Article in Press Policy

Reog: Journal of Ecoethnoscience Education provides Articles in Press to offer early access to articles that have completed peer review and been accepted for publication. This policy addresses article status, version management, and integrity concerns with reference to relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Definition and Scope

Articles in Press in Reog are accepted articles made available online in a version preceding the Version of Record. These articles may be undergoing production or have been scheduled for a forthcoming issue that has not yet been published.

Under Reog’s publishing model, the Version of Record (VoR) is established when the final article has completed the editorial and production processes and is published in an issue.

Types of Articles in Press

Articles in Press in Reog may include three types of articles according to their production stage:

  1. Accepted Manuscripts – Articles that have completed peer review and been accepted by the Reog Editorial Team but have not yet completed copyediting, layout, or final formatting.
  2. Uncorrected Proofs – Articles that have undergone copyediting and layout but have not yet completed final checking and correction by the Authors, Editors, and/or proofreaders.
  3. Corrected Proofs – Articles that incorporate corrections made during proof checking and are approaching their final form but have not yet been designated as the Version of Record by Reog.

Articles available in the Articles in Press section remain in production before being designated as the Version of Record. Not every article is made publicly available at every production stage.

Bibliographic Information and Citation

Bibliographic information during the Articles in Press stage, including volume, issue, page range, and issue placement, may remain provisional. The date on which an article first becomes publicly available online is distinguished from the publication date of its Version of Record.

Readers may cite Articles in Press by including the Authors’ names, article title, journal title, year or date of online availability, Articles in Press status, and a registered and resolving DOI or the article page URL. Volume, issue, or page information that has not been assigned must not be inferred.

Once available, the Version of Record becomes the primary reference for subsequent citations. Bibliographic information on the article page and in the DOI metadata is updated to reflect the final publication.

Version Management and Article Changes

Spelling, grammar, layout, and formatting may be corrected during production. Changes affecting data, methods, results, interpretation, or conclusions require editorial assessment and may require additional peer review before the article proceeds to the next stage.

Significant changes to scientific content that has already been made publicly available will be accompanied by an explanation accessible to readers. Relevant version and change histories are retained in the journal’s editorial records.

Replacement of production files must not be used to conceal significant errors, suspected ethical breaches, or editorial actions affecting the reliability of an article.

Public Scholarly Record and Ethical Responsibilities

Once made publicly available as Articles in Press, an article forms part of the public scholarly record. Its pre-Version-of-Record status, absence of a DOI, or lack of issue assignment does not remove the journal’s responsibility to address errors and integrity concerns transparently.

Authors must promptly inform the Editorial Team if they identify significant errors or ethical concerns in their articles. Readers and other parties may also raise concerns through the journal’s official contact channels. The Editorial Team will assess the information received and seek clarification or involve relevant institutions where necessary.

Acceptance does not prevent the Editorial Team from postponing publication of the Version of Record when concerns require further assessment.

Corrections and Editorial Actions

Errors, ethical concerns, or research-integrity issues identified after an article becomes publicly available as Articles in Press are handled under Reog’s applicable publication ethics and post-publication update policies.

The provisions governing Correction, Erratum, Corrigendum, Expression of Concern, Retraction, Article Removal, and Article Replacement are set out in the relevant Reog policies. Articles in Press status does not exempt an article from those provisions.

Requests to withdraw an article are assessed under Reog’s withdrawal policy, taking into account whether the article has already been made publicly available. Publicly available articles form part of the scholarly record and are not treated in the same way as manuscripts that have not been published.

The Editorial Team determines the appropriate action based on the nature of the concern, available evidence, and relevant Reog policies while maintaining the transparency and integrity of the scholarly record.

DOI and Crossmark

Reog may assign and register a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) during the Articles in Press stage. An article-ID-based DOI does not depend on the assignment of a volume, issue, or page range.

A DOI is displayed for public use after it has been successfully registered with Crossref and resolves to the article page. Internal allocation of a DOI does not, by itself, mean that the DOI has been registered or is ready for citation.

A DOI registered during the Articles in Press stage is retained when the article becomes the Version of Record. Its metadata is updated to reflect the final bibliographic information and any changes to the article’s status.

Under Reog’s publishing workflow, Crossmark is activated at the Version of Record stage after the corresponding Crossmark metadata has been deposited. The absence of an active Crossmark record during the Articles in Press stage does not delay necessary corrections or editorial notices.

Editorial actions affecting article status are displayed on the article page and, where relevant, communicated through metadata updates to Crossref and other services.

Publication of the Version of Record

Once the editorial and production processes are complete, final bibliographic information is established and the article is published in an issue as the Version of Record. The article page URL is retained wherever possible so that the relationship between the early and final versions remains traceable.

Publication of the Version of Record does not erase editorial notices or the history of significant changes relevant to the article’s integrity. Subsequent corrections and post-publication actions are managed under Reog’s policies and relevant COPE guidance.

Policy Review

This policy may be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, COPE guidance, metadata standards, and journal management requirements. Changes will be announced on this page with an updated revision date. Policy changes do not remove Reog’s responsibility to maintain the transparency and integrity of the publicly available scholarly record.

References