Instructions for Authors
Submitting
Thank you for choosing to submit your paper to us. Paper submissions and inquiries can be directed at the Antonio Martella at: thelabs@sp.unipi.it.
Please, read carefully the editorial guidelines to prepare your article (style, formatting, references, etc.) before submitting.
Authors are requested to send two copies of their work: one with all author details (name, affiliation, etc.) and one completely anonymous for peer review.
The Journal accepts manuscript in the following languages: Italian, English and French.
Before publication Authors are requested to sign the Authors’ agreement (manleva) to ensure that the work is unpublished, freely available and lawful, relieving the publisher (University of Pisa) from any possible damage or expense. The Authors must have obtained the necessary rights to use third-party materials in the manuscript.
Peer Review process
All submitted articles are first assessed for suitability by editors and than double-blind peer reviewed by independent, anonymous expert referees. Further information on the reviewing process can be found on our Code of Ethics below. The journal follows the review process criteria approved by the Committee of the Italian Sociological Journals (CRIS).
Anti Plagiarism policy
To avoid plagiarism, all the submitted work are checked for plagiarism via Turnitin Originality Check provided by the University of Pisa. By submitting their work, authors are agreeing to originality checks during the peer-review process. Further information on our conduct on plagiarism can be found on our Code of Ethics below.
Publication Charges
There are no submission fees, publication fees or page charges for this journal.
License and Copyright
The author(s) authorise The Lab’s Quarterly to publish their articles online – making it available to the public through the journal’s website and its social media channels – and to use it under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) licence (including reproduction, elaboration and juxtaposition) for these purposes. The author(s) retain copyrights but agree not to translate or publish it in other journals until at least 18 months after its publication in this journal.
Repository Policy
We encourage authors to post their pre-publication manuscript and the Publisher’s final formatted PDF version in institutional or other repositories or on their websites without embargo.
Submitted version, Accepted version or Published version can be deposited in any repositories immediately after the publication to preserving anonimity during the review process.
The published source must be acknowledged and a link to the journal home page or articles’ DOI must be set.
The Lab’s Code of Ethics
The Lab’s Quarterly is a peer-reviewed social science journal officially recognized by the ANVUR (National Agency for the Evaluation of the University and Research System) as an academic journal in the Area 14 (Political and Social Sciences) of the Italian university system.
The journal encourages dialogue among the multiple fields in the social sciences through calls for proposals and special issues, welcoming contributions from young and early-career researchers. Furthermore, it aims to contribute to the national and international sociological debate by adopting the perspective of an open, public and democratic sociology. To this purpose, The Lab’s Quarterly publishes manuscripts under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND.
This version of The Lab’s Code of Ethics (updated: June 1, 2021) describes the journal’s ethical guidelines. Guest Editors, Reviewers and Authors of manuscripts processed by The Lab’s Quarterly are invited to follow these guidelines carefully. The current version of The Lab’s Code of Ethics is inspired by COPE’s “Core Practices” (2017) and the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (2017). For any question or concern regarding the journal’s Code of Ethics, please write to thelabs@sp.unipi.it.
Authors must avoid any form of plagiarism or self-plagiarism, falsification, fabrication, or significant omission in their work. Before publication, Authors must sign the journal’s publishing agreement. It is the Authors’ duty to ensure the originality of their manuscripts and possess of necessary permissions to use any third-party materials. All and only significant contributors to the manuscript redaction must be listed as co-authors, and the submitted work must not be submitted to other journals.
Authors ensure that the submitted research work follows the ethical guidelines listed in the European Commission’s “Ethics in Social Science and Humanities” document (2018), whose main principles are the following: a) respecting human dignity and integrity; b) ensuring honesty and transparency towards research subjects; c) respecting individual autonomy and obtaining free and informed consent (as well as assent whenever relevant); d) protecting vulnerable individuals; e) ensuring privacy and confidentiality; f) promoting justice and inclusiveness; g) minimizing harm and maximizing benefit; h) sharing the benefits with disadvantaged populations, especially if the research is being carried out in developing countries; i) respecting and protecting the environment and future generations.
The submitted manuscript should acknowledge all sources that have supported the research as well as any eventual conflict of interest. Authors must make all reasonable efforts to meet the revision deadlines set by the Editor(s). Furthermore, the Editor(s) must be promptly informed of any error in the published paper.
The Authors’ Suspected plagiarism or ethical misconduct will be collegially discussed by the journal’s editorial board (see below the Duties of Editors section). If deemed necessary, access to raw data related to the manuscript will be demanded for editorial review.
Where an article is found to have plagiarized other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or in cases of contested authorship, the Editor(s) reserve(s) the right to take action. If the manuscript is under review, this may include a) requesting corrections, b) rejecting the manuscript, and c) taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the Authors’ affiliation(s). In the case of a published article, this may include a) requesting corrections, b) write a retraction note, and c) taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the Authors’ affiliation(s).
Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts in a fair, objective, and professional manner, by providing solid and constructive scientific argumentations devoid of personal attacks, offensive language, and unlawful or discriminatory content of any kind.
Reviewers must make all reasonable efforts to meet the revision deadlines set by the Editor(s), and immediately inform the Editor(s) in case of unforeseen delays.
Reviewers must ensure that the reviewed manuscripts meet the aforementioned originality criteria and ethical principles (see the Duties of Authors section). In the event of suspected plagiarism or ethical misconduct by the Author(s), reviewers must promptly inform the Editor(s).
Reviewers must ensure the confidentiality and anonymity of the review process, by avoiding discussing the manuscript with anyone other than the Editor(s). Reviewers must promptly notify the Editor(s) if they become aware of the Authors’ identity during blind peer review. Reviewers must refuse to evaluate the manuscript in the case of conflicts of interests due to their relationship of collaboration or competition with the Author(s) or with companies/institutions involved in the funding or preparation of the manuscript.
The Editors – including Guest Editors – and editorial board of The Lab’s Quarterly ensure the fairness, objectivity and professionalism of editorial procedures employed for the evaluation, acceptance, rejection and publication of the submitted manuscripts. In particular, they work to ensure the timeliness, confidentiality and scientific quality of the publication process, by fairly selecting qualified reviewers, making all reasonable efforts to protect the Authors and Reviewers’ reciprocal anonymity during blind peer review, and enhance the public visibility of published articles.
Editors, Guest Editors and editorial board members must avoid processing manuscripts in case of conflicts of interests due to their relationship of collaboration or competition with the Author(s) or with companies/institutions involved in the funding or preparation of the manuscript.
Allegations of ethical misconduct or suspected plagiarism on the part of Author(s), Reviewer(s), or Editor(s) – including Guest Editors – will be collegially discussed by the editorial board.
When deemed appropriate due to proven cases of ethical misconduct or plagiarism by the Author(s), Editors reserve the right to take action. If the manuscript is under review, this may include a) requesting corrections, b) rejecting the manuscript, and c) taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the Authors’ affiliation(s). In the case of a published article, this may include a) requesting corrections, b) write a retraction note, and c) taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the Authors’ affiliation(s). When allegations of ethical misconduct regard Reviewers or Editors/Guest Editors, the editorial board will collegially handle the complaints in accordance with the principles of integrity and fairness indicated in the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (2017:9).