Create and submit a MESH guide

MESHGuides are summaries of research relevant to school teachers. They are translations of theory to practice.

Researchers who have research findings relevant to teachers are invited to submit ideas for a Guide. They are asked to write as though they are talking to teachers who might wish to apply these research findings. When writing a MESHGuide authors are asked to engage with teacher-users to translate the findings into practical applications. Research findings are often tentative so authors are asked to acknowledge uncertainties for example contextual issues which may impact on the transfer of practices from one school, classroom or pupil to another. Teacher users need to use their professional judgement in applying findings in practice.

So if you want to submit a Guide,  think about  what you want to communicate to MESHGuide users and make a list of headings. These will form the main structure of the Guide which is published both as text which can be printed off and in a grid form to allow teachers to dip into the sections of most interest to them. Guides are a maximum of five columns across with typically the left column being the research evidence and the right column being case studies/additional resources.

First check your ideas with the Editorial Team

If you want to submit a guide, please telephone Prof. Marilyn Leask from the Editorial Team on +44 7568520447  to discuss your ideas first or email enquiries@meshguides.org. The editorial board will be back to you within two weeks.  Make sure the editorial team has agreed your proposal before following the instructions below as we do not publish duplicate Guides. Existing Guides are extended to include new knowledge rather than duplicated.

Then:

Step 1: Register your idea here.

Step 2: Create your Guide following the advice below and submit your draft MESHGuide to editorialteam@meshguides.org. Feel free to  contact the editorial team while you are writing if you have queries. Submissions to the editorial team email address are normally placed on the weekly editorial team meeting agenda.

Step 3: You will be allocated an editor with expertise in your subject area. When they have agreed your Guide with you, the Guide will be passed to the Central Editorial Board for final checks who then pass your Guide on for publishing. You will be notified when the Guide is published so that you can tell others who are interested. Authors from member organisations have access to usage data which shows where the guide is being accessed.

Creating your guide

The MESHGuide is usually published as five columns of boxes and a strip down the right-hand side of the screen which allows the content of the box to pop up. Although not cast in stone this format works well on most web browsers and screens.

A common format for the grid for the Guide is:

• Column 1 Evidence – the research supporting the advice in the Guide
• Column 2 Definitions, how to diagnose the learning problem or how the issues present in the classrooms in the study
• Column 3 Contextual matters which have an impact on how the research plays out in practice
• Column 4 The research findings and the pedagogical or other interventions to put the findings into practice linked with resources
• Column 5 Case studies where these exist, perhaps additional resources.

Further detail about what might go in each column is below. We suggest you discuss the structure of your Guide with an Editor at an early stage.

First use WORD to create the print version of your Guide. What you submit is a word document which a reader may wish to print off. It  includes a grid giving the headings which form the MESHGuide grid structure. In your word document, i.e. your draft Guide, each heading will be followed by a paragraph. The headings in your word document match the headings in the boxes in the grid but the sequencing may be different.

		Main title
Column 1	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Column 5
1.1 Box heading	2.1 Box heading	3.1	4.1	5.1
1.2 Box heading	2.2 Box heading	3.2	4.2	5.2

If you find this constraining, we suggest you write the word document first and then fill in the headings in the grid. You may find the template provided at the end of this document useful.  Your structure will vary according to the information which you have in your submission.

The writing style to adopt is one which enables educators to put your advice into practice.  The tone should be professional with the focus on demonstrating how findings from research can be put to practical use in order to improve learning outcomes.

So, the starting point is deciding what you want to others to know about the area of knowledge you are trying to share: these ideas form the headings in the grid and thus the structure of the Guide.  You may find it useful to use other Guides to assist you. You may want to try mapping out your Guide on a large piece of paper using mind mapping techniques, perhaps using  post-it-notes to map out the content.  Ultimately you need to submit a document that our web-builder can understand and use to build the MESHGuide on the web. The web builder will use the headings in the grid and will link the text to these.

Experience has shown us that in the development stage passing the text between people can become quite complex therefore we have found that creating a single document in Google Docs to collect the complete text and make it accessible to your development team (and also ultimately our editorial team and web-builder), helps to reduce the confusion of multiple copies of documents and renaming them.  It also allows multiple users to amend the document in real time.

Clearly mark headings, hyperlinks, images etc that you would expect to see if the box is clicked on, as this will make transfer to the web format simpler.

