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Call for Manuscripts

Volume 32 (2020)

Submissions are invited for publication consideration in Volume 32 of the Basic Communication Course Annual. Managed by the Basic Course Division of the National Communication Association and published by the University of Dayton, the Annual publishes the best scholarship available on topics related to the basic course and is distributed nationally to scholars and educators interested in the basic communication course. Each article is published online and indexed on the journal’s website. All manuscripts submitted to the Annual undergo blind peer review. Two or three members of the Editorial Board read and review each manuscript. The editor will return a manuscript without review if it is clearly outside the scope of the basic course or does not meet the requirements outlined in this call. The Annual will consider for publication the following manuscript types: full-length original research manuscripts, analysis articles, brief reports, and forum essays.

Full-length manuscripts

Original research articles published in the Annual are not restricted to any particular methodology or approach. They must, however, address issues that are significant to the basic course (defined broadly). Articles in the Annual may focus on the basic course in traditional or non-traditional settings. Traditional, full-length manuscripts should not exceed 30 pages, exclusive of tables and references.

Analysis articles

The Annual will consider for publication agenda-setting or state-of-the-art reviews that make a significant original contribution through analysis and application. In addition to providing an insightful analysis of research on a basic course topic, these manuscripts should culminate in a clear delineation of specific questions scholars need to address and suggestions for how to advance the basic communication course. These manuscripts should not exceed 30 pages, exclusive of tables and references. View examples of analysis articles: Hunt et al. (2005) and Wallace (2015).

Brief reports

The Annual will consider for publication brief articles that offer scale development, replication, or other noteworthy data analyses but do not require a full-length manuscript. These manuscripts can feature brief reports of meaningful data from studies that employ surveys, interviews, focus groups, or critical and/or rhetorical analysis. These manuscripts can provide scholars with the opportunity to highlight a small but very meaningful portion of data. Brief reports should not exceed 5,000 words. This restriction is inclusive of the abstract, text of the document, references, footnotes, tables, and figures.

Forum essays

In addition to traditional pieces on basic course research and pedagogy, the Annual will continue to publish the “Basic Course Forum” which consists of selected articles addressing a specific question or topic. This feature is designed to invite scholars and basic course practitioners to propose and debate specific key questions of concern related to the basic course. The focus for Volume 32 will highlight best practices for recruiting to and/or from the basic course. Essays might address but are not limited to best practices for recruiting undergraduate communication majors from the basic course; how to attract graduate students to teaching opportunities in the basic course; strategies for recruiting and nurturing a pipeline of future basic course directors; or how to entice senior faculty interest in teaching the basic course to bring them back to disciplinary roots.

The forum will consist of three to six essays in all, followed by invited responses that reflect on those papers and the nature of the issues. Essays should not exceed 1,000 words (references included). The goal is to make a succinct argument in response to the question. Submissions will undergo blind peer review.

Submission guidelines

All manuscripts submitted to the Annual must conform to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition (2009). All submitted manuscripts should follow the style template available here. Each submission must be accompanied by an abstract of less than 200 words (with the exception of forum essays) and a brief author identification/acknowledgments note on each author. In the cover letter to the editor, please provide (1) the manuscript title and identification of the author(s), (2) the address, telephone number, and email address of the corresponding author, and (3) data pertinent to the manuscript’s history. All references to the author(s) and institutional affiliation should be removed from the text of the manuscript.

After removing all identifiers in the properties of the document, authors should submit an electronic copy of the manuscript in Microsoft Word to the editor through the journal’s website. Manuscripts should not be under consideration by any other publishing outlet at the time of submission. By submitting to the Annual, authors maintain that they will not submit their manuscript to another outlet without first withdrawing it from consideration for the Annual. If you have any questions about the Annual or your submission, contact the editor by telephone (864-656-1567) or email (). All submissions must be received by October 1, 2019, to receive full consideration for Volume 32.

Joseph P. Mazer
Editor, Basic Communication Course Annual
Department of Communication
Clemson University