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JOM: Author Guide
Please browse through the following frequently asked questions, regarding author submissions and the review process.
What is JOM?
Published monthly by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS), JOM is a professional forum for technology exchange among dedicated materials scientists and engineers practicing in a wide spectrum of disciplinary specialties.
JOM is neither an archival research publication nor a commercial trade magazine, although it possesses characteristics of both. Rather, the journal acts as a literature resource reporting on scholarly work that elucidates state-of-the-art processing, fabrication, and design from a materials perspective.
What are the particular technical interest areas covered by JOM? Technical interest areas can be broadly defined as extraction and processing; light metals; materials processing and manufacturing; structural materials; and electronic, magnetic, and photonic materials.
Who reads JOM?
Written for academic and industrial audiences alike, the journal is distributed to all members of TMS as well as nonmember subscribers; as a result, more than 10,000 individual readers see the journal each monthly. Additionally, the journal reaches more than 3,000 institutions and libraries. The readership consists of scientific, engineering, and management professionals and students from the manufacturing, processing, research, and academic sectors of the international materials community.
What kind of review process does JOM employ?
All manuscripts are reviewed by at least one expert in the subject area and by the journal's editorial staff. JOM is recognized and ranked by Science Citation Index in the areas of engineering and computing & technology.
What’s the best way to have my paper accepted for publication?
Take a close look at the
Technical Emphasis Calendar, which lists the year’s topics, to determine where your paper fits. Editorial advisors assist the editor in selecting papers and/or arranging for a qualified review of the manuscript.
Can I submit a manuscript that has been published elsewhere?
No. JOM only accepts original manuscripts which differ substanitively from other manuscripts that the author has published on the subject.
I’ve selected the month for publication, now what do I do?
Authors should formally notify the editor of their publishing intent by submitting a 200-word abstract by completing the
JOM Abstract Submission and Author Biography Form.
How long will it take for my paper to be reviewed?
Generally, at least one month is required from the time the paper is first received at the editorial offices until the author is notified of acceptance or rejection.
How technical should my paper be?
Written at a B.Sc. level, the journal is designed to appeal to an international, academic, industrial, and governmental audience. Therefore, an emphasis is placed on general review articles. Please review the details on editorial formats below.
Where can I get details on the editorial formats?
JOM offers its contributors a variety of formats for articles that fall within the technical calendar topics, however not all formats are published in all issues. Each format has a length restriction which should be carefully employed by the author when developing the manuscript. Authors are strongly encouraged to write with brevity and contribute papers that reflect the page minimums for the article format rather than the maximum. On rare occasions, extremely lengthy articles will be considered for serialization. The editorial formats include the formats listed below (the editor is always open, however, to suggestions for other formats as well).
- Overview: 4-8 printed pages (3,200–6,400 words). A well-referenced and well-illustrated introduction to the issues affecting and recent developments occurring in a topical technology. The purpose is to thoroughly introduce the general reader to the specifics of the field.
- Research Summary: 3-5 printed pages (2,400–4,000 words). These papers outline recent, technically in-depth investigations in materials science and technology.
- Applied Technology: 2-4 printed pages (1,600–3,200 words). These articles communicate information about advancements in commercial products or processes and are typically submitted by industrial sources.
- Design: 2-4 printed pages (1,600–3,200 words). These articles emphasize the application of the design process in the development of a material system, process, or product.
- Testing and Analysis: 2-4 printed pages (1,600–3,200 words). These articles emphasize the application of analytical techniques in the study of the properties and/or performance of a material.
- Industrial Insight: 2-5 printed pages (1,600–3,200 words). An experience-driven description of the economic, managerial, environmental, engineering, scientific, governmental, international, competitive, etc., factors that influence the development, introduction, and application of technology on an industrial scale.
- Nontechnical Feature: 2-4 printed pages (1,600–3,200 words). These articles examine pertinent issues in education, professional affairs, government policy, economics, and other areas important to materials scientists and engineers.
- Conference Reviews: 1-4 printed pages (800–3,200 words). A synopsis of a recent (no more than one year from the month of publication) symposium or conference. Key, not all, presentations are briefly summarized and attributed.
- Opinion: 1-2 printed pages (800–1,600 words). Qualified commentary by a recognized expert on a topical or controversial issue. A thesis and arguments for or against a particular premise must be presented with even-handedness and without innuendo.
- Archaeotechnology: 2-4 printed pages (1,600–3,200 words). These articles explore materials usage and development throughout history. They must contain new research results as well as detail on the cultural and historic context being examined.
What happens if my abstract is accepted?
If the abstract is accepted, you will be asked to submit a manuscript no later than three months in advance of the planned month of publication. When sending the complete manuscript to the
JOM Editorial Office, the package should include the following:
- The manuscript. The length of the manuscript is determined by the type of editorial format to which the article conforms. As a general guideline about 750–800 words equal one journal page. Aside from strictly adhering to length restrictions, be sure that the manuscript includes the following:
• Title. 5-10 words
• Byline List all authors, with the primary author being first.
• Summary. Describe the scope of the paper in 3-4 sentences.
• Introduction. Provide background and set parameters for the discussion to follow in 2-3 paragraphs.
• Headings. The headings should be descriptive and more specific to the textural content that follows than simply "Procedure," "Results," "Discussion," etc.
