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Author Guidelines


Manuscript Preparation

The technical contributions appearing in ACM TODAES should be original papers which have not been published or under review elsewhere. Simultaneous submissions to conferences and journals, and submissions that have already appeared in journals will be rejected by default. Publication of a previously published conference or workshop article that is available in a formal proceedings (with digital archival) is allowed only if the editor judges that (a) the revision contains significant amplification or clarification of the original material (30% or more new material), or (b) there is a significant additional benefit to be gained from journal publication e.g., one article that connects multiple previously published articles in a coherent manner where the integration of these articles provides additional insight on the approach or overall system.

In either case, any prior appearance should be noted on the title page of the paper. Furthermore, author needs to prepare the following supporting documents:

  • a brief note clearly indicating what constitutes the (30% or more) new material in the manuscript compared to the related article(s), and
  • the related article(s) that are previously published or under review elsewhere.

When there are any supporting documents (including the ones mentioned above), these documents should be uploaded as separate PDF files using the Main Document file designation. For submissions based on previously published works, please upload files in the following order:

  • manuscript
  • note explaining the new material in the manuscript compared to the related article(s)
  • previously published work(s).

Authors should also read the following ACM policies:

Templates

ACM authoring templates are found at: http://www.acm.org/publications/authors/submissions. 

To ensure proper indexing, classification, retrieval and dissemination, authors must include five required information in the manuscript: i) descriptive title, ii) author names and affiliations, iii) abstract, iv) content indicators, and v) citations to relevant literature. The following serve as guidelines for the preparation of this material.

Descriptive Title

Select a title that accurately and clearly tells what the paper is about. Choose title terms as highly specific as content and emphasis of the paper permit. Avoid special symbols and formulas in titles unless essential to indicate content. Avoid cute or clever titles.

Author Names and Affiliations

Authors' names should be given without titles or degrees along with the name and address of the organization for which the work was carried out. A footnote on the first page should acknowledge funding sources and presentations, if any, of the material at technical meetings (give dates and sponsoring societies). The author's current address should be given in a footnote on the first page.

Authorship

Anyone listed as Author on an ACM paper must meet all the following criteria:

  • they have made substantial intellectual contributions to some components of the original work described in the paper;
  • they have participated in drafting and/or revision of the paper;
  • they are aware that the paper has been submitted for publication;
  • they agree to be held accountable for any issues relating to correctness or integrity of the work.

Other contributors may be acknowledged at the end of the paper, before the bibliography, with explicitly described roles, preferably using the roles found in the CASRAI Contributor Roles Taxonomy at http://dictionary.casrai.org/Contributor_Roles.

Abstract

The abstract should be from 150 to 200 words long and consist of short, direct, and complete sentences. It should be informative enough to serve in some cases as a substitute for reading the paper itself. It should state the objectives of the work, summarize the results, and give the principle conclusions. The title need not be repeated. Work planned but not done should not be described in the abstract. Because abstracts are extracted and used separately, do not use the first person, do not display mathematics, and do not use citation reference numbers. Try to avoid starting with the words "This paper ..."

Manuscript Page Limit

Manuscripts must be formatted in the ACM Transactions format. There is no strict page limit. However, to help readability, we recommend a 35-page limit for regular papers.

Content Indicators

Three types of content indicators must be assigned:

  • categories and subject descriptors, and
  • keywords and phrases.

An important aspect of preparing your paper for publication by ACM Press is to provide the proper indexing and retrieval information from the ACM Computing Classification System (CCS). This is beneficial to you because accurate categorization provides the reader with quick content reference, facilitating the search for related literature, as well as searches for your work in ACM's Digital Library and on other online resources.

The keywords and phrases are additional English language words that indicate the content of the submission. They should not be synonymous with those already in the classification system: they can be more specific in relation to the paper than the subject descriptors, or they may not be covered by the existing system at all. The following guidelines may be helpful.

