How to Get Published: Author Guidelines for IEEE Computer Society Publications
You’ve done the research, so now it’s time to publish your paper with the most prestigious leader in technical information: the IEEE Computer Society. Publishing your work as an author can enhance your career and give you the recognition you deserve.
Here, we provide the information you need to successfully publish your research in an IEEE Computer Society publication, including selecting the right publication, writing and formatting your article, submitting your paper, and navigating the peer review process.
Finding the Right Publication
The IEEE Computer Society has various award-winning magazines and journals to choose from, all of which are included in the Computer Society Digital Library. Browse our publications by topic to find one that fits your research area. Each publication describes the types of articles it publishes on its “Author Information” page under “Write for Us.”
Our magazines and journals often publish special issues or sections on popular or emerging topics in the publication’s field. Please see our Calls for Papers page for upcoming special issues and sections that are seeking submissions.
Magazines publish both peer-reviewed and editorial content, while journals publish exclusively peer-reviewed content. Magazines cover broad topics that can appeal to experts and non-experts; journals publish fully developed findings from completed research and studies.
Other factors to consider when selecting a publication are submission-to-publication time, bibliometric scores like impact factor, and publishing fees. We recommend consulting with your colleagues and co-authors who have experience in publishing for guidance.
Helpful Resources: Browse Publications | About Open Access | Calls for Papers | IEEE Video Tutorials | IEEE Publication Recommender Tool
Manuscript Files
We accept Microsoft Word, plain text, and LaTeX files. If you will be submitting LaTeX files, please use the IEEE LaTeX Analyzer before submitting to avoid delays and ensure all requirements are met.
You can find the appropriate template using the IEEE Template Selector. However, please note that templates do not reflect the final format; the published paper will appear as formatted by the publication staff.
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- Magazines: For IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, using an article template is required. For all other magazines, using an article template is not required but is encouraged.
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- Journals: Using an article template is required for journal submissions.
All manuscript files will be converted to PDF upon submission. Files cannot exceed 350 MB.
Length and Reference Limits
Note: Supplemental material is not included in these word counts.
Magazines
- Word count and reference limits vary by magazine. Please click below for specific information.
Journals
- Page length and reference limits vary by journal. All page limits include abstracts, references, and author biographies. Special-issue papers must adhere to the same page limit as regular and short papers. Please review the Mandatory Overlength Page Charge (MOPC) policy for additional information about author fees for overlength submissions.
- IEEE Computer Architecture Letters
- IEEE Open Journal of the Computer Society
- IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing
- IEEE Transactions on Big Data
- IEEE Transactions on Cloud Computing
- IEEE Transactions on Computers
- IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing
- IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computing
- IEEE Transactions on Knowledge and Data Engineering
- IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing
- IEEE Transactions on Parallel and Distributed Systems
- IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence
- IEEE Transactions on Services Computing
- IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering
- IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Computing
- IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics
- IEEE/ACM Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
- An abstract must clearly state the nature and significance of the paper and is required at the head of the manuscript. Abstracts must not include mathematical expressions or bibliographic references. Word limits for journal abstracts are as follows:
- Regular/special-issue paper – 100 to 200 words
- Short paper – 50 words
- Please note that double-column papers will translate more readily into the final publication format. A double-column page is defined as a 7.875″ x 10.75″ page with 9.5-point type and 11.5-point vertical spacing.
Author Biographies
Magazines
- Author biographies must follow this format:
- Peer-reviewed articles:
- [Full name] is [role] at [institution] at [city, state, postal code, country]. [His/Her] research interests include [3 very brief (not a complete list of) topics]. [Last name] received [his/her] [highest degree] in [topic] from [institution]. [He/She] is a [member/fellow/other] at [professional organization]. Contact [him/her] at [website or email address].
- Columns/departments:
- [Full name] is [role] at [institution] at [city, state, postal code, country]. Contact [him/her] at [website or email address].
- Peer-reviewed articles:
Journals
- Author biographies are not required, and there is not a specific style format.
Writing Style
Please consult the IEEE Editorial Style Manual.
English language editing services can help refine the language of your article and reduce the risk of rejection without review. IEEE authors are eligible for discounts at several language editing services; visit the IEEE Author Center to learn more. Please note that these services are fee-based and do not guarantee acceptance.
