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Updated January 2013 [French version]
Internet Archaeology is interested in publishing a broad and international range of archaeological research articles that have broad appeal. Works of regional interest, excavation reports (incorporating text, photographs, data, drawings, reconstruction diagrams, interpretations), analyses of large data sets along with the data itself, visualisations, programs used to analyse data, and applications of information technology are all equally welcome as submissions. Articles in Internet Archaeology are chosen for their quality academic content and for their use of the electronic medium - there are no chronological and geographical restrictions, and papers in languages other than English are very welcome. All content published in the journal is subject to rigorous peer-review (editorial screening followed by anonymous refereeing).
Please read this Editorial Policy before submitting a proposal. For details on how to submit, see our Guidelines for Authors section.
Internet Archaeology (IA) is the first fully peer-reviewed electronic journal for archaeology, publishing articles of a high academic standing which also try to utilise the potential of electronic publication.
IA publishes a broad and international range of archaeological research. Long (monograph-length) and short articles are all welcome - from excavation reports and site descriptions, to specialist reports and methodological developments. There's no word count or 'page' limit. We require only that content should contribute to archaeological knowledge and that they integrate where possible the capabilities of the web.
IA is a bi-annual journal and we are interested in publishing articles that will appeal to everyone from academic researchers to government agencies to interested members of the public. We seek to publish original articles and case studies on archaeology, artefact studies, environmental archaeology, excavation and fieldwork, theory and methodology and will aim to present them in ways that use the medium of the web. Content does not have to have a technical aspect to make it suitable for publication in the journal.
Content in IA is disseminated under a CC-BY 3.0 licence.
Anywhere. Part of the importance of archaeological research is that it allows us to examine the relationships between the material culture and development of societies separated in time and space. IA therefore has no geographical limits but will accept and actively seek articles from all continents and countries of the world.
Any time. Archaeology is the study of human interaction with the environment and material culture through time. IA will therefore accept articles covering any time period from the appearance of hominids through to studies of contemporary use of material culture. The chronological scope of the journal is reviewed at regular intervals and the Editor and Advisory Committee take a pro-active role to fill any gaps in coverage by commissioning content.
All archaeological topics. IA will publish articles on a wide range of archaeological research be that excavation and fieldwork reports, artefact and environmental studies, theory and methodology. Interim reports/articles concerning preliminary findings of on-going work are not usually considered. Content is chosen based on quality but we will always look for opportunities to present content in ways that can't be done in print. We particularly encourage the intergation of data sets witin articles and the linking to related digital archive material and especially welcome content that includes lots of images, databases, 3D models, video and audio.
IA is a journal of record and has been at the forefront of raising the quality of archaeological information available on-line since 1996. All accepted content undergoes rigorous peer-review following initial editorial screening at the proposal stage. The Editor strives to make the peer-review and editorial process as rapid as possible.
Whilst the time between submission and publication in the journal is well below the level found in many print journals, we will not do this at the expense of quality. Authors may expect a 3 to 6 month interval between submission of a draft and its publication. Articles with datasets or more complex technical requirements will naturally take longer to prepare and this should be factored in if other timescales and deadlines (e.g. REF) need to be adhered to.
IA is a hybrid Open Access journal wishing to move fully towards an Open Access model. IA strongly encourages authors to seek funds to cover article development/production costs from their grant-giving/funding bodies or other research sponsors wherever possible. Many institutions now have central funds specifically allocated to pay for Open Access publication. It is advisable that authors submit a proposal and approach the Editor at the earliest possible stage so that article costs can be calculated in advance of applying for funding. Where the development costs of an article are met, that content will be made Open Access. You may see a full list of our existing Open Access content here.
There is no fixed Open Access fee. Fees are calculated individually for each article as technical requirements can vary greatly. Currently, where the article focus is on archaeology from a developing country, access to that content will be made freely available to the country in question (via country code top-level domain). Please note that if you have no access to funding, then this is not an obstacle to a publication in IA. Your article will simply be subject to our usual low cost subscription (reader charge rather than author charge). This policy may be subject to change in light of external developments and increases in uptake of the Open Access option.
Content is not changed once it has been published, even if mistakes are discovered or if new data would render an interpretation obsolete. However we welcome subsequent addenda or 'new editions' of research published in the journal which can easily be linked to the original piece of work (and vice versa). Authors are requested to contact the journal about their update requirements.
Provided that a suitably-qualified referee and sub-editor can be found, IA will publish articles in any language capable of being transmitted over the internet. A summary should, however, be provided in English, French, German, Italian or Spanish.
One of the unique features of IA is the ability to integrate data (however that is defined) within the article narrative. However where related additional digital material (not necessarily part of the publication) exists, IA expects that such supporting data is deposited in an appropriate public digital archive or repository, such as ADS (or tDAR in USA), or your own institutional or funder repository.
Internet Archaeology works especially closely with the ADS, but authors should note that all digital archives will have their own deposit procedures and/or charges that will lie outside IA's control. And so where links to such additional archived data from an IA article are desirable, authors do need to consider the impact such requirements may have on timing and planning of their article.
IA has no desire to compete with paper-based publications and recognises that books and journals are still for many easier to read, more portable and easier to curate than electronic publications. The advantages of electronic publication are that there is less restriction on size for its own sake, more possibilities for indexing and retrieval than in a paper publication and almost instantaneous cross-referencing from one document to another. IA will consider publishing expanded and cross-referenced versions of printed works and we are keen to encourage collaboration with other publishers, following the recommendations in the PUNS report.
Journal content is hosted on our server at the University of York which is routinely backed-up on and off-site. In addition, all articles are fully archived for the long-term with the Archaeology Data Service (ADS: view current ADS Preservation Policy). The ADS follows the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) reference model. Part of the process of publication in IA will be to ensure that all your content is in, or saved to, an appropriate preservation format for deposit into the journal's 'dark archive'. You may be asked to supply additional files and information beyond what appears in the published article for this purpose.
IA reviews works published in an electronic format (including e-books, CD-ROM publications, web resources, archaeological software packages etc.). Electronic counterparts to print publications are also considered. Our policy is generally not to review books or anything that is solely published in print, but exceptions can be made e.g. where the printed publication concerns archaeological computing.
Ready to submit a proposal? Return to the For Authors section for more details.
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Last updated by Judith Winters
Wednesday, 16 January 2013