Editorial Policy

 
​Scope.  RLJ publishes scholarly work on the study and teaching of Russian language and culture, comparative and interdisciplinary research in Russian language, language policy, applied and theoretical linguistics, culture, and the acquisition of Russian as a second language. Pedagogical articles reporting on experimental research results and/or empirically-based evaluations are also encouraged and invited. Research articles should clearly identify the research questions, methods, background literature, results, and implications of the work. Notwithstanding the general scope of RLJ as a scholarly journal, from time to time, and at the Editor’s discretion, articles providing a perspective on a particular theoretical or applied issue may be considered. All articles submitted to RLJ should include adequate documentation, providing credit to primary sources, and relevance to current research.

External Review Process.  Journal submissions should be crafted without revealing the author’s identity in the body of the work or the bibliographic references. Each submission that meets the overall eligibility criteria for RLJ publication will be reviewed anonymously by at least two external evaluators, who recommend as to whether a submission is accepted or rejected and provide feedback to authors. The acceptance of any article is the decision of the Editor of RLJ, in consultation with the reviewers, editorial staff, and editorial board, as need be.

Manuscript Length.  Manuscripts are generally no more than 7,000 words in length. Authors interested in submitting longer manuscripts are encouraged to contact the Editor to discuss article length and subject matter prior to submission.

Language.  RLJ is a bilingual annual publication. Contributions may be written in either English or Russian Authors should arrange for satisfactory proof-reading of the draft manuscript if their first language is not English. Manuscripts will be returned to the author(s) where serious language deficiencies remain in the text. It is recommended that native speakers of Russian submit their articles in Russian.

Citations and References. A list of references follows each manuscript, alphabetized by the last name of the authors; all citations in the text must be in this list, and all citations in the list should be referenced in the text. Authors are requested to follow publication manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th edition. In order to assist in the editing process, authors should provide all necessary bibliographic information at the time of submission.

Manuscript Preparation. RLJ will accept manuscripts that are neatly typed with one-inch margins on all sides, double-spaced.  Notes and references follow the body of the paper. RLJ observes the style guidelines of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition, with the exception of section headings. Instead of APA headings, please use multilevel numbered headings. Top-level headings should be numbered 1, 2, 3, 4. Second-level headings are numbered 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and third-level headings, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.1.3.  Russian-language quotations should be in Russian; citations and references should be transliterated following the simplified U.S. Library of Congress system. RLJ recommends that potential contributors consult the Library of Congress Romanization guide https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/russian.pdf, removing any diacritical marks and double capitals. The following website can also be used for automatic transliteration
​ https://www.translitteration.com/transliteration/en/russian/ala-lc/ though authors will need to remove diacritical marks and double capitals.

Submission.  Manuscripts should be submitted electronically to the editor at the e-mail address [email protected] as an MS Word attachment no later than April 1 to be considered for the December issue. All manuscripts will be acknowledged; authors are notified within six months whether/when their manuscripts will be published. It is the author’s responsibility to obtain and document permission to include copyrighted illustrations in the work. Any illustrations (including tables and charts) must be submitted in camera-ready format, in black and white. If this is not possible, the costs involved for any graphics preparation will be the author’s responsibility. The author will cover the costs associated with any requested changes made to submissions already typeset. Electronic documents must be in .doc format. An additional copy of the document may be requested in .pdf format, in case the article contains charts or graphics that may become distorted during electronic transfer of MS Word documents. Authors must submit the following as separate files:
  • A title page, with the article’s title, and the name, institutional affiliation, and contact information of all authors (e-mail and physical mailing address). For articles with multiple authors, please indicate which author should receive correspondence.
  • An English-language abstract of no more than 200 words. Russian-language submissions must include an English-language abstract.
  • The body of the article. This file may not contain any references to the authors, and must have a running header at the top of each page with the title of the article. All figures, notes, and references should follow the main body of the text.
Originality.  RLJ considers only original work for publication. In submitting an article to RLJ, the author(s) certify that neither the manuscript nor any substantially similar version of the work is currently being considered or has been published elsewhere.
Rights and Reprints.  In agreeing to publish an article in RLJ, author(s) assign all rights to RLJ.  Two off-prints of the published manuscript and one complete copy of the RLJ issue in which the work appears will be provided to the author(s). Book review authors receive one off-print and one complete copy of RLJ.
Advertising.  Please contact the RLJ editorial office ([email protected]) for current information regarding advertising deadlines, technical requirements, and rates.
Back Issues.  Back issues of Volumes I to LIV (Nos. 1-179) are sold out and no longer available; microfilm copies of these back issues may be purchased from: XEROX UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. All subsequent issues can be downloaded from the website and print copies can be obtained from the editor’s office.