Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How long should my manuscript be?

A: The MIT Case Studies in Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing series does not have a firm manuscript length requirement. However, content must justify length. We strongly encourage authors to write concisely and engagingly, with an audience of undergraduate students in mind. Editors and/or peer reviewers may recommend that authors edit their page count in order to develop the most successful MIT Case Study.

Generally speaking, case studies are 3000-4000 words of main text, plus additional notes and bibliography.

Q: What is an ORCID ID? Do I need one to submit?

A: An ORCID ID is an identifying number that researchers may elect to use to organize their publications. More information is available at the ORCID website. It is entirely optional for our publication.

Q: Can I just e-mail you my submission for the series?

A: Authors are encouraged to email the Series Editors at [email protected] with a brief description of their proposed case study, before submitting a full draft.

Q: Do I have to have a PubPub account to submit?

A: No, you do not need a PubPub account to submit. However, we encourage accepted authors to create accounts. For more information, see our Publication Policies.

Q: What is a preview image? Why do I need one?

A: When an article is accepted for the MIT Case Studies Series on Social and Ethical Responsibilities of Computing, we request that authors supply a preview image to use in our table of contents (see SERC Cases, Issue 1). Preview images create a more visually dynamic site but also add appeal when sharing articles across social media. For articles that have images and figures, authors may elect to select one of their own pictures as a preview image.

Q: My article doesn’t have images. What do I use for my preview image?

A: The editorial team is happy to acquire a royalty-free image from sites such as https://pixabay.com/ or https://unsplash.com/.