Instructions for Authors

Contemporary Mediterranean is an international scientific journal for social sciences and humanities. It is of multidisciplinary character and publishes papers from the fields of information and communication sciences, political science, sociology, contemporary history, cultural studies, and other related scientific disciplines that are dealing with the Mediterranean area.

All papers are sent for at least two anonymous reviews, where the reviewers do not know the authors' identities, nor do the authors know the reviewers' identities.

Authors are required to ensure transparency by describing the responsible use of artificial intelligence tools in accordance with the journal’s ethical and editorial standards. The use of AI tools in the preparation of a manuscript must be disclosed, specifying the tool used and the purpose for which it was applied (e.g., language editing, code generation, figure preparation). This information must be included in the manuscript under a section titled “AI Disclosure” (see the AI Disclosure section below).

Contemporary Mediterranean follows the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which state that the following criteria must be met to qualify for authorship of a manuscript:

a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or to the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work
drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content
approval of the version to be published
accountability for all aspects of the work, ensuring that any questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Submitted papers will first be screened by the handling editor. Papers outside the scope of the journal will be rejected without review. Manuscripts on the borderline of the journal’s thematic area may be forwarded to an advisory editor specializing in that topic. Similarly, papers more suitable for a journal in a different field may be rejected without review based on the advisory editor’s recommendation. Manuscripts that do not meet minimum standards of quality and originality, or do not fit the journal’s thematic focus, may also be rejected before review. The final decision on the publication of any manuscript rests with the journal’s editorial board.

After the initial editorial screening, manuscripts are sent for review. If any reviewers decline to review the paper, alternative reviewers are appointed. Reviewers should not be employed at the same institution as the authors and must have demonstrated expertise in the subject area addressed by the manuscript. Typically, two authoritative reviews are required before the editor decides to accept, reject, or request a revised version of the paper.

When resubmitting a manuscript with the accepted suggestions from the reviewers, authors must provide a cover letter describing the revisions made and indicating the pages where those changes were implemented.

The journal is published annually in an online-only format. Manuscripts may be submitted and published in either Croatian or English. The journal does not charge article processing charges (APCs) or submission fees. In order to submit a paper to Contemporary Mediterranean, you are required to register an account at: contmed.net. Only papers submitted via our website will be taken into consideration for the publishing process.

Authors are fully responsible for the content they submit to the journal, including texts, images, tables, and any other materials. By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that they hold the rights to publish all submitted materials and that the content does not infringe copyright, third-party rights, or applicable regulations.

The Editorial Board accepts manuscripts prepared according to the following guidelines:

General information regarding format and styles:

The first page must contain the title of the paper, name of the author, abstract (120 – 150 words) containing the purpose of research its goal, and research methods used. Below the abstract include a list of five keywords.
Abstract and keywords should be written in Croatian and English, using Times New Roman font with 12-point size, 1,0 spacing, and 2,5 cm margins on both sides.
Use bold font on the title of the papers, as well as the titles of sections of your paper.
Images, tables, graphs, and similar graphical imagery must be centered with the source written directly below them.
Journal articles should be between 6 000- 8000 words.
Book reviews should be between 1 000- 2 000 words.
Papers must be submitted in a .doc/.docx format (Microsoft Word)

Each manuscript must include the following content at the end of the paper, but before the "References" section:

Author Contributions: Each author is expected to have made a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work; the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; the development of any new software used in the study; the drafting of the manuscript; or its significant revision; to have approved the submitted version of the manuscript (including the version edited by the journal’s editorial office); and to agree to be personally accountable for the contributions of all authors, ensuring that any questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even those in which the author was not directly involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and documented in the reference list.

