Aim and Scope
The aim of the journal is to publish the results of all interdisciplinary music research. The thematic range concerns music in all its possible approaches, both scientific and humanistic. Therefore, the presented issues include a reflection on music, which is practiced in the framework of contemporary musicology, but also philosophy, cultural studies, popular music studies, sociology, semiotics, sound studies, psychology, cognitive science, etc. The territorial scope of the magazine is unlimited.
History
Since 1991, the then Department of Musicology at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, on the initiative of the then Head of the Department, Jan Stęszewski and Maciej Jabłoński, organized meetings of musicologists from all over Europe - international conferences called Interdisciplinary Studies in Musicology. The organizers of the series of conferences assumed that the subject of musicological research, defined in a modern way, must consist of a reflection of many fields, because only at the intersection of these trajectories of thinking about music, as a result of an interdisciplinary view, a true and convincing picture of the phenomenon of a musical work, or music in general, is created. The four editions of the conference in Poznań hosted researchers from many countries: Germany, Austria, Finland, the United States, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, France, Russia, Israel and Poland, representing a wide spectrum of academic disciplines such as history, aesthetics, semiotics, cultural anthropology, philosophy, acoustics and psychology, sociology. Taking into account these experiences, the then Department of Musicology made efforts to establish a publishing series in the form of an international musicological yearbook called Interdisciplinary Studies in Musicology.
Peer Review Process and Policy
Initial assessment
The Editorial Board first evaluates whether the manuscript:
- corresponds to the aims and scope of the Journal;
- presents an original and academically relevant contribution;
- meets basic scholarly, ethical and linguistic standards;
- complies with the Instructions for Authors.
A manuscript may be returned for formal correction or rejected without external review if it does not meet these requirements.
Review procedure
The Journal applies a double-anonymous peer-review procedure. The identities of authors are not disclosed to reviewers, and the identities of reviewers are not disclosed to authors.
Reviewers need to have at least a PhD degree. Reviewers are invited only in areas corresponding to their scholarly expertise. Before accepting the invitation, they are expected to confirm that they possess the necessary competence and that no actual or potential conflict of interest could affect the impartiality of their assessment. A conflict may include direct personal relationships, professional dependence, an academic dispute or close research cooperation during the preceding two years.
The review is prepared in writing using the Journal’s review form. It should contain a substantive assessment of the manuscript and conclude with a clear recommendation:
- accept;
- accept after revisions;
- reject.
Where the reviewers’ recommendations differ substantially, the Editorial Board may appoint an additional reviewer.
Assessment criteria
Reviewers are provided with guidelines, within which they are to consider:
- the originality and significance of the contribution;
- the relevance of the manuscript to the Journal’s interdisciplinary profile;
- the clarity of its aims and argument;
- the appropriateness of the methods and source materials;
- the quality of analysis and conclusions;
- engagement with relevant scholarship;
- the organisation and academic language of the text;
- compliance with ethical and editorial standards.
Reviewers should draw attention to relevant publications that have not been cited and identify any substantial similarity between the submitted manuscript and other works known to them.
Reviews should be reliable, objective, substantive and constructive. Comments must be expressed in a clear and professional manner and should avoid personal criticism of the author or authors.
Revision and final decision
When revisions are requested, authors should submit a corrected manuscript together with a response explaining how the reviewers’ comments have been addressed.
The revised text may be returned to the reviewers or evaluated by the Editorial Board, depending on the extent of the changes.
Reviewers’ recommendations are advisory. The final decision concerning acceptance or rejection is made by the Editorial Board. Acceptance may remain conditional upon completion of editorial, linguistic or formal corrections.
All manuscripts, reviews and editorial correspondence are treated as confidential.
Anti-plagiarism policy
The editorial team uses advanced anti-plagiarism tools, including iThenticate software, to minimise the risk of plagiarism and ensure the high quality of published texts. All manuscripts in which the system detects unauthorised borrowing from other publications are rejected, and cases of copyright infringement are reported to the relevant authorities. Should plagiarism be uncovered in articles that have already been published, these texts are immediately removed from the website and databases, and a notice to this effect is published in the print edition and/or on the journal’s website.
Open Access Policy
Interdisciplinary Studies in Musicology is an open-access journal. All content is available free of charge to users. By submitting their manuscripts, authors consent to their publication in accordance with the open access clause. Manuscripts undergo a full peer-review process and are made available free of charge. All texts can be downloaded free of charge.
Articles published in the journal are available under a CREATIVE COMMONS licence: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.