About the Journal

Focus and Scope

Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies (ISSN 2003-0924, Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University / Centre for the Research of the Imaginary "Speculum", "1 Decembrie 1918" University, Alba Iulia / University of Granada / Romanian Language Institute, Bucharest) publishes studies about Romanian language, literature, theatre and film, cultural studies, anthropology, history, translation studies, education as well as research seminars and reviews of works within these fields. It welcomes articles that focus on case studies, as well as methodological and/or theoretical issues.

Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies is a new forum for scholars that sets and requires international high quality standards. The journal accepts papers written in Romanian or English, as well as in French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. As of 2024 SJRS is a biannual publication, having two issues per year regularly published by May 15.

Peer Review Process

SJRS has a two stage reviewing process. In the first stage, the articles and studies submitted for publication need to pass the scrutiny of the members of the editorial committee. The studies accepted in this stage are then undergoing a double blind review procedure. The editorial committee removes all information concerning the author and invites external scholars (whose comments are paramount for the decision of accepting for publication or not) to act as anonymous reviewers of the material. Neither the identity of the author, nor that of the reviewer is disclosed. The comments and recommendations of the anonymous reviewers are transmitted to the authors. The reviewers are independent of the authors, i.e. not affiliated with the same institution. 

The manuscripts must not have been previously published or currently submitted for publication elsewhere. The evaluation of the papers will be done with respect to: the subject’s relevance for the research field, the originality of ideas, methodology and structural organization and clarity.

The estimated time of manuscript processing (since the moment of sending the manuscript by the author till its publication): 150 days.

Open Access Policy

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.

Indexation

SJRS is covered by SCOPUS, ERIH PLUS, EBSCO, DOAJ, CEEOL, Index Copernicus, Ulrichsweb : Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory, MLA Directory of Periodicals, and indexation is currently in progress in several other International Databases (such as Web of Science / Clarivate Analytics, ProQuest, etc.).

Article processing charges (APCs)

SJRS has no article processing charges (APCs).

Article submission charges

SJRS has no article submission charges.

Copyright and license

Authors retain copyright, retain publishing rights without restrictions, and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY-NC 4.0 (CC BY-NC : CC Attribution-NonComercial 4.0) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.

Archiving policy

PKP PN is the long-term preservation service(s) where the journal is currently archived. The PKP PN plugin will deposit your published content into the PKP Preservation Network.

Repository policy

Authors may deposit a copy of their paper on the publisher’s own site.

This policy is with regard to the different versions of the paper:

• Submitted version
• Accepted version (Author Accepted Manuscript)
• Published version (Version of Record)

I4OC standards for open citations

The journal complies with I4OC standards for open citations: citations are structured, separable, and open.

Publication ethics and malpractice statement

Only articles that have not previously been published, and are not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere are to be submitted. All articles will undergo rigorous peer-review, upon prior editor screening and anonymous refereeing done by two scholars in the field.

Authors, as well as the Editors and the Peer Reviewers are required to abide by standards of expected ethical behavior, such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct guidelines, available at: http://publicationethics.org. Any instance of author insincerity/dishonesty will automatically result in rejection of the manuscript. Should it be discovered, after a work is published in SJRS, that any author had breached the honesty agreement, their papers will be retracted, and due legal action will be taken against them.

Original research reports should provide an accurate account of the work carried out as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data needs to be represented accurately in the paper, with sufficient detail and references to allow for replication. Fraudulent or deliberately inaccurate statements represent unethical behavior and are inadmissible. The same rules apply to review and professional publication articles, and editorial "opinion" works have to be declared as such.

Contributors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce any material in which they do not own copyright, to be used in both print and electronic media, and for ensuring that the appropriate acknowledgements are included in their manuscript.

Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies - SJRS promotes a policy of non-plagiarism and expects all contributors to understand and abide by the international rules of academic conduct and integrity. All authors submitting papers for publication will have understood the SJRS rules on plagiarism, thereby taking upon themselves that the submitted work is the result of their own independent academic undertaking and research, and that in all cases, material from the work of other people (published in books, articles, essays, dissertations, etc. and on the Internet) is acknowledged, and quotations and paraphrases are clearly indicated, according to the author guidelines required by SJRS. Authors agree that no material other than that mentioned in the bibliography (in-text and end-of-text) has been used, and that their written work has not previously or not yet been published in other journal (in written or electronic format).

Plagiarizers, fraudsters, self-plagiarizers, and other insincere authors (e.g., those who make double/parallel submissions--submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal) will be black-listed and will not get another chance to be ever considered for publication. 

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the submitted manuscript. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. All co-authors must be clearly indicated at the time of first submission. All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might influence the results or interpretation of their work. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed. When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to duly notify the journal’s editors and cooperate with them to either retract the paper or to publish an appropriate correction statement or erratum.

