Overview
The Journal of Instructional Research (JIR) is an annual publication by the Center for Innovation in Research and Teaching at Grand Canyon University that highlights faculty research relevant to best practices in post-secondary instruction. Unique to JIR is the use of a two-stage evaluation process with public peer review, interactive discussion and, for interested authors, final formalized peer review. The overarching goal of JIR is to allow SoTL researchers an opportunity for public review of their work to promote innovative, quality research examining post-secondary teaching and learning. Through the public review process, authors receive feedback to allow them to revise their research prior to submitting for publication. Using the information from the public review, authors can revise their work to submit either to JIR for publication consideration or they may elect to submit to another publication outlet. Submissions to JIR are subject to a formalized peer review to determine suitability for publication.

The goals of JIR are to:
•    Enhance understanding and application of best practices in college teaching
•    Foster dialogue concerning innovative teaching, learning and assessment strategies
•    Promote a scholarly approach to the practice and profession of teaching

Aligned with these goals, topics to be covered in JIR include, but are not limited to:
•    Innovative teaching methods
•    Pedagogy
•    Technology-mediated instruction or assessment
•    Course design or delivery
•    Evaluation of learning
•    Evaluation of modes of instructional delivery
•    Learning management systems
•    Best practices in college teaching
•    Student characteristics that impact teaching

Scope and Focus
JIR features theoretical and empirically-based research articles, critical reflection pieces, case studies, and classroom innovations relevant to best practices in post-secondary instruction (including teaching, learning and assessment). Manuscripts must be supported with theoretical justification, evidence, and/or research; qualitative and quantitative inquiry methods are appropriate. Manuscripts must be appropriately grounded within relevant literature.

Target Audience
Manuscripts published in JIR are relevant to a broad audience of college faculty and administrators. Readers benefiting from JIR include full-time, part-time, face-to-face, hybrid, and online faculty. As a cross-disciplinary journal, JIR emphasizes topics and articles that are generalizable across a range of disciplines.

JIR Process
Unique to JIR is the role of public review prior to final submission for publication consideration. As such, papers submitted to JIR will be posted on the JIR website for public discussion during one of three discussion periods; discussion periods are held three times each year.

Papers posted for discussion are NOT anonymous; in addition to the written paper, authors have the opportunity to supplement the paper with a brief presentation discussing the scope, goals and purpose of their work. Copyright information will be posted along with each paper to ensure ownership of all posted information. Notification of discussion periods will be openly disseminated to the broader academic community. Scholars wishing to contribute to the discussion surrounding each paper must register with JIR in order to publicly post their comments.

At the conclusion of each discussion period, authors have the option of having their work removed from the website (with only the title and abstract remaining) or leaving their work archived for ongoing viewing (without the possibility of additional comments). All papers posted for discussion on JIR will have permanent, dated documentation remaining on the site.

Following the discussion period, authors are encouraged to utilize the feedback from the public review in order to enhance their SoTL work. At this point, authors may elect to submit the paper for final publication consideration with JIR or they may choose to submit with another publication outlet. Papers submitted for final publication with JIR are subjected to another round of formalized peer review by anonymous reviewers.
Papers accepted for final publication with JIR will appear in both the online and print version of the journal. JIR will be published annually in the spring; for publication consideration in the final JIR publication, submissions must be received by December 1. Submissions for publication consideration in JIR MUST have first been reviewed in a public format in one of the JIR discussion periods.

Process Calendar
Papers may be submitted for discussion at any time. Papers will be posted for discussion during the next available discussion period. Discussion periods:
•    February/March
•    June/July
•    September/October
Deadline for submitting revised papers for publication consideration in the final JIR print/online volume is December 1.

Copyright
JIR publishes only original manuscripts (i.e., manuscripts under review with another publication, previously published, or revised versions of previously published manuscript are not acceptable). In addition, copyright policies are as follows:
•    Authors hold sole copyright for papers posted on the JIR website during public review (See Review Guidelines for information on the public review process).
•    Authors and JIR will hold joint copyright for manuscripts accepted for publication.
•    Authors are required to acquire necessary permissions for copyrighted images; it is the author's responsibility to determine whether or not permissions are needed for images. In addition, authors are responsible for all permission fees associated with copyrighted materials.
•    Trademark use must be credited to owner or permissions must be obtained for use.

Types of Submissions
•    Theoretical
•    Empirical research
•    Critical reflection
•    Case Study
•    Innovative methodologies and applications

Manuscript Preparation
JIR hosts a range of research strategies; most common formats include theoretical, empirical, critical reflection, case study, and classroom innovation. Submissions should clearly highlight the significance and implications of the investigation to post-secondary teaching and learning; all manuscripts should be formatted according to APA Style. The American Psychological Association (2001) provides the following general guidelines for communicating your scholarly work:
•    Present the problem, question or issue early in the manuscript.
•    Show how the issue is grounded, shaped, and directed by theory.
•    Connect the issue to previous work in a literature review that is pertinent and informative but not exhaustive.
•    State explicitly the hypotheses under investigation or the target of the theoretical review.
•    Keep the conclusions within the boundaries of the findings and/or scope of the theory.
•    Demonstrate how the study or scholarly approach has helped to address the original issue.
•    Identify and discuss what theoretical or practical implications can be drawn from this work.