If your article is accepted, staff will prepare it for publication. Article titles may be reworded for clarity or to align with title word limits. In these cases, authors are queried for approval of the revised title.
Best Practices for Magazines
- Use active voice (“We discovered” rather than “It was discovered”) and straightforward declarative sentences.
- In an introduction (two to three paragraphs) tell what the article is about and why this topic is significant.
- Avoid repetition of results and signposting (indications of what will follow or references to previous or subsequent sections).
- Do not number section headings.
- If you must use acronyms, define each one on its first appearance.
- When you mention a person in the text, include the full name on first reference and only the last name subsequently.
- Conclusions should not summarize but instead outline future goals or lessons learned.
- We encourage Further Reading lists, lists of important URLs, and Related Work sections to help readers understand the context, relevance, and significance of your work.
Formatting References
References should appear in a separate bibliography at the end of the paper. Except for articles submitted to IEEE Annals of the History of Computing, all articles should have numbered references that are listed in the order in which they appear in the body of the paper. Note that, in the final layout version, in-text reference numbers will be formatted (1) as superscript for magazines or (2) in square brackets for journals.
Citations must include full publication information—for articles, this means listing all authors, the article name, the publication’s full name, the volume, issue number, month, year of publication, and pages cited. Please see the IEEE Reference Guide for further guidance. Use the IEEE Reference Preparation Assistant to make sure your references comply with requirements.
Figures and Tables
It is the authors’ responsibility to ensure permission to publish images is acquired from all owners and publishers (if the image has already been published elsewhere). Authors are responsible for any fees associated and must provide proof of permission (via email is acceptable), preferably prior to submission, but definitely prior to publication. Contact the publication administrator (see Publications for contacts) if you have questions.
All images and graphs should be high resolution and adhere to a minimum of 300 dpi at the intended display size. Please proofread text and symbols. For clarity, please name files with the submitting author’s last name, followed by “-fig1,” “-fig2a,” and so on.
Magazines
- Graphs should show only the coordinate axes (or at most the major grid lines) to avoid dense, hard-to-read illustrations. We also encourage the use of code fragments to illustrate important ideas or techniques. They may be inserted in line or treated as figures.
- For submissions to Computer, IEEE Security & Privacy, and IEEE Software, we often redraw line art to conform to other figures in the magazine. Do not embed images into Microsoft Word files. For photographs or screenshots, please use high-resolution JPG or TIF files. For graphs and charts, please use the original editable source format (PDF, Visio, Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and so on), so that they can be formatted with our color palette, fonts, and style.
- For submissions to all other magazines, figures and graphs will not be reformatted.
Journals
- When creating your journal article in the template, please embed the figures and tables where they should appear in the article (as close as possible to the first callout) and ensure that they are sized as intended for publication. Incorrectly sized figures will be returned to the author for reformatting.
- Figures and graphs will not be reformatted.
Authoring Tools
Overleaf: Work with your co-authors in real time using Overleaf, an online collaborative LaTeX and rich text authoring tool. Log in to Overleaf using your IEEE account to take advantage of enhanced benefits.
IEEE Collabratec: IEEE Collabratec is a cloud-based hub for scholarly collaboration—integrating authoring and productivity tools with a global community dedicated to technology professionals. IEEE Collabratec can help authors generate ideas for articles and find co-authors. Visit the IEEE AuthorLab forum to ask questions related to publishing your research in IEEE periodicals.
Supplemental Materials
We accept and encourage submissions of supplemental materials for review, including short videos, animations, audio files, extended code samples, and extra text and graphics that do not fit in the article.
All supplemental material must be submitted as separate files and must not be included within the same PDF file as the main paper submission. When submitting your paper in ScholarOne, upload these files as “supplemental material.” Files cannot exceed 350 MB.
All downloadable media and files that require plug-ins, viewers, or other special software not typically included in a default browser configuration should include a link to the appropriate helper application. If you are submitting a video or audio file, please include a text file with a description of your supplemental material.
All supplemental materials must follow US copyright guidelines and may not include material previously copyrighted by another author, organization, or company. If portions of your manuscript or supplemental files contain material that is the legal property of another party, you must retain preauthorized written permission for reuse. Without proper clearance, your files will not be reviewed or published. If you do have clearance, please forward the documentation via email to the publication administrator (see Publications for contacts).
