Where should I publish my educational materials?

The Genetics Society of America is pleased to offer several options for the publication of educational materials.  Which one is the right outlet for you?  Here is an overview of the various options available, as well as a breakdown of what is featured in each and where to submit.

Peer-Reviewed Education Research

CBE-Life Sciences Education (LSE) was established in 2002 as Cell Biology Education but was renamed in 2006 to reflect the breadth of its coverage, which spans topics in education across all life science disciplines. The journal publishes peer-reviewed articles on life science education at the K-12, undergraduate, and graduate levels.  GSA has joined with the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) as an editorial partner in the publication of LSE.

What does LSE publish?

Among many other things, LSE publishes:

• Assessment techniques

• Education research on effective teaching methods with rigorous assessment data

• Research examining appropriate measurements of learning

• Research exploring how students learn

• Research identifying common student misconceptions

Why is LSE different than GSA PREP or Primers in GENETICS?

• Hard assessment data must usually be present demonstrating learning and/or retention

• This is education research, sometimes in the abstract; not usually ready-to-use resources

• Like GENETICS, LSE is indexed in PubMed and has an excellent reputation in the community

Where can I submit a manuscript to LSE?

Please visit the LSE website to submit an abstract.

Educational Primers

Launched in 2012, Primers are a series of articles in the GSA Journal GENETICS designed to make current research articles useful in an undergraduate classroom or a senior seminar.  Primers are a road map that aid instructors wishing to use peer-reviewed articles as the vehicle with which to develop many of the core competencies in genetics.

What Primers does GENETICS publish?

• Research Primers are tied to a current article in GENETICS, and lay out necessary background, explain the hypothesis or approach, describe the methodology, guide the readers through the results, and sum up the discussion.

• Model Organism Primers describe a genetic model system, including the organism's life cycle, history of its use in the laboratory, available genetic and genomic tools, advantages of the system, discoveries made using the model organism and more. 

Why are the Primers different than LSE or GSA PREP?

• Articles are typically solicited, are serving a very specific purpose, and follow the same general layout

• No assessment data or resource justification required

• Specifically tied to the journal GENETICS; Primers aren't independent resources

• Primers are indexed in PubMed along with all other articles in GENETICS

Where can I submit a Primer?

Please email the Primer Editor, Elizabeth De Stasio, to inquire about authoring a Primer.