Policies

Focus and Scope

The International Journal of Rural Criminology (IJRC) is a double blind peer-reviewed journal dedicated to publishing empirical and theoretical work related to crime and criminal justice issues associated with diverse rural places of the world. “Rural criminology” has become the established term for the growing body of multi- and cross-disciplinary scholarship, and welcome are submissions which explore:

  • theories of rurality and crime
  • space and place data collection and methodologies associated with the challenges of rural research
  • rural offending
  • criminal justice processes, institutions and policy
  • rural policing
  • crime prevention
  • practices that seeks solutions to rural crime and the security of rural peoples and rural communities
  • and other related topics

IJRC provides a scholarly forum for the publication of both empirical and theoretical work on rural crime in societies around the world. It also provides an outlet for practitioners to provide insights into innovations in tackling rural crime. IJRC’s goals are to:

  • unite cross-disciplinary international scholars with research interests in rural crime and rural society
  • facilitate collegial alliances and collaborations
  • allow for the sharing of cutting-edge research for engagement and impact
  • provide opportunities for post-graduate and early career researchers to disseminate their work
  • publish valuable evidence-based research that enhances the well-being of rural communities
  • heighten international scholarly, community and industry awareness of the study of rural crime
  • provide, in addition to research articles, a forum for review essays and book reviews

The journal serves as the official organ of the International Society for the Study of Rural Crime, Inc.; the American Society of Criminology’s Division of Rural Criminology; and the European Rural Criminology Working Group, European Society of Criminology. Manuscripts must be submitted in conformance with the latest version of manuscript style by the 7th edition of American Psychological Association (“APA style”). However, prospective authors should inquire first with the editors before submitting in alternative styles.

Peer Review Process

Submissions to the International Journal of Rural Criminology will first receive an editor's review to determine if the submission fits within the Focus and Scope of the journal. All submissions are reviewed by peers who have the appropriate knowledge and expertise. All IJRC submissions are peer-reviewed through a double anonymous process, that is, neither those who submit a manuscript know the identity of those who review their manuscript, nor do reviewers know the identity of those who submitted a manuscript to IJRC. The final publication decisions are made by the Editor based on information gathered from the peer reviews.

(Updated June 23, 2022)

Publication Frequency

The International Journal of Rural Criminology is published by The Ohio State University Libraries twice each year, in March and September.

Open Access Policy

Journals published by The Ohio State University Libraries provide immediate open access to their content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

In order to lower barriers to publication for authors, our journals do not charge submission or any other form of author fees.

Beginning with Volume 3, Issue 2, the International Journal of Rural Criminology is published under a Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International unless otherwise indicated.

While authors retain copyright ownership of their work, this Creative Commons license will allow readers to print, share, re-post, and republish an article, without asking for permission, as long as the work is properly attributed to the author(s) and it isn’t changed in any way. Read more about the license here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/ or view the full legal text here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/legalcode.

(Updated February 18, 2021)

Publication Ethics

The International Journal of Rural Criminology (IJRC) is guided by the highest standards in publication ethics as outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in their Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

(Updated February 18, 2021)

Authorship

All published articles in IJRC will contain clear and accurate attribution of authorship. The author is responsible for ensuring that everyone who contributed to the work is fairly acknowledged.

An author is defined using the ICMJE description:

  • Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
  • Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
  • Final approval of the version to be published; AND
  • Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

If authorship disputes arise, the IJRC editorial team will follow the COPE guidelines.

(Updated February 18, 2021)

Complaints and Appeals

IJRC editors have discretion in determining whether an article is an appropriate fit for the journal. However, if the author feels the decision to reject the manuscript was based on an error, the author can appeal the decision by contacting the editors with a detailed description of the perceived error.

IJRC editors will promptly respond to ethical complaints and, in collaboration with IJRC’s publisher, The Ohio State University Libraries, will follow guidance described by COPE.

