Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The BC TEAL Journal draws on the work of the Committee on Public Ethics (CORE) to maintain high standards related to ethics and malpractice in scholarly publishing. The journal also draws on the practices of other open access Canadian publications, such as the Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics and the TESL Canada Journal, for scholarly norms related to the field of English as an additional language (EAL) teaching and learning.

Authorship

Authors are individuals who have made meaningful contributions to an article. In cases with more than one author, all authors agree to be included as authors and to the order of the authors. Author disputes that cannot be resolved collegially are generally referred to the authors’ home institutions. Active disputes can result in suspension, rejection, correction, or retraction of an article. Author conflicts of interest should be declared in the comments during the submission process. Sources of funding should be listed in an article’s acknowledgements. Plagiarism results in the rejection or retraction of an article. All submissions should follow the most current American Psychological Association (APA) guidelines for citations and references. Submissions that have been previously published or submitted to more than one journal at the time of submission will be rejected. Submissions including findings from an author's unpublished thesis or dissertation are welcome, with a note in the article’s acknowledgements. Instances of fraudulent data or findings will lead to rejection or retraction. Other concerns, such as errors, may result in rejection, correction, or retraction. Authors retain copyright and agree to a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 4.0 International License. Errors or omissions should be reported to the editor. Research with human or animal participants must be reviewed and approved by an appropriate institutional research ethics board. Ethics review and approval should be noted in the article.

Editorship

The editor provides leadership and guides the strategic direction of the journal. This work includes chairing the journal advisory board, promoting the journal, engaging in professional development, coordinating submissions, screening submissions for focus and scope, recruiting and assigning peer reviewers, determining acceptance status, providing developmental support, copy editing, preparing galleys, proof reading, uploading galleys, writing editorials, indexing metadata, calculating journal metrics, maintaining the journal website, responding to concerns, upholding scholarly standards, and carrying out other associated duties. Editors should declare any conflicts of interest and avoid editing their own work, except in the case of an issue’s editorial. Throughout the publication process, the editor maintains impartiality and confidentiality for both authors and peer reviewers. The editor also provides regular reports to the BC TEAL board of directors and a yearly report to the BC TEAL annual general meeting. Concerns related to the editorial process can be directed to either the journal editor or the BC TEAL publications chair.

Peer Review

Submissions that meet the focus and scope of the BC TEAL Journal and follow the author guidelines for submission are eligible for double anonymous peer review, with the identities of both the reviewers and the authors kept confidential from each other. Peer reviewers are volunteers with expertise in EAL teaching and learning. For each article under review, peer reviewers agree to maintain confidentiality, declare conflicts of interest, identify suspected malpractice, provide constructive feedback, and make recommendations regarding publication.

Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in an article submission should be accompanied by a rationale for its use as well as a clear explanation of how it is used within the main text of the article. This rationale and explanation will be taken into consideration during the initial screening and subsequent peer review process, if applicable. The use of generative AI must be cited and referenced as per APA guidelines. Failure to report the use of generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT, will lead to the rejection, correction, or retraction of an article.