Main title: MESHGuide name short synopsis of your Guide and who you expect to use it in particular
Column 1 The first box is the title e.g. Research and Evidence The actual name/title of a column is changed to suit the content. This first box for any column is a short summary of the content of the column and  advice about how to use the content. This summary appears when the header box is clicked and shows on the right hand side of the screen.	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Column 5
Column 1 first box numbered 1.1, second box is numbered 1.2 and so on.  The box heading/title appears in the MESHGuide grid Any text or material that relates to this box including hyperlinks will appear in a screen at the side of your Guide when the box is clicked.	2.1 Box heading	3.1	4.1	5.1
further boxes in this column are then added…	2.2	3.2	4,2	5.2
the process is repeated for other columns.

In the actual word document which can be printed off, the content is presented in what is a logical flow for a reader, e.g. the references appear at the end as is traditional. However, in the grid, the order of headings may be different but the headings are the same – they allow the reader to choose the topic relevant to them. In  building your text the web-publisher needs you to clearly indicate what content belongs in which box so the headings in the grid need to match the headings in the word document.

Advice about the detail

• Think of an easily understood main title for your guide.

Create a summary/abstract of 200-250 words which explains clearly your purpose and intention – how the user will benefit from using the Guide.  The text will appear when the user clicks the title box of your MESHGuide.  It helps when we create the Newsletter and any marketing information as we can quickly access brief descriptions of your Guide to tell people about.

You might like to add a box entitled ‘How to Use this MESHGuide’ in order to draw the reader explicitly to the rationale for development and use of your Guide.

Here is an example from a Guide on acoustics in classrooms:

The Acoustics – listening and learning

This MESH Guide has been designed to cover a wide range of issues associated with classroom acoustics in schools and the impact the quality of speech intelligibility has on deaf children’s learning. It aims to provide all those interested in classroom acoustics with the most up-to-date research presented in an easily accessible way so allowing all readers to understand the topic, discover the key characteristics of the issues surrounding the topic and, where appropriate to determine policy and practice in schools. It is intended to stimulate improvements in classroom acoustics where necessary as a result of increased understanding in the importance of providing excellent acoustics so that all deaf children and young people will be able to enjoy the best possible quality sound reception.

We hope the content of this MESH Guide will stimulate Teachers of the Deaf to feed in their own classroom experience in the form of case studies that both exemplify and challenge the findings of the research contained in the Guide so continually expanding the body of knowledge in this area. This MESHGuide will only have achieved its aims if it is embraced by all those interested in classroom acoustics as a living, dynamic repository of current knowledge and best practice and as a place to share their own case study findings.

The Guide is set out in a way to allow you, the reader, access to the areas of most immediate interest to you, providing links to some of the key publications and research where you can explore the topic in as much depth as you wish. It includes information on children’s hearing and learning, the characteristics of the transmission of the voice, what counts as excellent acoustics and speech intelligibility, the impact the quality of acoustics has on teaching and learning, the interventions available to improve acoustics and speech intelligibility and sample case studies exemplifying the research presented in the Guide.

The authors of this Guide will work to continually develop and improve its content and actively welcome comment from all readers on how improvements might be achieved.

• Pull together the evidence base for this title.  This will form the first column of your guide.

This column may contain references and web links in an internationally accepted format. You divide your evidence into themed sections with each having a separate cell in the table.

• Your MESHGuide second column may be background, specialist definitions, fundamental questions relating to the field or characteristics which need to be explained to the reader.

Again, create a title with a short summary and use a new box for this.  Each box which follows this in the second column covers an aspect of the topic covered by the title.

• The third MG column may contextualize the evidence you are presenting for the reader.  For example, perhaps your evidence base looks at the use of iPod touch devices to support assessment however contextually, your research base is taken from a study of particular age groups or there may be gender issues.  This information is useful to your reader so they can identify at a glance which information is likely to be applicable to their context.

Again, create a title with a short summary and use a new box in your Google Doc for this. Each box which follows this in the second column covers an aspect of the topic covered by the title.

• Your fourth column may cover interventions or links to resources so the reader can explore the area further.  For example, your MESHGuide may be around how to develop singing in primary schools.  Further resources would include links to websites such as the ‘SingUp’ initiative, links to further academic and practitioner-based articles as well as specialist organisations in the field of your MESHGuide such as ‘The Voices Foundation’ in this particular case.  Try not to link to ‘ephemeral’ articles such as those appearing in Newsletters which often only appear for a short while, seek a more permanent edition of the article such as a download or a tabbed permanent web page.

Again, create a title with a short summary and use a new box  for this. Each box which follows this in the second column covers an aspect of the topic covered by the title.

