Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Arizona Quarterly publishes articles from a variety of scholarly approaches to canonical and noncanonical works of American literatures and film. The editors and the advisory board members are committed to meeting and upholding standards of ethical behavior at all stages of the publication process, following guidelines and best practices as set forth by such bodies as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).  Please find below a summary of our key expectations of editors, advisory board members, other reviewers, editorial staff, and authors.

1. ETHICAL EXPECTATIONS

Editors, board, staff

The editors, advisory board members, reviewers, and staff will conduct themselves in a balanced, informed and objective manner, pursuing their duties in unbiased and nondiscriminatory fashion (as to gender, sexualities, religions, politics, ethnicities, geographical locations, and any other major indentificatory markers).

All articles submitted to Arizona Quarterly will be handled according to the same procedures and processes, regardless of type of issue or submission (i.e., special issues, invited submissions, and so on).

Complaints of any kind will be handled by the relevant level of oversight according to the type of issue raised, with clearly stated procedures proffered before initiation of action.

Reviewers

All reviewers will conduct double-blind anonymous evaluations objectively, in a timely manner, maintaining confidentialilty of all information supplied by any party to the transaction and will refrain from retaining, copying, or disseminating any and all manuscripts sent to them, whether a review is conducted or not.

Reviewers will inform Arizona Quarterly of any substantially similar work under review, as well as alert the journal to any potential conflicts of interest with respect to the article under submission

 Authors

Authors are responsible for maintaining accurate records of all research sources and providing any such records to the journal upon request.  They will also affirm that the manuscript submitted is neither under review nor accepted for publication by any other entity, whether academic, commercial, or other venue.

Authors will confirm that all work in the submitted manuscript is original and will acknowledge and cite all sources substantially relied upon in the manuscript. If a significant error of any kind is identified, authors are responsible for informing the journal and providing an error notice and/or correction or, in extreme cases, retracting the article.

2. PROCEDURES FOR DEALING WITH UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR

When and if unethical behavior is identified by anyone at any time, whether or not covered by the foregoing list of ethics and expectations, and where that identification is substantiated by sufficient evidence and information, a discreet and confidential review will be conducted by the editor, in consultation with all relevant parties, including the publishers of the journal.  If it is determined that a minor breech has been committed, a notice of that determination will be delivered to the author, who will be given a timely opportunity to respond and amend, where appropriate. A serious breech of professional ethics and rules of conduct may require a report to employers, with whom the journal would then share the records of the investigation.

Depending on the level of documented breech of ethical standards, the author or reviewer may be (1) informed and educated as to the breech in question; or (2) the recipient of a strongly worded letter and warning; or (3) notified that a public announcement of or editorial about the misconduct will occur; or (4) be the subject of a formal letter to the head of the author's or reviewer's employers and/or funding agencies.

Formal retraction or withdrawal of the relevant publication may also occur, where relevant or deemed necessary.