Authorship

Authorship acknowledges the respective contribution to research and at the same time serves as a duty of accountability for authors. Each named author should have a substantial share in the conception, design and creation of the article, the collection, analysis or interpretation of data and the creation of new software that was necessary for the work. Each article will only be published under a Creative Commons license with the express consent of the authors, whose declaration of consent is a prerequisite for publication at DCO. All authors are listed with contact details and eventually ORCID; in the case of a group of authors, only one corresponding author can be named.

 

Standards

Data

Research data management with regard to archiving and publication is handled by the Kompetenzzentrum Forschungsdaten (KFD; engl. Competence Center for Research Data) as the operator of heiDATA. Data (e.g. as tables) can be linked directly to the article via the data repository, thus enabling a new form of data transparency. All data repositories are also linked with individual DOIs via heiDATA.

 

Supplemental material (figures/materials/codes)

All publications can be enriched by supplemental material such as tables, codes or figures. Figures, which for technical reasons often cannot be included in the printed version today, are thus possible in good resolution and coloured.

 

Gender-appropriate language

DCO strives to use gender-appropriate language in its publications, which should be used consistently within the articles.

 

Corrections

Articles and their associated metadata cannot be edited after publication. Versioning is only possible if no significant changes are made to the content. As soon as changes are made to the content, a new external and internal review must be carried out.

 

Deadlines

DCO strives for a rapid production process. It only takes a few months from submission to publication, including external and internal reviews. This makes it even more important for editors and authors to agree clear deadlines in order to ensure a smooth working process. Deadlines must be agreed in detail and adhered to.

 

Reviews

The review process at DCO ensures comprehensive quality assurance and adheres to established standards for reputable academic publications. The process is structured as follows:

1. Initial Review
Upon submission, the manuscript undergoes an initial review by the editorial board. The focus is on the scholarly relevance of the findings and their digital component within the field of ancient studies.

2. Assignment and Peer Review Process
If the manuscript is deemed suitable, a responsible editor from the editorial board is assigned, and appropriate external reviewers are selected.

External Reviewers: We collaborate with experts from various fields, including Classical Philology, Ancient History, Papyrology, and Digital Humanities. This pool of experts is expanded as needed to ensure a tailored and qualified review process.
Procedure: We employ a double-blind review process, where neither the reviewers know the identity of the authors nor the authors know the identity of the reviewers. This approach ensures the highest degree of objectivity and impartiality.
Evaluation Criteria: The review focuses on the scientific quality, methodological soundness, relevance, and digital innovation of the manuscript.

3. Communication and Editing
If the review is positive, the responsible editor communicates with the authors and coordinates the implementation of the suggested revisions.

4. Final Review and Approval
After the editing process is complete, the revised manuscript is submitted to the editorial board for final review. Following any necessary last corrections, the final proof is prepared. This proof is sent to the authors for final approval before publication.

This multi-stage process, particularly the double-blind peer review by external experts, ensures that only valid and high-quality research findings are published.

 

Self-archiving/licenses

Publication at DCO is online as PDF with individual DOI under Creative Commons license. Hosting is provided by Heidelberg University Library in the context of the portal Propylaeum. This ensures sustainable citable archiving as well as the indexing and dissemination of the contributions in national and international contexts. The Kompetenzzentrum Forschungsdaten (KFD; engl. Competence Center for Research Data) as the operator of heiDATA is responsible for research data management regarding archiving and publication.

 

Costs

DCO is an open access journal, i.e. the accessibility of the published articles is not tied to fees or other costs for authors and readers, but can be read freely worldwide from any computer with an internet connection. In order to guarantee the open access characteristics, all articles are published under a Creative Commons 4.0 DE license chosen by the authors themselves.

 

Reliability

At DCO, the highest quality standards are maintained at every stage of the production process. Extensive external and internal peer review ensures the publication of valid research results and combines all the qualities of a classic peer-review publication with the advantages of open access.