Columns & Forum Descriptions

The IEEE Signal Processing Magazine (SPM) Columns & Forum (C&F) articles are designed as tutorial-like papers aimed at a broad audience, from Master's students to researchers and practitioners in the broad field of signal processing and beyond. This page provides potential authors with information on the various C&F categories and paper formats, in addition to submission guidelines.

The C&F articles are divided into five categories, detailed below and there are two options, long or short C&F articles as specified below:

• Long column articles can be up to 20 pages in length, with up to 12 references and 6 figures/tables;
• Short column articles can be up to 10 pages, with 5 references and 3 figures/tables.

Please see the IEEE Template Selector page for the templates.

For further details or to discuss the relevance of your manuscript for Columns and Forum, please contact the Columns and Forum Area Editors.

In the Spotlight

Columns in this category present research topics and perspectives with significant impact on the field of signal processing and are currently in the spotlight. This category includes two column types: Spotlight and Perspectives.

1. Spotlight — Spotlight columns aim to highlight both established and emerging topics that have recently attracted interest or introduce new directions and interdisciplinary aspects with the potential to significantly advance signal processing. These articles should summarize the main methodologies and results achieved, while also offering new insights that encourage the signal processing community to propose new hypotheses on the discussed topic. Spotlight columns are long column articles. View Spotlight articles on IEEE Xplore.
    
2. Perspectives — Perspective articles present viewpoints and opinions on topics of interest to the signal processing community, including the impact of discoveries, technologies, and tools that may represent breakthroughs in the field. These perspectives are typically provided by pioneers and experts in the domain. Perspectives columns are short column articles. View Perspectives articles on IEEE Xplore.

Signal Processing Everywhere

Columns in this category deal with established fields of application, and standards in a nutshell, that are relevant to the SPM readers. They also provide insights on how SP can advance the quality of life and social sciences. This category includes two column types: SP Applications and Tips & Tricks.

3. SP Applications — These columns provide in-depth coverage of established applications relevant to SPM readers. The content focuses on specific signal processing applications and related interdisciplinary fields, including industry case studies and standards in signal processing technology. These columns also offer insights into how signal processing applications can enhance the quality of life. SP Applications columns are long column articles. View SP Applications articles on IEEE Xplore.
    
4. Tips & Tricks — Tips & Tricks columns address practical signal processing problems. While such columns are expected to incorporate a theoretical component, they also offer valuable practical SP advice by including thorough comparisons, discussions of experimental issues, and conclusions that are invaluable for practitioners. Tips & Tricks columns are short column articles. View Tips & Tricks articles on IEEE Xplore.

Learning Signal Processing

Columns in this category may present in-depth materials that have not been covered sufficiently in the existing literature. Moreover, articles in this category may highlight and suggest education approaches in signal processing. This category includes two column types: Lecture Notes and Education.

5. Lecture Notes — Lecture notes present in-depth materials that are not sufficiently covered in existing textbooks. These columns may also include concise summaries of tutorials presented at major Signal Processing Society (SPS) conferences and workshops. Lecture Notes columns are long column articles. View Lecture Notes articles on IEEE Xplore.
    
6. SP Education — These columns describe engaging experiments and success stories in teaching signal processing and applying digital signal processing for educational purposes. They focus on discussing the goals, methods, feedback from students, and lessons learned by both students and educators. Additionally, these columns may offer a broader perspective on education and effective communication, appealing to readers ranging from beginners to experts. SP Education columns are short column articles. View SP Education articles on IEEE Xplore.

SP Events

Columns in this category center around the main events of the SPS, including conferences, competitions, and meetings. This category includes two column types: Conference Highlights and Competitions.

7. Conference Highlights — These columns are prepared by organizers of major international conferences, such as ICASSP and ICIP, sponsored by the SPS. They provide a brief report summarizing the main activities, events, themes, and initiatives of the conference held that year, including its connection with the conference location's history. Conference Highlights columns are short column articles. View Conference Highlights articles on IEEE Xplore.
    
8. Competitions — Competitions columns are written by organizers of competitions and challenges at major SPS conferences (e.g., the SP Cup and VIP Cup at ICASSP and ICIP, respectively). They describe themes, initiatives and results of the competition, but also offer details on participants, how they worked together, how they applied their signal processing knowledge, and their feedback on the experience and learning. Competitions columns are short column articles. View Competitions articles on IEEE Xplore.

Forum

9. Forum — Forum articles feature discussions among multiple experts focusing on hot topics that can be either novel or already well established, often containing some level of controversy. These discussions are best presented using orthogonal or converging arguments. Authors can either be experts themselves or moderators who interview and gather opinions from several experts. Forum articles are long articles. View Forum articles on IEEE Xplore.