About the Journal

Scope and Aims of the Journal

The Rocznik Egodokumentalny. Journal of Egodocuments and Self-Narratives is a peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to interdisciplinary research on personal documents, autobiographies, and individual narratives, as well as narrative forms based on the use of these sources. The articles published in the journal address the phenomenon of egodocuments within a broad methodological, cultural, and historical framework.

The Rocznik Egodokumentalny is intended for researchers from all academic disciplines, including in particular history, linguistics, literary studies, cultural studies, anthropology, sociology, and communication studies.

The journal publishes research articles, critical source analyses, studies on egodocuments and related research approaches, as well as reviews and discussions of current developments and scholarly achievements in the field.

The publisher of the Rocznik Egodokumentalny. Journal of Egodocuments and Self-Narratives is the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń.

Scientific Advisory Board

The Scientific Advisory Board is a consultative body to the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Egodocuments and Self-Narratives. Its members contribute to maintaining the scholarly profile of the journal, participate in monitoring and ensuring adherence to the ethical standards adopted by the editorial team, and promote the visibility and reputation of the journal in Poland and abroad.

They act as “ambassadors” of the Journal by encouraging submissions of scholarly articles aligned with its academic profile within their respective scholarly communities. In addition, they support the editorial team in identifying potential peer reviewers.

Scientific Advisory Board Members

  • Prof. Dr. Arvydas Pacevičius (Vilnius University, Lithuania)
  • Prof. Dr. Sigurður Gylfi Magnússon (University of Iceland, Iceland)
  • Prof. Dr. François-Joseph Ruggiu (Sorbonne University, France)
  • Prof. Stanisław Roszak (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland)
  • Prof. Katarzyna Lukas (University of Gdańsk)
  • Tatjana Hofmann PhD (University of Graz, Austria / University of St. Gallen, Switzerland)
  • Robert Riter PhD (University of Alabama, USA)
  • Prof. Michael Green, (University of Łódź, Poland)
  • Anna Brzezińska PhD (University of Łódź, Poland)
  • Agnieszka Rosa PhD (Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland)
  • Magdalena Baer PhD (Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland)

 

Journal Sections

Studies and Materials

This section is intended for scholarly articles accompanied by a complete scholarly apparatus, as well as for critical editions of historical sources prepared in accordance with current academic standards.

Scholarly Essays

The Scholarly Essays section is intended for articles grounded in the theory of egodocuments that present the author's original reflections, interpretations, or theoretical considerations. Such contributions need not be entirely based on or constrained by the existing scholarly literature.
In this section, authors are not required to provide a reference for every individual statement or idea. Our aim is to create a space that encourages the free exchange of ideas and scholarly discussion among authors.

Articles submitted to this section will be reviewed by the editorial board. Accordingly, all contributions must constitute scholarly work in the broad academic sense. Authors are asked to use a scholarly apparatus wherever necessary, particularly when referring to primary sources or academic literature. All submissions will also be screened using plagiarism detection software.

Reviews

The Reviews section publishes reviews of scholarly publications, with particular emphasis on single-author and edited monographs. In justified cases, reviews of scholarly articles may also be considered for publication.

Reports

This section is dedicated to reports on academic conferences and other events of a scholarly or science communication nature.

Peer Review Procedure

  1. Principles of Scientific Integrity

The editorial team of the Journal of Egodocuments and Self-Narratives strongly opposes all forms of academic misconduct. It has introduced and consistently applies procedures aimed at preventing practices such as “ghostwriting” (concealed authorship) and “guest authorship” (attribution of authorship to individuals who did not contribute to the work). Furthermore, measures are taken to detect, prevent, and report plagiarism. Every submitted text is checked using plagiarism detection software.

