Research, Policy & Practice

Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people of similar competence to the producers of the work (peers).  Scholarly peer review (also known as refereeing) is the process of subjecting an author's scholarly work, research, or ideas to the scrutiny of others who are experts in the same field, before a paper describing this work is published in a journal. The work may be accepted, considered acceptable with revisions, or rejected. Peer review requires a community of experts in a given (and often narrowly defined) field, who are qualified and able to perform impartial review. Peer review is a well-accepted indicator of quality scholarship.
Other important points about peer review journals include:

• Peer review constitutes a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field.
• Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards of quality, improve performance, and provide credibility.
• In academia peer review is often used to determine an academic paper's suitability for publication.
• Peer groups of researchers, scholars and professionals within a specific discipline are the audience for scholarly literature.
• Articles accepted for publication through a peer review process implicitly meet the discipline's expected standards of expertise.

The peer-review process is an essential part of the publication process, which will improve the manuscripts published by SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, POLICY & PRACTICE. Not only does peer review provide an independent assessment of the importance and technical accuracy of research, but the feedback conveyed to authors with the editor’s advice frequently results in manuscripts being refined so that their structure and logic are more readily apparent to readers.

SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, POLICY & PRACTICE welcome manuscript submissions at any time. Authors are completely responsible for the factual accuracy of their contributions. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to quote lengthy excerpts from previously-published articles.

Authors will be notified of the receipt of their manuscripts within seven (7) business days of their receipt by the Chief Editor and can expect to receive the recommendation of the review process within 90 days.

All submissions must have a cover letter indicating that the manuscript has not been published or is not being considered for publication anywhere else, in whole or in substantial part. On the cover letter, it will be noted to the authors to be sure to include their name, address, email address, and phone number.

Typescript should conform to the following:

• Method of Manuscript Submission: Send Manuscripts should be submitted electronically with the words " Submission to SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, POLICY & PRACTICE" in the subject line
• Language: English
• Document: Microsoft Word
• Font: Times New Roman or Arial
• Size of Font: 12 Point
• Page Limit: None
• Margins: 1” on all sides
• Title of paper: Top of page Capitals, bold, and centered
• Author(s) Name: Centered under title of paper
• Format: Manuscripts should follow the guidelines of the most recent edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association
• Figures and Tables: All should be integrated in the typescript
• Abstract: An abstract of no more than 150 words should accompany each submission
• References: Insert all references cited in the paper submitted on a Reference Page

The following are the steps through which a submitted article will move from initial submission to actual publication in SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, POLICY & PRACTICE.

1. The article is submitted in Word format by the author(s) to the Chief Editor, Dr. George Giuliani, at George.A.Giuliani@hofstra.edu.
2. The Chief Editor then sends an email to the author stating that the article has been received and a final answer will be given within 90 days of receipt.
3. The article is then placed in an online folder that holds all articles up for review.
4. The article is then removed of all author names, affiliations, etc., so that when it is sent out for review, it is a blind review and no peer reviewers have any indication who wrote the article or from what university it was submitted.
5. An email is then sent by the Chief Editor to all members of the Editorial Board with a request to review an article. Only the title of the article is given. For example:
6. Peer reviewers then email the Chief Editor as to their interest in reviewing the specific article. A minimum of three (3) blind reviewers is selected.  An email to each blind reviewer is then sent reviewing the peer review process. 
7. The peer reviewers have 60 days from receipt to return a recommendation to the Chief Editor. The ideal review should answer many of the following questions:
   • • Are the claims appropriately discussed in the context of previous literature?
     • Are the claims convincing? If not, what further evidence is needed?
     • Are the claims novel? If not, which published papers compromise novelty?
     • Are there any special ethical concerns arising from the use of subjects?
     • Are there other experiments or work that would strengthen the paper further?
     • Could the manuscript be shortened?
     • Have the authors done themselves justice without overselling their claims?
     • Have they been fair in their treatment of previous literature?
     • Have they provided sufficient methodological detail that the experiments could be reproduced?
     • How does the paper stand out from others in its field?
     • How much would further work improve it, and how difficult would this be? Would it take a long time?
     • If not, how could it be made more clear or accessible to non-specialists?
     • If the manuscript is unacceptable but promising, what specific work is needed to make it acceptable?
     • If the manuscript is unacceptable, is the study sufficiently promising to encourage the authors to resubmit?
     • Is the manuscript clearly written?
     • Is the statistical analysis of the data sound?
     • Should the authors be asked to provide supplementary methods or data to accompany the paper online?
     • What are the main claims of the paper and how significant are they?
     • Who will be interested in reading the paper, and why?
     • Would readers outside the discipline benefit from this publication?

