Journal Policies

Open Access Policy

As an open access journal, we provide immediate open access to our content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. As such, users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.

 Copyright Notice

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Repository Policy

Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with a clear acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process - this applies to the submitted, accepted, and published versions of the manuscript. This can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access). 

Fees

Submissions to IJSaP are free - meaning we do not impose any fees for: (i) submissions by authors to the journal; (ii) for the publication of their work by the journal; and (iii) for any other incidental costs incurred during the process.

Archiving

The journal's content is archived using the CLOCKSS and OLRC (Ontario Library Research Cloud).

Ethics Statement

At the International Journal for Students as Partners (IJSaP), we seek to adhere to the principles articulated by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). As such, all documents (e.g., manuscripts, archival materials, and supporting files) to be published in IJSaP must comply not only with the letter, but the spirit, of COPE. To that end, we supply below a non-exhaustive list of ethical concerns for your consideration when submitting to IJSaP.

Types of Research Violations and Misconduct of Publication Ethics

We consider the following non-exhaustive list to be types of violations and misconduct of publication ethics:

  • Breaches of Duty of Care
  • Censorship
  • Conflict of Interest
  • Discriminatory and Harassing Research Practice and Language
  • Fabrication
  • Failure to Acknowledge Sources
  • Failure to Meet Legal and Professional Obligations
  • Falsification
  • Malicious Use of Logical Fallacies; or Inflammatory Practices and Language
  • Misrepresentation of Qualifications and/or Experience
  • Multiple Manuscript Submissions
  • Plagiarism
  • Pseudonyms
  • Segmented/Redundant Publication
  • Undisclosed Errors in Published Works
  • Undisclosed Research Misconduct and/or Publication Ethics Violations in Published Work
  • Misrepresentation of Authorship

In defining these forms of violations and misconduct, please refer to Brill’s Publications Ethics.

Reporting Cases of Research Violations and Misconduct of Publication Ethics

In cases of suspected or verified research violations and/or misconduct, please notify either the Senior Editor or Editorial Manager at ijsap@mcmaster.co; this email is regularly monitored, and a response will be forthcoming in a timely manner. At all times, the confidentiality of your communications will be respected by IJSaP.

Our process for handling suspected or verified research violations and/or misconduct is as follows:

  • IJSaP discovers or is notified of violation(s)/misconduct.
  • IJSaP consults COPE resources for guidance and seeks input from relevant Editorial Board members.
  • IJSaP addresses the violation or misconduct by modifying or removing the text/document in dispute after engaging in consultation with the affected parties.

COPE Resources

Please find below some COPE resources and or flowcharts which might assist you in ensuring your compliance with COPE standards:

Generative AI Policy

IJSaP’s Policy on the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence is in compliance with COPE’s guidelines for the use of AI in research and academic publication: 

  • Authors will be responsible for the integrity, originality and accuracy of their work. AI technology should not be used to generate non-insignificant portions of submitted content.
  • Use of AI that goes beyond assistive use (ie. grammar, spell-check) should be documented and described in a disclosure section of the end of the manuscript that appears just before the references.
  • The use of AI to create images or graphics must be clearly indicated.
  • AI cannot be an author or co-author for work submitted for publication in IJSAP.
  • Reviewers are expected to review submissions without the use or assistance of AI. Authors and potential authors of IJSaP do not consent to the use of generative AI to review or summarize their work. 

If you have questions about the use of AI in your submission or need assistance with the disclosure of AI use please contact the Editorial Manager at ijsap@mcmaster.ca