The PSWEB-L Home Page
WebTexts - Editorial Guidelines

       

  		The World Wide Web allows for such a degree of flexibility and diversity that the nature of teaching materials will evolve fundamentally over the next few years.  Through the use of collections of Web-based teaching materials,  PSWEB-L seeks to provide a broad range of supplementary textbook style pages that will eventually develop into full textbooks.   These materials will be freely available on the Web.  The guidelines listed here are preliminary.  They will be reviewed periodically by the WebText Editors and contributors who will establish and develop the criteria for selection and incorporation into a PSWEB-L WebText. 

Participation is open to the discipline.  The following are the initial standards for publication.  They are clearly subject to change (and open to suggestion!) 

  • General Requirements
    • Pages submitted for incorporation into a WebText must: 
      • pertain to the general subject of the WebText,
      • have sufficient teaching content to warrant publication, and
      • be submitted for review.
    • All materials submitted must be HTML documents or related applications.
    • Pages may be submitted by URL, e-mail, or on diskette.
    • Pages accepted for publication become part of the community WebText and are open to the disciple.
    • Authors may withdraw their pages at the end of any semester.
    • Authorship will be attributed on the individual pages, along with the authorship of significant revisions.

  • Style Guidelines 
    • Pages should be written in relatively short sections that range from a standard 1-5 printed pages in length. 
    • Graphics, apart from those required by PSWEB-L, should be kept to a minimum. 
    • While the basic WebText pages will have a standard background, link, visited link and text colors, authors are encouraged to individualize their presentations.  (Aesthetic issues may be the most difficult to resolve!)

  • Submitting a page
    • To submit pages for inclusion, simply send the page URL, or e-mail the page(s), or send it on diskette to the Editor of the desired WebText. 
    • Indicate the appropriate section for the page in the existing Table of Contents. 
    • Additions to or revisions of the Table of Contents are welcome.
    • As the WebText evolves, an Editorial Board will be developed to provide peer-review and blind refereeing for determining WebText page selection.  This will come at a later stage.

  • Revisions 
    • Unlike the print media, Web pages may be easily edited. Therefore, it is anticipated that not only will revision occur, but that it is a desirable feature of WebTexts.
    • Moderate stylistic revisions and typographical errors may be undertaken without notice.
    • Substantial revisions require that the author notify the Editor.
    • Substantial revisions may be initiated by individuals other than the original author - with the original author's permission.  Authorship information on both original and revisions must be maintained.  As the WebText becomes more complex, an authorship history page will be maintained.
    • Authors wishing to participate in an evolving set of materials should indicate on their pages whether revisions and suggestions are welcome. (The Web offers an excellent vehicle for multiple authorship.)

  • Technical Issues 
    • Pages accepted for publication may be maintained on either the author's server or the PSWEB-L server.

  • Changes to these guidelines
    • These guidelines are a working set, placed here for public discussion.  Please address any questions, comments or suggestions to Bob Duval.
Interim WebText Editor/Moderator: 

Bob Duval 
Dept. Of Political Science 
West Virginia University 
Morgantown, WV 26506 
(304)-293-3811 x5299 

bduval@wvu.edu 

Current Usage:  since August 25th, 1997. 

ã Copyright 1997, Robert D. Duval