   Note: The primary purpose of the review is to provide the editors with the information needed to reach a decision. The review should instruct the authors on how they can strengthen their paper to the point where it may be acceptable. As far as possible, a negative review should explain to the authors the weaknesses of their manuscript, so that rejected authors can understand the basis for the decision and see in broad terms what needs to be done to improve the manuscript for publication elsewhere. This is secondary to the other functions, however, and peer reviewers should not feel obliged to provide detailed, constructive advice to authors of papers that do not meet the criteria for the journal (as outlined in the letter from the editor when asking for the review). If the reviewer believes that a manuscript would not be suitable for publication, his/her report to the author should enable the author to understand the reason for the decision.

   Once all of the reviews have been obtained, the Chief Editor determines whether to:

   • Accept, with or without editorial revisions
   • Invite the authors to revise their manuscript to address specific concerns before a final decision is reached
   • Reject, but indicate to the authors that further work might justify a resubmission
   • Reject outright, typically on grounds of specialist interest, lack of novelty, insufficient conceptual advance, or major technical and/or interpretational problems
8. An email with the decision (and rationale for it) is then sent to the author(s).
9. Before publication, the article is then passed through three functions: copy editing (grammar, references), proofing (typographical errors, spelling errors), and layout (creating a Microsoft Word and PDF version of the article).

All members of the Hofstra University Special Education Department will sit on the Editorial Board for the SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, POLICY & PRACTICE. Each of the faculty will reach out to professionals in the field whom he/she knows to start the process of building a list of peer reviewers for specific types of articles. Reviewer selection is critical to the publication process, and we will base our choice on many factors, including expertise, reputation, specific recommendations, and previous experience of a reviewer.

Editor
George Giuliani, JD, PsyD, Hofstra University

Hofstra University Special Education Faculty
Elfreda Blue, Ph.D.
Stephen Hernandez, Ed.D.
Gloria Lodato Wilson, Ph.D.
Mary E. McDonald, Ph.D, BCBA-D, LBA
Diane Schwartz, Ed.D. 

