Operational Policies | AAA Journals

Journal Editors and AAA Membership Policy

Policy:

This policy addresses the AAA membership status of AAA journal editors.

Purpose:

To ensure that all AAA journal editors and associate editors are current members of the AAA (and section as applicable) prior to the term of when their editorship begins and throughout the term of their editorship.

Scope:

All AAA journal editors and associate editors

Procedure:

All editors (including associate editors) of AAA journals must be members of the AAA during the term of their editorship, as well as members of the applicable AAA section if serving a section journal. In the event that a non-AAA member is sought for an AAA journal editorial position, the non-member must join the AAA (and section as applicable) before the term of the editorship begins and must maintain his/her membership during the term of the editorship.

Annual Editor Report and Additional Journal Reporting

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Policy:

This policy outlines the steps and timeline for completing the Annual Editor Report and additional journal reporting for the American Accounting Association’s journal collection.

Purpose:

To understand the objectives and process for reporting on annual journal activities. The Annual Editor Report is compiled by the AAA Publications staff with additional commentary being provided by Senior or Lead Editors. The Report provides insight on the previous year’s activities and gives Editors the opportunity to share her or his perspectives on ongoing trends, opportunities, and issues facing the journal. Limited key data will be shared via the AAA website to inform external stakeholders. Additional trend data for the AAA Collection will keep internal stakeholders informed as to the health and value of the collection.

The Annual Editor Report:

The AAA Publications staff will provide an annual report for each journal using key input data. Senior or Lead Editors of all AAA Association-wide and section journals will be given space and opportunity to provide commentary as part of the report. Editors may also provide insights on the key input data. Journal data will be collected in January for the prior calendar (publication) year, and the Editor Report will be provided to internal stakeholders by February of the current year.

The Research & Publications Committee reviews the editor reports for all the AAA associationwide and section journals. The AAA Board of Directors reviews editor reports of the three association-wide journals and may also do so for the section journals.

Profile of an Editor Report:

The Editor Report should provide context for the journal activity and data, including:

Overview of the editorial process, highlighting any changes during the past year
Introduction of new editors (breadth of expertise, international focus, etc.)
- Editor workloads
Editor insights on Best Papers, Special or themed issues, updates on journal conferences and acknowledgments
Review and commentary of tabular data as well as tables and/or figuresto provide greater context. Tabular data should include annual activity related to submissions; resubmissions; manuscripts available for evaluation; manuscripts in process; rejections; percentage of rejections; number of papers in process; percentage in process; number of acceptances; percentage of acceptances.
Explanation of number of rounds and length of peer review
Median time to first decisions; median time to final decision
Percentage of international authors
Digital library and content aggregator full-text downloads; Top 10 articles (by full-text downloads) in the AAA library
Appendix with list of Ad hoc reviewers
Other detail may be provided as determined by AAA Publications under the guidance of the Research & Publications Committee.

If a journal is undergoing an editor transition, the outgoing editor will be responsible for writing the Editor Report because much of the journal activity and data will be based on his or her term. Exceptions may apply.

Additional Journal Reporting:

Data to be maintained and shared online by the AAA Publications staff.
- Journal Info and Editors
  - Editorial policy
  - Senior editors, with bios
  - Past editors
  - Current editors, with short bios
  - Editorial board
- Editorial and Production Data – specific, differentiating metrics, i.e., turnaround times, time to publication, used to promote a journal. These optional data will be evaluated and updated annually as determined by the AAA Publications Director, Research & Publications Committee or Board.
- Citation Indexes – as appropriate, include the current year IF and Citescore on the journal’s homepage and send to Editors when released each summer.
- International Rankings – The top five ranking agencies are ABDC, ABS, EJL HCERES, VHB and FT50. As appropriate, this information will be shared online on a journal’s homepage.
For Internal Use
Editorial, production and citation trend data reflect what has been accomplished by Editors and identifies where attention is needed.

Policy on Dissemination of Meeting Papers

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Policy Statement

A section or region may make the full text of papers selected for their meetings available to attendees and others on the AAA website (or other equivalent site).

These papers should be clearly labeled as working papers and the copyrights to papers should remain with the authors.
The selection process should not be referred to as refereeing.
The posting of working papers to the meeting site should be done only with the author(s)' permission.
Within 60 days after the end of the meeting, the links to the full text of the papers should be withdrawn.

Rationale

When this policy is complied with, it is the AAA's position that the papers have not been "published" and are eligible to be considered for publication in refereed journals.

