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Policies

Contents

Philosophy of The Primary Source

For more information, please see The Primary Source Aims and Scope page.

Who Can Submit?

Anyone may submit an original article to be considered for publication in The Primary Source provided he or she owns the copyright to the work being submitted or is authorized by the copyright owner or owners to submit the article. Authors are the initial owners of the copyrights to their works (an exception in the non-academic world to this might exist if the authors have, as a condition of employment, agreed to transfer copyright to their employer).

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General Submission Rules

Submitted articles cannot have been previously published, nor be forthcoming in an archival journal or book (print or electronic). Please note: "publication" in a working-paper series does not constitute prior publication. In addition, by submitting material to The Primary Source, the author is stipulating that the material is not currently under review at another journal (electronic or print) and that he or she will not submit the material to another journal (electronic or print) until the completion of the editorial decision process at The Primary Source. If you have concerns about the submission terms for The Primary Source, please contact the editors.

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Journal Contents

The Primary Source welcomes the following article types:

Research Articles describe original research completed by the author(s). Research methodologies may vary. These forms of papers should contain original research questions, a strong review of the literature, a summary of the methods and limitations of the study, results, discussion, and conclusion. The discussion and conclusion should consider the implications of the research and suggestions for future studies. Most important, these forms of papers should be replicable. (Suggested length: 6,000 words)

Case Studies detail actual experiences within the author(s) organization(s) and offer a means for comparison or replication in a different environment. These papers should include a strong review of the literature and a detailed description of the situation and location. The situation should be new or implemented in an original way. The discussion and conclusion should consider the relevance outside of the situated reported. (Suggested length: 3,000 words)

Literature Reviews are systematic studies that offer exhaustive reviews of existing current literature in a particular subject area. Systematic reviews must be original and must differentiate themselves from similar studies, especially if a similar topic has been covered in recent literature. The review of literature should be extremely comprehensive and should primarily – if not exclusively – contain peer-reviewed articles. This type of paper should also contain a clear and detailed description of the methodology for gathering the literature. The discussion and conclusion should consider the relevance of the findings. (Suggested length: 6,000 words)

Professional Resources include annotated bibliographies, essays reviewing current developments, or other essays designed for practical use. (Length varies)

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Formatting Requirements

The Primary Source has no general rules about the formatting of articles upon initial submission. There are, however, rules governing the formatting of the final submission. See Final Manuscript Preparation Guidelines for details. Although bepress can provide limited technical support, it is ultimately the responsibility of the author to produce an electronic version of the article as a high-quality PDF (Adobe's Portable Document Format) file, or a Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or RTF file that can be converted to a PDF file.

It is understood that the current state of technology of Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) is such that there are no, and can be no, guarantees that documents in PDF will work perfectly with all possible hardware and software configurations that readers may have.

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Rights for Authors and The Aquila Digital Community

As further described in our submission agreement (the Submission Agreement), in consideration for publication of the article, the authors assign to The Aquila Digital Community all copyright in the article, subject to the expansive personal--use exceptions described below.

Attribution and Usage Policies

Reproduction, posting, transmission or other distribution or use of the article or any material therein, in any medium as permitted by a personal-use exemption or by written agreement of The Aquila Digital Community, requires credit to The Aquila Digital Community as copyright holder (e.g., The Aquila Digital Community © 2023).

Personal-use Exceptions

The following uses are always permitted to the author(s) and do not require further permission from The Aquila Digital Community provided the author does not alter the format or content of the articles, including the copyright notification:

  • Storage and back-up of the article on the author's computer(s) and digital media (e.g., diskettes, back-up servers, Zip disks, etc.), provided that the article stored on these computers and media is not readily accessible by persons other than the author(s);
  • Posting of the article on the author(s) personal website, provided that the website is non-commercial;
  • Posting of the article on the internet as part of a non-commercial open access institutional repository or other non-commercial open access publication site affiliated with the author(s)'s place of employment (e.g., a Phrenology professor at the University of Southern North Dakota can have her article appear in the University of Southern North Dakota's Department of Phrenology online publication series); and
  • Posting of the article on a non-commercial course website for a course being taught by the author at the university or college employing the author.

People seeking an exception, or who have questions about use, should contact the editors.

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General Terms and Conditions of Use

Users of the The Aquila Digital Community website and/or software agree not to misuse the The Aquila Digital Community service or software in any way.

The failure of The Aquila Digital Community to exercise or enforce any right or provision in the policies or the Submission Agreement does not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. If any term of the Submission Agreement or these policies is found to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of the Submission Agreement and these policies remain in full force and effect. These policies and the Submission Agreement constitute the entire agreement between The Aquila Digital Community and the Author(s) regarding submission of the Article.

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