About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Litteraria Copernicana (LC) is an academic journal edited at the Faculty of Humanities, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland, which was established in 2008. Until the end of 2015 (numbers 1-16) the journal was published in semi-annual mode, and since 2016 it has been issued as a quarterly.

The periodical presents original and valuable works in the history of literature, literary theory and history and theory of culture (including theatre studies, film studies, art history), aesthetics, cultural and literary anthropology and broadly understood humanities. Each issue of the journal discusses monographic issues that mainly focus on current literary scholarship and is edited by specialists dealing with the subject matter of the volume.

The main core of Litteraria Copernicana is the „Research Articles” section, which publishes works that are the result of original and innovative research by authors. The „Masters” are also a fixed section of the quarterly that presents the profiles and achievements of recognized researchers, as well as „Reviews” presenting newly released books. Depending on the number, in the quarterly there are also such sections as „Materials and Archivals”, „Interviews” or „Varia” – articles usually going beyond the thematic framework of a given number.

Litteraria Copernicana aims to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and presentation of the results of original research. As a journal in the humanities, LC is open to a wide range of topics discussed by authors from around the world. The open publishing politics of LC confirms the possibility of publishing articles in all congressional languages as well as in many national languages, but also open access to all issued materials.

 

Peer Review Process

Articles and studies submitted by authors or editors of the volume are pre-evaluated in terms of formal and substantive research by the editorial board of the journal.

Publication eligibility rules:
1) The editorial board reserves the right to decide in which of the prepared volumes a given article will appear. It means that the text not always can be published in the currently prepared volume.
2) Articles should fit the philological-humanistic profile of the journal. They should be original, and should broaden the actual state of knowledge and research.
3) All submitted texts are subject of the preliminary assessment by the editorial board in order to determine whether they are consistent with the profile of the journal and guidelines for authors.
4) Each article is sent to two independent, qualified reviewers who evaluate the merits of the text and inform the editorial board whether it should be published, corrected, or rejected. The final decision to publish the text in Litteraria Copernicana is made by the editors of the given volume as well as the editorial board of the journal.

Reviewing procedure

Studies and research papers are reviewed by two independent, external experts appointed from among eminent specialists in the field (no conflict of interest, in particular no business or personal relationship with the authors of articles is the key matter).

Review of the research publication is anonymous and carried out according to the double-blind peer review process model, in which both the reviewer and author identities are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa, throughout the review process. The editorial board ensures the confidentiality of the evaluation process.

Reviewer's opinion shall be in writing (cf. REVIEW FORM in POLISH or ENGLISH or FRENCH) and contain a clear conclusion as to the publication or rejection. The editors of a given volume and the authors receive both reviews in order to include proposed changes.

The cumulative list of reviewers for a given year is published only in the printed version of the quarterly, in the last issue for a given calendar year.

Ghost writing and guest authoring

The journal pursues a policy of transparency of information on entities that contribute to the creation of publications (technical, factual input etc.).
Therefore, we counteract cases of scientific misconduct, such as ghostwriting (no disclosure of someone's participation while writing any publication) and guest authorship (assigning someone complicity in the creation of publication, even though it was negligible or did not have any place).

Open Access Policy

The Litteraria Copernicana is issued on the basis of a non-exclusive Creative Commons license (CC BY-ND 4.0) and distributed in the Open Accesess electronic version via the Nicolaus Copernicus University Journal Platform (APCz).

The journal allows readers to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search and link to full content articles.

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

The act of publishing involves many parties, each of which plays an important role in achieving these aims. It therefore follows that the author, the journal editor, the peer-reviewer, the publisher and the owner of journal have responsibilities to meet expected ethical standards at all stages in their involvement from submission to publication of an article.

Litteraria Copernicana is committed to meeting and upholding standards of ethical behaviour at all stages of the publication process. The relevant duties and expectations of authors, reviewers, and editors of the journal are set out below. 

 

RESPONSIBILITIES OF EDITORS

The Litteraria Copernicana editor has ultimate responsibility for deciding if a manuscript submitted to Litteraria Copernicana should be published, and in doing so is guided by the journal’s policies as determined by the Litteraria Copernicana editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editor may consult with the associate editor and other members of the editorial team, as well as with reviewers, in making publication decisions.

The editors will evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to the race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the author(s). They will not disclose any information about a manuscript under consideration to anyone other than the author(s), reviewers and potential reviewers, and in some instances the Litteraria Copernicana editorial board members, as appropriate. Additionally, the editors will make every effort to ensure the integrity of the blind review process by not revealing the identity of the author(s) of a manuscript to the reviewers of that manuscript, and vice versa.

To handle submissions for sponsored supplements or special issues in the same way as other submissions, so that articles are considered and accepted solely on their academic merit and without commercial influence.

To adopt and follow reasonable procedures in the event of complaints of an ethical or conflict nature, in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Society where appropriate. To give authors a reasonable opportunity to respond to any complaints. All complaints should be investigated no matter when the original publication was approved. Documentation associated with any such complaints should be retained.