(Updated February 18, 2021)

Conflict of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors are required to disclose conflicts of interest at the earliest possible opportunity - for example, when a manuscript is submitted or a review assignment is accepted. Conflict of interest is defined as any competing personal, professional, or financial interest that may introduce bias into the publishing process of the journal.

Example conflicts of interest:

  • financial support from commercial enterprises that have a vested interest in the results
  • personal relationships that would compromise objectivity during review or publication
  • professional competition that would prevent objective evaluation of a submitted manuscript

Disclosure of a conflict of interest by an author does not necessarily mean that a manuscript will be denied acceptance to the journal. If an author is found to have a conflict of interest that was not disclosed during the submission and review process, the editor will identify an appropriate remedy, which may include a published correction or a retraction.

(Updated February 18, 2021)

Copyright and Plagiarism

Copyright Policy

Authors retain all rights to work published by The Ohio State University Libraries' Publishing Program. The specific terms of our author agreements may vary slightly from journal to journal, but they all constitute nonexclusive licenses covering the rights required to publish, index, abstract, and preserve the content. Authors are free to reuse their work and to enter into other agreements as long as they credit the relevant journal as the site of first publication and provide a link to the journal website.

Beginning with Volume 3, Issue 2, the International Journal of Rural Criminology is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives license unless otherwise indicated.

Plagiarism Policy

IJRC does not accept manuscripts with plagiarised material. For the purposes of this policy, plagiarism is defined as the use of previously authored works - including text, data, and images – of others or self without proper attribution. Submissions to all sections of the Journal will be checked online using the plagiarism detection service Turnitin.

The editors of IJRC will respond to plagiarism at their discretion. Actions taken will be based on the severity of the plagiarism attempt, but can include corrections to or retractions of the published article, the author being banned from publishing in the journal, and/or the editor notification of the author’s institution or funding agencies.

(Updated February 18, 2021)

Ethical Oversight

IJRC will promote the highest standards of research by ensuring that the published research is conducted in a fair and ethical manner. Wherever appropriate, published research based on human subjects will provide the name of the local ethics committee that approved the study (or confirmation that such approval is not needed). Any submissions that don’t meet these criteria will be returned to the authors.

(Updated February 18, 2021)

Post-Publication Corrections

When errors are discovered in published content, IJRC will follow the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The following language is a brief summary of relevant portions of the guidelines for the benefit of our editors, authors, and readers. The full guidelines should be consulted if questions arise or action is being considered.

If the editor becomes aware of major errors in, or misconduct related to published work, the editor may issue a retraction, statement of concern, or correction. These actions are meant to maintain the scholarly record and are not meant to be a form of punishment. An author who determines that his or her published article may contain errors should contact the editor promptly so that the journal can determine a path forward. Readers are also invited to contact the editor with concerns about published content.

Retraction

A retraction is defined as a public disavowal, not an erasure or removal. Retractions will occur if the editors and editorial board find that the main conclusion of the work is undermined or if subsequent information about the work comes to light of which the authors or the editors were not aware at the time of publication.

Statement of Concern

A statement of concern will be issued if there is inconclusive evidence of research misconduct / ethical wrongdoing or there is an ongoing investigation and results are pending.

Correction

A correction will be published if the scholarly record is seriously affected (e.g., if accuracy / intended meaning, scientific reproducibility, author reputation, or journal reputation is judged to be compromised). Corrections such as misspellings or grammatical errors will not be published. Published corrections will be added to the original article whenever possible. When that is not possible, the correction will link to and from the original work.

Removal

Removal of published content may occur if an article is determined to be defamatory by a court of law, if it infringes on legal rights, or if there is a reasonable expectation that it will be subject to a court order for any reason. The bibliographic information about the work will be retained online, but the work will no longer be available through the journal. A note will be added to indicate that the item was removed for legal reasons.

(Updated February 18, 2021)

Preservation

This journal participates in the Public Knowledge Project's Private LOCKSS Network to preserve its contents. https://pkp.sfu.ca/pkp-pn/

(Updated February 18, 2021)