D&T Special
Issues are typically issues on a theme that is of interest to many
readers of D&T. In its motivation section, the proposal should make
clear to the Editorial Board why the proposed theme is current,
relevant, and of interest. In the spirit of the name of the
periodical, the Guest Editors should make an effort to select a
theme such that both ‘design’ and ‘test’ aspects can be covered.
A successful
Special Issue contains five or six articles of max. 5,000 words
each. Details on manuscript length, number of figures and tables,
etc. can be found on the D&T website (http://www.eng.ucy.ac.cy/theocharides/ieeedt/).
It is recommended to start the Special Issue with an overview,
survey, or tutorial article that properly introduces the field,
while the remainder might contain a mix of research- and
application-oriented papers. As experts on the topic area covered by
the Special Issue, the Guest Editors are encouraged to co-author
this tutorial article. Alternatively, they can also solicit such an
article from other experts in the field. In case the Special Issue
submissions yield more good and publishable manuscripts then fitting
within one Special Issue, the remaining (‘overflow’) articles can be
published as part of the regular publication queue in subsequent D&T
issues.
The Guest
Editors are required to work with D&T editors of the Last Byte
and Perspectives departments to prepare appropriate columns
for the Special Issue, A list of these department editors can be
found on the D&T website. Sidebars are an especially attractive
feature of D&T articles. The Guest Editors are therefore encouraged
to work with paper contributors to include sidebars wherever
appropriate, Each paper published in the Special Issue includes a
short editor’s note (written by a Guest Editor) as an introduction
to the readers. The Guest Editors are also requited to write an
editorial for the special issue. This editorial is typically two
pages long; its purpose is to motivate the Special issue topic and
highlight the papers that constitute the Special Issue.
Most D&T
Special Issues contain a mix of invited papers and submissions in
response to an open Call for Papers. This requires the Special Issue
proposal to have both (1) a list of (to be) invited authors, as well
as (2) a Call for Papers.
The list of
invited authors should reflect the Guest Editors’ projected
‘dream-team’ content for the Special Issue. In the spirit of the
name of the periodical, the Guest Editors should make an effort to
include both ‘design’ and ‘test’ aspects in their list of invited
authors. It is recommended that already just on the basis of this
invited authors list, an attractive Special Issue can be put
together. Confirmations that some or all ‘dream team’ authors will
indeed submit to the Special Issue do make the proposal stronger.
The open Call
for Papers is meant to attract additional submissions, beyond the
‘dream team’ content put together by the Guest Editors. This should
allow anyone, also outside the network of the Guest Editors, to
submit to D&T Special Issues. Often times, Guest Editors are
positively surprised by unsolicited submissions. The Call for Papers
will be published in a preceding issue of D&T. Next to that, it is
recommended that the Guest Editors give a wide distribution to the
Call for Papers. The Special Issue proposal should contain
information on the distribution plans for the Call for Papers.
Before publication, the text of the Call for Papers will be edited
by a D&T professional editor for
clarity, structure, conciseness,
grammar, passive to active voice, logical organization, readability,
and adherence to style (as is also common for accepted D&T
articles).
All submissions,
including the submissions of invited authors, need to undergo the
regular D&T review cycle. Hence, Guest Editors must not make upfront
guarantees to (prospective) authors that solicited submissions will
be accepted.