For manuscripts with multiple authors, provide a brief paragraph detailing each author's individual contributions (using initials only), using the following formulations as appropriate: Conceptualization, X.X. and Y.Y.; Methodology, X.X.; Software, X.X.; Validation, X.X., Y.Y., and Z.Z.; Formal analysis, X.X.; Investigation, X.X.; Resources, X.X.; Data curation, X.X.; Writing – original draft, X.X.; Writing – review and editing, X.X.; Visualization, X.X.; Supervision, X.X.; Project administration, X.X.; Funding acquisition, Y.Y.

For a single author, use the following wording: “The author confirms sole responsibility for the conception and design of the research, data collection, analysis and interpretation of results, and preparation of the manuscript.”

Funding: The manuscript must clearly state all sources of research funding. If the research did not receive any funding, include the following statement: “The research presented in this manuscript did not receive any funding from external sources.”

Conflict of Interest: Disclose any known financial, professional, or personal relationships that could influence the work. If none exist, state: "None."

AI Disclosure of the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or AI-Based Tools: “During the preparation of this manuscript, the author(s) used [NAME OF TOOL/SERVICE] to [REASON]. After using the tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and, if necessary, edited the content and take full responsibility for the content of the published article.”

If no AI or AI-based tools were used, state: “I did not use artificial intelligence or AI-based tools in the preparation of this manuscript.”

Notes: If the manuscript is derived from a doctoral dissertation, project, thesis, or similar work, this should be indicated here. Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section.

GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN MANUSCRIPTS AND RESEARCH

As artificial intelligence (AI) technologies become more integrated into research and writing processes, it is important to ensure their use aligns with the ethical standards and integrity expected in academic publishing. The following guidelines outline our journal’s position on the use of AI tools in manuscript preparation and research:

1. Transparency and Disclosure:

Authors must clearly disclose any use of AI tools in preparing their manuscripts. This includes, but is not limited to, AI-generated text, data analysis, image generation, or other AI-assisted methods. The publication should specify the tools used and the extent of their application.
A disclosure describing the role of artificial intelligence should be included in manuscript.

2. Responsibility and Authorship:

Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscripts, including any sections generated or assisted by AI tools. AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.
It is the authors’ responsibility to ensure that all content, regardless of how it was produced, meets the journal’s standards for quality, accuracy, and originality.

3. Ethical Use and Compliance:

The use of artificial intelligence must comply with ethical guidelines, including those related to data privacy, consent, and copyright. Authors must ensure that AI use does not violate these ethical standards.
Plagiarism, whether human or AI-generated, is strictly prohibited. Authors must ensure that AI-generated content is properly verified and cited.

4. Accuracy and Validation:

Authors must critically assess and verify the validity of results produced using AI tools in research or manuscript preparation. Reliance on AI-generated data or interpretations must be justified, and authors should provide evidence of validation when applicable.
Any errors or biases identified in AI-generated results must be addressed, and authors must ensure that the final manuscript accurately represents the research findings without undue influence from the limitations of artificial intelligence tools.

5. Research Integrity and Reproducibility:

When AI is used in the research methodology, authors must provide sufficient detail to allow others to understand, reproduce, and verify the validity of the AI-assisted sections. This includes sharing data, code, and specific parameters used in AI applications, subject to data sharing policies and ethical guidelines.

6. Human Supervision:

While AI can be a valuable tool in research and writing, human supervision is essential. Authors must supervise AI to ensure compliance with scientific rigor and the journal’s ethical standards.
Critical thinking and expert judgment should not be replaced by AI-generated results, and authors are expected to make all key decisions in the research and writing process.

Matica Hrvatska (2021). Available at: https://www.matica.hr/ (Accessed: 5.11.2021)

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.

Editorial Board

Instructions for Authors

GUIDELINES FOR THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN MANUSCRIPTS AND RESEARCH

Citing references guidelines

Books (single author)

Books (two authors)

Books (three authors)

Books (four or more authors)

Chapter in an edited book

Article in a journal (physical copy)

Article in a journal with a DOI number (online copy)

Newspapers article (physical copy)

Newspapers article (online copy)

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