STEM Education, x (x): x–x

DOI: xx
Received: xx

Revised: xx
Accepted: xx

Published: xx

https://www.aimspress.com/journal/steme

Article type

A guide for preparing submissions to STEM Education

First-name Last-name1, First-name Last-name2,* and First-name Last-name3

1	Department of Mathematics, Missouri State University, 901 S. National, Springfield, MO 65897, USA; email

2	Affiliation; email

3	Affiliation; email

*	Correspondence: Email address of corresponding author; Tel: +1-111-111-1111.

Academic Editor: First-name Last-name

Abstract: An abstract is normally of 150 to 250 words. List 4 to 6 keywords all with lowercase (except special cases) for both highlighting the focuses of your study and indexing/searching in databases. Article type can be one of the following: regular article, case study, express letter, review or overview, survey, opinion, perspective, communication, lecture notes, tutorial notes, and editorial (special issue only).

Keywords: (4 to 8 keywords)

Introduction

Submission of a manuscript implies that the work described has not been published before, and not been under consideration for publishing anywhere else. Your submission also means that the manuscript has been approved by all co-authors with appropriate permission if required. The publisher will not be held legally responsible should any dispute be raised for any reason.

STEME is an OS publication published quarterly by AIMS Press in February, May, August, and November respectively. Publishing in STEME is currently free until otherwise any change is made by the publisher. Readers can access all published articles free of charge through the STEME website https://www.aimspress.com/journal/steme.

Layout and Fonts

The page size is A4 (8.5 11.0 in or 21.59 27.94 cm). The margin is set to moderate. Font for all text, except symbols and formulae, should use Times New Roman.

Article title is bold with a font size 16 and aligned to the left. Authors are bold with a font size 12. Using Times New Roman size 12 for the main text, including figure captions and table titles. However, text size for contents in a table can be chosen from 8 to 12 to fit the table within the width of the page.

Headline and Sub-Headline

The first-level headline is numbered and bold with a font size 13, and has a space of 12 pt before and after the headline. Each paragraph begins with an indentation of 0.63 cm (the same by using the Tab key once) in the first line. A paragraph does not have a space before and after that paragraph.

3.1. The second-level headline

The second-level headline is numbered and bold with a font size 12. The second-level headline has a default space of 12 pt before and after it.

3.1.1. The third-level headline

If necessary, the third-level headline should be numbered, bold and italicized with a font size 12. The third-level headline has a default space of 12 pt before and after it.

3.1.1.1. The fourth-level headline (if necessary)

If really necessary, the fourth-level headline should be numbered with a font size 12, indented by 0.63 cm (the same by using the Tab key once). The fourth-level headline has a default space of 12 pt before and after it. Any lower headline should be avoided.

3.2. Footnotes

Although not encouraged, footnotes can be used to provide additional information for an informal reference that cannot be included in the reference list. A footnote should be numbered and cannot contain any figure or table. Use font size 8 for footnotes.

Figures or Images, Captions, Tables, Table Titles and Formula

4.1. Figure/image and caption

Leave a space of 6 pt before and after a figure or an image, i.e., 6 pt between the main text and the top of the figure or image, and 6 pt between the bottom of the figure or image and the caption. The caption has a default space of 12 pt after it so the main text can continue below the caption. If no text follows the figure caption, do not leave any space between the caption and the next headline (the headline has a default space).

[Insert figure/image here]

Figure 1. Insert the figure/image here.

Figures should be numbered consecutively in the text. A figure can be referred explicitly in the text as Figure 1, or implicitly at the end of a sentence in parentheses (Fig. 1).

Use black and white or color graphic for line drawings. All lines should be at least 0.1 mm (0.3 pt) wide. Line drawings or scanned line drawings should have a resolution at least 600 dpi. Images with a large volume should be properly compressed within 1 MB each. Scanned images should be properly edited to balance the volume size and clarity of the image.

Figure captions begin with Figure x. in bold, followed by the text. Do not add a full stop at the end of the caption.

4.2. Tables and table titles

Table title should be placed above the table, numbered consecutively, and referred in the text like Table 1 or (Table 1). There is no space between the table and table title. Leave a space of one line above the table title and one line below the bottom of the table. If a new first-level headline follows the table immediately, do not leave the space below the table.

