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Eagle Feather

A Publication for Undergraduate Scholars
Submission Checklist | Review Process | Format Guidelines | Selection Criteria | Publication Schedule

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Format Guidelines for The Eagle Feather

Style Manual. The official style manuals for The Eagle Feather (TEF) are as follows:

1. American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association: Sixth Edition. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
2. The Chicago Manual of Style. 16th ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2010.
3. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 7th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2008. Print.
4. IEEE Style Manual. (n.d.)   Available: http://www.ieee.org/documents/stylemanual.pdf

All manuscripts submitted to TEF must conform to the style and formatting guidelines therein (unless otherwise agreed) and except as noted in the instructions below. The brief guidelines provided below that are specific to TEF and supersede any instructions in style manuals listed above. Authors are responsible for consulting the style manual of choice for thorough guidelines on manuscript preparation.

Authorship. TEF is a journal for undergraduate scholars attending the University of North Texas. Therefore, all research articles submitted should have an undergraduate student at UNT as the first author. The research reported in the article and the writing of the article should be substantially that of the undergraduate scholar. Because it is expected that undergraduate scholars are still apprentices-in-training in their area of research, it is the policy of TEF to also include faculty mentors as second authors. This policy recognizes the substantial role faculty mentors play in developing and shaping the research and the publications of their students.

Types of Articles. Articles published by undergraduate scholars in TEF are primary articles that have not been previously published. Types of articles may include reports on empirical quantitative and qualitative research, policy analysis, historical analysis, case studies, critical reviews of literature in an area, theoretical articles, methodological articles, critical literary or artistic analyses, and technical reports. Research can be in any basic or applied field of study, including the physical and life sciences, the social sciences, the humanities, education, engineering, and the arts. Invited articles may also be included at the discretion of the Editorial Board, including highlights on innovative undergraduate teaching, students as authors, and keynote speeches at the UNT’s annual University Scholars Day conference held in the spring of each academic year.

Title Page. The title page should include the name of the article (10-12 words in length), the name and department affiliation of the student scholar and mentor, and a footnote with acknowledgments of grant agencies, organizations, institutions, or people who contributed substantitively or financially to the research. All material should be centered and single-spaced. Title should be bolded. All other text on the title page should be normal text, neither bolded nor italicized.

Biographical Sketch and Photo. The student scholar should attach a biographical sketch of no more than 150 words, which includes the scholar’s major area of study, previous professional presentations and publications, current activities, and future plans. A digital color photo (headshot) of the student author should be attached in .jpg format for publication in the journal.

Abstract. The abstract should start on a separate page. It should be no more than 150 words in length and should be double-spaced. The abstract should concisely describe the research contained in the article.

Text. The text of the article should be approximately 20 doubled-spaced, typed pages and should conform to the following standards which supersede any other style manual instructions for the preparation of manuscripts:

  • Paragraph indention. All paragraphs, including the first one in a new section, should use an indentation of .5”.
  • Justification. Text should be left-justified.
  • Margins. Margins should be 1” all around (top, bottom, left and right sides) for the text, as well as the reference list and all tables and figures.
  • Headings. Three headings will usually be sufficient for articles in TEF.
  • The first heading should be regular type, use uppercase letters for first letter of all words or four or more letters and lowercase letters for others, and be centered and be bolded;
  • the second heading should be italicized, use uppercase letter for the first letter of all words of four or more letters and lowercase letters for others, and be flush with the left margin; and
  • the third heading should be italicized, should begin with an uppercase letter in the first word with all others in lowercase, should be indented .5” from the left margin, and should end with a period followed directly by the narrative text.
  • Spacing. Headings should be double-spaced, as is all other text. No extra lines or spacing should be included before or after new paragraphs.
  • Running head. The running head and page numbers should be included in the top right-hand corner of each page. A short running head of no more than 40 characters and page numbers should begin on the biographical sketch page (page 2 in the manuscript) and should be located in the top right-hand corner of the abstract page. The running head and page numbers should continue on each succeeding page.
  • No section breaks. Do not use section breaks as this disrupts the continuity of numbering pages in the text.

