In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

  • Editors' ForewordDisciplinary Overview of Manuscript Submissions and Publications 2002-2006
  • Peter M. Ward, Jonathan Brown, Henry Dietz, Naomi Lindstrom, Raúl Madrid, and Shannon Halley

Report on Manuscripts Received, 2006

In 2006 LARR began the transition from the University of Texas at Austin to the new editorial team at McGill University. By agreement with Dr. Philip Oxhorn, the incoming editor, we continued to receive and process manuscripts at UT for the first eight months of 2006, with all new manuscripts going to McGill for possible inclusion in volume 43 (2008) from September onwards. This means, therefore, that unlike previous years for which we reported on a full twelve-month cycle, the following data relate to eight months, January through August 2006. Thus, the data are not strictly comparable with previous years.

Nevertheless, the data suggest a strong continuation of the trends reported previously. The number of manuscripts submitted continues to rise: the 86 manuscripts received over the eight-month period suggest that the number would have exceeded the previous year's total of 108. Of those 86 submissions, political science/economy continue to be the largest disciplinary group maintaining their consistent average of total submissions to LARR of around 37 percent, as did history with 19 percent: both are almost identical to previous years. Literature and culture was next with 14 percent, followed by economics, sociology, and anthropology, each between 6 and 8 percent. In terms of country of origin or place of residence of authors, the large majority continued to come from the United States and Canada (65 percent), while a slightly lower percentage (21 percent) came from Latin America than in the previous year, with a further 14 percent of submissions coming from European-based scholars. [End Page 3]

As in previous years, some 23 percent of manuscripts had a comparative or general Latin American focus, rather than being tied to any one country. Those that were country focused favored Brazil (19 percent); Argentina and Mexico (11–12 percent each); while Central American countries and the Caribbean (including Cuba) each provided the focus for around 10 percent of the submissions. This is a more diverse pattern than in previous reports, especially concerning the primacy of Brazil and the rising proportion of Caribbean and Central American country-based papers. In summary, these data suggest that LARR continues to be on an upward trend as a venue for publication of scholarly work, and reaches significantly beyond the United States in terms of authorship of submissions. The desire to increase submissions from Latin American-based scholars remains, however.

As previous reports have emphasized, LARR is very competitive in the review and selection process, but in processing manuscripts we have also sought to maintain a firm commitment to ensure a reasonably expeditious turnaround time. As in previous years, more than half (57 percent) of all manuscripts were rejected after an internal review by the editors, with notification on average three weeks from receipt. The average processing time for the remaining 43 percent that went out for external review was 86 days. Forty percent of those reviewed externally were subsequently rejected, while most of the remainder received revise-and-resubmit responses. (Only 5 percent were accepted outright or conditionally after external review.)

In conclusion, LARR continues to be fine fettle in terms of the total number and quality of submissions and their provenance. The journal maintains a high standard of selectivity, with a relatively swift review process.

2002–2006: A Retrospective View by the Editors

In our first foreword (38:1) we expressed a desire to broaden the range of disciplinary submissions and articles published in LARR as well as to promote ahead-of-the-curve research, even if this meant taking the occasional risk. We also proposed to periodically sponsor research forums, both in the pages of LARR and/or at LASA congresses or regional meetings.

Over the five years we have had considerable success on all fronts. LARR has sponsored more than a dozen major panels at LASA congresses since the one in Dallas (March 2003), and the findings of three of those research forums have appeared in our pages as research notes on "Marginality and 'New' Poverty" (2004, 39...

pdf

Share