 

  1. Stages of the Review Process
  • Submission of manuscript: Authors submit their article and thereby consent to the peer review procedure.
  • Initial assessment: The text undergoes formal and substantive preliminary evaluation by subject editors.
  • Evaluation of other contributions: Reviews, commentaries, source studies, and surveys are assessed by members of the editorial board.
  • Anonymity: The peer review process follows a double-blind model—reviewers do not know the identity of the authors, and authors do not know the identity of the reviewers.
  • Reviewers: Each scholarly article is evaluated by two external experts (affiliated outside the author’s institution), each holding at least a doctoral degree.
  • Conflicts of interest: No conflicts of interest are permitted between reviewers and authors (including kinship up to the second degree, marital relations, professional relations, or scholarly collaboration within the last two years).
  • Confidentiality: Reviewers may not use any information from the manuscript prior to publication for their own purposes.
  • Review outcome: The review must contain a clear recommendation either to accept or reject the article. Authors are informed of the outcome via the review form.
  • Revisions: Authors are informed of the review results and reviewers’ comments and are given the opportunity to revise the article or respond to the remarks.

 

  1. Criteria for Rejection

An article may be rejected if:

  • it contains a high proportion of non-original or improperly attributed content,
  • it lacks originality or has already been published in whole or in substantial part elsewhere,
  • the author has not used up-to-date literature and sources,
  • it contains serious methodological errors.

 

  1. Criteria for Acceptance

An article is accepted for publication if:

  • the reviewers explicitly approve its publication,
  • the author has taken into account the reviewers’ and editors’ comments or convincingly justified their non-implementation.

 

Plagiarism Policy

The editorial team of the Journal of Egodocuments and Self-Narratives uses the iThenticate plagiarism detection system. This tool is used to verify the originality of every submitted manuscript.

The editors declare that all cases of academic misconduct will be documented and made public through notification of the relevant institutions.

 

 

Ethical Standards

In pursuit of the highest quality of published scholarly articles, the editorial team and the Scientific Advisory Board of the Journal of Egodocuments and Self-Narratives ensure compliance with intellectual property law, the integrity of research presented in the journal, and the ethical standards established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) at all stages of manuscript processing.

These standards constitute binding and non-negotiable rules governing the peer review and editorial process of submitted scholarly texts.

The editorial team and the Scientific Advisory Board declare that compliance with these standards is not influenced by any relationships with the business sector.

Accordingly, the following principles and obligations have been established for authors, reviewers, the editorial team, and the Scientific Advisory Board:

 

  1. Duties of Authors

Authors submitting a manuscript are required to:

  • declare that all data contained in the submitted article are original and accurate,
  • declare that the manuscript is not currently under review elsewhere,
  • disclose the full list of authors and their respective contributions,
  • cooperate with the editorial team during the review and editing process,
  • disclose any prior publication of the text (fully or partially),
  • disclose funding sources,
  • obtain permission for copyrighted materials (e.g., images),
  • disclose any potential conflicts of interest.

A separate declaration of intent to publish is not required; submission is considered equivalent to these declarations.

 

  1. Duties of Reviewers

Reviewers are required to:

  • conduct objective and ethical peer review,
  • contribute to improving the scholarly quality of the manuscript,
  • decline review if outside their expertise or in case of conflict of interest,
  • report ethical violations (including plagiarism/self-plagiarism),
  • maintain strict confidentiality.

 

  1. Duties of the Editorial Team

Editors are required to:

  • base publication decisions solely on scholarly merit, regardless of author identity or background,
  • ensure transparent decision-making with justification,
  • publish peer review rules on the journal website,
  • maintain full anonymity of the review process,
  • withdraw from handling manuscripts with conflicts of interest,
  • communicate revision suggestions (excluding copyediting),
  • inform institutional supervisors in case of ethical misconduct when necessary.

 

  1. Duties of the Scientific Advisory Board

Members of the Scientific Advisory Board are required to:

  • support decisions regarding reporting academic misconduct to institutions,
  • assist in contacting supervisors or oversight bodies (especially internationally),
  • forward any reports of ethical violations received directly.

 

Fees

The Journal of Egodocuments and Self-Narratives does not charge any fees for article submission, acceptance, or publication preparation. Authors do not receive remuneration for published texts.

 

Privacy Policy

By creating an account in the journal system, users agree to receive email notifications. These newsletters provide information about new issues and other journal-related activities.

Names and email addresses are used exclusively for journal purposes and are not shared with third parties.

 

Indexing Services

The Journal of Egodocuments and Self-Narratives is indexed in:

  • Google Scholar

The editorial team will continue to seek inclusion in additional indexing databases as the journal develops.