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Policies

1. Editorial Policies

The Editorial Team of the Journal of Applied Educational Research and Evaluation (JAERE) is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the editorial and publication process to ensure the quality, integrity, and scholarly value of the journal.

The Editorial Team reviews submitted manuscripts to determine their suitability for consideration and ensures that submissions align with the journal's aims, scope, and standards for scholarly rigor. The Editorial Team manages the double-blind peer-review process by identifying qualified reviewers, monitoring the review process, and ensuring that manuscripts receive fair, objective, and timely evaluations.

The Editorial Team evaluates reviewer recommendations and makes publication decisions based on the quality, originality, methodological soundness, and contribution of each manuscript to educational research, policy, and practice.

2. Submission Policies

Who Can Submit?

Anyone may submit an original article to be considered for publication in JAERE, provided they own the copyright to the work being submitted or are authorized by the copyright owner or owners to submit the article.

General Submission Rules

Manuscripts submitted to JAERE must be original works that have not been previously published and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere in any form, including print or electronic publications.

By submitting a manuscript to JAERE, authors affirm that the work is not currently under review by another journal, publisher, or scholarly outlet and agree not to submit the manuscript to another publication while it is undergoing peer review at JAERE.

If questions arise regarding the journal's submission policies or the eligibility of a manuscript for consideration, authors are encouraged to contact the editorial office at jaere@niu.edu prior to submission.

Formatting Requirements

See Author Guidelines for details. Authors are responsible for submitting manuscripts in an acceptable electronic format, such as Microsoft Word, RTF, or PDF.

3. Open Access, Copyright, and Licensing

JAERE is an open-access journal. Authors retain copyright of their published work and grant the journal the right of first publication.

Articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.

Under this license, users may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, link to, and share the full text of published articles for noncommercial purposes, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and the journal.

JAERE is committed to the broad dissemination of scholarly knowledge and to providing access to research that advances educational theory, policy, and practice.

4. Author Responsibilities

Reporting Standards

Authors are expected to provide an accurate, transparent, and complete account of the work conducted and the findings obtained. Manuscripts should include sufficient detail, methodological information, and appropriate references to allow readers to understand, evaluate, and, where appropriate, replicate the study.

Originality and Plagiarism

Submitted manuscripts must represent original work that has not been previously published and is not under consideration elsewhere. Authors are responsible for properly acknowledging and citing the work, ideas, data, and words of others. All forms of plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, inappropriate paraphrasing, and unattributed use of copyrighted materials, are unacceptable.

Authors who use artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the preparation of a manuscript should disclose such use in accordance with the journal’s policies and applicable reporting guidelines. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of all submitted content.

Authorship and Contributions

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the conception or design of the study; data collection, analysis, or interpretation; manuscript drafting or critical revision; and approval of the final version.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all eligible contributors are appropriately included as authors, that no inappropriate authorship practices occur, and that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript.

Data Integrity and Research Ethics

Authors are responsible for maintaining the integrity of the research record. Data, images, analyses, and other research materials should be retained and made available when required by journal policy, institutional requirements, or funding agencies.

Research involving human participants, animals, or sensitive data must comply with applicable ethical standards and receive appropriate approvals before the study is conducted. Authors should disclose ethical approvals, informed consent procedures, and relevant safeguards within the manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, or personal relationships that could be perceived as influencing the research, analysis, interpretation, or publication of their work. All sources of funding and relevant support should be identified in the manuscript.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication

Authors should not submit the same manuscript, or manuscripts that substantially overlap in content, to more than one journal. If related manuscripts or prior publications exist, authors must disclose them at the time of submission and explain how the current manuscript provides a distinct scholarly contribution.

5. Peer Review Policy

Double-Blind Peer Review

JAERE uses a double-blind peer review process to ensure fair and objective evaluation of submissions. All manuscripts are initially assessed by the Editorial Team for suitability for publication in the journal.

Manuscripts deemed appropriate are typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers for evaluation of scholarly quality, originality, methodological rigor, and contribution to the field. Based on reviewer feedback and their own assessment, the editors make the final decision regarding publication.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers are expected to provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations of submitted manuscripts. Reviews should assess originality, scholarly contribution, methodological rigor, theoretical and empirical soundness, clarity of presentation, and relevance to the journal’s scope.

If reviewers determine that they lack the appropriate expertise or are unable to complete the review within the requested timeframe, they should notify the editors and decline the invitation.

Confidentiality

All materials associated with the peer review process, including review invitations, abstracts, manuscripts, supplementary materials, and review reports, are strictly confidential. Reviewers must not share, distribute, or discuss manuscript content without explicit authorization from the editorial office.

Objectivity and Scholarly Integrity

Reviews must be conducted in a fair, impartial, and professional manner. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should clearly distinguish between major concerns affecting validity, rigor, or scholarly contribution and minor suggestions related to clarity, organization, or presentation.

Reviewer Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must decline invitations to review manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest. Conflicts may arise from professional, financial, institutional, collaborative, or personal relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the reviewer’s evaluation.

Use of AI in Peer Review

To preserve the confidentiality, integrity, and independence of the peer review process, reviewers are prohibited from using generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools to evaluate, analyze, summarize, or otherwise process submitted manuscripts or related materials.

6. Publication Ethics, Corrections, and Retractions

JAERE is committed to ethical publishing practices and research integrity. The Editorial Team addresses concerns regarding plagiarism, duplicate publication, authorship disputes, conflicts of interest, data fabrication or falsification, unethical research practices, and other forms of scholarly misconduct.

If authors discover a significant error, inaccuracy, or omission in a submitted, accepted, or published manuscript, they have an obligation to promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate in correcting the record.

Following publication, the Editorial Team reviews concerns related to published articles, including requests for corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions. When necessary, concerns are investigated through an independent review process to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.