  • Use important terms from the title; include their synonyms, related words and words of higher or lower generic rank.
  • Use English nouns, or noun-noun and noun-adjective combinations; do not use hyphens except if the hyphenated parts are always treated as a single unit.
  • Use specific terms whose meanings are generally accepted; do not use broad catchall terms (such as "computer", "automatic", "machine", "system", "discussion", "description"); do not use private terms or acronyms that may not be generally known.
  • Do not use negative terms stressing what your paper does not do.

Citations

Reference linking and citation counts are facilitated by use of standard reference formats. Please adhere to the in-text citation style and reference format guidelines that we use for ACM publications.

Note: For BibTeX examples see: http://www.acm.org/publications/authors/bibtex-formatting

Submission for Review

How to Submit

In order to ensure timely review and facilitate electronic publication, manuscripts must be submitted as PDF or PostScript files on the web at

  • http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/todaes
  • Please note, if you don't have an account at ACM Manuscript Central you will need to create an account before you can log in and submit to Transactions on Design Automation of Electronic Systems.

The Editor-in-Chief can also be reached at:

TODAES

Sharon Hu, Editor-in-Chief
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
Tel: +1 574-631-6015
Fax: +1 574-631-9260

Overview of the Paper Review Procedure

When the Editors-in-Chief (EiC) has received the authors, manuscript and verified that it falls within the scope of the journal, s/he invites an associate editor (AE) to manage the reviewing of the submission. Submissions that do not fall in the scope of TODAES or do not contain (sufficient) original content are immediately returned to the authors by the EiC.

The AE selects and invites 3 or 4 reviewers to review the submission. On the basis of the reviews, the AE may moderate a discussion among the reviewers, which may lead to adjustments in their reviews. Subsequently, taking the authors. comments into account, the AE makes his/her recommendation to the EiC, who will examine the reviews and the AE's recommendation and either accept the AE's recommendation and finalize it or return the submission to the AE with questions and/or suggestions. This two-tier procedure is in place in order to ensure consistent application of reviewing standards. After a decision about the submission is finalized, the EiC communicates this decision to the authors.

Decision Categories

Each decision on a submission falls into one of the following four categories:

  • Accept: No further revisions or review are required before the article appears in an upcoming issue of ACM TODAES.
  • Needs minor revisions: If the authors complete the set of "minor revisions" that have been listed explicitly as such by the AE, the associate editor will check the revisions. If they are judged to be adequate, the revised article will appear in an upcoming issue of TODAES. "Minor" revisions are changes to the manuscript (a) which can probably be completed by the authors with a few days of work and (b) whose success can be checked by the responsible AE without consultation of the paper's reviewers.
  • Needs major revisions: If the authors complete the set of "major revisions" that have been listed explicitly as such by the AE, one or more of the original reviewers will check the revisions and report their evaluations of them to the AE. If the revisions are judged to be adequate, the article will appear in an upcoming issue of TODAES. "Major revisions" are changes to the manuscript (a) which the AE believes the authors can probably complete but (b) which are too extensive or substantial to fall into the category of "minor revisions".
  • Reject: The submission in its present form is not deemed suitable for publication in TODAES. The authors may, however, submit a rewritten version of the manuscript, taking into account the critiques and suggestions of the reviewers and the AE. If such a submission is made, it will be reviewed in its entirety and may be assigned to a different AE and/or reviewers.

Timing of Resubmissions

For each of the decision categories that involve submission of a revised manuscript, there is a time limit from the receipt of the notification email for the resubmission, whose main purpose is to ensure timely publication of research results:

  • Minor revisions: 21 days
  • Major revisions: 35 days

Extensions can be granted by the AE and/or EiC if the authors have a particular reason for wanting to resubmit at a later date.

Timing of Publication

Once a submission has reached the category "Accepted", it will be entered in the ACM journal production process. It will appear in the ACM Digital Library once the issue of TODAES in which it appears is complete, regardless of when that issue appears in print.

