EDITORIAL POLICY

I. Publication and Authorship

  • Media Literacy and Academic Research (hereinafter also referred to as “the Journal”) is a double-blind peer reviewed academic journal published biannually by the Faculty of Mass Media Communication at the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, Slovakia.
  • The Journal publishes scholarly texts providing scientific reflection on media and information literacy issues, media education, critical thinking, digital media and new trends in related areas of media and communication studies. The journal is devoted to addressing contemporary issues and future developments related to the interdisciplinary academic discussion, the results of empirical research and the mutual interaction of expertise in media and information studies, media education as well as their sociological, psychological, political, linguistic and technological aspects.
  • The Advisory Board of the Journal and members of the Editorial Board actively participate in domestic and foreign scholarly discourse and academic research projects in order to contribute to scientific and research progress and expansion of the existing body of knowledge related to the fields of media literacy and media education, information and digital literacy, media communication, media research, etc.
  • All submitted manuscripts should offer thorough theoretical frameworks associated with the discussed issues, referring to appropriate, reliable information sources and using corresponding theoretical and methodological approaches. The submitted texts should express originality and innovation in relation to the elaborated topics and scientific problems.
  • The offered texts are written and submitted exclusively in English; all of them are submitted to double-blind peer reviews and selected based on results of these review procedures. The list of Media Literacy and Academic Research’s reviewers is available here: https://www.mlar.sk/list-of-reviewers/. The Editorial Board of Media Literacy and Academic Research fully respects the scientific and ethical principles of scholarly work to strengthen the relevance of the published texts via the set criteria.
  • Media Literacy and Academic Research accepts various kinds of academic writings – theoretical articles, theoretical articles combined with presentations of research results, research inquiries (and their implementation into practice). All published texts are double-blind peer reviewed.
  • Media Literacy and Academic Research applies a zero-tolerance policy regarding plagiarism. The Editorial Board considers plagiarism, duplicate publication requests involving multiple identical or almost identical texts and use of false references and/or purposefully missing references to source documents as activities which result in immediate, unconditional rejection of the submitted text(s) during any phase of the editorial process. Originality of all submitted manuscripts is checked by the plagiarism detection platform Urkund.
  • This principle does not apply in case of occurrence of unconscious factual errors, misinformation or other deficiencies associated with data interpretation (identified by the Editorial Board, reviewers, the Editorial Team or other concerned parties) which do not result from conscious violations of the ethical principles of academic writing. Such accidental deficiencies, however, must be fully corrected and explained by the author(s), as requested by the Editorial Board.
  • The Editorial Board guarantees the concerned authors that similar suspicions and/or deficiencies will undergo an appropriate and very detailed investigation. Depending on severity of the case, the Editorial Board may contact the authors by sending them formal notices to demand explanations and corrections or, especially in serious cases, the texts in question may be rejected immediately.
  • The Journal accepts only theoretical articles or research studies which are genuine and have not been published previously. Neither the suggested texts nor their parts may be submitted simultaneously to other scientific journals, scholarly or commercial publications.
  • The Journal is registered in accordance with international standards. Media Literacy and Academic Research’s E-ISSN is 2585-9188. Since 2023, the Journal’s newly published content is identifiable based on DOIs. The Journal is published by the Faculty of Mass Media Communication at the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, the Slovak Republic. The University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius is a higher education provider financed from the public sources.
  • Publishing in Media Literacy and Academic Research is free of charge.
  • The Editorial Office of Media Literacy and Academic Research does not accept any commercial offers or voluntary financial (or other) gifts.

II. Authors’ Rights and Responsibilities

  • The authors and co-authors publishing their work in Media Literacy and Academic Research are, as a general rule, academics, scholars, researchers and media professionals.
  • The authors of the texts – yet unpublished but already approved and prepared for publication in Media Literacy and Academic Research – have the right to present their findings or other related research outcomes by attending domestic, foreign and international scientific conferences and workshops as well as within their pedagogical or artistic activities.
  • The Editorial Board expects authors to submit the final to-be-published manuscripts with regard to the set formal criteria, i.e., to apply consistent and correct spelling, adequate grammar, stylistics and formalities in accordance with Guidelines for Authors (https://www.mlar.sk/guidelines-for-authors/) and Citation Rules (https://www.mlar.sk/citation-rules/). It is necessary to use the template available on the Journal’s website: https://www.mlar.sk/templates-to-download/.
  • Any fundamental changes to authorship of already submitted final texts (e.g., amendment of co-authors, change in the order of authors, copyright interests or funding information stated in the text) are liable to the prior consent of the Editorial Board. The author(s) or co-author(s) must ask for any modification of the copyright data on the basis of a formal, written request sent to the following e-mail address: mlar@ucm.sk.
  • The Editorial Board retains the right to authorise or deny such changes in authorship or postpones the text’s publishing until the matter is resolved to complete satisfaction of both the Editorial Board and the author(s). The final decision depends on reasons stated in the submitted request and minds specific circumstances surrounding its administration.
  • Authors are obliged to include acknowledgments – such as information on co-authors and research participants, consent statements as well as additional information on financing or grant(s) dispensation via specific research projects – in the texts as submitted.
  • By sending the final versions of the texts meant to be published in Communication Today, the authors and co-authors simultaneously express their consent with publishing the texts in the open-access digital archive which is available on the Journal’s website and with future registration of the text in electronic databases that currently process and index data related to the Journal.
  • The authors, whose texts have been published in the Journal, are entitled to receive a digital copy of their work free of charge, via e-mail. Digital version of the Journal is also available for download via gold open access on the Journal’s website.
  • Authors submit their manuscripts digitally, via the e-mail address mlar@ucm.sk.

