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Publications

Each issue of the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications (JSAC) is devoted to a specific technical area within the scope of the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc). Papers submitted to JSAC must be targeted to a specific issue for which a call for papers has been published. These calls for papers are published in JSAC, in other appropriate ComSoc publications, and on the JSAC website.

Since each issue of JSAC is devoted to a specific technical topic, all papers submitted to JSAC must be submitted in response to a published Call-for-Papers. "At large" submissions will NOT be accepted. In addition, all submissions must be submitted as directed in the Call-for-Papers.

All submissions are reviewed by competent referees selected by the guest editors of JSAC special issues and are considered on the basis of their significance, novelty, and usefulness to the JSAC readership. The acceptance rate for IEEE JSAC varies around 35%; for example, in 2023 it was 31%.

IEEE and ComSoc take very seriously author misconduct, including plagiarism and multiple submissions. The IEEE policies governing the response to such misconduct are described in section 8.2.4 of the IEEE Publications Services and Products Board Operations Manual. In addition to the IEEE policies, pre-publication author misconduct, such as double-submission or plagiarism, will result in rejection of the manuscript(s), and a minimum 6 month ban on submissions to fully owned ComSoc publications by the author(s).

With respect to authors' previously published or to-be-published work, material which has been previously copyrighted, published, or accepted for publication will not in general be considered for publication in JSAC. Exceptions to this rule include an author's prior publications that have had limited distribution, have been printed in abstract form only, or have appeared in conference records or digests. All papers are considered on the basis of their individual merit alone, and the fact that a paper may have been accepted for presentation at a conference does not ensure its acceptance for publication in JSAC. In many cases, a conference paper must be substantially revised to meet the technical standards maintained by JSAC. A manuscript identical to or largely based upon a conference paper must be so identified. Please refer to IEEE's policy on originality of content for more detailed information on the use of previously-published work as the basis for a JSAC submission.

Authors should also be aware of the IEEE Policy on Electronic Preprints.

JSAC is a hybrid journal that permits both traditional subscription-based content as well as open access, author-pays content. The quality of the review process for open access and traditional articles is the same. Any open access papers published within JSAC are included in the hardcopy as well IEEE Xplore versions. Please consult Open Access for JSAC for more information.

Submit a Manuscript

IEEE JSAC Papers should be concisely written and may not exceed 13 double-column single-spaced pages (10-point font size, 1-inch margin on all sides) including the title, names of the authors and their complete contact information, abstract, index terms, text, equations, figures, tables, appendices if any, and all references. Figures and tables should be placed along with the text, rather than at the end of the paper. Official templates can be accessed in IEEE Template Selector (LaTeX and MS Word). You will need to click “IEEE Template Selector” and follow the instructions for the template you need. Revised papers are limited to 16 pages.

Authors are required to upload the manuscript as a PDF or Word file. Figures must be used sparingly and repetitive patterns or results omitted. Authors can download a LaTeX template for their submission. Submitted manuscripts significantly exceeding these guidelines will not be considered for review. It is essential that each manuscript be accompanied by a 75- to 200-word abstract clearly outlining the scope and contributions of the paper and a list of up to five keywords should be included on the manuscript. The list of IEEE keywords is available by sending an email message to keywords@ieee.org. All papers should be written in English. Introductory discussion should be kept at a minimum and material published elsewhere should be referenced rather than reproduced or paraphrased. It is strongly suggested that material which is not essential to the continuity of the text (e.g., proofs, derivations, or calculations) be placed in Appendices.

All papers must be written in English. Introductory discussion should be kept to a minimum, and material published elsewhere should be referenced rather than reproduced or paraphrased. Authors should strive for maximum clarity of expression, bearing in mind that the purpose of publication is dissemination of technical knowledge and that an excessively complex or poorly written presentation can only obscure the significance of the work described. Care should be taken in the organization of the paper, such that a logical and consistent progression of thought is evident. It is strongly suggested that theorems, derivations, calculations, and other elements of a paper which are not essential to the continuity of the text be placed in Appendices. Authors with language difficulties should, whenever possible, obtain the assistance of a colleague fluent in English before submitting a manuscript for publication. For pre-submission professional editing assistance and services, IEEE has approved SPI Publisher Services. Please go directly to the SPI Publisher Services website.