Procedures for Accepted Papers

Formatting Documents for Submission and Electronic Publication

Guidelines for preparing your paper for publication can be found at ACM accepted manuscript preparation guidelines.


Proofreading of Copyedited Manuscripts

A copyedited version of the manuscript will be sent to the authors for proofreading. The authors should note that post-copyediting changes to a final manuscript must be kept to a minimum and only be done when absolutely necessary in order to correct errors introduced by copyediting or fix grammatical/typographical errors that had previously gone unnoticed. No changes to the title or author list of the paper are permitted at this stage.

Supplemental Online-only Material

Please provide a brief description of your supplementary online-only material (i.e., text and multimedia material) to be published in the Digital Library. A short "readme.txt" file will appear in the DL along with your supplementary material describing its content and whatever requirements there are for using it.

ORCID Requirements

ACM requires that all accepted journal authors register and provide ACM with valid ORCIDs prior to paper publication. Corresponding authors are responsible for collecting these ORCIDs from co-authors and for providing them to ACM as part of the ACM eRights selection process. For journals using the ScholarOne submission system, the submitting author will be required to provide their own ORCID upon submission. Authors are strongly encouraged, but not required, to include ORCIDs for all authors in their source files.  Please note: ACM only requires you to complete the initial ORCID registration process. However, ACM encourages you to take the additional step to claim ownership of all your published works via the ORCID site.

ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes you from every other researcher through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission and supports automated linkages between you and your professional activities - ensuring that your work receives proper recognition. This requirement will also enable ACM to provide improvements to the normalization process of ACM Digital Library author profile data, aid in the detection of undeclared conflicts of interest and other publications-related misconduct in ACM Publications, assist with the implementation of ACM Open, and offer a host of other researcher benefits to ACM authors and the scientific community.

Before submission, the corresponding author should register for an ORCID.  Your co-authors should also create their individual ORCIDs at that time and add them to their accounts in the manuscript submission system. Otherwise, you will need to enter them manually into the ACM rights system upon paper acceptance and before publication in the ACM Digital Library. Simple instructions for complying with this mandate are provided inside the ACM eRights system.

ORCID information for all authors will appear on the article’s page in the ACM Digital Library. If ORCIDs are included in an article’s source files, they will also be linked in the published output.

The ACM ORCID FAQ should answer many of your questions.

ACM Policies

ACM Publications Policy on Research Involving Human Participants and Subjects

As a published ACM author, you and your co-authors are subject to all ACM Publications Policies, including ACM's new Publications Policy on Research Involving Human Participants and Subjects.

ACM Conflict of Interest (COI) Policy

The ACM Conflict of Interest (COI) Policy describes what a COI is, who is responsible for being aware of such conflicts, how to manage COIs, and how to report violations.

ACM Peer Review Policy

ACM recognizes that the quality of a refereed publication rests primarily on the impartial judgment of their volunteer reviewers. Expectations of reviewers and ACM can be found in the Reviewer section of the Policy on Roles and Responsibilities in ACM Publishing page.

Templates

Manuscripts accepted for publication in any ACM publication must be formatted using the ACM authoring template. Submissions must also use the ACM authoring templates. ACM style files will closely approximate the final output, enabling authors to judge the page-length of their published articles.

ACM authoring templates and detailed instructions on formatting can be found at http://www.acm.org/publications/authors/submissions. For both Word and Latex technical support, contact [email protected].

ACM Computing Classification System (CCS)

If your paper has been accepted, please read the HOW TO CLASSIFY WORKS USING ACM'S COMPUTING CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM for instructions on how to classify your document using the CCS and insert the index terms into your LaTeX or Microsoft Word source file. Providing the proper indexing and retrieval information from the CCS provides the reader with quick content reference, facilitating the search for related literature, as well as searches for your work in ACM's Digital Library and on other online resources.