• The fifth (final) column may include examples and case studies which you have access to or which are submitted by users in response to the MESHGuide.

Again, create a title with a short summary and use a new box  for this. Each box which follows this in the second column covers an aspect of the topic covered by the title.

Once you have created the text-based version of your MESHGuide, you are finally ready to submit it to the Editorial board ready for a peer-review and recommendations on drafts before the final MESHGuide is processed and uploaded onto the website.  You can expect to be assigned a contact to provide support as you move through the process or need to change things on the draft MESHGuide web page. If you can submit the Guide via a Google Doc then this helps speed up the editorial and feedback process.

Remember that this is an organic process and the Guides will adapt as new evidence and research emerges and people submit updates.  Suggested updates will normally be decided by you and agreed with the relevant editorial board.

You will be asked on a regular basis to review the MESHGuide you have created and any changes should be noted in the Google Doc and marked with a distinctive colour.  You will then be able to inform the web-builder of appropriate changes which will be clear and easily referenced.

MESH Editorial Team, updated 10 June 2024.

Ann Underwood, Naomi Flynn, Richard Procter, Linda Devlin, Marilyn Leask, Jon Audain.

MESHGuide Author spotlight Dr. Naomi Flynn, University of Winchester and University of Reading Q. Can you tell us a little bit about the MESHGuide you are producing? A. I’m writing a MESHGuide to support teachers with their classroom practice for EAL learners. Q. How far are you in creating your MESHGuide? A. I’m deciding which are the most useful parts of my own research to use that will have resonance for all teachers. Q. What has been the easiest part about creating the guide? A. A MESHGuide can be based on subject you are passionate and in which you already have a research-basis. Q. What has been the most challenging part about creating the guide? A. Choosing how to organize the information in way that is accessible, meaningful and useful for a wide ranging audience. Q. What advice would you give to anyone thinking of creating a MESHGuide? A. Think small. Choose a key a focus from your research rather than trying to map an entire doctorate.

How to get involved?

Are you a researcher?

Have you completed a Masters level or doctoral dissertation? Your masters degree programme prepares you to become knowledgeable about educational research and to be able to access and critique research as well as carry out educational research on a small scale. These research tools should help you in evaluating your professional practice and that of your institution throughout your career. The writing of a MESHGuide may be appropriate – summarising your dissertation. A MESHGuide is designed to help you share the new knowledge you create, which has been built on a review of what has gone before, with others. The BERA guidelines Good Practice in Research Writing (Bassey, 2000) suggest four levels of publication are applied to research: – the full study so that others can build on your findings. At Masters and PhD level this is the dissertation, – an academic paper to share your findings and information about the research with other researchers i.e. an academic article, – the professional paper to translate your findings into practical applications for research users who include teacher educators, teachers, parents, policy makers, and; – a press release. Whether your findings merit a press release at this stage is something to discuss with your tutor. Are you involved in a project that can form part of the evidence base for a MESHGuide? Why not collaborate within your team so an additional output is also a MESHGuide that links to any reports and guidance you create?

 

Are you an academic? Please consider the following:

Working with other academic colleagues to produce a MESHGuide based on your expertise. Linking with subject associations and schools to consolidate the knowledge base for the Guide. If you run M-level and doctorate programmes, consider the writing of a MESHGuide or contribution to an existing MESHGuide as an output for a student assignment. Considering how MESHGuides can support university research assessment submissions. Data demonstrating professional reach of your research is available through Google Analytics. We now the Guides are accessed in over 200 countries. The exceptions are those bordering the Sahara. Considering other ways your academic work can be transformed into a MESHGuide. – a study or report created from research projects you are involved in so that others can build on your findings. – an academic paper sharing findings and information about your research. – a professional paper translating your findings into practical applications for research users who include teacher educators, teachers, parents, policy makers. Linking with other researchers and academics in your field through online or professional communities  and working together to scale up research or develop your dissertation area. Many of the MESHGuides have been generated through different forms of networking and you never know the types of further research that may develop.

 

Are you a practitioner in an education setting?

Link with colleagues, teaching school and research clusters to develop case studies to support theoretical aspects of the MESHGuide. Promote MESHGuides to other colleagues. MESHGuides are designed to be useful and informative to the busy practitioner. Develop a MESHGuide built on school-based research. Is there an area of knowledge that is missing from the MESHGuides website and you have that knowledge and expertise? Write the MESHGuide. Why not find other practitioners, researchers and academics in this area through online or professional communities and collaborate to create a MESHGuide.