Publication Guidelines

MOM Submission Form

Submitting a Manuscript for an Extension Numbered Publication for Web or Print

The following information covers the options and process for publishing a peer-reviewed, numbered Extension publication. Extension numbered publications are current, research-based, peer-reviewed, and approved for publication by unit and extension administrators. All extension numbered publications are edited and designed through a collaborative process with the author.

Publication Development

Writing

Publications should be well organized and written to be easily understood by your target audience. Usually, at least one of the authors has an extension appointment. Photographs, illustrations, charts, and graphs can be used to further communicate and enhance the message and are referenced in the text. Footnotes are not used within the text, and materials used from other sources should be fully cited in the text. (For example: As Thomas L. Friedman said in his book The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, “ ….”) References usually are not included at the end of the publication, but a list of three to five resources for further exploration of subject matter can be included. Today’s readers, particularly those on the Web, are less apt to read a publication linearly, from start to finish. They may be more likely to scan it and read the sections that most pertain to the information they’re seeking. Consider incorporating subheads and vertical lists to break up and organize content and pull-out boxes that can be easily scanned or used to reinforce your educational message.

Testing Readability

Word contains a readability assessment tool to help you gauge the reading level of your publication. Extension aims for an 8th to 9th grade reading level for most general publications, but the reading level may need to be lower or higher, depending on the audience. To engage this tool, search for readability assessment in the Help section of Word. Similar tools are also available online; search for Flesch- Kincaid readability level.

Peer Review

All Extension numbered publications are peer-reviewed. All major revisions and new publications need a minimum of three reviewers, including at least one extension educator and one extension specialist or department faculty member with expertise in the subject matter. Reviewers from other universities or industry also may be included when necessary to address the subject matter and may serve as substitutes for the Nebraska Extension educator or specialist requirement. With minor revisions or no-revision repostings to the Web, the author is responsible for reviewing the material and ensuring the information is still current and accurate. The author is responsible for appropriately addressing comments from the reviewers before submitting the publication for approval.

Submitting the Manuscript for Publication

Manuscripts can be submitted for publication electronically via online submission via the Movement of Media (MOM), which has key information about the publication. The approval process is managed via email after submission.

The publication package (combined into a SharePoint or OneDrive Shared Folder needs to include:

Manuscript

• A digital file with the publication text (Word File in .docx format).
• Make sure major elements (title, author, epigraphs, headings, block quotes, notes) stand out visually from one another—especially first-level headings from any subheadings.
• All like elements within files should be styled the same (e.g. all first-level headings receive the same typographic treatment, all block quotes show the same).
• Do not use hard returns or tabs to format the margins of block quotes or works cited entries; instead use Word's ruler feature.
• For material that has notes, please leave the notes embedded (or linked).
• If both italics and true underlining are to be used in a piece, please make that known to us in the file (e.g., before the title of the piece you could include the following: <UNP: Both italics and underlining are used in this file>).
• Tables should be created using Word and placed directly in the Word files where they are to appear.
• Separate files for all photos, charts, and illustrations;
• Photos should be high resolution (300 dpi when possible) and in a tif, eps, jpg, or png format
• Signed release forms for 1) the use of someone’s personal image (other than the author), and 2) the use of copyrighted material such as photos taken by anyone other than an author.

 Artwork

• Art should not be placed directly in Word files but saved separately in a .tif or .jpg format.
• Name Artwork files in a clear and consistent manner (e.g. Figure 1, Figure 2...)
• Include captions in the Word files where the art is to be placed, or if a piece of art has no caption use a generic call-out in its stead (e.g., Fig. 1 Here).
• Art files should be no less than 300 dpi with the smallest dimension measuring at least four inches. Exception: Line art should be no less than 1200 dpi.

The completed publication package is submitted to the unit or department head for review and approval and forwarded to extension administration for review and approval. Extension forwards the publication package to the publishing group. It will be assigned to a production team that will work with the author through the editing and design stages and publication to the Web and/or print.

Printing & Distribution

All publications are published to the Web. Print copies also may be ordered for use by departments.

Nebraska Extension Publications on the Web

extensionpubs.unl.edu

All current publications are published to this public website, which serves as a central resource of Nebraska Extension, peer-reviewed materials.

digitalcommons.unl.edu

Many “out-of-print,” historical extension publications are available in this public archive. These publications were removed from publication, possibly due to out-of-date information, and should not be referenced to the public for current recommendations or practices.

Resources

Style Guides

Reference the Associated Press Style Guide for style, Webster’s Dictionary for spelling, and the Extension Publications Style Guide (http://edmedia.unl.edu/styleguide) for information specific to IANR. For research or non-numbered extension publications, the style may be specific to a professional journal.

Copyright

Consider all work to be copyrighted, regardless of whether it contains a copyright symbol. See the U.S. Copyright website for guidance on when older publications will fall out of copyright. To use a table from a published journal or a photo from a website or other publication, you need to get written permission from the owner of the intellectual property. (Often, this would be the publisher and may not necessarily be the author.)

Permission Forms

The Movement of Media requires authors to include release forms for any images or copyrighted material in their publications. UNL image release forms are available in the UNL Toolbox.

IANR and Extension Required Identification

To learn more about requirements for including IANR and extension identification on non-numbered extension resources, see the UNL Toolbox and Extension Toolbox.

All publications should include:

• Extension Logo
• UNL Wordmark
• EEO Statements
• Copyright and year