Author Rights

ACM authors can manage their publication rights in either of the following ways:

  • A license granting ACM non-exclusive permission to publish—allowing authors to self-manage all rights to their work by choosing to pay for perpetual open access from the ACM Digital Library.
  • A publishing license agreement granting ACM exclusive publication rights—by granting ACM the right to serve as the exclusive publisher of a work and to manage ongoing rights and permissions associated with the work, including the right to defend it against improper use by third parties. (This license is roughly the equivalent of ACM’s traditional Copyright Transfer Agreement except that the author continues to hold copyright.)

As of January 2023, per decision of the ACM Publications Board, the traditional Copyright Transfer Agreement option is no longer available for ACM authors.  ACM will continue to defend all ACM-published works against improper use when allegations of publication-related misconduct are brought to light.  For more information please refer to this article in The Blue Diamond.

Additionally, ACM authors may post all versions of their work, with the exception of the final published "Version of Record", to non-commercial repositories such as ArXiv. See the ACM Author Rights page for additional information.

Learn more, including about posting to pre-print servers and institutional repositories, by visiting the ACM Author Rights page.

Open Access

ACM has made a commitment to become a fully sustainable and Plan S compliant Open Access (OA) scholarly publisher within approximately five years. ACM offers a number of ways to achieve this goal, including Hybrid OA, Gold OA, and the ACM OPEN program.

Most ACM journals, with the following exceptions, are Hybrid OA.  ACM Gold OA journals are:

Click here to view the Article Processing Charges (APCs) to publish your article Open Access.

Additionally, all corresponding authors from an institution participating in ACM OPEN will have their research articles published OA at the time of publication at no cost to the authors.  Click here for a list of participating institutions. To ensure eligibility for the program, corresponding authors from participating institutions must use their institutional email address upon submission.

Language Services

ACM has partnered with International Science Editing (ISE) to provide language editing services to ACM authors. ISE offers a comprehensive range of services for authors including standard and premium English language editing, as well as illustration and translation services, and also has significant outreach in China. Editing is available for both Word and LaTeX files. As an ACM author, you will receive a generous discount on ISE editing services. To take advantage of this partnership, visit the Dedicated ACM Editing Service. (Editing services are at author expense and do not guarantee publication of a manuscript.)

Author-izer Service

Once your manuscript is published, this service allows you to generate and post a link on your home page or institutional repository to your published article. This link will let any visitors to your personal bibliography pages download the definitive version of the articles for free from the ACM DL. These downloads will be recorded as part of your DL usage statistics. A detailed description of the service and instructions for its use may be found at the ACM Author-Izer Service page.

LaTeX Collaborative Authoring Tool on Overleaf Platform

ACM has partnered with https://www.overleaf.com/, a free cloud-based, authoring tool, to provide an ACM LaTeX authoring template. Authors can easily invite colleagues to collaborate on their document. Among other features, the platform automatically compiles the document while an author writes, so the author can see what the finished file will look like in real time. Further information can be found at https://www.acm.org/publications/authors/submissions. The ACM LaTeX template on Overleaf platform is available to all ACM authors https://www.overleaf.com/gallery/tagged/acm-official#.WOuOk2e1taQ.

Kudos Article Sharing Platform

Kudos is a free service that you can use to promote your work more effectively. After your paper has been accepted and uploaded to the ACM Digital Library, you'll receive an invitation from Kudos to create an account and add a plain-language description. The Kudos “Shareable PDF” allows you to generate a PDF to upload to websites, such as your homepage, institutional repository, preprint services, and social media. This PDF contains a link to the full-text version of your article in the ACM DL, adding to download and citation counts.

Author Gateway

Please be sure to visit the ACM Author Portal for additional important author information.

Contact Us

For further assistance and questions regarding the journal editorial review process and paper assignment to an issue, contact the journal administrator ([email protected]).