About the Journal

Focus and Scope

NorDiNa is a Nordic journal of science education publishing scientific articles in the field of science education; both research based and reflective perspectives. Articles on related topics such as technology and geography are also welcome. We appreciate contributions from the Nordic countries as well as from other countries. In addition to scientific articles we publish descriptions of curriculum development, ongoing projects and short abstracts of dissertations in the field. Contributions are in English as well as in Swedish, Danish and Norwegian. All articles have an English abstract and title regardless of the article’s language. The journal does not have any publishing fees.

 

Peer Review Process

Submission of a manuscript for publication in NorDiNa involves that the article should not be previously published, and that the author is obliged not to publish it elsewhere as long as it is in a review process in NorDiNa. All articles are reviewed in a double blind peer review by two independent referees and the editors, who communicate the reviews to authors with requirements for revision. When an article is accepted for publication in NorDiNa, it will be published both in the paper based and online version of the journal.

 

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

NorDiNa's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

(adapted from Cambridge University Press)

1. Ethical standards

Editors' responsibilities

  • To carry out their editorial duties in a balanced, objective and fair way in keeping with the purpose of the journal.
  • To accept submissions solely on their academic merit.
  • To follow accepted procedures in the event of complaints and, where relevant, give authors a reasonable opportunity to respond. All complaints should be investigated no matter when the original publication was approved. Documentation associated with any such complaints should be retained.
  • Journal editors may reject a submitted manuscript without resort to formal peer review if they consider the manuscript to be inappropriate for the journal and outside its scope.

Reviewers' responsibilities

  • To give support to the decision-making process, and to maintain the quality of the published paper by reviewing the manuscript objectively, in a timely manner.
  • To maintain the confidentiality of any information supplied by the editor or author.
  • To not retain or copy the manuscript.
  • To alert the editor to any published text or other content that is substantially similar to that under review.
  • To alert the editor of any potential conflicts of interest and if necessary withdrawing their services for that manuscript.

Authors' responsibilities

  • To maintain accurate records of data associated with their submitted manuscript, and provide access to these data, on reasonable request. Where appropriate data will be placed in a suitable repository or storage location, for further use by others.
  • To confirm that the manuscript as submitted is not under consideration or has been accepted for publication elsewhere. In cases of overlap with published or submitted content, authors must cite those sources and provide the editor with copies of any submitted or published manuscript. This also applies for texts published in other languages than the submitted manuscript.
  • To confirm that all the work in the submitted manuscript is original and to acknowledge and cite content reproduced from other sources. To obtain permission to reproduce any content from other sources.
  • Authors should ensure that any studies involving human or animal subjects conform to national, local and institutional laws and requirements (e.g. WMA Declaration of Helsinki, NIH Policy on Use of Laboratory Animals, EU Directive on Use of Animals) and confirm that approval has been sought and obtained where appropriate.
  • Authors should follow accepted national and international guidelines regarding research with or on human subjects, obtain express permission from and respect their privacy.
  • To declare any potential conflicts of interest, such as where the author has a competing interest (real or apparent) that could be considered or viewed as exerting an undue influence on his or her duties at any stage during the publication process.
  • To notify promptly the journal editors if a significant error in their publication is identified. To cooperate with the editor and publisher to publish an erratum, addendum, corrigendum notice, or to retract the paper, where this is deemed necessary.
  • The corresponding author must ensure all named co-authors consent to publication and to being named as a co-author. All persons who have made significant contributions to the work reported should be named as co-authors.
  • All authors named on the paper are equally held accountable for the content of a submitted manuscript or published paper. Criteria for co-authorship in NorDiNa follow the Vancouver Convention (see http://www.icmje.org).

Publishers’ responsibilities

The publishers (University of Oslo and Stockholm University) shall ensure that they subscribe to and maintain the principles and standards outlined above.

2. Procedures for dealing with unethical behaviour

Identification of unethical behaviour

  • Misconduct and unethical behaviour may be identified and brought to the attention of the editor and publisher at any time, by anyone.
  • Misconduct and unethical behaviour may include, but need not be limited to, examples as outlined above.
  • Whoever informs the editor or publisher of such conduct should provide sufficient information and evidence in order for an investigation to be initiated. All allegations should be taken seriously and treated in an objective way, until a decision or conclusion is reached.

Investigations

  • An initial decision to investigate the matter should be taken by the editor, who should consult with the publisher, if necessary.
  • The matter should be treated confidentially and on a need to know basis.

Minor breaches

  • Minor misconduct might be dealt with without the need to consult more widely. The author should be given the opportunity to respond to any allegations.

Serious breaches

  • The editor, in consultation with the publisher, should make the decision whether or not to involve the employers, either by examining the evidence or by further consultation with a limited number of experts.

Actions taken

The actions taken are listed in increasing order of severity; may be applied separately or in conjunction; and a record of all action taken will be kept by the editor.

  • The editor will inform the author or reviewer in writing that there appears to be a misunderstanding or misapplication of acceptable standards.
  • The editor will inform the author or reviewer in writing that there appears to be serious misconduct with regard to the submitted manuscript and will provide a warning about future behaviour.
  • Publication of a formal notice in the journal detailing the misconduct.
  • Publication of an editorial detailing the misconduct.
  • A formal letter to the head of the author's or reviewer's department or funding agency.
  • Formal retraction or withdrawal of a publication from the journal, in conjunction with informing the head of the author or reviewer's department, Abstracting & Indexing services and the readership of the publication.
  • Imposition of a formal embargo on contributions from an individual for a defined period.
  • Reporting the case and outcome to a professional organization or higher authority for further investigation and action.

Publishing schedule

NorDiNa publishes at least two issues per year.