Any request to add, delete or rearrange author names in the authorship of accepted manuscripts must be made before the accepted manuscript is published. Such requests should be sent by the corresponding author to the editors and must include the reason for the request and a written confirmation from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. The publication of the accepted manuscript will be suspended until authorship has been agreed between all involved parties.

Throughout the process of paper evaluation and publication, all communication is made ONLY through corresponding authors.

Policy: Conflict of Interest for Editors and Reviewers

1. Purpose:

To ensure transparency and objectivity in editorial decisions and peer review for the Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies (SJRS).

2. Policy:

Editorial board members, consulting editors, and reviewers must disclose any real or potential conflicts of interest that could compromise, or appear to compromise, their impartiality in handling or reviewing manuscripts. Conflicts may be financial, personal, or intellectual.

3. Practice:

3.1. Definitions

a. Conflict of Interest: Any situation where a person could gain a personal benefit from a decision or action related to SJRS.

b. Financial conflict of interest: Ownership, investments, consulting, grants, or compensation related to the manuscript’s subject.

1. Non-financial conflict of interest: Personal relationships, political or religious affiliations, or competing research interests that could influence judgment.

3.2. Procedures:

• Editorial board members disclose conflicts annually.
• Reviewers must declare any financial, personal, or intellectual conflicts when invited to review a manuscript.
• The handling editor evaluates conflicts and may proceed with the review or select an alternative reviewer.
• Editors with conflicts must notify the Editor-in-Chief, who will reassign oversight if necessary.
• All conflicts and resolutions are documented for record-keeping.

4. Complaints

Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies Policy on Corrections, Retractions, and Updates After Publication

1. Purpose and Scope

The Swedish Journal of Romanian Studies (SJRS) is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record. This policy outlines the procedures for issuing corrections, retractions, and updates to published material to ensure that readers have access to accurate and reliable information. The policy applies to all content published by SJRS, including research articles and book reviews.

2. Guiding Principles

SJRS’s policy is grounded in transparency, accountability, and fairness to authors, editors, and readers. This document is developed in-house, and it is adapted to the journal’s specific scope and mission.

3. Types of Post-Publication Changes
4. a) Corrections

• Definition: A correction notice will be issued when a minor error (e.g., typographical, factual, or metadata error) may impact the interpretation of the article but does not compromise the reliability or scientific validity of the work. The notice will be approved by all authors of the original article.
• Procedure:
• Authors should notify the Editor-in Chief in writing.
• The editorial team investigates the error and consults with the authors as needed.
• If approved, a correction notice is published, clearly linked to the original article (with DOI cross-referencing), and the online version of the article is updated with a note specifying the date and nature of the change.

1. b) Retractions

• Definition: Issued when published content is found to be unreliable due to major errors, plagiarism, ethical breaches, or research misconduct (e.g., data fabrication or falsification). Retractions serve to correct the scholarly record and are not intended as punishment.
• Procedure:
• Authors or their institutions may request retraction if valid grounds exist.
• The editorial team initiates an investigation.
• Authors are contacted and given an opportunity to respond.
• A retraction notice is published in the journal, clearly linked to the original article, stating the reason for retraction and who is retracting (authors and/or editors).
• The original article remains accessible but is watermarked or marked clearly as retracted to maintain the scholarly record.

1. c) Updates and Expressions of Concern

• Definition:
• Update: Used for significant but non-critical additions (e.g., funding acknowledgements or new data supplementary to the original study).
• Expression of Concern: Used when there is inconclusive evidence of potential problems (e.g., ongoing investigation of ethical issues) but the issue is significant enough to notify readers, or when findings appear unreliable and the authors’ institutions are uncooperative in resolving the matter.
• Procedure:
• Updates are handled similarly to corrections and linked to the original article.
• Expressions of concern are issued by the editors, with a clear statement of reasons and the status of any ongoing investigation.

1. d) Article Removal

• Definition: SJRS will consider removing an article only in exceptional circumstances, such as content posing a significant risk of harm, breaches of privacy or legal rights, or in the case or defamatory content or material subject to a court order.
• Procedure:
• When an article is removed, a formal removal notice will replace the original text to maintain the integrity of the publication record.

4. Transparency and Documentation

All corrections, retractions, updates, and expressions of concern must be:

• Freely accessible (open access).
• Linked to the original publication via DOI.
• Indexed and communicated to abstracting and indexing services where applicable.

5. Responsibility and Review

The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board are responsible for implementing this policy. SJRS commits to periodically reviewing these procedures to ensure alignment with evolving best practices and ethical standards in scholarly publishing.