IJP Open

Open Peer Review and Debate

We are delighted to announce the launch of IJP! With the aim of furthering psychoanalytic creativity and a genuine exchange of ideas, it is now the case that authors, readers and reviewers converse with one another in enriching, active debates.

With the new IJP Open, the papers and their resubmissions will appear online, along with decisions letters and the rounds of reviews. Importantly, the author now has the opportunity to respond to any comments, and readers may respond in turn. This process continues until a final decision is made. (Reject decision letters will not be put up).

For the first time in the history of the International Journal of Psychoanalysis, you are able to view working papers submitted journal during the peer review stage. You are invited to join in a peer discussion of those papers and to see the reports of the formal reviewers.

What’s more, working papers can appear on IJP Open in the language of submission (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Italian or German), and readers can comment in these languages, fostering important international connections. Readers also benefit from critical discussion. They are able to see – in an open, transparent form – the usually hidden machinations of the peer review process. This is an invaluable educational tool

In most fields, it is now standard for authors to publish working papers in advance of being accepted in mainstream journals. IJP Open provides a unique opportunity for a high level international discussion of papers in their first submitted version. IJP Open papers do not constitute ‘published papers’.

IJP Open is for the benefit of authors and readers and is here to enhance critical thinking via a respectful and sensitive engagement with authors. It is a discussion launch pad for working papers and eventual publication in the International Journal.

IJP Open honours a transparent peer review process. As such, please note that if you choose for your paper to appear on IJP Open, the paper and all the material that accompanies the paper cannot be removed under any circumstances. Once you have agreed, the full peer review process (that is the title, name, paper, reviews, decision letters, authors and readers comments) will appear online and cannot later be taken down.

An ‘opt-out’ option is available, although we believe authors will welcome the opportunity of high level international discussion of their papers. The working paper will not be posted anonymously unless the author chooses this option. Please note, IJP Open is an online site for working papers. The papers do not constitute final ‘publication’ and therefore should not be cited in references or in bibliographies.

  1. When an author submits a paper to the IJP through Manuscript Central, they are given the option to opt out of having their paper appear on IJP Open. Authors also have the option of submitting their paper anonymously. Clear information is provided to the author about IJP Open, along with a link to the site.
  2. If an author opts in to IJP Open, their paper is checked for confidentiality or any other issues, and, if there are no problems, it is then uploaded to the site. When the formal reviews come in, they are then posted to the site.
  3. To read papers on IJP Open, the user will need to register, which is free.
  4. Readers can comment not only on the paper, but on other readers’ and the reviewers’ suggestions.
  5. Authors are encouraged to join in the conversation, responding to any points made by readers.
  6. User notifications. The author and any IJP Open user who has commented on the site will be notified when any additional material is posted in the paper thread, e.g. author is notified when a User comments, User is notified when an author responds to comments.
  7. The formal reviews will then be posted. These will remain anonymous, but readers posting comments will need to state their identity.
  8. Reject decision letters will not be put up. The paper will just end.
  9. If the decision is Major modify or Accept with Modification, that decision letter is put up.
  10. Users and the author can then continue to comment throughout the process.
  11. The to-and-fro can continue until a final decision is reached or the author decides not to resubmit.
  12. If the decision is Accept as is, that decision letter is put up.
  13. A watermark is added to all IJP Open papers to make it very clear that they are not published papers. It is clearly stated that the paper is not published.

* Note: An IJP Open paper cannot be removed but authors do have the option of submitting anonymously.

  • If you have a pep-web subscription with a username and password:
    1. Log in to your PaDS account, here.
    2. Click New Order at the bottom of the page.
    3. Select IJP Open and agree with the conditions. Log out.
    4. Navigate to pep-web.org and log in top right with your username and password.
    5. Then go to Journals, and search “IJP Open”.

     

  • If you do not have a pep-web subscription with a username and password:

    1. Navigate to PaDS, here.
    2. Complete the new user form.
    3. Save and go through to New Order.
    4. Select IJP Open and agree with the conditions. Log out.
    5. Navigate to pep-web.org and log in top right with your username and password.
    6. Then go to Journals, and search “IJP Open”.