Instructions for Authors

General Instructions | Submission Procedures | Obtaining Releases | Copyright | Style

General Instructions

All work submitted to Early Childhood Research & Practice (ECRP) for electronic publication should be original and not previously published in or submitted to another journal. If previously included in a proceedings, the version submitted to ECRP should significantly extend the proceedings version. Work submitted to ECRP will undergo blind review in its original language, will be returned to the author if revisions are suggested, and will be copyedited and proofread in-house by ECRP editors. A copy of the Reviewer Instructions Form used by peer reviewers is available on this Web site. The author will be sent a final version to review before publication.

Articles may be submitted in either English or Spanish.

Submission Procedures

To submit work, send an email message to ecrp@uiuc.edu with the subject line "ECRP Submission." Include complete contact information, i.e., the principal author's name, affiliation, address, telephone and fax numbers, and email address. Attach the work as either a Microsoft Word file or RTF file. Acknowledgment of receipt of the work will be sent to the author. In addition to the electronic submission, authors should mail one paper copy of the manuscript to the following address:

ECRP Editor
Early Childhood and Parenting Collaborative
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Children's Research Center
51 Gerty Drive
Champaign, IL 61820-7469
Toll-free phone: 877-275-3227

Obtaining Releases

Authors are responsible for obtaining all necessary releases/permissions required for their article (for example, permission from parents to use and electronically disseminate a photograph of a child or a child’s drawing). Authors will be asked to sign a form stating that they have obtained all necessary releases. The kinds of manuscripts requiring releases from individuals, teachers, children, schools, principals, school districts, etc. are quite varied. However, case studies, ethnographies, teacher research, and oral/life history usually require a release from participants. Use of vignettes, portraits, or real life examples may also require authors to obtain releases. As a rule of thumb whenever educational researchers conduct their studies, their standard release forms should include a line stating that this material may be used at some future date for publication in paper or electronic form. Contact ECRP editors (ecrp@uiuc.edu) with questions about releases.

Copyright

ECAP does not request copyright to articles in Early Childhood Research & Practice. Although authors retain copyright, ECAP does request first serial publication rights and requires that authors sign release forms granting ECAP the right to publish the article in ECRP (ECRP Release Form).

Style

Length

Articles should not exceed 5,000 words and should include a 250-word abstract.
Short communications, which are intended to provide brief descriptions of research in progress and preliminary results, should not exceed 1,000 words and should also include a 250-word abstract.
Letters to the editor should not exceed 750 words.

Artwork

Artwork (e.g., figures, graphs, and pictures) should be submitted as separate graphics files (e.g., .tif, .gif, .bmp, .jpg). Tables should be prepared with a word-processing program. Please include hard copies of artwork in camera-ready form for possible scanning.

Sound and Video

ECRP will be able to include sound and video clips with articles. Contact the ECRP Webmaster for information on recommended file formats. Authors should provide transcripts for audio or video clips in order to accommodate access for individuals with disabilities.

Links

Authors may indicate in their text suggested places for hypertext links; however, journal staff will make a final determination of which links to include.

References

Using an author-date citation style, authors should list all works cited in the text alphabetically at the end of the article. Early Childhood Research & Practice uses a modified editorial style based on the fourth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. ECRP style differs from the APA style principally in the use of authors' names as they appear in the cited articles, rather than the use of only first initials.

Sample Article Citation

Prawat, Richard S., & Jennings, Nancy. (1997). Students as context in mathematics reform: The story of two upper-elementary teachers. Elementary School Journal, 97(3), 251-270.

Sample Monograph Citation

Cremmins, Edward T. (1982). The art of abstracting. Philadelphia, PA: ISI Press.

Sample Chapter Citation

Gano-Phillips, Susan, & Fincham, Frank D. (1995). Family conflict, divorce, and children's adjustment. In Mary Anne Fitzpatrick & Anita L. Vangelisti (Eds.), Explaining family interactions (pp. 206-231). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

For more information, please contact journal staff by email at ecrp@uiuc.edu or call (877) 275-3227