Guidelines for Authors
MELD is an online publication and community of practice. Its objective is to promote the growth and development of high-quality standards-based e-learning in healthcare. To accomplish this objective, MELD aims to bring together a diverse group of professionals involved in e-learning so that they can benefit from the experiences of others in the same or different disciplines.
Content
The editors of MELD are looking for interesting and informative articles—theoretical or practical—on adult learning, e-learning, instructional design, e-learning standards, and e-learning technology especially as they relate to healthcare. Content can be written with a highly specialized or general audience in mind. We welcome controversial material.
Because MELD is just getting started, the topics and structure of our site will change over time as the field changes and as we come to understand what is useful and interesting for participants. For starters, we suggest articles that fall into the following categories but we will consider contributions that do no fit neatly into these categories.
News
Do you have a product announcement? Have you released a new version of a standard? Are you starting a new company? MELD will be happy to publish your news and announcements in MELD's News section. Just send us a message that includes your press release or announcement and we will, if appropriate, post it. The staff will publish event/meeting and course information in the Events or Courses section.
Primers
Each article should provide an overview of a topic of potential interest to our readership. We suggest that you include an annotated reading list that will provide participants with books and articles that will help them explore the subject in more depth.
Divergent Views
Authors should approach their subjects in a well-reasoned but controversial manner. A discussion thread will accompany each article.
Case Studies
Authors should provide practical examples of how they have approached healthcare e-learning projects. If the project produced a tangible end result such as a learning object or course, the author should provide a link.
Best Approaches
Articles should provide advice, guidelines, and best practices that will help people involved in planning and implementing e-learning programs in healthcare to learn quickly about what works and what doesn't.
Healthcare Education Organizations
Articles should provide descriptions of the MELD-relevant activities of organizations involved in online healthcare education.
Reviews
Authors should provide a synopsis and a review of a book, journal, or website that provides information of interest to MELD's readership.
Events
The Events section lists events of interest to the MELD community. Events submissions should include the following information:
- Name of the event
- A brief description of the event
- Start and end date of the event
- Event registration deadline
- Contact information and/or event website address
Courses on E-Learning
The Courses on E-Learning section lists online and in person educational programs of interest to the MELD community. Course submissions should include the following information:
- Name of the course
- A brief description of the course
- Start and end date of the course
- Course registration deadline
- Contact information and/or course website address
Style
Language
Articles should be written in English.
Images
Images should be in gif or jpg format. We may change the image size for optimal display. If you are reusing material that is copyrighted to another person or institution, be sure to obtain permission to republish that material from the owner and include the appropriate text in your article.
References
Present references in a consistent and standard format.
Links and References
When you include links in the body of your article or in a reference, please give the complete URL in your references section. Also, please verify the link and include the date that you last accessed the link in your reference. For example:
MedBiquitous Consortium Technical Steering Committee. MedBiquitous XML Schema Design Guidelines (version 1.2, 2004).
http://www.medbiq.org/technology/tech_architecture/xmldesignguidelines.pdf
[Last accessed 20 June 2004].
Submitting Articles
- Submit your text article in Microsoft Word format and attach it to an email message.
- Please include your name, title, organization, and email address.
- Send all submissions and inquiries to Valerie Smothers, Director of Communications at valerie.smothers@medbiq.org.
Submitting Non-textual Materials
MELD will consider publishing information in formats other than text, such as video and audio, if we have the requisite infrastructure. Please send us a note.
Editorial Process
- The MELD Editorial Office will select materials for publication based on the quality of the research, relevance of the information, and quality of presentation.
- We will inform you if your article has been accepted for publication and when it is scheduled for production.
- We may make minor changes to your article. If major revisions are needed, we will send you a note requesting the revisions.
- When the article is produced for the web, we will send you a note with a URL so that you can review the article before publication.
Publishing Rights
All rights reside with MedBiquitous Consortium unless specifically directed otherwise by the author(s). MedBiquitous Consortium requires non-exclusive permission to make the material available. Author(s) are responsible for clearing any rights prior to submitting materials to us.