Suggestions for effective manuscript submissions:
•    Title - Titles should not exceed 15 words and should provide a clear introduction to the point of your manuscript.
•    Abstract - The abstract provides a short summary (150-250 words) of your work that provides the key information for readers to determine their interest in reading the complete article. The abstract should be "accurate, self-contained, nonevaluative, coherent, and readable" (Calfee & Valencia, 2001).
•    Body - Information should be organized and sub-titled to facilitate flow and understanding of key issues. Authors should use APA Style guidelines to organize and present information in a manner that is easily communicated to readers. JIR has no length requirements for manuscripts; authors are encouraged to be direct and concise to maintain a focus on key issues.
•    References - Carefully select references to ensure that citations are current and relevant; prioritize credible, published sources that have proven pertinent and valuable to the relevant investigations.  
•    Tables, Figures, Appendices & Graphics - When necessary, include supporting documents to illustrate the findings, relevance or utilization of materials. Prioritize supplements that promote easy, efficient integration of suggestions, findings or techniques into classroom (such as rubrics, assignments, etc.) applications.
To facilitate the masked portion of the manuscript review process, author's name and other identifying information should only appear on the title page; the remainder of the manuscript should be written in a more generalized fashion that does not directly divulge authorship or institutional affiliation.
Manuscript (including citations and references) must strictly follow APA style as dictated by the 6th Edition of the American Psychological Association Publication Manual (http://www.apastyle.org/).

Review Process
JIR utilizes a two-stage review process that includes both public review with interactive discussion and traditional masked peer review.
•    Manuscripts receive a desk review by the Editor to determine fit and relevance for JIR. Manuscripts that pass desk review will be posted on the journal's website for interactive public review.
•    During the one-month interactive review stage, manuscripts are publicly available for review by the journal's peer review board as well as scholars in the broader academic community. All comments, replies and suggestions are publicly posted along with the paper during the public review stage. To ensure a permanent, documented record of review and authors' publication precedence, the title and abstract of each discussion paper will remain permanently as a public archive on the JIR website at the conclusion of the public review period. At the author's request, the entire manuscript (with corresponding comments) can be permanently archived on the JIR website.
•    Following public review, authors have the opportunity to revise their papers based on the feedback obtained during the public review discussion.
•    Revised papers are subjected to a traditional masked peer review to determine final acceptance for publication. Participate in the public review process does not guarantee publication; publication decisions will be based on the combined information gleaned from both the public and private review stages.
•    Designated reviewers from the Peer Review Board will be assigned to review the discussion paper and provide feedback; reviewers may elect to sign their public comments or remain anonymous.

Review Criteria
The following dimensions will be utilized to evaluate manuscript submissions:
•    Relevance - Relevance highlights the impact of the paper for influencing best practices in post-secondary instruction.
•    Significance - Significance refers to the value, importance and worth of the manuscript within the context of higher education.
•    Originality - Originality refers to the level of innovation in practice, approach, technique or purposeful self-reflection.
•    Methodology - Methodology emphasizes appropriate methods of inquiry and theoretical interpretation.
•    Generalizability - Generalizability examines the extent to which findings and conclusions have implications across a range of academic disciplines or student populations.
•    Theoretical grounding - Theoretical grounding refers to the ability to quality of the literature review and the ability to ground manuscript within relevant literature/theory.
•    Clarity - Clarity evaluates the ability to communicate information in a clear, cohesive fashion.

Review Outcomes
Utilizing feedback from the two-stage public and masked review process, the Editor will make a final publication decision. The review process will take approximately 12-16 weeks. Decisions categories include:
•    Reject - Rejected manuscripts will not be published and authors will not have the opportunity to resubmit a revised version of the manuscript to JIR.
•    Revise and Resubmit - Manuscripts receiving a revise-and-resubmit decision have value, but need significant revisions prior to receiving additional consideration for publication.
•    Accept Pending Revisions - A manuscript accepted-pending-revisions meets all the major requirements for publication but needs revisions in substantive, mechanical or methodological issues.
•    Accept - Accepted manuscripts will be published in the current form with no further modifications required.
Correspondence

All correspondence concerning manuscripts should be directed to the Editor of JIR (cirt@gcu.edu). The Editor will direct all correspondence to the lead author; the lead author is responsible for sharing communications with other authors. Beyond communication concerning the review, manuscripts accepted for publication will require additional correspondence to complete copyediting and typesetting.
References
•    American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
•    Calfee, R. & Valencia, R. (2001). APA Guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication. Washington, DC: APA.