Tables and Figures. Tables and figures should be prepared using Word 2003 or higher and should be “camera-ready” when submitted for review by TEF and should conform to the following standards:

  • Numbers in tables. Numbers in tables should be right-justified within cells of the table.
  • Tables numbered sequentially. Each table should be labeled sequentially in the order that it appears in the article.
  • Figures numbered sequentially. Each figure should also be labeled sequentially.
  • Titles of tables and figures. Tables and figures should be able to stand alone for the reader; each table and figure should have a descriptive title that tells the reader what information is contained therein.
  • Placement of tables and figures. Tables and figures should be presented separately at the end of the manuscript, with all tables listed first in numerical order, followed by all figures in numerical order.
  • Tables and figures in separate, jpg files. In addition to copies of figures and tables in the Word document, authors should submit copies of all figures and tables in separate jpg format files.

Reference List, In-text References, and Endnotes. The reference list and in-text references or endnotes should be meticulously prepared, conforming to one of the four major style manuals in all particulars. The reference list, bibliography, or works cited list should only contain references actually used in the manuscript. References should be used judiciously and only when absolutely relevant to the research topic or design. More than 30 references are discouraged. The reference list, bibliography, or works cited page should begin on a new page, be double-spaced, and have a .5” hanging indent after the first line; that is, the first line of each reference should be flush with the left margin, and all others indented .5”. The running head and page numbers should be included in the top right-hand corner of each page.

In general, in-text references or endnotes are to be used for citations to material in the text. Footnotes are not acceptable for publication in TEF and must be converted to endnotes by the author.

Copyright Release for Quoted Material and Artwork. If the work of another author is quoted extensively or if published artwork, tables, or figures are reproduced in the manuscript, it may be necessary to obtain permission to use the material in The Eagle Feather. Authors are responsible for providing all relevant permissions to the TEF editor when the manuscript is submitted for review. Failure to obtain such permissions may result in the article not being published.

Research Integrity and Compliance. The University of North Texas and The Eagle Feather subscribe to the highest standards of research integrity and compliance. Student scholars and their mentors are responsible for ensuring that the work included in manuscripts submitted to TEF conforms to the university guidelines for research integrity and compliance. These guidelines are presented in detail on the UNT website by the Office of Research Economic Development at http://research.unt.edu/ors/compliance/compliance.htm. Student researchers should be especially vigilant to observe the federal guidelines in the following five areas: (1) use of animals in research Use, (2) use of humans in research, (3) financial conflict of interest, (4) research misconduct, and (5) export controls. Student scholars and mentors are responsible for complying with all guidelines for research compliance for the manuscripts submitted. Only manuscripts that are in full compliance with the guidelines may be published in TEF.

Plagiarism and Fabrication. Plagiarism as “use of another’s thoughts or words without proper attribution in any academic exercise, regardless of the student’s intent, including but not limited to: (1) the knowing or negligent use by paraphrase or direct quotation of the published work or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgement or citation; [and] (2) the knowing or negligent unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or by an agency engaged in selling term papers or other academic materials.” Fabrication is “falsifying or inventing any information, data or research as part of an academic exercise.” (Definitions retrieved from Policies of the University of North Texas, 18.1.16. page 4, Student Standards of Academic Integrity, http://www.unt.edu/policy/UNT_Policy/volume3/18_1_16.pdf.) The student scholar and faculty mentor should ensure that the material submitted does not contain material that has been either plagiarized or fabricated.

Word Processing. The manuscript should be prepared with Word 2003 or higher using Times New Roman 12-point font. Bolding should be used in the title, and the first major heading in the text. Bolding should not be used in titles of tables or figures. Margins should be 1” all around in 8 ½” by 11” image. All text and the reference list should be left justified.

Electronic Submission and Checklist. Authors wishing to submit manuscripts for review should use the submission checklist available on this site to assemble the documents that are required to accompany the manuscript. Student authors please note that the submission checklist requires the original signature of the faculty mentor for your paper. The faculty mentor signature  certifies that the paper is original research conducted by the student author, is ready for publication, and conforms to all federal guidelines for research integrity and compliance at UNT. The checklist and research paper should be submitted electronically at the same time to the journal at eaglefeather@unt.edu. Authors will be notified when their materials have been received and their file is complete. When the file is complete, the manuscript will be reviewed by two reviewers. Manuscript reviews with a recommendation for acceptance or rejection will be returned to the authors within three weeks from the time the manuscript file is complete. Any requested revisions in the manuscript are due back to TEF within two weeks. All comments and questions should be submitted to the Editor of The Eagle Feather.