Reviewers
Those who review for the Journal of African American Males in Education (JAAME) must adhere to four journal policies.
1) First and foremost, they must maintain confidentiality of the manuscripts they receive. Information must not be used from the manuscript, in any way (e.g., citation, ideas, findings) while in the pre-publication process. After publication, we encourage reviewers to do so.
2) Next, we ask that reviewers be forthright in their relationship to the author(s) of a given manuscript. We do not want the quality of JAAME publications or the authors’ work to be questioned due to a conflict of interest. If a reviewer receives a manuscript from someone they work with (e.g., in the same organization, on the same research project, funded by the same foundation), live with, or receive funding from, we ask that they recuse themselves from reading the manuscript and inform the editor(s) immediately. In the case that a conflict comes to our attention after an article has been published, JAAME reserves the right to eliminate a publication from our site.
3) Third, a primary focus of our journal is to present high quality publications in a timely manner. Some journals may take up to two years to publish an article. We believe that this reduces their ability to advance the research of education. Our goal is to publish manuscripts within 2-4 months of their receipt. Thus, reviewers are asked to provide the editorial staff with their review within three weeks of receiving a manuscript. Reviewers who are not able to do so should inform the editorial staff.
4) Finally, reviewers are asked to provide clear, useful and constructive feedback to authors. Regardless of whether a manuscript is published by JAAME, it is our goal to provide the author(s) with recommendations to help the manuscript further its cause.
Reviewer Expectations
Reviews should include (at a minimum) the following: 1) a statement which addresses whether or not the manuscript is important. This should be accompanied by a clear rationale justifying the reviewer’s opinion; 2) a critical analysis of all major paper elements (e.g., introduction, questions, literature review, methodology, findings, discussion/conclusion, and recommendations for research/policy/practice); 3) an assessment of the overall quality, informing and providing a rationale to JAAME as to whether there is a need to publish the piece; 4) a final determination of the paper based upon our acceptance scale (e.g., accept submission, revisions required, resubmit for review, decline submission); and 5) a critique of the syntax, format (APA), and overall structure of the piece.
Those lacking experience in reviewing submissions to academic journals may consult: Fred Pyrczak’s (1999) “Evaluating Research in Academic Journals: A Practical Guide to Realistic Evaluation.”
How to Become a Reviewer
If you are interested in becoming a reviewer, please email us your: a) first and last name; b) position, title, and institutional affiliation; c) a brief biography (250 words); d) a list of your areas of research interest and expertise; and e) your full contact information (e.g., phone, email, address) to jaamejournal@gmail.com. The subject line should read: JAAME REVIEW INTEREST.
Note: Reviewers and Advisory Board members are not paid. JAAME is not a money-making venture. All works published in JAAME are made available free of charge to the public.