Expanding the Number of Articles per Issue or the Number of Annual Issues of a Journal

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Policy:

This policy provides guidance on expanding the number of articles per issue or the number of annual issues of an American Accounting Association (AAA) journal.

Purpose:

In overseeing the production and publication of AAA journals, the Publications Committee seeks to promote:

Timely publication of articles after their acceptance, ideally within six months of acceptance for journals with multiple issues per year.
Consistent and timely publication of journal issues, typically with a fairly consistent range for the number of articles in an issue.
Effective and efficient AAA publications staff operations.
Consistent monitoring of the AAA journal collection.

Scope:

AAA Publications Department Professional Staff and AAA Volunteers

Procedure:

A. Expanding the number of articles published per issue of a journal

To address a backlog of accepted, unpublished papers, it is preferable first to expand the number of articles per issue before expanding the number of annual issues. Decisions to materially change the number of articles per issue in AAA journals is a joint responsibility of the editor and the AAA publications staff (consulting with AAA or Section’s Publications Committee as needed at the request of the editor and/or AAA staff). These decisions should consider any potential impact on the ability to continue to publish full issues of the journal on time. Finally, the size of each issue must conform to print publishing standards.

B. Expanding the number of annual issues of a journal

The decision to expand the number of annual issues of an AAA journal is an AAA Board responsibility, relying on input and recommendations from the Publications Committee, the journal’s Steering Committee (if the decision involves an AAA-wide journal), journal editor, and (if applicable) relevant AAA Section’s Research or Publications Committee. Proposals to consider expansion of journal issues might arise from any of these groups.

Decisions to increase the number of annual issues of an AAA journal must be supported by evidence of a:

Significant backlog of accepted, but unpublished papers,
Continued strong trend of submissions and acceptances at the journal, and
Demonstrated history of publishing recent issues of the journal on time.

Further, the decision process must include consideration of the additional costs associated with the increase, and how those costs will be covered.

Starting a New Journal

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Submit a Proposal

A new journal proposal should provide information necessary to make a decision by following the process below. The Publications Committee will make a recommendation to the AAA Board of Directors who will make the final decision.

The proposal must describe the academic need the journal meets (e.g., there is no other journal adequately filling an important academic need) and
Present a plan for financial viability (i.e., proposed budget)

Process

Research

Have discussions with Section Officers and membership to determine support and desire for a new Section journal
Survey Section membership on how often and where they currently submit journal articles. Would they submit to the new journal?
Survey Section membership regarding their preferences on the nature of journal content, including both topics and methods (e.g., commentaries/opinion pieces, empirical research, or both)
Research whether submissions to the new journal will negatively impact submissions to other existing AAA journals?

Decisions about the Journal

Propose possible names for the journal
Investigate possible editors; are there volunteers for the first eam of editor/associate editors? Is there a sufficient supply of potential editors to sustain the journal in future years?
Decide if the journal will be printed and mailed or online only
Estimate approximate size (number of articles and number of issues) and frequency of the journal (yearly; semi-annual; etc.)

Notifications and Support from AAA Staff

Notify AAA Executive Director, Chief Innovations Officer, Publications Director, Chair of the Publications Committee, and Vice President of Research and Publications of plans/desire to start new journal
Get preliminary estimated costs for journal production from AAA Headquarters after determining approximate size and frequency. An estimate cannot be given without approximated details
Contact Publications Director for sample proposals, business plan, and proposed budgets from other recently established journals, to use as models

Create Proposal and Budget

Using information gathered during the process,s prepare and submit the new journal proposal to the Publications Committee through the Chair of the Publications Committee

Operational Policies | AAA Journals

Table of Contents

Journal Editors and AAA Membership Policy

Policy:

Purpose:

Scope:

Procedure:

Annual Editor Report and Additional Journal Reporting

Policy:

Purpose:

The Annual Editor Report:

Profile of an Editor Report:

Additional Journal Reporting:

Policy on Dissemination of Meeting Papers

Policy Statement

Rationale

Expanding the Number of Articles per Issue or the Number of Annual Issues of a Journal

Policy:

Purpose:

Scope:

Procedure:

Starting a New Journal

Submit a Proposal

Process

Research

Decisions about the Journal

Notifications and Support from AAA Staff

Create Proposal and Budget

Accompanying Documents:

Proposal for a New AAA Journal

Proposed Budget Outline