Papers are to be submitted via EDAS to the respective JSAC special issue and the guest editors team handling the issue. See the Call for papers of the respective call.

Overlength Page Charges:

All papers submitted after 1 January 2020 that are accepted for publication are subject to a mandatory page charge of US$220 for each journal page exceeding ten (10) printed pages.

After a manuscript has been accepted for publication, the author's company or institution will be requested to pay a charge of US$110 per printed page for the first 10 pages to cover part of the cost of publication. These page charges (for the first 10 pages) are not obligatory, nor is the payment a prerequisite for publication.

All authors of accepted papers are asked to enclose signed IEEE copyright forms. Copyrights are to be completed through the Electronic Copyright Form, which is emailed to the corresponding author after a paper has been loaded into the publication system.

Once a paper is accepted for publication, supplementary materials, such as author biographies and photographs and original illustrations, will be requested. Follow the instructions at the JSAC Checklist for Authors page. Authors of accepted manuscripts must provide the final version of their manuscript in LaTex along with a .pdf file of the the article and a hardcopy or PDF file of the copyright form.

Authors can download the JSAC templates.

ORCID

All IEEE publications require an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) for all authors. ORCID is a persistent unique identifier for researchers and functions similarly to an article’s Digital Object Identifier (DOI). ORCIDs enable accurate attribution and improved discoverability of an author’s published work. To create an ORCID, please visit ORCID website. The author will need a registered ORCID in order to submit a manuscript or review a proof in this journal.

Follow these steps to link a ScholarOne account to a registered ORCID:

  1. Login to ScholarOne and click on your name in the top right corner of the screen.
  2. Click E-mail / Name in the dropdown menu.
  3. In the ORCID section at the top of the page, click the appropriate link to either register for a new ORCID or associate the account with an existing ORCID.
  4. A new page will open to create and/or validate your ORCID. Once the validation is complete, the new page will close and you will return to ScholarOne.
  5. Save the changes to your ScholarOne user account.

Authors who do not have an ORCID in their ScholarOne user account will be prompted to provide one during submission.

For more information on ORCID please visit the IEEE Support Center.

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 a 10% discount at American Journal Experts; visit the American Journal Experts website to learn more. Please note these services are fee-based and do not guarantee acceptance.

Checklist for Authors of Accepted Papers

Manuscripts:

A pdf of the manuscript must be submitted along with the electronic version. Manuscripts must be neatly typed without hand written alterations. The main components of a manuscript are:

  • Title
  • Authors and Authors Affiliations
  • Manuscript received/revised dates
  • Acknowledgement of Financial Support (if any)
  • Abstract and Keywords
  • Introduction
  • Body of Paper with figures placed correctly (do not place figures and tables at the end of the paper)
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgment (optional)
  • References
  • Author Biographies and Photographs

Regarding Abstract, Keywords and Biographical sketches:

  1. A short abstract of the paper (100-200 words) for use in publications and in IEEE Spectrum. The abstract will be converted to simple html for the online version of the issue. Equations and unusual symbols should be avoided in the abstract if at all possible.
  2. A list of keywords to be used for indexing purposes. Anyone wishing to obtain the current IEEE keyword list can simply send an e-mail message to the address: keywords@ieee.org. The auto response program does not care what if any subject line or text message is sent.
  3. Biographical sketches and author photos. This adds a special touch to your paper. Make the biographies concise, complete and up-to-date. The glossy photo should not exceed 9.5cm (3.75 in) across the widest part of the head. Examples can be found in a current issue of JSAC.

Open Access

Open Access content published in JSAC is available to all readers free of charge on-line in IEEE Xplore. Currently, authors pay a discounted fee of US$2495 for each paper they wish to publish as Open Access.

The papers submitted that are accepted for publication are subject to a mandatory page charge of US$220 for each journal page exceeding ten (10) printed pages.

Authors may select Open Access for their JSAC papers, when submitting their manuscripts for review or when submitting their accepted papers for publication. For questions about Open Access, please contact authors@ieee.org.

For information about all IEEE open access publishing options, please consult IEEE Open Access.