Prior publication refers to reproduction
and distribution of a paper in a manner such that it has been
made available to the engineering profession and can be obtained
in the normal process of a literature search. (NOTE: this does
not include prior publication in a Proceedings of a conference,
which normally has a very limited distribution.)
An acceptable technical paper is one that
is technically sound, free from personalities and bias (especially
of a commercial nature), one in which the author supplies information
never before published in a form readily available to the public
or adds a new concept or development to existing technical knowledge.
The definition should be construed to include comprehensive reviews
to past and present engineering practice.
Unacceptable technical papers are those
having an obvious sales approach to technical problems, those
based upon fallacious or dubious engineering analysis, and those
whose approach is superficially descriptive of widely accepted
engineering practice.
A review paper is one in which an author
surveys a specific subject or technical area, and brings together
relevant published information, in such a manner that the reader
may readily become familiar with the state of the art at the time
the review was prepared. Alternately, such a paper may present
information from unfamiliar fields of science and from other engineering
specialties, though such papers might be referred to an appropriate
magazine (such as IEEE Circuits & Devices Magazine). A review
must relate itself through bibliographical references to pertinent
technical literature.