The font of the table title is size 12 but the font of the table contents can be sizes 8 to 12 depending on the best fit for the table. Table title begins with Table x. in bold, followed by the text. Do not add a full stop at the end of the table title.

Table 1. Publication schedule for STEME in 2021.

Issue	Publishing date	Submission deadline
First issue	February 25, 2021	January 15, 2021
Second issue	May 25, 2021	April 15, 2021
Third issue	August 25, 2021	July 15, 2021
Fourth issue	November 25, 2021	October 15, 2021

4.3. Mathematical formulae

Mathematical formulae should be numbered consecutively by placing the number in parentheses like (1), aligned to the right. Mathematical formulae should be typed using MS Word Equation or better using MathType. Use size 10-12 for the main characters and size 6-8 for subscripts or superscripts. Leave a space of 6 pt between two formulae in separate lines. Some examples are shown below.

(1)

(2)

Wherever to cite a formula in the text, use the number of the formula like formula (1), or equation (2), or alike.

Submission, Review, and Decision

For STEME from 2022, submission, review and decisions of manuscripts are conducted through the AIMS Online System https://aimspress.jams.pub/.

Once a submission is received, an Editor will pre-screen the article for its suitability and quality for STEME. After passing this pre-screening, the Editor may act as the “Academic Editor” or assign this manuscript to another Editor from the Editorial Board as the “Academic Editor” to handle the review of this paper, communicate with the authors on revisions, and inform the final decision after consultation with the relevant Editor in Chief and/or the relevant Section Editor in Chief.

STEME holds a high standard in peer review. A submitted manuscript should be reviewed by at least two independent reviewers who are scholars and knowledgeable of the area of research. The initial review would be done within 4-6 weeks and the authors are required to get the revised paper back within 2-4 weeks after receiving the review reports.

Reference Style, Citation, and Cross-Reference

Cite references in the text by placing number(s) in square brackets by the end of a sentence [1, 2], or immediately after the Author’s name, for example, Jackson [3] outlined that …. If an article has two authors, list both surnames, e.g., Wang and Guo [4] reported …. If an article has more than three authors, use the first author’s surname and et al. e.g., Archila et al. [2] studied ….

Three or more consecutive references can be placed in the same square brackets by joining the start number and the end number by a hyphen like [5-8]. References with separate numbers can be placed in the same square brackets with individual numbers separated by comms like [2, 6, 9].

In the References section blow, examples of different types of references are shown [10-17]. If you use EndNote, these should be sorted out automatically to some extent, including the square brackets and the numbers inside. Otherwise, you have to manually edit the references according to different types of publications. If a referenced article has more than six authors, EndNote will automatically export authorship as the first author et al., #8 in References, for example.

AIMS requires all references are cross-referenced between their appearances in the text and in the reference list in References. The cross-reference should be done automatically if using EndNote. Otherwise, you have to use the Cross-reference function in MS Word to make the links one by one manually. After the cross-reference is established, please highlight each reference number in the text to BLUE color (as required by AIMS production). AIMS also requires appending the full URL of the DOI to the reference (if there is one) to the end of that reference in References.

Remember, all references should be cited in the text. Of course, EndNote may export incorrect format occasionally so please double check your reference list and make corrections if necessary.

The order of the references in References can be either by the alphabetic order of the first authors (the in-text citation would not be in the sequential order from [1] to [9], for example), or in the sequence of their first appearance in the text (the order in References would not be in the alphabetic order, for instance).

The reference style of the online version largely follows the Chicago Style. It is also fine if your manuscript is prepared with this online style of reference.

After the section “References”, there is a section “Author’s biography”. Please add a short biography (no more than 100 words) for each author in the same order of the authorship on the first page of the article, as shown in the examples below.

Author contributions

All multi-authored papers should include an Author contributions section to describe each author’s specify contributions using the relevant CRediT roles. Please refer to the CRediT taxonomy for more information.

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%If there is nothing to disclose, there is no need to add a declaration (Remember, there is no need to disclose the use of Assistive-AI). If there is generative-AI use to disclose, here is a guide for an acceptable disclosure.

