Author Rights

Exclusion of Reviewers/Suggesting Reviewers

While authors may request to exclude certain reviewers who might have perceived competing interests from refereeing their works, they are asked to provide additional information to support such a request. The Editors will respect these requests provided that they do not interfere with the objective and thorough assessment of the article.

The Editors do not send manuscripts to particular reviewers under the following circumstances:

• The reviewer has previously co-published an article with the author(s).
• The reviewer has assisted the author(s) in proofreading their manuscripts.
• The reviewer has experienced problems with the author(s) in the past.
• The reviewer will benefit financially from the publication of the article.
• The reviewer works in the same institution (same department within the same university) as the author(s).

Authors may be asked to suggest 6 expert referees. Where appropriate, authors should suggest 2–3 referees who are experts in methodology as well as 2–3 referees who are experts on the subject. Authors should avoid suggesting as referees those individuals with whom they have had a collaborative relationship within the past 3 years, whom they have mentored, or by whom they have been mentored.

Presubmission Inquiries

If you would like editorial input on whether your paper might be a strong candidate for consideration in the ……………, please send a presubmission inquiry to editor@……………. The body of your e-mail should include a tentative title, an abstract, a brief description of the study’s results, an explanation of the interest, and significance to the broader readership of ………………….. You will receive an acknowledgment of receipt of your presubmission inquiry within a few working days and, in most instances, an editorial decision within a week.

Status Inquiries

Authors are free to inquire about the current status of their manuscripts as it progresses through the editorial process. Authors may e-mail admin@……………. with specific questions.

Request to Withdraw

Authors may request to withdraw their manuscript(s) as they progress through the editorial process or review process or withdraw an accepted but unpublished paper.

Posting the Article

We encourage authors to use or refer to the final, definitive version of their article on their personal or institutional websites as soon as it becomes available (note that articles published by the ………….. are usually made available as OnlineFirst articles before the print edition is released). Authors may also post the PDF version of their articles as well as the link to the PDF version hosted on the journal’s website. Authors may post a copy of their articles on their personal or institutional website or share it on their personal social media pages.

Reusing the Published Articles

While the publishing rights of the manuscripts belong to …………………….., authors certainly have the right to republish their articles, in whole or in part, in any book, article, or other scholarly work, provided that they give credit to the ………………….. Authors can request permission to reuse their articles as described in the Copyright Transfer Form. For questions, please consult the Editor at editor@………………….