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Editorial Policy
Updated June 2009
Internet Archaeology is interested in publishing a broad and international range of archaeological research articles that will appeal to everyone, from academic researchers to government agencies to interested members of the public. 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 refereed 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 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 but present them in ways that use the medium of the web.
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.
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.
IA will publish articles on a wide range of archaeological issues, including archaeological publication using electronic media, excavation and fieldwork reports, artefact and environmental studies, and theory and methodology. However interim reports/articles concerning preliminary findings of on-going work are not usually considered. Content is chosen based on both quality and the opportunities provided by the medium. We particularly encourage the intergation of data sets and digital archive material into articles and welcome proposals that contain multimedia components such as databases, GIS, VRML/QTVR and audio. Authors are requested to discuss their requirements with the Editor.
IA has been at the forefront of raising the quality of archaeological information available on-line since 1996. IA is a prestigious means of publication and a journal of record. All accepted content undergoes rigorous peer review following initial editorial screening. We strive to make the peer-review and editoral process as rapid as possible.
Whilst the time between submission and publication in the journal is well below the level found in academic 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 text with illustrations and its publication (but this can sometimes be as short as 5 weeks!). Articles with datasets or more complex requirements will take longer to prepare.
Where an article is being published jointly with a print publisher, IA would expect a single mutually agreeable referee to be appointed for both. IA's own referees are not paid and should not be expected to have to comment on texts that have not been checked for spelling, lack complete references etc. (See our Guidelines for refereeing)
Funding article development and Open Access
IA is moving towards an Open Access model to broaden access to the contents of the journal. In doing so, we are set to lose significant subscription income and wish to advise contributors of the potential future need for subventions. IA will increasingly seek to cover article development and production costs. Authors (and/or their research funding bodies) should therefore expect to be asked to contribute to these costs. Authors may wish to approach us at an early stage so that these costs can be included in research funding applications. However where the full development costs of an article are met, that content will be made Open Access with the author's consent. In addition, 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).
UK authors may find the policy document Paying for Open Access Publication Charges from the Research Information Network useful.
IA ia a journal of record. 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) thus building on its foundations. 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.
Relationship with digital data archives
Much archaeological data is most economically stored and presented in the form of a database and IA can use software to allow databases to be queried from within an article. All published journal content (including data) is archived with the Archaeology Data Service (ADS). However where there is related additional digital material (not necessarily part of the publication), IA will expect contributors to have deposited copies of their electronic data with the ADS or other appropriate digital archive. In the event of IA ceasing publication, the ADS has agreed to maintain the journal's published content on-line.
Relationship with printed publications
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.
IA encourages reviews of works published in an electronic format (including 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 there may be exceptions so feel free to contact us if you think you have a special case).
© Internet Archaeology 1996-2009
Last updated by Judith Winters
Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Cite: http://intarch.ac.uk/news/edpol.html for this page