Editors have complete responsibility and authority to reject/accept an article. When errors are found, promote publication of correction or retraction.

The journal Litteraria Copernicana implements anti-ghostwriting  procedure and strict plagiarism detection policy. In the case of Litteraria Copernicana it is used CrossCheck powered by iThenticate. No plagiarism, no fraudulent data.

Anti-ghostwriting  procedure: the editors consider the “ghostwriting” and “guest authorship” as a sign of very serious scientific misconduct. All the detected cases of the “ghostwriting” and “guest authorship”  will be exposed, including notification of relevant institutions. As a result, the publisher of the journal Litteraria Copernicana has introduced procedures to address the phenomena of “ghostwriting” and “guest authorship”. All the authors must fulfill and sign the declaration concerning “ghost-writing” and “guest authorship”.  Always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES OF REVIEWERS

Litteraria Copernicana’s reviewers perform work for the journal on a volunteer basis. Given that most of these individuals are in full-time employment, their reviewing activities for Litteraria Copernicana must, by necessity, not be their top priority. Reviewers are free to decline invitations to review particular manuscripts at their discretion, for example, if their current employment workload and/or other commitments make it prohibitive for them to complete a review in a timely fashion and to do justice to the task in the available timeframe. They should also not accept manuscript review assignments for which they feel unqualified.

Reviewers who have accepted manuscript assignments are normally expected to submit their reviews within one month. They should recuse themselves from the assignment if it becomes apparent to them at any stage that they do not possess the required expertise to perform the review, or that they may have a potential conflict of interest in performing the review (e.g., one resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, institutions, or companies associated with the manuscript).

Privileged information or ideas obtained by reviewers through the peer review process must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents, and must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the Litteraria Copernicana editor.

When conducting their reviews, reviewers are asked to do so as objectively as possible, refraining from engaging in personal criticism of the author(s). They are encouraged to express their views clearly, explaining and justifying all recommendations made. They should always attempt to provide detailed and constructive feedback to assist the author(s) in improving their work, even if the manuscript is, in their opinion, not publishable.

Reviewers should identify in their reviews relevant published work that has not been cited by the author(s), together with any instances in which proper attribution of sources has not been provided. They should call to the responsible editor’s attention any major resemblances between a manuscript under consideration and other published articles or papers of which they are aware, as well as any concerns they might have in relation to the ethical acceptability of the research reported in the manuscript. They should be aware of any potential conflicts of interest (financial, institutional, collaborative or other relationships between the reviewer and author) and to alert the editor to these, if necessary withdrawing their services for that manuscript.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES OF AUTHORS

By submitting a manuscript to Litteraria Copernicana, the author(s) warrant that the manuscript is their own, original work and that it has neither been published previously nor is currently being considered for publication elsewhere. They also warrant that the sources of any ideas and/or words in the manuscript that are not their own have been properly attributed through appropriate citations and/or quotes.

An author should not normally publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in multiple journals or publication venues. Such redundant publication is generally considered to constitute unethical publishing behavior, and if discovered may result in a manuscript under consideration being rejected, or a published article being retracted.

Authors of manuscripts reporting on original research should present an accurate account of the work performed, accompanied by an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. The manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. The fabrication of results and the making of fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and may be cause for rejection or retraction of a manuscript or published article.

Where the manuscript reports on commercial software, hardware, or other products, authors must include a declaration at the beginning of the manuscript in which they must either state that no conflict of interest exists or describe the nature of any potential conflict. All sources of financial support for the research should also be disclosed in the manuscript.

The author signs a License Contract and Authors Declaration Form, which is the statement that all data in article are real and authentic.

 The author(s) of a manuscript agree that the article will go through the peer review process, and if the manuscript is accepted for publication in Litteraria Copernicana, the published article will be copyrighted using a Creative Commons license (CC BY-ND 4.0). This license allows others to freely copy, distribute, and transmit work. However, no alternations, transformations, or building upon this work are possible.

Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to include any images or artwork for which they do not hold copyright in their articles, or to adapt any such images or artwork for inclusion in their articles. The copyright holder must be made explicitly aware that the image(s) or artwork will be made freely available online as part of the article under a Creative Commons license.

The authors’ names should be listed on the article in order of their contribution to the article, and all authors take responsibility for their own contributions. Only those individuals who have made a substantive contribution should be listed as authors; those whose contributions are indirect or marginal (e.g., colleagues or supervisors who have reviewed drafts of the work or provided proofreading assistance, and heads of research institutes/centers/labs) should be named in an “Acknowledgments” section at the end of the article, immediately preceding the reference list. The corresponding author must ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the article, and that all listed co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the article and agreed to its publication.

Where an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in an article of his/hers that has been published in Litteraria Copernicana, he/she has an obligation to promptly notify the editors and cooperate with them to correct publish an erratum, addendum, corrigendum notice, or to retract the paper, where this is deemed necessary. All authors are obliged to provide retractions or corrections of mistakes.