• Conclusion. States deductions flowing from the paper or comments of future needs. Do not simply repeat facts and prior discussion. If this occurs, the section will be deleted during editing.
• References. Credit the work of others when it is cited or employed. References should be numbered consecutively as they appear in the article. In preparing the references, use the footnote format described in any commonly available handbook on manuscript preparation. Alternatively, review our list of commonly used
reference formats in the journal. If you are unsure of how to prepare a particular reference, err on the side of providing too much information rather than too little.
• Tables. Include only as essential. Number them with Roman numerals.
• Original Artwork. While illustration can enhance the appearance of an article, available space is restricted to essential figures. Generally, one illustration per manuscript page is a good guideline. Number the figures using Arabic numerals. Important detail on artwork appears in the following section.
• Figure Captions. In terms of content, figure captions should be free-standing and contain details particular to the figure. More general observations and discussion based on the depicted information should be relegated to the body of the text. Add the figure captions to the end of the article, even if the captions are already typed below the actual figure.
• Metric Units. Do not use U.S. customary units.
- An electronic copy of the complete manuscript. Ideally, the manuscript should be prepared in Microsoft Word, Word Perfect, or some other widely used word-processing program for Macs and/or Windows-based systems. Digitized figures should be sent as separate EPS or JPG files. With prior approval from the editor, authors may provide all electronic files via the journal's FTP site. Contact the JOM Editorial Office
for instructions.
- A signed copyright form. This form can be downloaded using Adobe Acrobat.
- Completed JOM
Abstract Submission and Author Biography
form for each author. Requested data include author's name, title, employer, educational background, and TMS affiliation.
- Completed JOM
Executive Summary
form. This information will be published along with your article and biographic information.
- A cover letter that includes all necessary contact information for the primary author. To avoid confusion, the editor will work with only the designated contact author.
- Manuscripts can be e-mailed to the JOM Editorial Office or posted to
JOM Editorial Office, 184 Thorn Hill Road, Warrendale, PA 15086 USA.
Can I re-use information that has been published elsewhere?
Yes, with proper citation. This is covered by a U.S. copyright law known as Fair Use. This law states that material used for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research is considered fair use. Any material that is not your original work must be cited via the use of appropriate references
according to the
reference guidelines. For considerably more detail on Fair Use, view the JOM article on the subject, "Understanding Copyrights: Ownership, Infringement, and Fair Use.")
How should artwork be prepared?
- Authors may submit digital copies of their artwork. EPS files are preferred. Resolution for these figures should be at least 300 dpi for photographs and 600 dpi for drawings. JPEGs and TIFFs will be accepted as well provided that the resolution matches the aforementioned guidelines.
Click here for further details for preparing digital images for publication in the journal.
- Do not assemble collages or composite images to achieve a particular layout provide a sketch of the desired effect and then leave it to the journal's staff to produce the appropriate design.
- Do not provide clearly inferior photos or photocopies in lieu of original photographs. They will not be printed.
- If providing printed line art, be sure to provide no worse than laser printer originals.
- Be sure that the type that appears in the figures is large as the figures will be reduced to fit the journal's format. The type should still be readable if the figure is ultimately reduced to a maximum width of slightly more than 5 cm.
- Micrographs require scale markers for reference after reduction. Position the scale marker outside of the image area. Artwork can be returned upon request.
- Color may be used. Figures submitted in color will appear in color on-line, but there is a surcharge to the authors for printing color figures in the hard copy journal.
- Photographs suitable for use on the front cover of the journal are always welcome. Likewise, interesting figures with free-standing captions are welcomed to balance the layout or highlight the article's appearance when space permits.
Can I e-mail my figures?
Yes, but if the file is too large we may need you to place it on our FTP site. The resolution for digital figures should be 300 dpi for photographs and 600 dpi for drawings.
Does the journal print color figures?
Yes. Figures submitted in color will appear in color on-line, but there is a surcharge to the authors for printing color figures in the hard copy journal.
What is JOM-e?
If your paper has been invited for inclusion as part of JOM-e, the file does not have to be prepared in HTML (hypertext markup language). The same guidelines as apply to a conventional manuscript apply to the electronic version as well. However, the submission should also include all necessary electronic files and/or supplemental information that will be used to achieve web presentation (e.g., animation, downloadable software, video, suggested hyperlinks, etc.).
Will my paper be edited?
Yes, manuscripts are edited for clarity as well as to conform to the size and style requirements of the journal. Each submission is read by the editorial staff and one or more reviewers. Content, headings, figure captions, formality of the language, and the general structure are all styled to attract reader attention and enable readers to proceed at a comfortably brisk pace. In this process, every attempt is made to preserve the technical integrity of the original work.
Do I get to see the edited paper before publication?
Yes. Page proofs are sent to the contact author only for approval, typically 4–6 weeks prior to the month of publication. Except for the correction of typos and technical errors, editorial and style revisions will not be accepted.
Will my paper be available to the public on-line?
Yes. Every month, JOM presents one full-length, hypertext-enhanced technical article with broad appeal on its web site, available to the general public at no charge. The remaining articles are listed, with abstracts, in a table of contents and are available for purchase as a PDF through Springer.
After it’s been printed in JOM, can I post a PDF of my paper on my web site?
No, but you can direct readers to Springer's
web site for PDF downloads.
Can I get reprints of my article?
Yes. Reprints may be ordered through
Springer New York, LLC via
e-mail or phone (212) 460-1572.
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