Information for Authors-SPM

Information for Authors

IEEE Signal Processing Magazine

Signal Processing Magazine (SPM) is the Signal Processing Society (SPS) magazine received by every society member bimonthly. Different from other publications that focus on new research results, SPM only publishes tutorial-like articles with comprehensive surveys of important theories, algorithms, tools, and applications in the broad field of signal processing and related disciplines. SPM includes three main types of articles:

• Special issue articles
• Feature articles; and
• Columns/forum articles.

Papers in a special issue are focused on a central theme in a mature, critical area that is interesting to a broad audience. Feature articles address relevant subjects related to general signal processing fields of interest. Papers in columns and forums focus on a wide range of topics in digital signal processing and are divided in categories with different objectives and dynamics.

Due to its specific focus, IEEE Signal Processing Magazine submission process is very different from other journals. Please carefully follow the guidelines for the different paper categories detailed below to avoid direct rejection without review and for choosing the right category.

ORCID ID: All IEEE journals require an Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) for all authors. ORCID is a persistent unique identifier for researchers and functions similarly to an article’s Digital Object Identifier (DOI). The authors will need a registered ORCID to submit a manuscript or review a proof in this journal.

SPM Paper Categories

Feature Articles and Special Issue Papers

Both feature articles and special issue papers are tutorial articles, and should cover the history, the state of the art, and the future directions of the topic of interest. They can include a limited and relevant selection of references rather than an exhaustive list. Prospective authors should avoid making the common mistake of covering only their own work or presenting a narrow and biased view. They should also avoid confusing tutorial papers with transactions-style papers, the latter of which usually present new research results or a focused overview specialized in one single technical field. A tutorial paper should be understandable by a non-expert across different fields in signal processing. Therefore, the authors are advised to minimize the use of complicated equations if possible, and instead use layman's terms and illustrations.

Column and Forum Papers

A column is an article, either technical or non-technical (depending on the column's profile), which addresses a specific topic of special interests to the general SPS reader.

A forum paper is the result of an open discussion with several experts. The structure of a forum paper is different from that of the papers mentioned above, as it consists of comments and responses of the participants on several aspects within the topic of discussion.

Further Information and Submission Procedure

Special Issues

A special issue comprises multiple, interrelated tutorials that provide a comprehensive coverage of a specific topic of interest to the signal processing community. It is proposed and upon acceptance, it is managed by a team of Guest Editors.

For complete information on the submission procedure for special issues, please see the page on Guidelines for SPM Special Issues.

Column and Forum Papers

Please see description of columns and forum articles and submission instructions and remember to contact the Columns and Forums area editors to discuss your proposals if you have questions.

Feature Articles

Individuals interested in submitting a survey/tutorial article (not part of a Special Issue) must submit a white paper outlining the content of the proposed article to the Area Editor for Feature Articles (refer to the Editorial page) via the ScholarOne Manuscripts web submission system. A white paper is maximum five pages long, and should include the following information:

• Title
• The author list with contact information
• History, motivation, and significance of the topic
• An outline of the proposed paper
• Expected submission date
• References
• A short bio for each author

Each white paper will be reviewed by members of the Senior Editorial Board, and upon acceptance, the authors will be invited to prepare a full manuscript, which will undergo a peer review process determining acceptance or rejection of the manuscript. Positive reviews of the white paper and invitation for submitting a full manuscript should not be interpreted as acceptance of the full manuscript. It is very important that prospective authors adopt a systematic approach to comprehensive and balanced coverage of all important issues, rather than only focusing on their own work.

Please see IEEE Template Selector for the templates of white papers and full feature articles and make your submissions for a Feature article (white and full papers) via the ScholarOne Manuscripts web submission system.

Guidance to Reviewers

General Guidance

• Timeliness: Is the paper of interest to the SP community?
• Accuracy: Is the information correct?
• Clarity: Is the paper easy to read and understand? Is the writing style engaging?
• Comprehensiveness: Does the paper present a complete and unbiased perspective on the topic?
• Originality: While novelty is not a requirement as it would be for a research paper, presentation of new perspectives and insights as well as contributions such as meaningful comparisons with existing methods.
• Authoritativeness: Do the authors have expertise in the area, and does the paper reflect their credibility?
• Accessibility: The content should be accessible to readers from a broad background including non-experts and practitioners, with concepts clearly explained without relying on specialized knowledge.

Not Required

• Novelty: Unlike a research paper, new contributions are not expected.
• Extensive References: A representative set of references while staying within the limits for each paper type: feature article, special issue paper, and columns and forum should be included. Especially for columns and forums, only a small set of references are expected.

Highly Encouraged

• Reproducibility: Making codes available to support transparency and reproducibility.
• Benchmarking: Multi-faceted comprehensive comparisons to objectively evaluate and compare the performance of the methods that are discussed.

Full Paper Specifications for All Categories

All limits below (at submission time) are for double-spaced and single column format using a minimum font size of 11pt, according to the SPM Paper Template. They also include all figures, tables and references. Please note that subfigures as in (a), (b), … count as separate figures. All paper types except C&F short articles must include 100-word biographies per author.

• Feature articles: Up to 40 pages with a total number of references up to 60 and a total number of figures/tables up to 15.
• Special Issue articles: Up to 25 pages with a total number of references up to 40 and a total number of figures/tables up to 10.
• Columns & Forum articles: Up to 20 pages and up to 12 references and 6 figures/tables for long C&F articles and up to 10 pages with 5 references and 3 figures/tables for short column articles.

Please see  description of column and forum articles for the classifications of each category as a long or short article and see two references by past Editor-in-Chief: "Organizing a Special Issue of IEEE SPM" and
"Making a Good Feature Article Submission."

Download SPM Paper Templates ›