About the Journal . . . Cost Engineering is published 12 times a year by AACE International. Technical papers go through a blind review process.
The review process takes at least 3 months to complete.
Main Points to Remember
All submitted manuscripts must be sent in an electronic (pc compatible)
format.
A notarized AACE International Publication Agreement, signed by each author,
mustaccompany the submittal of any manuscript. No paper will be
logged in or sent out for peer review without an AACE International approved
publication agreement on file at AACE International Headquarters. For papers in
the public domain or otherwise exempt from this requirement, the lead author
must receive in writing an exemption from the Managing Editor of the Cost
Engineering journal.
Technical Subject Area and Industry — You must state the Technical Subject
Area and Industry so the manuscript can be peer reviewed. To see a list of the
Technical Subject Areas and Industries, please use the Manuscript Submission Form. You must select one item from each category.
Preparing Your Manuscript . . .
Since we use a blind review process, do not use your name in the paper.
Please e-mail a separate page file that contains your name, address, phone, fax, and e-mail numbers.
Also, make sure to use our Manuscript Submission Form
to insure that the right types of reviewers are selected to review your
manuscript.
Previously-published work—you must notify us if the work you are submitting has previously been published elsewhere.
Format—The preferred format is for you to submit your paper electronically by e-mail to editor@aacei.org. If you do not have e-mail, you can submit your paper on a PC compatible disk. All papers must be submitted in an electronic format to be considered. Please do not submit in
PDF format as reviewers like to be able to edit the electronic file submittal. The editor will e-mail each paper to the reviewers for the blind review process. We no longer mail hard copies.
Do not submit a hard copy of the paper unless one is requested. In some cases we will need hard copies of figures, graphs, charts to scan. If these are needed, you will be notified by e-mail after your original electronic file has been received and reviewed. When requested, please submit clean, professional-looking copies, either good photocopies or clear computer printouts. Copy should be printed only on the front of each page. Please number all pages.
All submissions must fit on an 8.5 x 11 page.
References—we require proper credit and documentation of any information that is not the author’s original work. Include complete bibliography information for every reference in your paper. References should be numbered and listed at the end of the paper, in alphabetical order, by the author’s last name. Include the title, publisher, and place of publication, publication date, and page numbers (if necessary). When something mentioned in your paper must be referenced, cite the reference by its number in the reference section at the end of your paper, and enclose the number in brackets. We follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition.
Equations—All equations must be typed or included in your software program. Do not hand-letter equations.
Illustrations—All tables and figures should be submitted in electronic formats such as tiff, pdf, or xls. Otherwise, all tables and figures must be submitted as hard copies of a laser-print quality with no grayscale background. We cannot accept hand-drawn figures. Your figures and tables must be legible and integrated with the text, not lumped in an appendix at the end. All submissions must fit on an 8.5 x 11-inch page. No more than seven figures, tables, graphs should be included as part of any paper submission.
Keep it simple—Graphs, figures, and tables should be as plain and simple as possible. We now publish in full color, so you can use color figures, tables, and graphs. The use of grey scale backgrounds are discouraged. All submissions must fit on an 8.5 x 11-inch page and be legible and readable at that size. Do not submit Excel spreadsheets that are of a larger size than 8.5 x 11-inches.
Units of measure—We use metric units. If other units are used, metric equivalents must be given in parenthesis.
Abbreviations and acronyms—spell out the words the first time you use an abbreviation or acronym. Make sure that any “jargon” or special terms are defined.
Any and all financial references must be converted to US dollars.
Submitting Your Manuscript . . .
E-mail a copy of your manuscript to editor@aacei.org or send your manuscript on an IBM-compatible disk (preferable WordPerfect 5.2, Microsoft Word for Windows
6.0 or greater, or ASCII). Only send a hard copy of the manuscript if one is requested by the editor.
If you send your file in a zipped format (.zip) you must place "AACE_" in front
of the title for it to make it through our spam filters.
Technical Subject Area and Industry — You must state the Technical Subject
Area and Industry so the manuscript can be peer reviewed. To see a list of the
Technical Subject Areas and Industries, please use the Manuscript Submission Form. You must select one item from each category.
