Journal Policies
Editorial Oversight
Editors are selected on the basis of recommendations by the Editorial Board, or are invited to join the journal's editorial team by the Editors-in-Chief according to their expertise in relevant areas of the field. Successor Editors-in-Chief are chosen based on nominations from current Editors-in-Chief, and serve voluntarily without a fixed term.
The Editors-in-Chief oversee the overall functioning of the journal and supervise the Managing Editor. Furthermore, the Editors-in-Chief support the Editorial Board members in publishing texts in the Salon; they also oversee peer reviewers throughout the text review process.
The Managing Editor is responsible for the granular workflow of the journal. Specific duties include copyediting texts, communicating with authors about submissions and throughout the revision process, posting EJP related materials on the website and other platforms, attending weekly meetings, and providing administrative support to the Editorial Board.
The Editorial Board is responsible for curating special features in the Salon and for participating in the peer review process by either agreeing to review submissions, sourcing other candidates for peer review, or by working as thinking partners in the review process with other reviewers. Editorial Board members serve voluntarily until they choose to end their tenure.
For Special Issues, the journal's editors invite guests to function as the primary editors throughout the curation process. Guest editors oversee all the editorial processes for their Special Issue in conjunction with the Editors-in-Chief. The Editors-in-Chief have final say over editorial decisions made by guest editors. For further information, please see the 'Special Issues' section on this page.
Editorial Scrutiny of Submissions
All submissions are initially vetted by the editorial team (the Editors-in-Chief and/or core editors) to determine if the submission is a good match for the journal. Submissions that do not meet the basic journal criteria are desk rejected.
Editorial decisions are made in conjunction with peer referees, with the primacy of decision placed on the peer reviewers. For example, the Editors-in-Chief participate in the peer review process only when there is a lack of consensus among reviewers.
The journal operates a double-anonymous review process for submissions of research articles (see 'Peer Review Process' on this page for further information and exceptions to this policy).
Editorial Board
This journal cultivates a broad and experienced Editorial Board that contains members from across different nations, academic institutions, genders and demographics. Potential board members are approached and appointed by the journal's editorial team while keeping diversity in mind.
Peer Review Process
Submissions that meet basic journal criteria for submission are sent to two peer reviewers by the Editors-in-Chief. If there is consensus among the two reviewers to publish the text, it is approved for publication; similarly, if a text is rejected by both reviewers, the text is declined for publication. If either one or both reviewers request revisions and resubmission, the author is given the opportunity to make changes according to feedback provided by the reviewer(s). Once a revised text is resubmitted, the review process repeats until the text is approved by the reviewer(s), or it is determined that the revisions do not meet journal standards and the text is rejected.
In the event of disagreement between the peer reviewers with regard to the readiness of a text for publication, an Editor-in-Chief intervenes to issue a final verdict.
The journal utilizes double-anonymous review in order to maximize impartiality, meaning that authors and reviewers remain anonymous for the review process. We maintain robust editorial standards, requiring two positive independent scholarly reviews by experts in the field(s), before articles can be considered for publication. Peer review usually takes 2-3 months although it can, in exceptional cases, take longer. Reviewers are asked to provide formative feedback, even if an article is not deemed suitable for publication in the journal.
Most texts go through the standard double-anonymous peer review process. In some cases, however, if the publication of the article is time sensitive, the article may be peer reviewed by an Editor-in-Chief in order to expedite the review process.
Likewise, texts for Special Issues do not typically undergo external peer review, although the editor in charge of a specific Special Issue acts as the default peer reviewer for that issue.
According to its double-anonymous peer review policy, the EJP does not publish peer review reports alongside articles, or the names of the peer reviewers who have undertaken review of the article. Anonymised peer review data is held securely and privately in the journal’s publishing platform for the author to access whenever they choose to.
Peer Reviewer Sourcing, Materials and Guidance
Peer reviewers are selected by editors based on professional qualifications, including academic background, scholarly publications, and clinical experience.
The EJP does not invite authors to suggest peer reviewers for their research. Any reviewers suggested by authors will be disregarded by the journal's editors.
Peer reviewers are provided an anonymized version of the text, figure files, and instructions for completing their review. Reviewers are expected to complete their review task issued by the journal's online platform, ensuring their report is also anonymized. Please see the publisher's guidance on ensuring an anonymous review for further information.
Organization and Governance
The EJP is owned and managed by The Foundation of California Psychoanalysis and the Istituto Elvio Fachinelli (ISAP, Institute of Advanced Studies in Psychoanalysis), a not-for-profit scholarly association established in 1995 and funded by membership subscriptions. Both the Foundation and ISAP are dedicated to the advancement of psychoanalysis.
Business Practices
Advertising
This journal only displays advertisements that are of relevance to its scope and will be of interest to the readership (e.g., upcoming conferences). All advertising space is provided free of charge and the editors and the publisher have the right to decline or withdraw adverts at any point.
Advertisements will include a text heading to make it clear that they are adverts. If you wish to propose a potential advert then please contact the journal's editorial team. All advert images in addition to text must be provided to the journal. Any advertisements this journal allows on its site do not affect the editorial decisions of the journal in any way.
Direct Marketing
This journal does not engage in any direct marketing practices.
The publisher, the Open Library of Humanities (OLH), employs a Marketing Officer who undertakes general marketing activities for the publisher including the promotion of its journals. The Marketing Officer does not, however, engage in direct marketing for any OLH journals and this does not affect the editorial decisions of OLH journals in any way.
Other Revenue
The EJP is funded primarily by OLH’s Library Partnership Subsidy Model. The journal also accepts Voluntary Author Contributions (VACs) for articles.
An additional source of funding is provided by the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), which supports the position of Managing Editor.
The EJP does not generate any additional streams of revenue, and the above sources of funding the journal receives do not affect the editorial decisions of the journal in any way.
Preprint Policy
The EJP does not publish preprints. The journal may consider articles based on work that has already been made openly available as a preprint, if the research is suitable for the journal. The article must successfully pass through the journal’s double-anonymous peer review process before being published, however. EJP’s remit is to publish original research that has not been previously published in another journal.
Special Issues
The EJP occasionally publishes Special Issues. Topically focused, Special Issues are comprised of texts concerning pressing contemporary themes in the psychoanalytic field. These issues can be proposed by the Editors-in-Chief, the Editorial Board, or by peer reviewers, and guest editors with the necessary expertise are invited by the journal's Editors-in-Chief to act as the primary editors for the Special Issue.
Special Issues can be published at any point in the journal's publication cycle, and submissions to Special Issues are subject to the journal's double-anonymous peer review process and established editorial standards. Contributors for Special Issues are generally selected by invitation only. In some cases, a more general call for papers may be initiated.
The journal is dedicated to ensuring robust oversight of all guest-edited Special Issues to ensure editorial best practice, and the journal's Editors-in-Chief have the final say over all editorial decisions made by Special Issue guest editors.