If your article is accepted for publication, any supplemental files will appear alongside the article in IEEE Xplore® and the Computer Society Digital Library.
Journals
- All appendices in journal articles are considered supplemental material. If a paper’s appendix is not initially designated as supplemental material, you will be asked to remove the appendix from the main paper file and resubmit as separate files.
Share Your Code and Data
Increase the impact of your work by sharing your code and data for others to view, build upon, and reuse. Benefits to sharing your data and code include:
- Improving the discoverability of your data by hosting it in an easily accessible repository.
- Making your data citable with a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI) for your dataset.
- Increasing the pace of scientific advancement by enabling other researchers to build upon your work.
- Following best practices of reproducible research by archiving your article’s underlying data.
- Ensuring long-term preservation and accessibility of your data through the repository’s archival curation.
Code Ocean: IEEE works with Code Ocean, a cloud-based computational reproducibility platform, to make code discoverable. It allows authors to further enhance the visibility and impact of their research by enabling them to share their code on Code Ocean so that readers can browse, view, run, and experiment with the code.
IEEE DataPort: IEEE DataPort, an online repository of datasets and data analysis tools, makes your datasets discoverable. IEEE DataPort is fully integrated with IEEE Xplore®, which will include a link to the dataset. The repository accepts all types of datasets up to 2 TB and provides a DOI for easy citation.
Comments Paper - Journals Only
Some journals will consider Comments papers that refer to a previously published article – please refer to the specific journal’s Author Information page to confirm whether a particular journal publishes Comments papers. Comments are for a group of authors to note an error found in, or a disagreement with, a previously published paper by that journal.
Submitted Comments papers are considered by the Editor in Chief who assigns to the previous editor for further evaluation, review, and possible response from the original article’s authors. Authors intending to submit a Comments paper must include the title, DOI, and author list of the previously published paper.
Preliminary/Conference Versions
Section 8.2.1.B.10 of the IEEE Publication Services and Products Board Operations Manual (PDF) specifies that authors should submit only original work that has not appeared elsewhere for publication and that is not under review for another refereed publication. Editors and reviewers are required to check the submitted manuscript to determine whether a sufficient amount of new material has been added to warrant publication. You must select the appropriate designation for the files during the submission process to assist the editors and reviewers with differentiating between the files. Any manuscript not meeting the following criteria will be rejected:
- If you have used your own previously published material as a basis for a new submission, then you are required to cite the previous work(s) and clearly indicate how the new submission offers substantively novel or different contributions beyond those of the previously published work(s).
- In addition, if you intend to submit a conference version of your paper to a conference after submitting to an IEEE Computer Society publication, you must state your intention to submit in your cover letter and provide a copy of the conference paper upon submission to the conference.
- Copies of any previously published work affiliated with the new submission must also be included as supportive documentation upon submission.
- If any portion of your submission has previously appeared in or will appear in another publication (including conference proceedings or an international workshop), you must notify us at the time of submission, make sure that the submission references the previous paper(s), and supply a copy of the previous paper(s).
- Authors must provide a brief description of the differences between the submitted manuscript and the preliminary version(s) or planned conference submission(s).
Helpful Resources: Combating Common Writing & Publishing Mistakes | IEEE Video Tutorials for Authors | IEEE Editorial Style Manual | Template Selector | Introduction to LaTeX
Submitting Your Paper
We employ a secure, web-based manuscript submission and peer review tracking system called ScholarOne Manuscripts for most magazine and journal article submissions. The site itself provides detailed instructions and tutorials for authors.
Submit full papers, not outlines or abstracts, to ScholarOne. Incomplete submissions will be returned to authors.
The IEEE Transactions on Privacy (TP), a new fully open access journal launching in January 2024, accepts submissions through the IEEE Author Portal instead of ScholarOne Manuscripts. Please review the TP Write for Us page for further details.
Scholar One Account and Profile Information
Authors submitting to an IEEE Computer Society publication must have a ScholarOne account. Avoid creating duplicate accounts.
When you create an account, ScholarOne will prompt you to enter an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID), which is required by all IEEE publications. ORCID is a persistent unique identifier for researchers, functioning similarly to an article’s Digital Object Identifier (DOI). ORCIDs enable accurate attribution and improved discoverability of an author’s published work. Authors without an ORCID in their ScholarOne account will be prompted to provide one during submission. Learn more about ORCID and sign up for an ORCID today.