Title and copyright—at submittal time, all authors are now required to also
submit an AACE International copyright form(s) that have been individually
signed by each author and all signatures must have been notarized if your reside
in the US, Canada, the UK, or other countries that use a notary public system or
other official documentation of the validity of the signed signature. Title and
copyright of your paper become vested in AACE International upon acceptance of
the paper. Once a paper is accepted for publication in Cost Engineering
and the author(s) signs the publication agreement, the paper may not be
published elsewhere unless authorized by AACE International. Reproduction
elsewhere in whole or part is welcomed, provided that written request is made to
AACE International in advance and that the proper credit as provided by us in a
written letter of permission is given to the author(s) and to AACE
International. If Cost Engineering published a manuscript that has
previously been copyrighted, the copyright must be transferred to AACE
International.
Clearances—all papers dealing with subjects containing information that could be construed as company confidential or private must be accompanied by written clearances from the author’s company.
Manuscripts and disks cannot be returned.
You will be notified by e-mail when we have received your manuscript. If you
do not receive an e-mail confirmation within a week of submitting a manuscript,
please call the managing editor at AACE International Headquarters at
304.296.8444, extension 111. The confirmation e-mail should also include a peer
review number that you will need to use in any follow up correspondence or phone
calls. Once you receive confirmation that your submittal was received, please
allow a minimum of three months before you expect any other correspondence or
before you e-mail or call for a status update.
If Your Paper is Accepted . . .
An editor will contact you about the specifics of the production and scheduling of your work.
Responsibility—statements and opinions expressed are the responsibility of the author(s). AACE International publishes articles in Cost Engineering for the benefit of its members and to make public and preserve skills and knowledge of cost engineering and cost management. Publication does not necessarily imply endorsement by AACE International
of statements and opinions included in the article(s).
If You Are Asked to Revise Your Paper . . .
If revisions are deemed necessary, an editor will contact you.
Minor revisions—you will be asked to supply one copy of the revised paper to editor@aacei.org. If our
editor determines that the revisions have been made, you will be notified of the acceptance of your revised paper.
Major revisions—if the reviewers believe your paper needs substantial reworking, the revised electronic copy of the paper will then go out to the same reviewers. You will be notified of the results.
If Your Paper is Rejected . . .
If your work is rejected, you will be notified by e-mail.
Address any questions to Managing Editor Marvin Gelhausen at editor@aacei.org.
Published articles generally average 2,000 to 4,000 words. All submissions have to be converted to QuarkXPress format to meet the needs of our printer. The final text will be in 10 point Electra LH Regular font.
To get a printable version of these guidelines, click here, you will need Adobe Acrobat to view/print the file.
Questions & Answers about Submitting Manuscripts
Q.
Where can I submit a technical manuscript for peer review and possible publication in Cost Engineering journal?
A.
Articles or manuscripts for "peer review" or any submissions for publication consideration in the Cost Engineering journal should be e-mailed to: editor@aacei.org.
Q.
Does AACE International accept unsolicited manuscripts?
A.
AACE International does accept unsolicited manuscripts for consideration. However, submissions are not returned and AACE International reserves the right to accept or reject any submissions based upon editorial needs and publication guidelines.
Q.
Is there a submission fee?
A.
There is no submission fee.
Q.
What is the approximate review time?
A.
Submissions initially go through an internal review process. Those accepted for consideration are then logged in and "peer review" manuscripts are assigned in a blind review process to three reviewers. All manuscripts are e-mailed to reviewers. To avoid files that would be too large for e-mailing---graphs, figures, tables can be submitted as separate files from the text.
Authors will receive a return e-mail confirmation that their submission has been received. The internal review can take up to a month. The peer review process can take an additional three months.
After confirmation of receipt of a submission, authors should not expect any follow up for a period of at least four months. Once reviewer comments are received, they will be forwarded by e-mail to the primary author.
Authors are discouraged from making repeated requests for updates on the status of submissions. Editors will e-mail authors with any updates as decisions are made and after reviewer comments are received. Some papers have to be reassigned which takes a minimum of another three months before any decision can be made on acceptance or rejection.
Peer review manuscripts receiving at least two votes for publication will be tentatively accepted for publication. Authors will be asked to address any and all reviewer concerns and if necessary submit a revised and corrected manuscript.
Following tentative acceptance, each author is required to sign, have notarized, and submit a publication agreement.
Manuscripts are assigned for publication based upon how they fit with the monthly themes of the editorial calendar. The editorial calendars are established each fall for the coming year based upon the subject themes of submitted manuscripts that are in the review process.
Manuscripts submitted one year and accepted for publication are generally published within the next year.
to insure that the right types of reviewers are selected to review your
manuscript.