Journal Policies

Selection Policy

A call for papers is released biannually, usually simultaneous with each newly published issue. Typically there is a 6-month period from submission to publication, which can be a distinct advantage for researchers. However, manuscript submissions are accepted throughout the year, and are published in the first possible issue. The journal normally accepts high-quality research and review manuscripts, alongside less formal and shorter interviews and critical reviews. Accepted manuscripts will be published on the understanding that they are an original and previously unpublished piece of work.

More information about the range and types of manuscript’s Exchanges will consider can be found on the Author Guidance page, along with information on submitting work for consideration. Additionally, authors are advised to consult Exchanges’ Style Guide, and also may find our Peer Reviewer Guidance worth consulting. Research manuscripts are usually subject to peer-review, and all published articles will be made openly available to readers without the imposition of any fee-based or subscription toll-gate barriers.

As noted above, manuscripts should be written with an expectation they will be read by a broad academic readership, rather than a niche, sectoral subset. Consequently, authors should assume less conceptual familiarity than when writing for audiences within their own disciplinary traditions. Submitted manuscripts adjudged to address topics for too narrow an audience, may be declined.

For more on the benefits of publishing with us, see our flyer Why publish with Exchanges? or contact the Editor-in-Chief. Authors are warmly invited to discuss any proposed submissions with the Editor-in-Chief, but this is not a prerequisite for consideration.

Open Access Policy

Exchanges is and has always been a diamond (radical) open access journal title, and does not levy article processing charges or pay-to-access fees on authors or readers respectively. This means it provides immediate free global access to all articles at the point of publication at no cost to authors or readers. The title fully supports the principle of making research freely available to a global readership of scholars and the public alike, to support an unfettered exchange of original thought and advancement of human knowledge. All articles published from November 2018 onwards are made available under the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license (CC-BY), in line with best sectoral practice. Articles published before this date were disseminated under the slightly more restrictive, but still REF compliant, conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 license (CC-BY-NC-SA). Please refer to individual articles for the details of which license applies.

Articles published with Exchanges are assigned a unique web address (URI) via the DOI (digital object identification) system, allowing a permanent stable citation link to the paper’s homepage. The journal’s content is backed-up by institutional server systems.

Funder Mandates

Exchanges is compliant with most/all open access funder mandates and requirements. Where an author may be unsure, we are happy to seek to accommodate any additional requirements to the best of our abilities on request.

Author Rights Retention Policy

By choosing to submit to the journal, authors grant Exchanges the licence to publish their work, which also gives us the exclusive right both to reproduce and/or distribute their article (including the abstract) in printed, electronic or any other medium, and in turn to authorise others (including Reproduction Rights Organisations such as the Copyright Licensing Agency and the Copyright Clearance Center) to do the same. In return the author(s) assert their Moral Right to be identified as the author, and we promise that we will respect their rights as the author(s). That is, we will ensure their name(s) will always be clearly associated with the article and, while they permit Exchanges to make necessary editorial changes, we will not make any substantial alteration to their article without consulting them.

Copyright remains with the author(s), however, the author(s) authorise us to act on their behalf to defend their copyright if anyone should infringe it, and to retain half of any damages awarded, after deducting our costs. The author(s) also retain the right to use their own article (provided they acknowledge the published original in standard bibliographic citation form) in the following ways, as long as they do not sell it or give it away in ways which would conflict directly with our interests. The author(s) are permitted to use their article:

For the internal educational or other purposes of their own institution or company.
To mount it on their own or institution’s website, including deposit to their institutional open access research repository.
To post it to free public servers of preprints (subject repositories) and/or articles in their subject area.
To utilise it in whole or in part as the basis for their own further publications or spoken presentations.

Peer Review Policy

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial originality review and academic scope screening by the Editorial Board before being considered for peer-review. Exchanges uses a double-anonymised, editor-mediated and journal facilitated peer-review process, informed by sectorial best practices. Review text remain the intellectual property of the reviewer and are not publicly disseminated or published. Currently, reviewers are not publically identified following publication, although future best practice developments may see this policy revised. However, the Editorial Board warmly acknowledges the invaluable contribution reviewers make to its editorial and publication processes.

