As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines
The submission files are in Microsoft Word or PDF document file format.
Where available, DOI's for the references have been provided.
Please submit a separate cover letter to the editors which includes all author names as well as the purpose and a brief overview of your submission. If submitting for a special issue, please specify the issue.
Submit a separate title page which should include all authors' names, credentials, email addresses, and affiliations (if applicable).
Please submit a fully blinded manuscript (main document), without any identifying information about the authors.
Illustrations, figures, and tables are submitted as separate, supplemental files. Each should be a separate file.
Please ensure your submission is not more than 25 pages, including tables, figures, and references. Authors are encouraged to discuss manuscripts of longer length with the editor.
Author Guidelines
Types of Submissions & Guidelines
General Guidelines for all submissions (please see below for guidelines specific to submission type):
Submissions must be prepared in accordance with the most current American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines, including 12-point, Times New Roman font, double-spacing, and 1-inch margins.
Manuscript titles can be a maximum of 12-words in length.
A brief abstract stating the principal points should be included with the submission. The abstract should be no longer than 150 words.
Figures and tables must be properly referenced in the text of the article, and numbered chronologically. Please submit them as separate, individual files.
Footnotes should be AVOIDED.
Submissions must be accompanied by a separate "title page" and "main document" to ensure that the manuscript is ready for a double blind review. The title page should include the authors’ full names, credentials, affiliations (if any), and e-mail addresses. The main document should be blinded for masked review by removing all identifying information of the authors.
Authors are also required to submit a cover letter with both initial submissions and revisions that provides a brief overview of the submission and the contact information for the corresponding author.
If invited to revise and resubmit a manuscript, a revision table is requested to be submitted along with the revised manuscript. Please de-identify both files by removing all author names and professional affiliations.
Articles should be no more than 25 pages including tables, figures, and references. Authors are encouraged to discuss options regarding manuscripts of longer length with the editor. (e.g., robust qualitative research).
Journal submissions for review and publication should be submitted online. Submission of a manuscript is a representation that the paper has not been previously submitted in any publication elsewhere or published in any open literature. It also represents that the author/s have not assigned or transferred copyright for the material.
Dialog from the Field: Program or Practice Description:
A dialog from the field describes innovative practices or programs, or approaches to preservice preparation and/or ongoing professional development.
A dialog from the field reports the practical experience of early childhood professionals and/or faculty and professional development providers.
Authors are expected to connect their commentary and reports to research and evidence-based-practice in the field and provide critical review of the topics they address.
Research Article
The journal article submission should demonstrate report of original research and clear analyses and implications for practice and research composed in formal, academic language using direct objective and active syntax. Methodology should reflect current best practice and methodological guidance.
The brief abstract should state the principal points, methodology, overview of findings and recommendations should be included in your submission.
NOTE: Authors will also be asked to submit a Research-to-Practice (RTP) Summary to accompany an accepted research article. These are NOT initial submissions. These supplemental summaries are required for all accepted research articles. Authors will be asked to submit this as part of final review processes.)
RTP provides practitioners with a summary of the literature review and findings from the research article in a way that is accessible for early childhood practitioners and/or faculty, and provide them with specific tips and suggestions for practice that stem from the study.
Title and running head should be different from that of the Research Article.
A brief abstract stating the principal points should be included in your submission. The abstract should be no longer than 150 words.
Research-to-Practice Summaries are typically 5 to 6 pages when single-spaced (about 1000-2000 words).
Conceptual Articles
Conceptual articles present theoretical or conceptual frameworks, or perspectives on current issues in the fields of early childhood education, early intervention/early childhood special education, child and family studies, developmental psychology, or others.
Reviews of the Literature
Literature reviews present results of rigorous and comprehensive research methodology used to identify, evaluate, and synthesize relevant studies addressing a specific research question.
Examples include systematic reviews, scoping reviews, meta-analyses, and integrative reviews.
Dialog from the Field
Program or practice description.
Copyright Notice
This Agreement (the Agreement) is made by and between the authors and The Dialog Editorial Team.
Author Agreement
By submitting the research article to The Dialog, I acknowledge it may be published by the J. Murrey Atkins Library at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the Author(s) certify that:
Warranties:
Authors are legally authorized and possesses full power and authority on behalf of co-authors to enter into this Agreement.
Author warrants, on behalf of all article authors, that:
The article is original, has not been formally published in any other peer-reviewed journal, is not under consideration for publication by any other journal and does not infringe any existing copyright or any other third party rights;
The named authors are the sole author(s) of the article. Any co-author not signing this Agreement personally has granted full authority to the main author and agree to enter into this agreement of his/her behalf and to gran the following rights to The Dialog.
The article contains nothing that is unlawful, libelous, or which would, if published, constitute a breach of contract.
II.Copyright
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
Author(s) shall retain copyright to the article but grant the Journal right of first publication, and the irrevocable right to perpetually disseminate the article as part of the Journal subject to the Creative Commons Attribution License, that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Beginning one year after the date of formal publication of the article, Authors may enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work and subject to the Creative Commons Attribution License (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), subject to a proper acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal: This article was originally published in The Dialog (Vol., Issue, Year).
III. Indemnification.
Author shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Journal from any and all claims, liabilities, damages, expenses (including attorney’s fees and expert costs, penalties, fees, if any arising from enforcement of this Agreement and/or related to claims of infringement of copyrights or proprietary rights allegedly contained in the Article, or resulting from a claim of defamation, obscenity, or invasion of privacy based upon or arising out of the publication of the Article or any other breach of warranty as set forth in No. 1.
Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.
