About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Established in 2019 as The International Journal of Roma Studies (IJRS; ISSN: 2462-425X). IJRS particularly focuses on the analysis of the intersections and patterns of discriminations suffered by Ethnic minorities in general and the Roma in particular, as well as those strategies to reverse them. 

IJRS is an Open Access journal that welcomes empirically based research articles, broader reviews as well as theoretical reflections that contribute to the advancement of the existing scientific knowledge on Ethnic minorities, with a special focus on Roma constituencies, from different disciplines (from sociology, ethnic and cultural studies, anthropology, linguistics, political science, among others).

Particularly, the journal will serve as a platform to publish cutting edge and innovative research in the field of Ethnic  and Roma Studies that contributes to addressing the needs and problems affecting ethnic minorities, while moving beyond exclusionary perspectives both objectifying and essentializing minorities. Contributions might be conducted from a wide range of methodologies: quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods. Specially valued will be those works conducted from dialogic-based research methodologies which promote the participation of researched communities themselves, and which deepen in the analysis of those elements that allow ethnic groups to organize and thus exert their human agency. 

The IJRS review process will strictly follow a rigorous double-blind peer review, based on initial editor screening and posterior two anonymous referees. Thus, IJRS requires all papers to strictly meet the international ethical standards as contemplated by international professional organizations.

This scientific journal is a multilingual journal which will be publishing articles in English, Spanish and French, and is published two times a year (May and November).

Peer Review Process

All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by two anonymous referees.

Open Access Policy

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Non­Commercial and Non­Derivative License.

Publication ethics and malpractice statement

Hipatia Press Scientific Journals pursue the ethical standards present in the COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors and the International Standards for editors and authors published by the Committee on Publication Ethics. 

IJRS is committed to meeting high standards of ethical conduct at all stages of the publication process. In our ethical standards and procedures, we set out general expectations for authors, editors, reviewers, publishers and social partners. IJRS guarantees at all times the confidentiality of the evaluation process: the anonymity of the reviewers and the authors, the content evaluated, the rationale report issued by the reviewers and any other communication issued by the editorial and advisory boards. Also, the confidentiality will be maintained before any clarifications or complaints that an author wishes to send to the committees of the journal or to the evaluators of the article.

Hipatia Press and IJRS editors will take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, for retracting or correcting articles when needed:

  • IJRS declares its commitment for the respect and integrity of the works already published. For this reason, plagiarism is strictly prohibited in IJRS and texts that are identified as plagiarism or its content are fraudulent will be removed from the journal if they have already been published or will not be published.
  • Hipatia Press and IJRS editors will act, in these cases, as quickly as possible. By accepting the terms and agreements expressed by IJERS, authors must ensure that the article or review and the materials associated with them are original or do not infringe copyright.
  • The authors also have to justify that, in case of a shared authorship, there was a full consensus of all the authors affected and that the article or book review has not been previously presented or published in other journals.
  • In the event that IJRS editors are made aware of any allegation of research misconduct, these allegations would be treated accordingly. 
  • IJRS editors will be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies whenever needed. 
  • In no case IJERS or its editors shall encourage such misconduct, or knowingly allow such misconduct to take place.

IJRS endorses the Elsevier’s policy for retracting or correcting articles when needed. Therefore, we provide the following guidelines which will be applied in those cases that appear to be violating the ethical standard of publication:

Article withdrawal

Articles in Press (articles that have been accepted for publication but which have not been formally published) that include errors, or are discovered to be accidental duplicates of other published article(s), or are determined to violate our journal publishing ethics guidelines in the view of the editors (such as multiple submission, bogus claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data or the like), may be withdrawn from IJRS.

Article retraction

In case of infringements of professional ethical codes, such as multiple submission, bogus claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data or the like. A retraction note titled “Retraction: [article title]” signed by the authors and/or the editor is published in the paginated part of a subsequent issue of the journal and listed in the contents list with a link to the original article. The original article is preceded by a screen containing the retraction note and carries a watermark on the .pdf indicating on each page that it is “retracted.”

Article replacement

In cases where the article, if acted upon, might pose a serious health risk, the authors of the original article may wish to retract the flawed original and replace it with a corrected version. In these circumstances the procedures for retraction will be followed with the difference that the database retraction notice will publish a link to the corrected re-published article and a history of the document.

For further guidance of publication ethics, we adhere to the International Standards for editors and authors published by the Committee on Publication Ethics specified for each role participating in the publication process:

Authors

  • The research being reported should have been conducted in an ethical and responsible manner and should comply with all relevant legislation.
  • Researchers should present their results clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation.
  • Researchers should strive to describe their methods clearly and unambiguously so that their findings can be confirmed by others.
  • Researchers should adhere to publication requirements that submitted work is original, is not plagiarized, and has not been published elsewhere.
  • Authors should take collective responsibility for submitted and published work.
  • The authorship of research publications should accurately reflect individuals’ contributions to the work and its reporting.
  • Funding sources and relevant conflicts of interest should be disclosed.

For a detailed account of ethics international standards for authors developed by COPE during the 2nd World Conference on Research Integrity in Singapore in 2010, please access the following document: https://publicationethics.org/files/International%20standards_authors_for%20website_11_Nov_2011.pdf

 

Peer reviewers

  • Only agree to review manuscripts for which they have the subject expertise required to carry out a proper assessment and which they can assess in a timely manner.
  • Respect the confidentiality of peer review and not reveal any details of a manuscript or its review, during or after the peer-review process, beyond those that are released by the journal.
  • Not use information obtained during the peer-review process for their own or any other person’s or organization’s advantage, or to disadvantage or discredit others.
  • Declare all potential conflicting interests, seeking advice from the journal if they are unsure whether something constitutes a relevant interest.
  • Not allow their reviews to be influenced by the origins of a manuscript, by the nationality, religious or political beliefs, gender or other characteristics of the authors, or by commercial considerations.
  • Be objective and constructive in their reviews, refraining from being hostile or inflammatory and from making libellous or derogatory personal comments.
  • Acknowledge that peer review is largely a reciprocal endeavour and undertake to carry out their fair share of reviewing and in a timely manner.
  • Provide journals with personal and professional information that is accurate and a true representation of their expertise.
  • Recognize that impersonation of another individual during the review process is considered serious misconduct.

For a detailed account of the ethical guidelines for peer reviewers developed by COPE, please access the following document: http://publicationethics.org/files/Ethical_guidelines_for_peer_reviewers_0.pdf

 

Editor

  • Editors are accountable and take responsibility for everything they publish.
  • Editors will make fair and unbiased decisions independent from commercial consideration and will ensure a fair and appropriate peer review process.
  • Editors will adopt editorial policies that encourage maximum transparency and complete, honest reporting.
  • Editors will guard the integrity of the published record by issuing corrections and retractions when needed and pursuing suspected or alleged research and publication misconduct.
  • Editors will pursue reviewer and editorial misconduct.
  • Editors will critically assess the ethical conduct of studies in humans and animals.
  • Peer reviewers and authors are told what of is expected of them.
  • Editors have appropriate policies in place for handling editorial conflicts of interest.

For a detailed account of the publication ethics and malpractice statement for editors developed by COPE, please access the following document:  https://publicationethics.org/files/editable-bean/COPE_Core_Practices_0.pdf