Editorial policies

Nordicom applies a number of editorial guidelines that all editors and authors are expected to adhere to prior to publication. The guidelines concern issues such as accessibility, copyright, plagiarism, principles for expert review, and publication costs. The following policies apply to all of Nordicom’s academic publications.

Accessibility and inclusivity

Entering into force for all EU countries on 23 September 2018, The EU’s Web Accessibility Directive (EUR-Lex, 2016) reflects the European Commission’s goal for an inclusive “Union of equality”, where all Europeans can be active in the digital economy and society.

As a publicly funded institution, Nordicom is required to meet this Directive, but we also recognise that this initiative is very much in line with our own mission: imparting science-based knowledge about media and communication to decision-makers, professional groups, and citizens in the Nordic countries and internationally.

Therefore, we ensure that all chapter and articles are published in an accessible format for readers with visual impairments or other disabilities that affect reading or understanding.

In our publications, we also endeavor to promote the use of respectful, inclusive, and bias-free language. We strive to avoid promoting stereotypes (regarding, e.g., gender, ethnicity, religion, age, etc.), marginalising any group, and insensitivity to cultural differences.

Copyright and permission

Nordicom’s publications are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence, which allows for non-commercial, non-derivative types of reuse and sharing with proper attribution.

All works are published Open Access and are available to read free of charge and without requirement for registration. DOIs are assigned to all publications.

The respective authors retain copyright.

Funding model

Nordicom is a unit within the University of Gothenburg, which provides our basic funding. Our academic publishing is supported by the Nordic Council of Ministers through a strategic partnership. Nordicom operates on a non-profit basis. Our publications are distributed with digital Open Access, and retail prices for print copies are set on a cost-covering basis. We do not offer royalties or other forms of financial compensation to participating editors and authors.

Individual book publication projects may be co-financed by external contributors, such as research projects or programmes. Nordic Journal of Media Studies receives funding from the Nordic Board for Periodicals in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NOP-HS).

External contributors and research funders have no involvement in Nordicom’s editorial decisions.

Images and figures: Using third-party material

Unrestricted permission should be obtained from the copyright owner for use of any third-party material. Any such material should be clearly identified and credited within the content of the submission. Alternatively, the author should acknowledge that the use of third-party material is allowed because the material is in the public domain or the author has performed a fair-use analysis and reasonably believes use to be permitted.

Consent should also be obtained from any research participant who is described in the submission, including material, text, or images pertaining to themselves.

Peer review

Nordicom follows a double-blind peer-review process for all journal articles. Books may also undergo peer review, which also follows the double-blind process. A double-blind process means all submitted manuscripts are made anonymous and judged by at least two independent and external anonymous scholars appropriate for the subject.

Reviewers are asked to state their recommendation about whether the article should be published when submitting their review. Reviewers are also encouraged to provide comments that are for editors only, including concerns about misconduct or problems adequately assessing all parts of the manuscript. Reviewers are requested to disclose any potential conflict of interest. The comments provided by the reviewers inform the decision of Nordicom’s editorial team to publish or refuse the submission.

Each issue of Nordic Journal of Media Studies (NJMS) is edited by different members of the NJMS editorial team (independent of Nordicom), which may include invited external guest editors. The peer-review process for NJMS is handled by the issue’s editors. The comments provided by the reviewers inform the decision of the issue’s editors to publish or refuse the article.

Plagiarism and text-recycling

All use of material, either direct or indirect, should be properly acknowledged, including material previously published by the author, which should be rewritten or summarised to avoid text-recycling or self-plagiarism and accompanied by an appropriate in-text citation and reference.

Nordicom publishes original research only; duplicate submissions or publications are not accepted.

All of Nordicom’s academic publications are submitted to Similarity Check – a Crossref service utilising iThenticate text comparison software.

Preservation of published material

The content of Nordicom Review and Nordic Journal of Media Studies are archived in Portico – digital long-term preservation of journals.

Publication ethics and conflicts of interests

Any ethical concerns related to the research, and any financial, legal, or professional relationship between the author (or their employer, family, sponsor, etc.) with an organisation or individual that could influence – or be perceived as influencing – the research or interpretation of results should be disclosed to the editorial team upon submission. Any relevant funding information should be provided in a separate document or cover letter upon submission.

Nordicom’s editorial team also commits to transparency regarding any potential conflicts of interests, for example, in the peer-review process. We refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) core practices throughout our publication process.

The scientific quality of Nordicom Review and Nordic Journal of Media Studies is secured with the assistance of the respective editorial boards, consisting of external scholars who are experts in their fields.

Publication fees

All of Nordicom’s publications are published free of charge, without publication fees or article processing charges (APC).

All works are published Open Access and are available to read free of charge and without requirement for registration.

 


Page last updated October 2022