Q: Is it true that double submission is acceptable in papers of legal and advocacy topics?
I heard once that papers in law can be sent to multiple journals at the same time. Is this true?
Hello Deisi – Welcome to the forum! Right away, that seems to be our understanding too (in this forum). However, let’s check with our subject area experts for law and get back to you.
Meanwhile, for more insights on duplicate submissions, you may go through the following resources:
- Duplicate publications and simultaneous submissions
- Will my manuscript be considered as a duplicate or simultaneous submission?
- The journal editor says my paper is a case of duplicate submission. What should I do?
Until we get back…
Hello again, Deisi. As promised, this is what our law expert had to say…
It depends on where you are submitting.
Most US law reviews are student-edited, that is, edited by graduate students working towards their Juris Doctor (JD) degree. For example, Harvard Law Review, Chicago Law Review, and Yale Law Journal are all student-edited. These do allow simultaneous submission, with requests for an ‘expedited review’ in case the paper has been accepted by another journal. A list of US student-edited law reviews can be found here: W&L Law Journal Rankings
At the same time, because they are edited by graduate students, these law reviews do not really count as ‘peer-reviewed’ publications. This is why they are not usually indexed on databases such as Scopus.
So, if you are looking to submit to a US-based law journal, your understanding is correct. If, instead, you are looking to submit to a journal that’s published by a private publisher (such as Taylor and Francis, De Gruyter, and Emerald), then simultaneous submission is not allowed, and will actually be detrimental to you.
Hope that helps.
For more insights on duplicate and simultaneous submissions, you may refer to these related queries by other researchers:
- Is it ethical to submit a paper to two or more journals simultaneously?
- Will my article be considered duplicate submission?
- What can I do to resolve the problem of duplicate submission?
Additionally, you may find this course on research ethics helpful: Ethical issues in scientific research
All the best for your submission!
Regarding the response to the question asked by Deisi, your statement "At the same time, because they are edited by graduate students, these law reviews do not really count as ‘peer-reviewed’ publications. This is why they are not usually indexed on databases such as Scopus" seems erroneous in that such "student-edited journals" as you described them are actually indexed in databases such as Scopus.
You can check here: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/14316 That is for Harvard Law Review.
Then here: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/21629 This for University of Chicago Law Review
And lastly for Yale Law Review, check here: https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/22856
Thanks for your response, Chiedu. And happy to be enlightened / corrected. :-) Our expert did say that these are usually not indexed on some databases, although Scopus may not have been the right example.
