University of Wisconsin Press Journals Statement of Publication Ethics

The Journals Division of the University of Wisconsin Press serves a worldwide community of scholars, researchers, and practitioners through the publication of original scholarship in peer-reviewed academic and professional journals in print and electronic form. The press extends the influence of the university and the academic community beyond the library, laboratory, and classroom, through publishing. We are dedicated to the principle that education and research should influence people's lives throughout the world.

Our Code of Conduct

We are committed to creating a culture that is necessary to achieve publishing excellence, embracing a code of conduct that governs all our collaborations. The press upholds a positive environment in which its staff, authors, editors, reviewers, media, vendors, and other partners may participate in the business of peer-reviewed publishing in an exemplary professional manner. This environment is defined by constructive relationships, equity and inclusion, and mutual respect. As such, the press has zero tolerance for all forms of discrimination or harassment, or for illegal, dishonest, or unethical professional conduct. There is no place in the press’s publishing ecosystem for people who abuse their status, power, or influence in a manner that violates recognized standards of conduct.

 As guiding principles of conduct, we commit to a positive, professional, sensitive, and supportive environment free of abuse, discrimination, and harassment of others. We commit to hold challenging discussions of differences in a professional, nonconfrontational manner and with respect for a diversity of viewpoints. We expect our staff, authors, editors, and all of our collaborators to conduct themselves in a professional and courteous manner in all facets of their professional lives. When such expectations are not met, the press will take appropriate action, including the cessation of partnerships that we believe violate or challenge our ability to achieve a positive culture of collaboration and responsibility.

Journal Editorial Responsibilities

All publication decisions are the responsibility of the journal editors, who are respected scholars in good standing appointed either by the press or the sponsoring organization of the journal. The editors are tasked with maintaining editorial principles and practices that conform to conventions in their field. Editors are expected to evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to the race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, age, or political philosophy of the authors. Editorial decisions are made in consultation with an editorial board following rigorous, fair, and timely peer review. Editors or Editorial Board members whose participation in the consideration of a given article might give the impression of a conflict of interest, real or imagined, shall recuse themselves from the process of peer review and publication decision making.  

Specific information about the peer review process and manuscript submission requirements for each journal are available through the Submissions Guidelines for each journal. Our website provides information about the editorial team including editors, advisory and editorial boards, and editorial office contact information.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Peer reviewers assist editors and editorial boards in making publication decisions. Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript, determines that there may be a real or imagined conflict of interest, or realizes that prompt completion of their review will be impossible should excuse themselves from the review process. Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors and call to the attention of the editors any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published works of which they have personal knowledge.

Journal Author Responsibilities

Authorship shall be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the work. Authors submitting a manuscript for consideration to be published by the press must warrant that their work is original, has not previously been published, is not currently under consideration by another publisher (unless approval for such simultaneous submission is sought from and granted by both publishers), and does not infringe upon the intellectual property rights or other rights of any individual or entity, including copyright. The press does not view publication in the form of an abstract or an academic thesis as prior publication. For select journals, the deposit of the author’s accepted manuscript in an institutional repository is acceptable, with a link to the final published version. Authors are required to secure any necessary permissions to include copyrighted material in their manuscript and to provide any other information required by the editorial office, such as disclosures of conflicts of interest and funding sources. Evidence and underlying data must be represented accurately. Authors are encouraged to post their data online. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Authors of accepted articles are required to grant an exclusive license to publish throughout the world for the full period of copyright. Articles in the public domain (e.g., works of US government employees, UK Crown Copyright, etc.) are not licensed as such. Open access publishing is available, funded through APCs and registered under a CC-BY-NC-ND license. In some cases, and for an additional fee, a less restrictive CC license may be used.

The press encourages and supports authors’ own efforts to promote and disseminate their work, however this does not include freely posting their articles online. Authors may use their works after publication in their own scholarship, teaching, and research activities.

Journal Article Errors and Corrections

Rigorous peer review practices are designed to detect and resolve errors or instances of authorial misconduct prior to publication. However, it may occasionally be necessary to correct a published article. When notified of possible errors or corrections, the editors of the journal will review and resolve them in consultation with the press. In all cases, the guiding principle followed by the press is to preserve the integrity of the scholarly version of record. Any post-publication corrections are clearly indicated to readers of the original work.

Journal Access

The mission of the press embodies the Wisconsin Idea by publishing work of distinction that serves the people of Wisconsin and the world. Access to our publications is available via personal or institutional subscription or one-time purchase. Some works are freely available (open access). Many works are available through ProjectMUSE and JSTOR collections.

 Electronic preservation of access to journal content is assured through third-party archiving solutions such as LOCKSS and Portico.

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

For further information on professional standards, see the website of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): http://publicationethics.org/. As a member of the COPE-affiliated Association of University Presses (AUPresses), the University of Wisconsin Press supports the principles and mission of COPE.