Study & Scrutiny (ISSN 2376-5275) is a leading peer-reviewed journal guiding researchers and teachers in the field of Young Adult Literature. Since its first publication in 2015, Study & Scrutiny has sought to fill the gap between the explosion of YA literature available for the classroom and the need for both empirical and critical research into the merits for and teaching of literature centering the experiences of adolescents and young adults.
While YA literature is a field bursting with vitality for writers, readers, publishers, and teachers, the purpose of Study & Scrutiny is to seek out and encourage the scholarship of researchers studying the teaching and impact of YA literature in the classroom, including English Education studies. While empirical and critical studies remain a central focus, other forms of scholarship in this ever-evolving field, like interviews with authors, leaders in the fields, and educators engaged with YA literature, have found a welcomed place within the journal.
All original research articles published in Study & Scrutiny have undergone editorial screening. The editors will conduct an initial review of all submissions. Submissions that do not meet submission guidelines, or are not consistent with the focus or professional standard of the journal, will be returned to the author without further review. Submissions that pass initial editorial screening will be sent to a minimum of two peer reviewers.
Peer Review Model
Study & Scrutiny employs a double-anonymous peer review model, i.e. the authors' and reviewers' identities are not revealed to each other at any point during the review process. If a reviewer suspects the identity of the author(s), the reviewer should notify the editors before completing the review if this knowledge raises any potential competing or conflict of interest.
Peer Review Timeline
Authors can expect an initial decision on whether their submission will proceed to the peer review stage within three weeks from the time they submit their manuscript. Once peer reviewers have been secured, they will have four weeks to complete the review, but extensions may be required in some cases. If revisions to the submission are needed, authors will receive a decision email detailing the key issues to be resolved. Authors will generally have three weeks to address revision requests.
Authors may not submit their manuscript to other publications while a review is in progress. However, authors are welcome to submit additional articles to this journal for consideration at any time.
Peer Review Costs and Fees
To lower publication barriers for authors, Study & Scrutiny does not charge any fees to authors, including editorial processing or review charges.
Information for Peer Reviewers
Peer reviewers are selected by the journal editors and will be notified of their selection via email. Notifications will include a link to the submission and a review template, along with deadlines for committing to/declining the review and completing the review; peer reviewers will have four weeks to complete a review. If you are selected to review an article, please be courteous and respond to the invitation within a reasonable timeframe, even if you cannot commit to a review.
All stages of the peer review process will be managed through an instance of Open Journal Systems (OJS) hosted by the University of Oklahoma Libraries. This open source software is maintained by the Public Knowledge Project (PKP), and additional information for reviewers is available on the PKP website.
Study & Scrutiny aims to support authors in developing and enhancing their research and writing. Reviewers of this journal should thoroughly and carefully read the submission and all supplementary files (if available), then provide unbiased, detailed, constructive feedback that both respects the dignity and humanity of authors and helps authors achieve success. This includes addressing not only aspects of the submission that require improvement or further clarity, but areas found to be well written and discussed. Reviews that include a positive and supportive tone or choice of words are more likely to be received well by authors versus reviews that employ a negative or condescending tone or choice of words. Additionally, reviews that include citations to credible resources that support the feedback can help authors identify and understand evidence that corresponds to the review.
Some examples of general questions/considerations that reviewers can refer to during the review include, but are not limited to:
Study and Scrutiny: Research on Young Adult Literature is seeking reviewers for empirical and critical studies. Our journal strives to support authors to develop their academic writing and scholarship. Typically, reviewers have four weeks to complete the process and guidance from our review template. If you would like to review for S&S, please contact Julianna Kershen at jkershen@ou.edu. Provide a brief description of your work with YAL and review/editorial experience, along with a recent CV.
Study & Scrutiny publishes annually. Previously, between 2015 and 2024, S&S endeavored to publish two issues per year but peer review turn around times and the availability of our authors to complete revisions impacted our publishing schedule. Questions regarding upcoming issues are welcome and can be directed to study.and.scrutiny@gmail.com.
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.
Works published in Study & Scrutiny will be distributed under a Creative commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (CC BY-NC). By granting a CC BY-NC license in their work, authors retain copyright ownership of the work, but they give explicit permission for others to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute, and/or copy the work, as long as the original source and author(s) are properly cited (i.e. a complete bibliographic citation and link to the S&S website), and the re-use of the work is not for commercial purposes. No permission is required from the author(s) or the publishers for such use. According to the CC BY-NC license, any reuse or redistribution must indicate the original CC BY-NC license terms of the work.
Exceptions to the application of the CC BY-NC license may be granted at the editors’ and or authors’ discretion. Such exceptions should be granted in writing; in the absence of a written exception, the CC BY-NC license will be applied to all published works.
For further resources on Creative Commons licensing and/or CC BY-NC licenses, specifically, please reference: https://libraries.ou.edu/content/understand-open-licenses and https://creativecommons.org/licenses/
There are no article processing charges, submission fees, or any other costs required of authors to submit articles to this journal.
To further demonstrate its commitment as a reputable open access journal, as of 2022, Study & Scrutiny: Research on Young Adult Literature is indexed in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
The journal has also met the criteria for admission in a series of additional leading library and independent directories and databases, including:
Study and Scrutiny will not accept submissions which include content requiring commercial permissions, as such use is in direct conflict with Study and Scrutiny’s commitment to open access.
Study & Scrutiny is published by the University of Oklahoma Libraries, with the generous support of the of department of Instructional Leadership & Curriculum in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education.
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