structures). Other file types, such as Quick Time or Excel, may be allowed. Contact the program manager with questions about file types. If submitting videos please use the format .FLV (Flash Video) with 640 x 480 or 720 x 480 (widescreen) as the resolution. If you do not have this format available to you please contact the mprogram manager The following are not allowed: executables (.exe) of any kind, java script, TeX, or PowerPoint.

Include a short (one- or two-sentence) paragraph, titled “Supplemental Material,” describing the supplemental material in the main manuscript directly after the main text.

In place of supplemental material, our journals encourage the use of data repositories that assign DOIs or other persistent unique identifier (PID) to the data.

Data Availability Statement. Authors are encouraged to include a data availability statement. A data availability statement is required for dataset papers.

Conflict of Interest Statement. Authors should include a statement just before the references (or acknowledgments) section that explains any conflicts of interest. If there are none, authors should explicitly state that there are no conflicts of interest. Conflicts of interest are anything that would interfere with, or a reasonable person could perceive to interfere with, the fully transparent and objective presentation of the paper. Potential conflicts could concern intellectual property, relationships with other entities, or financial gain but are not limited to these issues. See ASA, CSSA, SSSA Editorial Policies for more information.

Author Contributions. The contributions of each author must now be indicated at submission. The submitting author is required to assign specific author contribution roles for each coauthor, using the CRediT taxonomy to indicate their respective roles. The 14 roles are Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, and Writing – review & editing. Author Contributions will be published with the accepted article (mandatory as of July 2021) and cannot be edited after article acceptance. Therefore, you must ensure the Author Contribution information you provide is accurate prior to final acceptance.

A final acknowledgments paragraph may be included.

References. ASA, CSSA, SSSA journals follow the APA style for citations and references. The author-year system for citations is required; do not use numbered references. Refer to chapter 1 of the Publications Handbook and Style Manual for examples of our reference and citation style, in addition to following these guidelines:

Arrange the list alphabetically by the surnames of the first authors and then by the second and third authors.
Single-authored articles should precede multiple-authored articles for which the individual is first author.
Two or more articles by the same author are listed chronologically; two or more in the same year are indicated by a, b, c, etc.
Only literature that is available through libraries or other readily accessible public media can be cited. Material that does not meet this standard should be cited as personal communication or unpublished data.

Tables. Each entry should appear in a new table cell. Do not use tabs, spaces, or graphics. Cite each table in the text in numerical order; do not use table parts (1a, 1b). Each table must be cited in the text. Table heads should be brief but complete and self-contained. Define all variables and spell out all abbreviations. Table notes can include “Notes” for general notes that apply to the entire table, superscript lowercase letters for specific notes, and asterisks and other symbols as needed for significance notes.

Figures. At submission, review-quality figures with captions should be placed into the main text document at first mention. Authors may also submit figures as separate files. If the manuscript is accepted for publication, color figures must adhere to our color-figure policy. Figures must also be submitted separately as high-resolution image files (300 dpi preferred) in the following acceptable formats: PDF, EPS, TIFF, or JPEG. PPT files are acceptable if the figure was created in PowerPoint. Width of figures should approximate desired print size, i.e., 80 mm for a one-column figure, 180 mm for a two-column figure. All figure parts should be labeled. Multi-panel figures should be submitted as one image. Biplots should have equally scaled axes with tick marks.

Spell out abbreviations on first mention in figure captions, even if they have already been defined in the main text. Define symbols used either in the caption or in a legend within the figure. For more information on figures, see Chapter 5 of the style manual.

Math. Use keyboard formatting where possible (i.e., bold, super-/subscripts, simple variables, Greek font, etc.); if needed, use MathType (preferred) or Word Equation Editor (only if MathType is not available).

Units of Measure: The International System of Units (SI) must be used. Other units may be indicated in parentheses after the SI unit if this helps understanding or is needed for replication of the work.

Nomenclature

Both the accepted common name and the chemical name of pesticides must be given upon first mention in the manuscript. Use chemical symbols for elements, ions, and simple compounds except at the beginning of a sentence or in a title or heading. The Latin binomial or trinomial (and authority for plants) must be included with the common name for all plants, insects, pathogens, and animals at first mention. When referring to soils, give at least the subgroup in accord with the U.S. system of soil taxonomy. Ideally, both the series and complete family name should be given.

Changes to Author Byline

From time to time, authors' names are either added or removed from a given manuscript between the time of submission and publication. In situations such as this, the ethical and responsible manner of handling this type of change is for the lead author to advise the author being added or removed of the change and to notify, in writing, the journal editor and program manager for approval. In addition, all coauthors should notify the program manager that they are aware of and approve of the change.

Consent and Permissions

Before submitting the paper, the corresponding author should send each living coauthor a draft copy of the manuscript and obtain the coauthors’ assent to coauthorship. Authors are responsible for obtaining all permissions for use of figures or other material from other publishers and should supply these permissions when the manuscript is accepted. Authors are also responsible for obtaining permission from individuals whose images are included in photographs. Note that ASA, CSSA, and SSSA reserve the right to publish and republish any images you submit with a manuscript.

Use of Human Subjects in Research

If your research involves human subjects, a statement must be included in the "Acknowledgments" section identifying the ethics committee that approved the study and confirming that the study conforms to recognized standards. This statement must be included for the manuscript to be reviewed and move forward with editorial production.

Errata

Errata may be used by the authors of a paper to correct errors and omissions that affect the integrity of the version of record that are identified after publication. All additions and corrections are subject to editorial approval and must be approved by all coauthors before submission; corrections of minor errors or omissions will not be published. Send all errata requests to the journal’s program manager.

Publication Fees

Optional Open Access Opportunity

After manuscript acceptance, authors have the option of paying an additional open access licensing fee of $1,400 to apply an open access license at the time of publication to make the article freely available without a subscription. These fees are in addition to any applicable author page charges.

Journal articles are published open access under the CC BY-NC-ND (attribution, noncommercial, no derivatives) license. Learn more

Authors may request that their article be published under the CC BY (attribution) license. Learn more

Institutional Funding and Transformational Agreements

Your institution or funder may be able to help with open access licensing fees through a transformational agreement. For qualified authors, fees may be covered in full or part when publishing in the journal. Visit the institutional funder payments web page to learn if you qualify and for more information.

Authors Funded by cOAlition S

If you or one of your co-authors received funding from a member of cOAlition S, there may be restrictions on where you can publish. Please check your agreement with your funder for specific details. The information and author compliance tool on this web page can help you make an informed decision about where to publish in alignment with funder and journal requirements.

Green Open Access

Authors with an open access requirement mandated by a funding agency should purchase one of the two gold open access options with funds designated for publication charges by the funding agency. For other repository requirements, authors may post a PDF of the accepted version of a paper to funder and institutional repositories and/or employer’s sites after a 12-month embargo. Authors may post accepted papers to their own personal websites. The doi link must appear on the PDF.

Official Sources

Spelling: Merriam-Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary
Plant scientific names: USDA–ARS GRIN database
Chemical names: PubChem
Soil series descriptions: USDA–NRCS Official Soil Series Descriptions
Fungal nomenclature: Fungi on Plants and Plant Products in the United States (APS Press)
ASA, CSSA, SSSA journal style: Publications Handbook and Style Manual

For questions about the format of submissions, the process of submitting a manuscript, or about the status of manuscripts that have been submitted and assigned a manuscript number, please contact the NSE program manager.

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