Editorial Board
Mohammed Alzyoudi, Ph.D., American University in the Emirates. Dubai. UAE
Faith Andreasen, Ph.D.
Vance L. Austin, Ph.D., Manhattanville College
Amy Ballin, Ph.D.
Dana Battaglia, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Westbury UFSD
Brooke Blanks, Ph.D., Radford University
Kathleen Boothe, Ph.D., Southeastern Oklahoma State University
Nicholas Catania, PhD, State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota
Lindsey A. Chapman, Ph.D., University of Florida
Morgan Chitiyo, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Jonathan Chitiyo, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh at Bradford
Heidi Cornell, Ph.D., Wichita State University
Lesley Craig-Unkefer, Ed.D., Middle Tennessee State University
Amy Davies Lackey, Ph.D., BCBA-D
Lauren Dean, Ed.D., Hofstra University
Josh Del Viscovo, MS, BCSE, Northcentral University
Darlene Desbrow, Ph.D., United States University
Janet R. DeSimone, Ed.D., Lehman College, The City University of New York
Lisa Dille, Ed.D., BCBA, Georgian Court University
William Dorfman, B.A. (MA in progress), Florida International University
Brandi Eley, Ph.D.
Tracey Falardeau M.A., M.S., Midland Educational Agency
Danielle Feeney, Ph.D., Ohio University
Lisa Fleisher, Ph.D., New York University
Neil O. Friesland, Ed.D., MidAmerica Nazarene University
Theresa Garfield, Ed.D., Texas A&M University-San Antonio
Leigh Gates, Ed.D., University of North Carolina Wilmington
Sean Green, Ph.D.
Deborah W. Hartman, M.S., Cedar Crest College
Shawnna Helf, Ph.D., Winthrop University
Nicole Irish, Ed.D., University of the Cumberlands
Randa G. Keeley, Ph.D., Texas Woman's University
Hyun Uk Kim, Ph.D., Eastern Oregon University
Louisa Kramer-Vida, Ed.D., Long Island University
Nai-Cheng Kuo, Ph.D., BCBA, Augusta University
Renée E. Lastrapes, Ph.D., University of Houston-Clear Lake
Debra Leach, Ed.D., BCBA, Winthrop University
Marla J. Lohmann, Ph.D., Colorado Christian University
Mary Lombardo-Graves, Ed.D., University of Evansville
Pamela E. Lowry, Ed.D., Georgian Court University
Denise Lucas, M.S.
Matthew D. Lucas, Ed.D., Longwood University
Jay R. Lucker, Ed.D., Howard University
Jennifer N. Mahdavi, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Sonoma State University
Alyson Martin, Ed.D., Fairfield University
Krystle E. Merry, M.S. Ed., NBCT., Ph.D. Student, University of Arkansas
Marcia Montague, Ph.D., Texas A&M University
Chelsea T. Morris, Ph.D., University of West Georgia
Gena Nelson, Ph.D., University of Oregon
Lawrence Nhemachena, MSc, Universidade Catolica de Mozambique
Maria B. Peterson Ahmad, Ph.D., Western Oregon University
Christine Powell. Ed.D., California Lutheran University
Deborah Reed, Ph.D., University of Tennessee
Ken Reimer, Ph.D., University of Winnipeg
Dana Reinecke, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Capella University
Denise Rich-Gross, Ph.D., University of Akron
Benjamin Riden, ABD - Ph.D., Penn State
Mary Runo, Ph.D., Kenyatta University
Emily Smith, Ed.D., Midwestern State University
Carrie Semmelroth, Ed.D., Boise State University
Pamela Mary Schmidt, M.S., Freeport High School Special Education Department
Edward Schultz, Ph.D., Midwestern State University
Mustafa Serdar Köksal, Ph.D., Hacettepe University, Turkey
Emily R. Shamash, Ed.D., Fairfield University
Christopher E. Smith, Ph.D., BCBA-D, Positive Behavior Support Consulting & Psychological Resources
Emily Smith, Ed.D., Midwestern State University
Gregory W. Smith. Ph.D., University of Southern Mississippi
Emily Sobeck, Ph.D., Franciscan University
Ernest Solar, Ph.D., Mount St. Mary’s University
Gretchen L. Stewart , Ph.D., University of South Florida
Roben Taylor Daubler, Ed.D., Western Governors University
Jessie Sue Thacker-King, Flagler College
Julia VanderMolen, Ph.D., Grand Valley State University
Cindy Widner, Ed.D., Carson Newman University
Kathleen G. Winterman, Ed.D., Xavier University
Sara B. Woolf, Ed.D., Queens College, City University of New York
Perry A. Zirkel, J.D., Ph.D., Lehigh University

Ensuring Anonymity and Blind Reviews
The Chief Editor will not release reviewers' identities to authors or to other reviewers.  Reviewers will also remain anonymous throughout the review process and beyond.

Copyright and Reprint Rights
SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, POLICY & PRACTICE is published by Hofstra University. SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, POLICY & PRACTICEretains copyright of all original materials, however, the author(s) retains the right to use, after publication in the journal, all or part of the contribution in a modified form as part of any subsequent publication.

If the author(s) use the materials in a subsequent publication, whether in whole or part, SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, POLICY & PRACTICE must be acknowledged as the original publisher of the article. All other requests for use or re-publication in whole or part, should be addressed to the Editor of SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, POLICY & PRACTICE

Conclusion
SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, POLICY & PRACTICE has the potential to be a leading online peer review journal locally, state-wide, nationally and internationally. With a mission of being an online peer-reviewed journal committed to advancing the professional development of special education professionals through research, policy, and practice, SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, POLICY & PRACTICE will promote new and exciting research in the field of special education. The faculty in the Special Education programs at Hofstra University is committed to making SPECIAL EDUCATION RESEARCH, POLICY & PRACTICE a highly reputable online research journal.