Submission: Article
A DUT article contributes to practice and knowledge within the field of Danish university pedagogy. DUT welcomes articles from all higher education institutions, but they must be relevant to university pedagogy.
DUT accepts articles that are either empirical (containing data) or theoretical (not containing data). The journal has different requirements for the content of empirical and theoretical articles, so please read the following carefully before submitting.
DUT articles undergo double-blind peer review.
Articles must be submitted using the correct template.
Empirical articles
Empirical articles contain some form of analysis of empirical data, or they present an initiative that has been planned or implemented. Typical examples are interventions, action research, experiments, case studies, observational studies, questionnaire surveys, or qualitative interview studies. DUT also welcomes literature reviews and other studies that analyse existing (‘secondary’) data sets/texts – and the journal also categorises such contributions as empirical.
If your manuscript is an empirical article, please note that the assessment form asks about the presence and quality of these elements.
Elements of an empirical article
Introduction
Describes and justifies the study/experiment and the entire study design in brief. Outlines the problem/initiative and the purpose of the work. It is essential that the article clearly explains how the study is relevant/interesting to or contributes to the field of university pedagogy.
Context and background
Describes the context and, if applicable, the background for the study/experiment.
Literature/theory and university pedagogical rationales
Presents the concepts, theories, frameworks, research and studies relevant to the study, and how the study/initiative contributes to the field.
Method
Describes the type of study, e.g. ethnographic fieldwork, questionnaire survey, focus group interviews, and includes relevant sources for this. Presents, describes and justifies the methods used in the study/experiment for data collection, analysis, initiative development, intervention and evaluation. Presents, provides a clear overview of and justifies the choice of collected/generated data included in the study, including scope, data types, etc.
Analysis/case
Performs analyses of data and/or reviews cases.
Results
Describes the results of the analysis/case (if any), preferably with subheadings if the results are multi-part or extensive.
Discussion
Discusses the results in relation to the purpose of the study and existing knowledge and practice in the field, and discusses the strengths/weaknesses and limitations of the analysis/experiment.
Implications and perspectives for university pedagogy
Discuss the university pedagogical implications and perspectives arising from the study/experiment and/or how the study/experiment contributes to our understanding of the problem under investigation and what significance it may have for university pedagogical practice, methodology or theory.
Conclusion
Summarise the article and its results and contributions in accordance with the purpose stated in the introduction.
Theoretical articles
Theoretical articles are articles that do not (primarily) involve or analyse empirical data. These may, for example, be articles with more conceptual, theoretical or philosophical analyses, arguments and discussions.
If your manuscript is a theoretical article, you should be aware that the assessment form asks about the presence and quality of the elements in the box below. These do not necessarily have to be the exact chapter headings listed: elements can be combined, or you can use your own headings.
Elements of a theoretical article
Introduction and background
Describes the theme or problem addressed by the article. It is essential that the article clearly states and argues that the contribution is relevant and interesting to the field of university education.
Purpose
Describes the purpose of the article so that it is clear to the reader how the elements of the article are structured and connect to each other leading up to the conclusion of the article. Since theoretical articles can be a broad genre category, it is also important here to be clear about the fields, methods, theories, genres or similar that the article contributes to and falls within (and possibly which the article falls outside of and therefore should not be assessed or read in relation to).
Existing theory/research
Describes the relevant existing theory and research within the field of knowledge or practice to which the article contributes. In theoretical articles, this section will often be a longer, independent section that thoroughly defines, introduces and describes in detail the essential concepts, theories and/or research that together form the theoretical foundation of the article.
Analysis/discussion
Contains the article's analysis/study/argument, preferably with sub-sections if, for example, it contains several sub-analyses or sub-arguments. This will typically be a separate section that actively uses, contributes to or relates to the existing theory/research from the previous section of the article.
Contribution to the field of university pedagogy
Discusses how the article's contribution can be applied within the field of university pedagogy and/or how the article contributes to the university pedagogical understanding of the examined theme, concept, field or problem. This also includes the implications of the article for past, present and/or future university teaching practice.
Conclusion
Summarises the article and its contribution in relation to the article's purpose and/or background.
Can you deviate from the listed elements?
You can deviate if you have a good reason to do so.
The elements do not have to appear in the listed order. For example, if you need to present a very extensive body of existing literature in an empirical article, it may make sense to move it to a section after the purpose of the article has been described.
The elements can be merged or combined. For example, it may make sense to have a combined section with results and discussion.
The elements do not need to have their own heading or subheading, and you do not need to use the same words/terminology as we use here. However, it may be advantageous to help the reader and reviewer by indicating in the text or headings which element is currently being addressed. For example, it may make sense to write “The article's dataset consists of...” or “Existing research literature shows that...”.
The key point is that the elements are clearly included in the manuscript in terms of content. Among other things, the reviewers will be asked to assess your manuscript based on the presence and quality of these elements.
If you deviate significantly from the order and terminology, it may make the article less reader-friendly and more difficult to peer review. It is therefore important that you clearly indicate such structural choices in the manuscript with clear metatext. This also helps readers understand what to expect from the different parts of your article.
If, prior to review, the editorial board discovers that article criteria or elements are missing without the article (or cover letter) justifying these omissions, you risk having your manuscript rejected or returned to you prior to any review.
Review process
Articles that meet the journal's focus and requirements undergo double-blind peer review. After peer review, the author will be notified of one of the following decisions regarding the article: accepted without corrections, minor corrections, major corrections, major corrections with a new round of review, or rejection of the manuscript.
Length
Maximum 7,000 words, excluding references. Submissions exceeding this limit will be returned to the author.