ScholarOne requires authors to enter a name, address, and email address when registering. Email is our primary means of communication, so it is critical that your email address is accurate. If you want to be notified at two email addresses, include the second email address in the “Primary CC” field.
While creating your account, you will be prompted to select relevant and detailed keywords that align with your areas of focus in research and practice. Our system links the taxonomy-driven keywords to the names of potential reviewers–a feature that expedites the review process. Authors may also enter keywords in the free-form text box, but these will not be searchable, and thus you may miss opportunities for reviewing or other collaboration.
Update your ScholarOne account information at any time, by clicking your name at the top of the screen and selecting an option from the drop-down list. Enter the new information, click “Next,” then click “Finish.”
Starting a Submission
Click “Author” to be taken to the Author Dashboard. Click “Start New Submission” > “Begin Submission.” The system will guide you through the process.
In the “Type” field, select the appropriate manuscript type (e.g., “regular paper”). If you are submitting to a special issue (SI) or section (SS), select the specific SI or SS in this field.
Uploading Files
Before uploading files:
- Carefully proofread your files, paying attention to special characters, mathematical symbols, Greek letters, equations, tables, and images.
- Ensure that files do not exceed 350 MB.
Please check the following prior to submission:
- Order: You may reorder uploaded files by selecting a number in the drop-down list in the “Order” column. Click “Update Order” after making adjustments and be sure to keep your main manuscript as the first file in the list.
- Designation: To change a file’s designation, click the drop-down menu next to the file and select a different designation.
- Description: To change a file’s description, click the “i” button and type a new description into the field.
You may leave files in the system and return to them later; however, you must complete the submission process for the review process to begin.
If, after you submit, you find that you have made an error (such as uploaded the wrong file or left a file out), email the peer review administrator (see Publications for contacts). Do not attempt to delete and/or resubmit it in ScholarOne, as this will only produce duplicate entries of the paper.
Entering Authors
The IEEE outlines publication principles including authorship and author responsibilities in Section 8.2.1 of the IEEE Publication Services and Products Board Operations Manual (PDF). Items specific, but not limited, to these principles are highlighted here:
- Authorship credit and technical contribution
- Coauthor awareness and approval of submission (or any revised version)
- Ordering of authors on manuscript
- Role of the corresponding author
- Author conduct regarding plagiarism, dual submission, previous related work, and discussion of manuscript with reviewers
- Citing the submitted paper in other relevant work under consideration for publication
- Author responsibility for obtaining written permission to use material (i.e., charts, photographs, or other graphical or textual material) copyrighted by other parties
View the IEEE’s definition of authorship.
Entering Keywords/Attributes
Keywords should be selected from the ACM taxonomy provided in ScholarOne, and they should be specific and closely aligned with your article’s topic. Selecting from this keyword list (which is an extended version of the ACM Computing Classification System, used with permission) is essential to the review process because ScholarOne links keywords to names of potential reviewers who are associated with that area of expertise, thereby expediting the review process. If you do not see a word that closely reflects your topic in the list, then you may type the appropriate word into the text box.
We recommend that you enter a minimum of three keywords.
Requesting/Excluding Reviewers (and Associate Editors)
For some publications, authors may have an option to indicate preferred and excluded reviewers (and in some cases associate editors). For any recommended reviewers, the individuals named should be “… competent and have experience in the area of the subject matter of the article.” In addition, authors are cautioned to avoid suggesting any individual with whom they may have a real, perceived, or potential conflict of interest (this would also include any of the coauthors and suggested reviewers/associate editors). Conflict of Interest is defined in IEEE Policies, Section 9.9 – Conflict of Interest.
If asked, authors must indicate the reason for requesting or excluding individuals during the submission process.
Double-Anonymous Review
The peer review process assures the anonymity of the reviewers. You can request a review in which your identity is also kept from the reviewers. This is called a double-anonymous review. Requests for a double-anonymous review should be clearly indicated during the submission process. (Note: IEEE Transactions on Cloud Computing, IEEE Transactions on Computers, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Dependable and Secure Computing, and IEEE Transactions on Emerging Topics in Computing do not offer this option.)
