About the Journal

Focus and Scope

The Journal of New Brunswick Studies is a multi-disciplinary journal featuring peer-reviewed articles, in English and French, that are the product of original research. The journal welcomes articles that explore New Brunswick from any number of perspectives, whether historical, cultural, social, or policy-related. The journal aims to foster lively and broad-ranging conversation and debate about New Brunswick and its place in the wider Canadian and global contexts.

As a scholarly journal that is multi-disciplinary, peer-reviewed, and focused on New Brunswick, the JNBS is unique on the Canadian publishing landscape. The origins of the JNBS lie in the New Brunswick and Atlantic Studies Research and Development Centre (NBASRDC) at St. Thomas University, a research centre funded by an Aid to Small Universities Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Its editorial team is comprised of scholars from a wide range of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities at St. Thomas University and the University of New Brunswick.

The JNBS is committed to the principle of open access, providing immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

General Disclaimer: The views expressed in JNBS are those of their authors alone and should not be construed as representing the views of the editorial or advisory boards of the journal, St. Thomas University, the University of New Brunswick, or any organization that supports us.

Peer Review Process

Invited Essays are solicited by the editorial board from recognized experts who have spent their careers working in one or more fields of New Brunswick study. Reviewed internally by the editorial board before publication, these essays are meant to be provocative in stimulating debate about issues of importance to the province. They range in length from 2500-5000 words.

Peer-Reviewed Articles are original contributions to knowledge submitted to the journal by scholars working in various fields of New Brunswick study. They range from 5000-10000 words, including notes. Authors are responsible for obtaining copyright clearances and permissions where necessary (i.e., permission to use unpublished or quoted material that falls outside fair use guidelines). Authors are also responsible for permission fees. Each article is initially reviewed by the Editor to determine if it should go to external review. If it can, it is assigned to a member of the editorial board who shepherds it through the peer-review process. Articles are sent to a minimum of two external referees who are experts in the academic discipline of the subject. This peer-review process is double-blind in that both authors and referees remain anonymous to each other. Referee reports are then made available to authors along with an indication of whether the manuscript has been rejected, accepted on condition of author revisions as recommended by referees, or accepted with minor editorial revisions. Final decisions on acceptance or rejection rest with the Editor, in consultation with the editorial board.

Research Notes may be additions to well-researched concepts or theories, methodological commentaries, research summaries, or focussed interventions that extend knowledge of specific New Brunswick phenomena. These notes are meant to both acknowledge and extend prevailing understandings. They are usually shorter (2500-5000 words) and more limited in scope than peer-reviewed articles, though they are also sent out to disciplinary experts for anonymous peer review.

Reviews assess scholarly books and other multimedia research about New Brunswick (documentary films, musical compilations with a critical component, research-based websites of scholarly relevance, etc.). They analyze work for overarching themes and arguments, and comment on context and relevance to the province. Reviews can range from 500-2500 words and are considered by the editorial board before publication. To propose books or other media for review, please contact the Editor. JNBS/RÉNB does not review creative work.

All submissions must be accompanied by an abstract of no more than 100 words and a 25-word biographical statement. (Longer abstracts and bios will be returned for revision.)

Manuscripts may be submitted electronically through our OJS (Open Journal System) site.

Open Access Policy

Discussion Forum Policy

In keeping with the mandate of JNBS to generate conversation and debate about New Brunswick, the editorial board welcomes responses to essays and articles that appear in the journal. We believe that debate is key to maintaining the civic health of the public commons. Submission of a response does not guarantee its publication, however. Each response will be considered for publication by the editorial board based on the criteria below. Responses to essays and articles are not the opinion of JNBS, but only of the response writer.

Responses must meet each of the following criteria:

The author’s name and professional affiliation must be affixed to the response, and will be published. In cases where a respondent is representing a particular ideological persuasion or special interest, we leave it to the integrity of the responder to be explicit about that bias
Only “substantive” responses will be considered for publication. “Substantive” responses are those that are more considered than what would normally appear in a letter to the editor. They are longer and more detailed, their arguments are supported by evidence and/or scholarly reference, and they make a purposeful contribution to the issue under discussion. If respondents wish to create fully supported counter arguments in excess of 2500 words, they are invited to submit those as articles for peer review.
Responses will be published in the language in which they are submitted.
Respondents will have three months after the launch of each issue to submit responses. (Responses that arrive after that period will be considered for publication at the discretion of the editorial board.) At the end of three months, all responses will be shared with the original author, who will have two months to address those. Responses that meet the criteria, as well as the author’s address, will then be published.
Responses should be restricted to addressing the material arguments and/or omissions of the original piece to which they are responding.
Responses that are defamatory, off-topic, digressive, or dogmatic will not be published, nor will responses that contain offensive language or unsubstantiated allegations, or that launch personal attacks against individuals, including the original author.
The editorial board reserves the right to edit or delete material from responses that it deems to be unworthy of distribution.

Copyright Policy

JNBS is an open access journal. Copyright for the peer-reviewed articles, essays, and research notes we publish is retained by the author(s), with JNBS having a non-exclusive license to the work throughout the world. After publication in JNBS, the author(s) shall have the right to reprint the article/essay/note in whole or in part, for scholarly or educational purposes, in books authored or edited by the author(s) without the payment of any fee. In the case of commercial reuse of the article/essay/note, JNBS requires a standard permission fee of $100, which will be divided 50/50 between the journal and the author(s). In all instances of reprint and reuse for scholarly/educational or commercial purposes, JNBS/RÉNB must be acknowledged as first publisher. All instances of reprinting and/or reuse must be communicated to the Editor.

Indexing

Peer-reviewed articles, essays, and research notes in JNBS are indexed in :

MLA International Bibliography
Canadian Periodical Index
EBSCO
Academic Search Premier
Canadian Business and Current Affairs
Google Scholar
Directory of Open Access Journals
Scholars Portal (Ontario Council of University Libraries)