III. Peer Review/Responsibilities of Reviewers

  • The initial (preliminary) evaluation of all submitted texts is performed by the Editorial Board. Formal requirements are evaluated in the context of the Journal’s Guidelines for Authors (https://www.mlar.sk/guidelines-for-authors/) and its focus, whereas it is possible to reject the texts or to demand their re-elaboration, amendment or revision (e.g., formal, factual, style-related, etc.) before sending them to the reviewers.
  • All texts which are to be published in the Journal have to undergo a double-blind peer review process – the reviewers do not receive any information on the authors’ identity and the authors do not know the names and/or affiliations of the reviewers. The versions of manuscripts sent to reviewers do not include any data on their authors.
  • Reviewers should assess strengths and weaknesses of the reviewed texts objectively.
  • The list of reviewers (https://www.mlar.sk/list-of-reviewers/) cooperating with Media Literacy and Academic Research is accessible via the Journal’s website. The criteria of selecting specific reviewers include their professional orientation, research specialisation, and experience in relation to thematic focus of the reviewed manuscript and corresponding foreign language skills – all reviewers are expected to use academic English proficiently.
  • In case any potential conflict of interest is identified (e.g., financial, collaborative), the reviewer is obliged to inform the Editorial Board immediately. The Editorial Board assesses the situation and, as a result, may appoint a new reviewer.
  • The reviewers should inform the Editorial Board in case they suspect or clearly identify a possible violation of the ethical principles or if they notice any significant deficiencies present in the reviewed texts.

IV. Editorial Responsibilities

  • Media Literacy and Academic Research’s Editorial Office is divided into three bodies – the Editorial Board, the Editorial Team and the Advisory Board.
  • The Editorial Board grants academics, researchers and professionals interested in publishing in Media Literacy and Academic Research an opportunity to submit their original, so-far-unpublished articles, researches, essays, and other scholarly texts related to the focus of the Journal.
  • The Editorial Board approves the final form and content of the Journal. Considering the overall quality of the submitted articles, along with reviewers’ suggestions and peer review results, the Editorial Board selects contributions to be published.
  • Before approving the final form and content of the Journal, the Editorial Board is obliged to evaluate the content and quality of all considered texts in detail. The Editorial Board is thus responsible for scholarly and professional qualities of the Journal’s individual issues.
  • The texts which are to be published in Media Literacy and Academic Research are selected objectively, on the basis of their quality, comprehensiveness and ability to contribute to the contemporary academic discourse on media education, media and information literacy, critical thinking and digital media.
  • The Editorial Team consists of a group of experts who support the Editorial Board by confronting the delivered manuscripts and materials with the Journal’s quality standards, scope and profile. They identify manuscripts which do not correspond with the Journal’s quality standards, thematic scope and/or scholarly focus before these texts are further processed and delivered to reviewers.
  • The Advisory Board consists of foreign and domestic media theorists, communication researchers and scholars. All members of the Advisory Board are affiliated with domestic and foreign universities, research centres, academic or professional organisations. The Advisory Board’s purpose is to supervise the Journal’s quality, relevance, ability to contribute to the international academic discourse and strategic development.