Research and review manuscripts are typically initially sent to two peer reviewers to gain contrasting submission quality assessments, although more reviewers may be utilised for some works. Critical reflections and interviews are not normally subjected to peer-review but still undergo a detailed editorial scrutinising process before publication acceptance. Exchanges’ detailed Peer Reviewer Guidelines are available for consultation by reviewers and authors alike.

Authorship & AI Tools Policy

As per our author guidelines all accepted manuscripts are published on the understanding they are an original and previously unpublished piece of work. In this regard, all newly submitted items undergo automated originality checking, with peer-reviewers also frequently scrutinising manuscripts to this end also. In line with best practice guidance from COPE, Exchanges has adopted a policy relating to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in the creation of manuscripts submitted to the journal for publication consideration.

The key elements of this policy are:

AI tools cannot be listed as the author or co-author of a paper for Exchanges.
Where AI tools are utilised in the creation of ANY element of a manuscript (e.g. images, graphical elements, text, collection or analysis of data), this usage must be transparent and disclosed throughout.
Details of what, how and where such AI tools were utilised or applied in the creation of the manuscript, should be highlighted by inclusion within a Methods, or similar, section of the manuscript.
Authors are fully responsible for all of their manuscript’s contents, and hence are liable for any breach of publication ethics or professional practice.

Failure to comply with any element of this policy will be considered grounds for the removal of a manuscript from consideration by Exchanges, or retraction if uncovered post-publication. Authors wishing to explore how this policy may affect their current manuscripts or future submissions, are advised to contact the EIC ahead of submission.

Contributor Conduct Policy

Exchanges expects to work in an environment of mutual respect and professionalism as set out in our host institution’s Dignity at Warwick Policy. Contributors are expected to abide by the same principles and adhere to professional and courteous standards in all their interactions with the journal. Any efforts to overtly coerce, influence or manipulate elements of our quality assurance protocols are similarly unacceptable. Moreover, Exchanges will not tolerate any kind of harassment of our authors, editors, reviewers or staff. Where any such issues are identified, the journal reserves the right to remove the contributor, along with any contributions (manuscripts, reviews, etc.,) currently under consideration, from our editorial workflow.

Publisher & Funding

Exchanges operates under a patronage funding model, and has been entirely funded and published by the Institute of Advanced Study (IAS), University of Warwick, UK, throughout its existence. Contributions in kind from Editorial Board institutions are represented through the immaterial labour contributions of the editorial staff, to whom Exchanges expresses its grateful thanks. The journal satisfies part of the IAS' mission to advance new research ideas through engendering interdisciplinary scholarly discourse and exchange for new scholars, emerging experts and future research leaders. Exchanges is published via the FOSS Open Journal System (OJS) platform, as part of the Warwick Journals collection, and is operationally supported by the university's library service in this regard. Exchanges does not currently accept nor seek further commercial sponsorship or advertisements from third parties.

Corrections & Retractions

Exchanges strives to adhere to the expected normative academic quality principles within the global research academy, as outlined in our publication policies. Honest errors are part of academic publication, and where detected, require a correction to be published. The journal expects authors to notify the Editor-in-Chief of any errors of fact they have noticed, or been informed of, within their article once published. Corrections are made at the journal’s discretion, and a correction notice will normally appear in the next published issue.

Conversely, an article retraction will only be considered where evidence of unethical publishing practices, as defined by COPE’s retraction guidelines, are brought to the Editorial Board’s attention. The Board will conduct a review, involving all relevant parties, and may add expression of concern notice while an article is under investigation. Should it be deemed necessary, the article will be replaced with a version watermarked as Retracted, although the original text will remain accessible. A retraction notice will also be added explaining why it was retracted.

In extremely limited cases it may be necessary to remove an article text entirely: e.g. when it is clearly defamatory, violates personal privacy, is the subject of a court order or might pose a serious health risk to the public. In these circumstances while the metadata will be retained, the text will be replaced with a retraction notice. An archival non-public copy of the article will be retained by the journal.

Data Protection & Privacy

All personal data will be processed in compliance with current UK data protection legislation. See how Warwick is using your data and your rights, or see our Privacy Statement.

Please contact the Editor-in-Chief for all questions relating to Exchanges publishing, policy and operational activities.