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About the journal

Brief history

The Revue de géographie alpine (RGA) was founded in 1913 by the French geographer, Raoul Blanchard, and since 2003 has been published in both French and English. Since its creation, it has been open to the neighbouring disciplines of geography and has specialised in the study of mountain areas. From 1968, it has been managed by the Association de géographie alpine, linked to the Institut de géographie alpine (IGA) and part of the Université Joseph Fourrier (Grenoble). In June 2004, it became the Revue de géographie alpine/Journal of Alpine research, and began publishing, in French and in English, hitherto unpublished scientific papers on regional and environmental questions concerning the Alpine Arc and other European mountain areas. Analyses of other mountain areas of the world may also be included in issues dealing with a comparative theme. All the social sciences (geography, history, sociology, anthropology, geopolitics etc.) are invited to make contributions to discussion on the different issues affecting alpine areas.

In 2013, its centenary year, the journal, henceforth to be known as the Journal of Alpine research|Revue de géographie alpine, is continuing to open up the francophone way of thinking to the world. Articles will be published in two languages. One version will be in English, which is essential to ensure the dissemination of ideas to a wide range of readers, while the other will be in one of the alpine languages, namely French, German, or Italian, or in Spanish.

Editorial policy and review procedure

Editorial policy

The Revue de Géographie alpine – Journal of Alpine Research is an international, multidisciplinary journal. It publishes, in French, German, Italian or Spanish, and always with an English translation, hitherto unpublished scientific papers on regional and environmental questions concerning the Alpine Arc and European mountain areas. Analyses of other mountain areas of the world may also be included in issues dealing with a comparative theme.

The Editorial Committee is both international and multidisciplinary and is responsible for ensuring the scientific quality and innovative and original nature of contributions.

The Journal of Alpine Research is the property of the Association pour la Diffusion de la Recherche Alpine.

The editorial policy is defined in consistency with Mountain Research and Development, a journal which publishes articles concerning the “mountains of the south” and adopts a more applied approach.

The Journal of Alpine Research is the main instrument of scientific communication of the Alpine Convention.

The journal has long been indexed on the bibliographical bases associated with the INIST (Institute of Scientific and Technical Information), in France and abroad.

Since 2007, the Journal of Alpine Research has been one of the very few French journals referenced by the ISI Web of Knowledge (WOK) of Thomson Reuters.

The entire archives of the journal, which has been published uninterrupted since 1913, are available free on the website and on the “Persée” site; a direct link is accessible from this site.

Review procedures

Whether the article is unsolicited or part of a special issue, it is first evaluated by the editorial committee for scientific interest, format and compliance with editorial policy.

Articles that contain more than 30 000 characters are immediately returned to the author.

If the text is accepted at the first reading, it is then evaluated anonymously by at least two critical reviewers chosen by the editorial committee. As far as is possible, the reviewers are not on the editorial committee and do not belong to the same institution as the author. Anonymity, with regard to both the author and the reviewers, is preserved throughout the evaluation process.

Reviewers have a detailed evaluation grid and are asked, among other things, to give their overall opinion on the text and, if they so wish, to annotate the text.

Critical reviewers may recommend refusal of the text, the making of major or minor revisions, or immediate acceptance for publication.

If the opinions of the reviewers are contradictory, the editorial committee reserves the right to seek the opinion of an additional expert. Finally, it is the editorial committee that decides on the definitive refusal or acceptance of the article.

Once the opinions of the reviewers have been received, they are studied by the editorial committee and, in the case of a special issue, together with the person responsible for the issue. A summary of reviewers’ opinions is sent to the author by the Editorial office. At that time, major revisions may be requested. The editorial committee reserves the right to refuse the final text if the revisions requested are not made.

Ethical considerations

The editorial committee makes every effort to ensure that the following rules of professional ethics are respected:

  • vigilance regarding plagiarism and multiple publications;

  • complete anonymity of author and reviewers throughout the evaluation process;

  • quality of writing;

  • pluralism, openness, curiosity, rigour in the choice of themes, scientific excellence.

Mentoring system

Why mentoring at JAR|RGA?

