Reviewer Guidelines
The Journal of International Special Needs Education (JISNE) is a multi-disciplinary journal for CEC Division of International Special Education and Services (DISES) members and members of the international scientific community with information that reflects the field of special education around the world. Readers represent a broad range of ethnic, cultural and primary language backgrounds, who are interested in diverse research and theoretical perspectives.
Review Process
During the review process, the manuscript is a confidential and privileged document. All reviews for JISNE are conducted via the submittal/review portal at http://www.editorialmanager.com/jisne/. Reviewers will be notified via an email when requested to review a manuscript. Reviewers will be required to set up an online account. For further guidance on submitting your review online please visit the above website and click on “Help.”
When Invited
If for any reason you are not able to complete a review you had previously accepted to review, please contact the editor immediately to remove you from the review so we do not delay the process.
Disclose potential conflicts of interest. A conflict of interest will not necessarily disqualify you from reviewing, but will give the Editor the proper context to consider your review.
If you decline, inform the editor of the reason, so you can receive more appropriate review requests in the future. If possible, please suggest another suitable reviewer.
Conducting a Review
JISNE manuscript reviews are double-blind; authors and reviewers are anonymous. Manuscripts are confidential documents. Do not discuss them with the authors or anybody else. Do not use unpublished material in your current work. If you feel you need an opinion from a colleague, clear it with the editor before doing so. Do not use any identifying information in your review.
Ethics
We rely on reviewers to help us catch ethical issues in submissions. Specific things to look for are plagiarism, missing credit, dual submission or publication, conflicts of interest, and inappropriate or/and unethical research methods.
Content
The purpose of the review is to provide the editor with an expert opinion regarding the acceptability of the manuscript under consideration, and where appropriate, provide the author with explicit and constructive feedback on how to improve their manuscript so it will be acceptable for publication. You will be asked to rate each manuscript in the following areas: appropriateness, importance, organization, soundness, logic of conclusions, and clarity.
You will also be provided space to write comments. The best reviews answer the following focus questions:
- Is the topic of the manuscript likely to be important to the readers of JISNE, timely, and is placed in the context of the previous literature?
- Do the authors present a strong theoretical and research base for their topic of inquiry?
- If the manuscript presents results from a research study, comment on the quality of the research methodology - participant selection, procedure, data analysis- and results.
- Is the discussion generalizable and of interest to the varied readership of JISNE?
Recommendations
Reviewers of JISNE may make four recommendations to the editors: Final Accept, Accept with Minor Revision, Major Revision, and Reject. Manuscript should be recommended for acceptance with Minor Revision if they have specific minor issues in the above areas. Grammar, syntax, and other editorial issues can be handled by the editor; use the focus questions for guidance.
Recommendation for Major Revision is appropriate for papers that meet most of the review criteria, but need structural work, or have sections that are unclear or do not satisfactorily make their argument. If you classify a paper this way, clearly state the revisions that are necessary. Please do not make dogmatic, dismissive statements that are unhelpful to the reviewers or the editors. Let the editor know if you will review the revised version.
Reject a manuscript if it is of poor quality in the majority of the review criteria or has fatal flaw in design that cannot be rectified.
Further Information
Any correspondence, queries or additional requests should be sent to [email protected]