All double-anonymous review requests must be accompanied by an explanation as to why the double-anonymous review is being requested. Furthermore, co-authors must be entered and listed in the co-author list during the submission process in ScholarOne. Papers requesting double-anonymous review must still provide copies of and differences from related papers by the authors that have been previously published. It is your responsibility to ensure that all electronic files (including, but not limited to, supplemental material and preliminary/conference versions), file properties, and materials submitted for double-anonymous review do not reveal your identity or the identities of contributing authors. Note that author anonymity for papers with preliminary versions cannot be guaranteed due to the possibility that reviewers may search for those versions online.
Requests for double-anonymous reviews will be honored at the discretion of the editor in chief based on the reasons behind the requests.
Open Access
The Computer Society publishes two fully gold Open Access (OA) journals, IEEE Open Journal of the Computer Society and IEEE Transactions on Privacy. All other Computer Society publications follow a hybrid OA model, allowing either traditional manuscript submission or author-paid OA manuscript submission.
OA publication enables unrestricted public access to the article via IEEE Xplore® and the Computer Society Digital Library. The OA option will be offered to the author at the time the manuscript is submitted, and the Article Processing Charge (APC) must be paid before the article is published. Authors will receive an email from CCC-Rightslink, our APC vendor, asking for payment. Please visit the IEEE OA FAQs for further details.
Authors seeking an APC waiver should submit substantiated evidence and documentation to pubs-waivers@computer.org. Corresponding authors from low-income countries are eligible for waived or reduced APCs.
In addition, IEEE members will receive a 5% discount, and members of IEEE societies or councils will receive a 20% discount off OA article processing charges. Discounts cannot be combined or applied to any other fees such as overlength or color page charges.
The traditional option, if selected, enables article access to all qualified subscribers and purchasers via IEEE Xplore® and the Computer Society Digital Library. No OA payment is required.
Journals
- For hybrid Open Access publications irrespective of any OA charges, note that papers that exceed the journal’s page limit after acceptance and final layout will be subject to Mandatory Overlength Page Charges.
Mandatory Overlength Page Charges – Journals Only
The following policy on Mandatory Overlength Page Charges (MOPCs) applies to all IEEE Computer Society (CS) journals (except the IEEE Open Journal of the Computer Society and IEEE Transactions on Privacy).
Independent of any Open Access (OA) or voluntary page charges, the CS assesses the authors of accepted papers that exceed the regular paper length limit after final editing and layout, a fee called a Mandatory Overlength Page Charge (MOPC).
In its mission to maintain a consistent and high-quality publication process, the CS follows a strict policy on the lengths of published journal papers. Page length restrictions not only encourage authors to submit concise papers that readers will appreciate, but they also help keep the review process timely and maintain uniform editorial standards and consistency with page budgets. So that manuscripts meet page length requirements, all submissions must meet the journal’s submission guidelines, and supporting but nonessential information (such as appendices) should be submitted as supplemental material. The regular paper page length limit is defined at 12 formatted pages for Transactions and four formatted pages for Letters, including references and author biographies. Any pages or fraction thereof exceeding this limit are charged $220 per page. Submission page limits may differ from overlength page limits. Please review each journal’s page length policy (above, in Section 2: Preparing Your Paper) before submitting your manuscript. Authors will be notified of any assessed Article Processing Charges (APCs) when galley proofs are sent for review. Payment must be sent at the time galley proofs are approved by the author.
The CS’s policy on page limits as described here is strictly enforced. The IEEE and the CS will enforce payment of APCs as per regulation 6.5.2.F of the Publications Services and Products Board Manual, namely:
“Authors who do not pay Mandatory APCs without a waiver shall be barred from submitting future articles to IEEE publications until such time as their previous outstanding charges are paid.”
“Non-payment of an APC by an author shall not be considered an automatic application for waiver. If an author has not paid a Mandatory APC after a reasonable amount of time, this non-payment of the charges may be reported to the appropriate credit monitoring agencies. PSPB or the organizational unit sponsoring the journal may establish the length of time that must occur before this action is taken, and this information shall be included in the related instructions to authors.”
Authors requesting a waiver should submit substantiated evidence and documentation to pubs-waivers@computer.org. A waiver will be considered only prior to authors approving the final version of the proof of a manuscript. Unless a waiver is approved, invoices that are unpaid after 30 days will be forwarded to the IEEE’s credit and collections team. Further action may be taken for invoices unpaid after 180 days.
