The different types of content that appear in ASCE journals are described below.
Technical Papers
Technical papers are full-length papers of value and interest to civil engineers. They must be original reviews of past practice, present information of current interest, or probe new fields of civil engineering activity. They should report results of thought-provoking studies that contribute to the planning, analysis, design, construction, management, or maintenance of civil engineering works. Technical papers should include a practical applications section whenever possible; theoretical manuscripts should indicate areas of additional research to implement technology transfer. Practical papers are strongly encouraged. Technical papers must have fewer than 10,000 words or word-equivalents.
Technical Notes
Technical notes present (1) original, practical information; (2) preliminary or partial results of research; (3) concisely presented research results; and (4) innovative techniques to accomplish design objectives. Technical notes must have fewer than 3,500 words or word-equivalents.
Discussions
Discussions present significant comments or questions about the technical content of a technical paper or note published in an ASCE journal or of a paper presented at a specialty conference or other meeting that has been published in an ASCE proceedings. They may be submitted during a 5-month period following the date of publication of the paper or note, with a 1-month extension possible after a written request to the editor by the discusser. Discussions should not contain matter readily found elsewhere, advocate special interests, contain obvious commercial intent, controvert established fact, or be purely speculative.
The first page of a discussion must include the words "Discussion of" and the following information: title of the article being discussed, complete author name(s), month and year of publication, volume, number, and page numbers. The name and affiliation of the discusser must also be included. Discussions must have fewer than 2,000 words or word-equivalents. Discussions do not require an abstract.
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Closures
Closures are responses to discussions. Closuresare written by the author(s) of the original paper or note. The author(s) addresses and clarifies issues raised in discussions and provides conclusions to the issues. Closures and discussions are published together. All of the authors involved in writing the closure must be included in the byline, but not all of the original authors need to be listed.
The first page of a closure must include the words "Closure of" and following information: title of the article being discussed, complete author name(s), month and year of publication, volume, number, and page numbers. The name and affiliation of the original author(s) responsible for the closure must also be included. Closures must have fewer than 2,000 words or word-equivalents. Closures do not require an abstract.
Forums
Forums are thought-provoking opinion pieces or essays founded in fact, sometimes containing speculation, on a civil engineering topic of general interest and relevance to the readership of the journal. The purpose of a forum is to stimulate discussion rather than document an advance in research or its application. A forum is subjected to either partial or full peer review, depending on the subject matter and recommendation of the journal editor. Forums are usually two to five printed pages or 2,000 to 5,000 words. Tables, figures, and references are often included but not an abstract. Forums are indexed in the CE Database and thus require a title and author’s byline with current affiliations.
A forum in a practice periodical may fit the foregoing definition or, alternatively, may comprise a series of short reports on a variety of news items of general interest to practitioners.
Case Studies
Case studies describe a method or application that illustrates a new or existing principle or presents an innovative way to solve a problem. Ideally, results should have broad implications and not be specific to only the case presented. Case studies are judged with the same rigor as technical papers or notes. They may range from 5,000 to 10,000 words or word-equivalents and require both a title and an abstract.
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Editorials
Editorials are brief opinion pieces, normally written by the journal editor, concerning the scope, content, direction, or philosophy of the journal or a policy issue concerning engineering research or its application. Editorials are occasionally invited but not reviewed. Contributions are usually short, not exceeding one or two printed pages or 1,000-2,000 words, and rarely contain tables, figures, or references. Editorials are indexed in the CE Database and thus require a title and author’s byline with current affiliations. They do not require an abstract.
Editor’s Notes
Editor’s notes are casual communications with the readership. They may briefly summarize content in a journal issue but may also make announcements, recognize authors who have won awards, report on health of the journal, flag related papers of interest in other journals, or report other ephemeral news. An editor’s note is brief, up to one page (1,260 words) and is not reviewed or indexed. An editor's note does not require an abstract.
Book Reviews
Book reviews assess new books whose content is judged important. They summarize the work, illuminate its strengths and weaknesses, and place it in context with existing literature. Reviews are limited to 1,200 words and are usually written upon request by a journal’s book review editor or editor. Not all ASCE journals publish book reviews.
The first page of a book review must contain the following information: book title, author(s)/editor(s), publication year, publisher and publisher address, ISBN, price in U.S. dollars, and total number of pages. The reviewer’s name and affiliation must also be provided. Book reviews do not require an abstract.
Errata
Errata are corrections of errors that appear in print. If errors are serious enough to impair understanding or mislead readers, authors should submit errata to the ASCE Journal Services. Errata are published in earliest available issue.
The first page of an errata must contain the words "Errata for" and following information: title of the article being corrected, complete author name(s), month and year of publication, volume, number, and page numbers. Errata does not require an abstract.
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