The Journal of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (JAHSGR) is committed to following the highest ethical standards among authors, reviewers, and editors. The Journal follows the standards set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, publicationethics.org) and the ethical standards used by leading historical journals including commitment to plagiarism-free work, accurate representation of sources, and responsible engagement with historical evidence.
The JAHSGR ethical guidelines are designed to promote transparency, integrity, and best practices in presenting historical knowledge to our readers.
Author Responsibilities
Articles submitted to JAHSGR must be the author’s original work and not previously published. Some material may be reprinted under special consideration and with full disclosure and permission from authors and publishers. Articles should not be under consideration by other publication sources. References should have complete and proper citation and can be cited in their original language. Authors should review all sources so they are appropriately credited and cited within the manuscript. Authors must ensure that their submitted work is entirely their own and does not infringe on the copyrights of other individuals or entities. Authors are required to secure any necessary permissions needed to include copyrighted material in their article, including pictures, charts and illustrations, and to provide any other information required by the editorial office such as disclosures of conflicts of interest or funding sources. If multiple authors are credited, then each author must make a significant contribution to the article. If authors subsequently determine that the published content contains errors or other inaccuracies, the editor should be contacted immediately so a correction or retraction decision can be made.
Editor and Board Responsibilities
The editor makes the final decision about the publication of an article. This includes input from peer reviewers and/or editorial board members. The editor evaluates manuscripts for their value, relevance, and contribution to AHSGR’s mission without regard to the race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or the political philosophy of the author(s). The editor maintains the confidentiality of the review process and only discloses manuscript information to appropriate journal affiliates such as editorial board members and reviewers and ensures the integrity of the review process and all communication between authors, reviewers, and representatives of the journal. The editor responds to post-publication communication and comments, and in consultation with the editorial board, the need for corrections or retractions. The editor, along with the board, also evaluates recommendations regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editor may consult with the editorial board or reviewers in making final publication decisions. Editorial board members may serve as reviewers and assist the editor with decisions about publication and editing of articles. Board members should maintain confidentiality regarding internal discussions about journal operations and manuscripts. The editor and board members consider the overall operation of the journal to ensure that publishing decisions and other matters are conducted in accordance with the goals and objectives of the journal’s mission.
Peer Reviewer Responsibilities
Peer reviewers are selected to review manuscripts that align with their areas of expertise and provide timely and substantive assessment of an article’s quality, originality, and contribution to the AHSGR mission. Reviews should be free from ethnic, religious, gender, or other forms of bias. When needed, reviewers should offer the author(s) constructive criticism in the form of written suggestions on how to improve the manuscript. The journal uses a double-blind review system where peer reviewers do not know the identity of the author(s), and authors do not know the identity of reviewers. This process is designed to improve the quality of the submission and produce a well-presented and well-supported article. The editor’s decision regarding the publication of submitted manuscripts is based on peer reviews. Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions, and through communications with the author, reviewers assist the author in improving the manuscript. Reviewers are required to declare any conflict of interest.