Copyright Form and Policy
The author is responsible for obtaining copyright releases and corporate and security clearances prior to submitting material for consideration. It is the IEEE’s policy to assume that all clearances are granted when a paper is submitted. For complete information, please refer to the FAQs and IEEE Intellectual Property Rights homepage.
All text and figures must be owned and created by the author, except possibly for material such as text passages, figures, and data that clearly identify the original source, with permission notices from the copyright owners where required. Copyright clearance must be provided for the use of commercial or non-public domain images. The author represents that he/she has the power of authority to make and execute this assignment.
The IEEE copyright form must be completed upon acceptance. The author, in providing a signed copyright form, understands that all copyrights in and to the work are assigned to the IEEE.
Human and Animal Research Disclosure
Authors of articles reporting on research involving human subjects or animals must indicate upon article submission whether an approval was obtained from a relevant review board (or equivalent local/regional review). If such an approval was obtained, the original source and reference must be provided to the editor at submission and appear in the article itself. For more information, consult the PSPB Manual, section 8.1.1.E.
Helpful Resources: Copyright FAQs | IEEE OA FAQ | ACM Taxonomy | ScholarOne Manuscripts
The Peer Review Process
The length of the peer review process varies, as the time it takes to assign an associate editor and locate available, qualified reviewers often depends on the type of material submitted for review. Each publication makes an effort to keep the review time to a minimum while maintaining its reputation for quality and integrity.
Articles are peer reviewed in accordance with the requirements set forth in the IEEE PSPB Operations Manual (Sections 8.2.1.C & 8.2.2.A). Unless a double-anonymous review is requested, each article undergoes a single-anonymous peer review process, where the authors do not know the identities of the reviewers, but the reviewers know the identities of the authors. We solicit peer reviews from at least three independent reviewers. Reviewers are assigned based on their qualifications and expertise in the paper’s subject matter. Reviews are used as the basis for acceptance and content revisions. The editor in chief makes the final decision regarding acceptance. Only about 25 percent of all manuscripts submitted are accepted.
IEEE requires that referees treat the contents of papers under review as confidential information not to be disclosed to others before publication. It is expected that no one with access to a paper under review will make any inappropriate use of the special knowledge that access provides.
Articles will be screened for plagiarism before acceptance.
Submission Prescreening
All IEEE Computer Society publications adhere to the prescreening process as outlined in the IEEE Publication Services and Products Board (PSPB) Operations Manual (PDF), Section 8.2.2.A.3.
The purpose of prescreening is to verify that the article adheres to minimum criteria set forth by the Computer Society and IEEE. Such criteria include that the authors have followed applicable guidelines for style; that the authors have adhered to all relevant policies; that the article is comprehensible and well written, so that readers can understand its contents; that the article is within the scope of the publication; and that the article meets the minimum criterion for technical substance as established by the publication.
Concurrent/Duplicate Submissions
Papers are accepted for review with the understanding that the same work has been neither submitted to, nor published in, another publication or conference. If it is determined that a paper has already appeared in another publication or conference, or will appear in another publication or conference before the editorial process is completed, the paper will be automatically rejected. Please note that:
- We don’t accept articles under review by another publication, including conference proceedings.
- We don’t accept papers that have been published elsewhere, whether in other periodicals, books, edited volumes, or formal proceedings, and whether in print or digital form.
- We expect the authors to disclose any derivative works and their sources.
- Failure to disclose multiple related submissions or derivative works may result in rejection of the submission and IEEE publication sanctions against the authors.
- For more information, refer to the relevant IEEE policies in the IEEE Publication Services and Products Board Operations (PSPB) Manual.
If a submission expands on a previously published paper, such as a conference version, authors should explain how the two works differ. More information on “Preliminary/Conference Version(s)” and related policies can be found here.
Concurrent submission is viewed as a serious breach of IEEE’s publishing ethics. If we determine that a submission has been submitted to another publication before the review process is completed, your manuscript will be rejected and publication sanctions may apply.