%Use of Generative-AI tools declaration

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Acknowledgments (All sources of funding of the study must be disclosed)

We would like to thank you for following the instructions above very closely in advance. It will definitely save us lot of time and expedite the process of your paper's publication.

Conflict of interest

Ethics declaration

References

Albelbisi, N.A., Al-Adwan, A.S. and Habibi, A., Self-regulated learning and satisfaction: A key determinants of MOOC success. Education and Information Technologies, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-020-10404-z. [open access journal/magazine]

Archila, P.A., Molina, J. and de Mejia, A.M.T., Fostering bilingual written scientific argumentation (BWSA) through collaborative learning (CL): evidence from a university bilingual science course. International Journal of Science Education, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2020.1844922. [open access journal]

Jackson, S.L., Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach, 3rd ed. 2009, Belmont, CA, USA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. [book]

Wang, Y. and Guo, W. W., Reproducing the realistic compressive-tensile strength ratio of rocks using discrete element model, in Rock Anisotropy, Fracture and Earthquake Assessment, Y.G. Li, Ed. 2016, pp. 142-174. De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110432510-003. [book chapter]

Bolton, R., Second wave of university job cuts coming next year, in Financial Review. 2020, The Australian Financial Review, Sydney, Australia. [newspaper]

Chiappe, A., Ibarra, H.C. and Lizasoain, L., Learning in the openness: the lost way of the MOOC. Digital Education Review, 2020(38): 42-60. https://doi.org/10.1344/der.2020.38.42-60. [digital journal]

Coleborne, C., HASS experts are ‘deeply disappointed’ with the higher education reforms, in Campus Review. 2020: 16-17. APN Educational Media, Sydney, Australia. [magazine]

Dreisiebner, S., et al., Facilitation of information literacy through a multilingual MOOC considering cultural aspects. Journal of Documentation, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-06-2020-0099. [open access journal with 8 or more authors]

Guo, W., Magnetic petrophysics and density investigations of the Hamersley Province, Western Australia: implications for magnetic and gravity interpretation. PhD thesis, 1999, p. 121. The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. [thesis]

Li, Z., Guo, W. and Powell, C. M., Timing and genesis of Hamersley BIF-hosted iron deposits: a new palaeomagnetic interpretation. 2000, Minerals & Energy Research Institute of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. [professional report]

Pollock, N.W., Retraction of Scientific Writing. Wilderness & Environmental Medicine, 2020, 31(3): 257-258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wem.2020.07.001. [traditional journal]

Sun, G., Cui. T., Li, K.C., Xu, D., Chen, S., Shen, J. and Guo, W., Towards Bringing Adaptive Micro Learning into MOOC Courses, in 2015 IEEE 15th International Conference on Advanced Learning Technologies. Taiwan, 2015: 462-463. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICALT.2015.26. [conference paper]

Department of Education and Training, National Strategy for International Education 2025, The Australian Government, Canberra, Australia. p. 32. [government report/policy paper]

Weinstein, R., Writing scientific case reports for top-line journals. Journal of Clinical Apheresis, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1002/jca.21869. [online journal]

Ha, W. and Shin C., Seismic random noise attenuation in the Laplace domain using SVD. IEEE Access, 2021, 9: 62037.

Guo, W., Unification of the common methods for solving the first-order linear ordinary differential equations. STEM Education, 2021, 1(2): 127-140. https://doi.org/10.3934/steme.2021010.

Guo, W., Li, W. and Tisdell, C.C., Effective pedagogy of guiding undergraduate engineering students solving first-order ordinary differential equations. Mathematics, 2021, 9(14): 1623. https://doi.org/10.3390/math9141623.

Author’s biography

Dr. Alicia Anderson is a professor of science education with Central Queensland University, Australia. She is specialized in xxx. Her research interests ... She is a member of xxx.

Dr. Bill Collins is a professor of biological engineering with MIT, USA. He is specialized in xxx. His research interests include xxx. He is a Fellow of IEEE and a Nobel laureate of 20xx.

©2024 the Author(s), licensee by AIMS Press. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).