The Journal of Alpine Research|Revue de géographie alpine (JAR/RGA) wishes to participate in the dissemination of quality, open and free research. It is committed to the autonomy, plurality and collective dimension of public research.

In this spirit, the Journal of Alpine Research|Revue de géographie alpine wishes to propose to interested authors a support system in the publication process. It consists in advising and supporting the authors, especially the less experienced ones, by introducing the support of a mentor during the writing process. This process must allow to reinforce the equity between researchers, whatever their level of experience or training in scientific writing, to promote articles coming from various horizons and proposing quality scientific insights on mountain territories.

How does this scheme work and how can you benefit from it?

1. Authors who wish to benefit from this program must provide a proposal for an article (in the form of a long abstract of about 1000 words or a first draft of the article) including the following elements

  • an explanation of the relevance of the article to the objectives of the JAR|RGA;

  • an introduction that motivates the article and explains the research question;

  • a brief review of the state of the art to situate the proposed document in the relevant literature;

  • a methodology (case study/fieldwork, data collection and analysis method);

  • results or preliminary results;

  • elements of discussion and/or conclusion.

This support system can also be offered to certain authors when they receive an article in the context of a thematic or varia call for papers.

2. The Journal of Alpine Research|Revue de géographie alpine tries to respond to the demand, according to the availability of the mentors.

3. The mentor accompanies the author in the realization of the article for 1 to 3 months (maximum) and with a maximum of 2 or 3 return visits. The mentoring can take different forms, depending on the needs identified: email or oral exchanges on methods, literature review, distance from the progress of the reflection, etc.

4. At the end of the mentoring, the article is finalized and submitted to the journal by the author and follows the journal’s evaluation procedure.

The Journal of Alpine Research|Revue de géographie alpine only undertakes to accompany the authors in their submission of the article. The Journal of Alpine Research|Revue de géographie alpine does not commit itself to publish the mentored articles.

In the event of publication, the author agrees to name the mentor in the acknowledgements of the article. The journal publishes an annual mentor committee.

What does this system offer to authors?

It is a mechanism to promote knowledge of the journal and its requirements for scientific publication. It is not a substitute for training courses on scientific writing and communication, such as those offered by certain doctoral schools.

Some recommended methodological references to read beforehand

—Garnier S. & Savage A.D., 2018.- Rédiger un texte académique en français : règles grammaticales, règles d’usage, exercices d’entraînement corrigés, Paris, Éditions Ophrys.

—Lindsay, D., Poindron, P., 2011.- Guide de rédaction scientifique, Versailles, Éditions Quæ. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3917/quae.linds.2011.01.

—Livian Y.-F. & Laurini R., 2018.- Réussir son mémoire de master ou sa thèse : guide pour les étudiants étrangers, Meylan, Campus ouvert.

Contact: Olivier Vallade and Marie-Christine Fourny

Index referencing

The journal is indexed in the following information systems:

Library of Congress, revues.org, EDS and Atoz d’Ebsco, 360 Core de Serials Solutions, SFX and Primo Central d’Exlibris, Summon de Proques.

It is also referenced by AERES, the Web Of Science, Scopus, DOAJ.

Motion of editorial comitee against the draft law on multi-annual research programming (LPPR)

France is currently seeing the mobilisation of a social movement against the guidelines set out in three preparatory reports for the draft law on multi-annual research programming (LPPR). These reports were drawn up without taking into account the scientific community’s point of view, which it had clearly expressed.

The journal is affected by this movement because it has close ties to France. Some of its editorial board members, its management team and most of its funding come from France. However, while this news story affects the French academic world most directly, it echoes movements from the past and the present that involve the broader international scientific community. As a multilingual international journal, the JAR/RGA, taking its lead from its members, notes its concern to its readers and contributors regarding these developments in international research.

These guidelines form part of an ongoing process of commodifying and gentrifying research, which increases competition between researchers and universities. The members of the JAR/RGA editorial board are voicing their commitment to autonomy, plurality and the collective dimension of public research, and they reaffirm their desire to participate in the dissemination of research that is high-quality, open and free. These values are reflected in the choice made 10 years ago to host the journal on the OpenEdition Journals portal.

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