Helpful Resources: IEEE’s Publishing Ethics | IEEE Publication Services and Products Board Operations Manual (PDF)
Submitting Final Publication Materials
After your paper is accepted for publication, you must submit final publication materials by the deadline included in your acceptance letter. No substantial and unauthorized changes can be made to the accepted article during this final stage of the publication process. If changes are detected, they will be reported to the publication’s editorial team and may be considered author misconduct. Refer to the checklist below to ensure that all your materials are ready for final submission:
- One editable copy (.doc or .tex) of your complete manuscript, which must match the final accepted .pdf version.* A complete manuscript includes:
- abstract
- keywords/index terms
- author affiliation data
- main text
- figures and tables (including captions and titles)
- footnotes, if any
- acknowledgments/disclaimers
- references
- biography of each author
- photos of authors (for full-length journal articles)
- Supplemental material (if applicable)***
- Image permission (if applicable)
*For some publications, the PDF file of your accepted paper will be downloaded from ScholarOne Manuscripts and used as the “Early Access” version of your paper. Any typographical errors may be addressed with the production editor during the proofing stage. Any subsequent PDF files will not be used for production.
***Must be a separate file from the main paper file and named as “log #-supp.” The supplemental file(s) will also be downloaded with the accepted PDF from ScholarOne Manuscripts to be accessed with the Early Access article. View file requirements on the IEEE Author Center.
Early Access Version
Except for Computer and IT Professional, the publication in which your paper is accepted will post the accepted version online (in the IEEE Computer Society Digital Library and the IEEE Xplore® digital library) as an “Early Access” article shortly after you submit all final publication materials. The accepted version is the version that was submitted in the final round of peer review and accepted for publication. No changes can be made to an Early Access paper. Minor updates and typographical errors can be addressed with the production editor during the proof stage. The final edited version, which is the version that has been copyedited, proofread, and formatted by IEEE staff, will replace the Early Access version when your article appears in an issue. If for any reason you would prefer not to have your accepted paper posted as an Early Access article, please advise the publication administrator immediately.
Early Access articles are made available in advance of the final electronic or print versions and are peer reviewed but may not be fully edited. They are fully citable from the moment they appear in the Computer Society Digital Library and IEEE Xplore®.
Submission to PubMed
All articles published in IEEE/ACM Transactions on Computational Biology and Bioinformatics and IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence are indexed in PubMed. In addition, any published articles that list the NIH as a funding source are automatically submitted for inclusion in PubMed Central by IEEE. Authors who have received funding from another organization that requires submission to PubMed Central must submit the required forms by visiting the Author Manuscripts in PMC site. Questions may be directed to pubs-permissions@ieee.org.
Early Access articles are made available in advance of the final electronic or print versions and are peer reviewed but may not be fully edited. They are fully citable from the moment they appear in the Computer Society Digital Library and IEEE Xplore®.
Post-Publication Policies
Corrections: To correct an error within the metadata records for periodicals published on Computer Society Digital Library and IEEE Xplore®, please refer to the IEEE Author Center for information on making the correction.
Name Changes: IEEE supports the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) initiative and guidelines on an inclusive approach to author name changes. Upon request, IEEE will change the author’s name in their IEEE publications. Learn more about IEEE’s author name change policy.
Helpful Resources: IEEE Author Center | IEEE Author Name Change Policy
Promoting Your Published Research
Once you have received the notification that your paper has been published, it’s time to share your research with the community.
Social Media
The exciting aspect of today’s world is that researchers can now promote their work and easily create their online brand from their own devices. Social media is a great way to accomplish this; it’s easy, personable, and fully in your control. We encourage you to be advocates for your own discovery journey, sharing your contributions, insights, and work with your online community.
Building your online persona by sharing your research can:
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- Broaden Your Network: With the power of social media, you have the ability to connect with people from all over the world. This can include future collaborators, partners, or researchers that can give you more insight about what you’re currently working on.
- Improve Your Discoverability: By using relevant hashtags and connecting with people within your discipline, your work has the potential to reach many like-minded individuals.
- Stay in Tune with New Opportunities: Social media is a great way to connect with potential stakeholders and stay aware of potential funding or grant offers.
- Open Discussion & Feedback: Sharing your work on social media is a quicker way to receive feedback for your research and can open a discussion that may lead you towards new insights that you wouldn’t have gotten from your immediate circle.
Create a caption:
When sharing your work with a broader audience, it’s important to keep in mind that those who see it may be less specialized within your particular field. For this reason, try presenting your work in easy-to-understand terms. Instead of only telling what your paper is about, try being relatable and highlight why these findings should matter to your audience. Remember, there’s a limited character amount. It’s okay if you can’t describe your findings all in one post. You can space out the information, keeping your audience engaged by sharing new content over time, all relating to one subject.