V. Publishing Ethics 

  • Media Literacy and Academic Research does not consider the authors’ domestic or foreign scholarly affiliations and/or commercial activities and strictly rejects any discrimination related to their gender identity, ethnicity, marital status, sexual orientation, age, national origin, political beliefs or religion.
  • All types of data published in Media Literacy and Academic Research must be adequately accessible and obtained legally; it must not be subject to state secrecy, bank secrecy, financial privacy or other type of data protection acknowledged by the legislation of the Slovak Republic and the EU law.
  • Authors should use their information sources, premium academic databases, other scholarly resources and research grants in manners that eliminate the possibility of a conflict of interest associated with ownership, intellectual property law and/or finances, which would result from publishing the submitted manuscripts.
  • By submitting their texts, the authors also confirm that the manuscripts as submitted have not been published elsewhere and are not being considered for publication or reviewed by other publisher(s).
  • If a published text (or a manuscript intended for publication) violates the ethical principles or, eventually, if the entire texts or their parts are proven to be plagiarisms or consist of texts already published in the past or simultaneously in several other specialised publications, the authors and co-authors take on full responsibility. However, the authors are given opportunity to react to such allegations.
  • The authors, whose contributions are selected for publishing, take responsibility over the fact that the texts do not breach the existing legislation, especially in the field of copyright. By submitting their manuscripts, the authors confirm that at the moment of offering their work to be published in Media Literacy and Academic Research they had legal access to the used data and provided the complete list of co-authors, consent statements, used grants, or other binding forms of financial, personal and material support associated with their scientific and research activities.
  • If a manuscript considered by the Journal includes results of experiments or other types of research inquiries involving human subjects (such as eye-tracking studies), the Editorial Board insists that the author(s) must clearly state in the study’s Acknowledgment how these human subjects expressed their consent with participating in the inquiry. This Acknowledgment must also address the issue of participant anonymity (and how it was secured), provide appropriate information on IRB approval or other relevant approvals (if applicable). These principles apply to all human beings, especially children and other particularly vulnerable population segments. If a research inquiry involves minors, parent/legal guardian consent is necessary and will be requested by the Journal prior to further considering/reviewing the submitted study.
  • Reacting to a reasonable suspicion suggesting a violation of the ethical principles, the Editorial Board has the right to further consider the text in question and may postpone or immediately cancel its planned publication. If similar inadequacies result directly from the editorial processes or improper handling with the provided information, responsibility lies on the side of the Editorial Board. In this case, the Editorial Board is obliged to react in an appropriate way and as soon as possible (e.g., by publishing necessary corrections, apologies to the author(s) and/or a properly edited electronic version of the journal in PDF format freely available for download online).
  • The Editorial Board consistently minds the need to avoid similar situations and process the received data carefully, without making unauthorised copies or using the considered manuscripts in any inappropriate way. Acceptation of the final versions of the submitted manuscripts is always preceded by a detailed overview of the level and extent to which the author(s) express(es) both the willingness and ability to respect the ethical principles associated with academic writing and publishing.
  • The Editorial Board accepts and further processes (evaluates, appoints to reviewers, publishes) only scholarly texts which respect the ethics related to academic and scholarly writings and use bibliographic references and information sources properly, in accordance with Citation Rules approved by the Editorial Board. The Citation Rules are available here: https://www.mlar.sk/citation-rules/.
  • If necessary, before accepting the text, the Editorial Board may demand a written statement signed by the author(s) confirming that the text has not been published yet and has not been simultaneously submitted to another publication, either print or electronic, regardless the language in which it was originally elaborated.

VI. Retraction

  • If an already published content featured in Media Literacy and Academic Research clearly and demonstrably violates the principles of academic publishing, it might be retracted, especially if this violation concerns public health risks, potentially harmful factual errors, intentional dissemination of disinformation, fraud and misconduct or serious ethical and/or legal issues.
  • Retracted content is not automatically removed from the Journal’s digital archive. However, it is clearly marked as retracted (‘flagged’) on the Journal’s website. By retracting a published text, the Editorial Board acknowledges that this content is seriously flawed, unable to meet the ethical standards of academic publishing, unreliable and/or dangerous. Any retraction is therefore associated with publishing a retraction notice on the Journal’s website. Its purpose is to explain why the content is flagged as retracted, apologise to the affected persons (when appropriate) and express gratitude to parties initiating the process leading to the retraction or disclosing additional information.
  • A retracted text is removed from the Journal’s online archive completely if it obviously violates privacy, honour and or/dignity of a natural or legal person, typically if this matter is subject to an active criminal investigation or a court order. Media Literacy and Academic Research also provides full support and cooperation, as requested by the appropriate public authorities.
  • A retraction is usually initiated by the Journal’s Editorial Board (or its individual member), the Advisory Board or the Editorial Team, collectively or individually. However, it might also be requested by the author(s) of the published content in question, the academic institutions, research centres or professional organisations they are (or are not) affiliated with.
  • The Journal’s Editorial Board immediately informs representatives of citation databases and other academic platforms partnering with Media Literacy and Academic Research about retracting an already published text. The Journal also provides an extensive explanation of all the circumstances leading to the retraction and fully respects the measures applied after the retraction notice is issued.

Editorial Policy
Media Literacy and Academic Research
Faculty of Mass Media Communication
University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava
Slovakia

Last updated on August 30, 2023