The IBM Systems Journal welcomes papers in the fields of computer science and software systems and services from authors both inside and outside of IBM.

Content
A paper may describe original work, discuss a new technique or application, or present a survey of recent work in a given field. Concepts and underlying principles should be emphasized, with enough background information to orient the reader who is not a specialist in the subject. The desired focus should be on technology or science, rather than product details. It is important to describe the value of specific work within its broader framework. A paper submitted to the Journal should not have been published elsewhere, including the World Wide Web, nor should it be submitted to another publication or to a conference concurrently. Copyright laws apply when previously published material is used in whole or in part.

Presentation
A paper is expected to have an abstract that contains 200 words or less, an introduction, a main body, a conclusion, cited references, and brief biographical sketches of the authors. A typical paper is less than 7,000 words and contains five or six figures. A paper should be easy to read and logically organized. Technical terms should be defined and jargon avoided. Acronyms and abbreviations should be spelled out and product names given in full when first used. Trademarks should be clearly identified. References should be numbered sequentially in the order of their appearance in the text.

Publication process
A submitted paper is initially reviewed to determine whether the topic and treatment are appropriate for readers of the Journal. It is then evaluated by three or more independent referees. After review, comments and suggestions are forwarded to the author, who may be asked to revise the paper. Finally, if accepted for publication, the paper is edited to meet Journal standards. Proofs are sent to the author for final inspection before publication.

Submission information
Manuscripts should be submitted in an editable format produced by any word processor (MS Word is preferred). PDF files should be submitted only if there is no alternative. IBM authors must obtain management approval for the external publication of their paper and forward a copy of that approval to us.

For accepted papers we also need

1. signed "Transfer of Copyright" forms (from non-IBM authors; the forms are available from us), and
2. properly prepared artwork, as described below:

   Figures should not be embedded in the text, except for reference. Text and figures are handled separately in production. The vector file of each diagram, graph, or chart should be submitted in the native format of the application used to create it (typical applications are PowerPoint^®, Freelance^®, Excel^®, and CorelDraw^®).

   For photographs or scans, submit the highest quality original *.tif or *.bmp (usually the largest file in both pixels and file size). A photograph or scan that is in *.jpg format may be submitted only if that is the native format.

   For screen captures, full-screen *.gif or *.png files without anti-aliasing produce the best results. Acceptable results can be obtained from *.tif or *.bmp files as well. Files that have been resaved in *.jpg format at any time do not produce usable results and therefore are not acceptable for screen captures.

Send manuscripts to ritsko@us.ibm.com.

Authors may submit manuscripts using this template:
	MS Word