Here are a few ideas to keep in mind:
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- Include the link to your article from the Computer Society Digital Library or Xplore (C).
- Lead with the most exciting or interesting finding reported in your article to capture your reader’s attention.
- Tie your findings to a provocative question or a compelling vision of the future.
- Share your research results and how it relates to current issues.
- Engage with someone else’s research (and make sure you tag them!)
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Tag relevant accounts and use hashtags:
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- Tag the Computer Society and your co-authors in the post.
- Twitter: @ComputerSociety
- Facebook: @ieeecomputersociety
- LinkedIn: @IEEE Computer Society
- Use #IEEECS and #IEEE to reach the IEEE Computer Society’s network.
- Use keywords as additional hashtags that relate to your article’s topic.
- Use a hashtag tool like hashtagify.me to help find more relevant terms
- Tag the Computer Society and your co-authors in the post.
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Include an image or video:
Even when sharing your research on Twitter and LinkedIn, imagery or videos can help your work stand out amongst the sea of posts from everyone else. Try including an image using the suggestions below:
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- Use the IEEE Social Media and Communications Toolkit for editable templates and imagery.
- Include a figure or graphic from your paper.
- Create a graphic using a template from canva.com
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Tech News Blog
The Computer Society’s Tech News blog highlights the latest trends and happenings in technology. We encourage you to submit your research findings to the blog for consideration. If selected, your contribution will reach millions of researchers, professionals, and students. Submit an article that highlights the research covered in your published paper here.
Can I receive a printed issue of the publication that my article is published in?
Yes, please visit this site to order a printed issue. Please note that print copies are only for magazines, as journals are no longer printed.
Where can I find past issues of ComputingEdge?
Current and past issues of ComputingEdge are accessible here.
Can I post my article in a book or resource that I’m creating?
Please visit the IEEE’s reuse policies here.
How can I fix an error or mistake in my article?
Please visit IEEE’s Post Publication Policies page to see how you can request a correction to an error.
How do I become a reviewer?
We match reviewers to submissions based on keywords in our online peer review system, ScholarOne Manuscripts. Therefore, you’ll need an account in the system to become a reviewer. Please visit our Reviewer Guidelines for further information.
How do I become an associate editor?
The publication’s editor-in-chief (EIC) assigns an editor to handle the peer review process for a submission based on subject area and availability. Please visit our Editor Guidelines for further information.
How do I get information about the status of my paper during peer review (before the first decision)?
To get the status of a submitted paper, you can visit either ScholarOne or Author Portal. Additionally, you may contact the peer review admin for further information. Please visit the publication ‘About’ tab to view their contact information.
My paper has been accepted. Where can I view the status of publishing?
Once your paper has been accepted, you may view the status of publishing by visiting either ScholarOne or Author Portal.
My article isn’t appearing correctly in Xplore or the CSDL. Who do I contact?
Please contact the help desk at help@computer.org for assistance.
Can I get an extension for the submission or revision deadline?
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- Submission Deadlines: Please check the call for papers, and contact the guest editor at the listed address.
- Revision Extension: Please contact the peer review admin (see publication’s “About” tab)
What are over length page charges and do they apply to me?
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- Independent of any Open Access (OA) or voluntary page charges, the CS assesses the authors of accepted papers that exceed the regular paper length limit after final editing and layout, a fee called a Mandatory Overlength Page Charge (MOPC).
- Page length restrictions not only encourage authors to submit concise papers that readers will appreciate, but they also help keep the review process timely and maintain uniform editorial standards and consistency with page budgets. Find more information about Mandatory Overlength Page Charges (MOPC) here.
Am I allowed to use AI tools for my article?
Please visit the IEEE Author Center for further information.
What are IEEE’s policies for IEEE copyright content and author posting?
Please visit this page (PDF) for all information related to Guidelines and policies on all aspects of IEEE intellectual property rights for authors, readers, researchers, and volunteers.
What does IEEE offer in terms of open access?
Please visit IEEE Open Access information page for policies, member discounts, and further information.
What is an open access agreement and does my organization have one with IEEE?
Designed to make it convenient for institutions and funders to support and manage costs for authors, IEEE has agreements with several organizations and institutions for publishing. Check to see if your institution has an agreement with IEEE here.