Author Guidelines

About the Journal

The journal Special Education and Rehabilitation uses an electronic system for editing and publishing – SCIndex Asistent. All authors, reviewers, and editors must be registered users.

Instructions: https://aseestant.ceon.rs/public/podsetnik.pdf

Registration: https://aseestant.ceon.rs/index.php/specedreh/user/register

Log in for registered users: https://aseestant.ceon.rs/index.php/specedreh/login

The journal Special Education and Rehabilitation publishes papers in Serbian and English from all areas of special education and rehabilitation and related scientific disciplines dealing with developmental disorders.  

The journal publishes scientific and professional papers.

Scientific papers: 1) original scientific paper (a paper which presents previously unpublished results of the author’s own scientific research); 2) review paper (a paper which contains original, detailed, and critical presentation of a research problem or field in which the author has made a certain contribution); 3) short communication paper (an original scientific paper of full format, but smaller in scope or preliminary character); 4) scientific reviews and debates (a discussion on a certain scientific topic based solely on scientific argumentation and the use of scientific methodology) and reviews.

Professional papers: 1) professional paper (a contribution which presents experiences useful for the improvement of professional practice, but which are not necessarily based on scientific method); 2) informative essay (editorial, commentary, etc.); 3) report (of a book, computer program, case, scientific event, etc.).

The journal publishes only original papers which have not been previously published, except in the form of an abstract, lecture, doctoral dissertation or master's thesis, and which are not being considered for publication elsewhere.

All submitted papers are automatically checked for plagiarism and auto-plagiarism via the CrossRef (iThenticate) service before being submitted for review.

Published papers are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY).

The journal is published in Green Open Access model. All content is available to users free of charge.

Papers accepted for publication are published in the order determined by the Editorial Board at the proposal of the editor-in-chief.

More information about the journal can be found at:

http://scindeks.ceon.rs/journaldetails.aspx?issn=1452-7367

Manuscript submission

Manuscripts are submitted online at: https://aseestant.ceon.rs/index.php/specedreh/about/submissions

Authors should first read Terms of submission, which are available at the web address given above. By submitting a paper, authors accept responsibility for fulfilling all set requirements.

By submitting a manuscript, the authors guarantee:

• that the manuscript has not been previously published, and that it is not in the process of publication in another journal
• that all authors reviewed the paper before submission and agree with the publication in the journal Special Education and Rehabilitation
• that all and only those people who significantly contributed to the content of the manuscript are listed as authors.

For manuscripts reporting research on human subjects, the authors guarantee that informed consent has been obtained and that the procedure has been carried out in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

For manuscripts in which instruments and software are used, the authors guarantee that they have the appropriate legal rights.

If the manuscript contains previously published illustrations (pictures, charts, etc.), the authors are obliged to submit publication permission from the copyright owner.

Authors are required to point out any conflicts of interest which could affect their results and interpretations.

Manuscript review

Editor-in-chief reserves the right to reject manuscripts which have not been prepared in accordance with these instructions, are not related to the topic of the journal, or do not meet the requirements for publication, without being sent for review.

The journal Special Education and Rehabilitation uses double-blind review. Manuscripts are independently evaluated by at least two reviewers. The reviewers act independently and they are not aware of each other’s identities. The reviewers are selected solely according to whether they have the relevant expertise for evaluating a manuscript. They must not be from the same institution as the author(s) of the manuscript, nor be their co-authors in the recent past. No suggestions of individual reviewers by the author(s) of the manuscript will be accepted.

Reviewers are appointed by the editor-in-chief, or the editor of the issue or column, at the proposal of the Editorial Board. In addition to the manuscript, the evaluation manual and a review form are also sent to reviewers.

The original manuscript and reviews are evaluated by the editor who makes one of the following decisions: 1) publish without changes; 2) publish with the proposed changes; 3) revise and return for review; 4) the manuscript is not for publication. If the reviews are not in accordance with each other, the editor can ask for additional explanations from the reviewers, or hire a third reviewer.

After the review process, anonymous reviews and editor’s comments are sent to authors. Authors are expected to submit a revised manuscript with clearly marked changes and a cover letter with responses to reviewers’ and editors’ comments within a month.

Final version of the accepted manuscript is sent to authors for review and approval. Authors can only make minimal changes within three days. After this phase, the manuscript cannot be revised.

The period from submission to publication is 90 days on average.

Manuscript preparation

Information about the authors

Title page should be attached as a separate document containing the following:

• Title of the paper (the same title as written in the manuscript)
• Information about the authors: name, middle letter and surname, year of birth, affiliation, and email
• Information about the corresponding author: name and surname, official postal address and email
• Short title of the paper (up to 50 characters with spaces)

Papers which are the result of a project research should include a note stating the financier, name, and number of the project. Papers which have previously been partially presented at a scientific or professional conference should include a note providing information about the conference. Papers which are part of a doctoral dissertation or a master’s thesis should include a note providing information about the doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis. 

Format

The manuscript should be written in Latin in Microsoft Word, A4 format, with 2.54 cm margins, Times New Roman font (12 point), with line spacing of 1.5 lines. Pages are numbered in the upper right corner.

The main title should be capitalized, bold and centered. Short title is written in the header in capital letters. Section headings should be capitalized, bold and centered. Level 2 headings should be capitalized, bold and left-aligned. Level 3 headings should be capitalized, bold, italic, and left-aligned. 

Length

Original scientific papers and review papers should be up to 30000 characters with spaces, not including references and acknowledgments. The Editorial Board may approve the publication of longer papers when that is required by the scientific content.

Short communication papers, scientific reviews and debates, and professional papers should be up to 15000 characters with spaces, not including references and acknowledgements.

Informative essays and reports should be up to 5000 characters with spaces.

Language

The manuscript should be written in clear and grammatically correct language. Messy manuscripts with a large number of spelling and grammar mistakes will not be accepted. The Editorial Board reserves the right to proofread the papers before publication, and the proposed changes are sent to authors for review and approval.

Title

The title of the paper is submitted in Serbian and English. The title should be precisely and clearly formulated, consistent with the topic of the paper and should contain words suitable for searching and indexing.

Abstract

An abstract of up to 250 words is submitted in Serbian and English. Abstracts should not include abbreviations and references.

Original scientific papers and review papers should contain a structured abstract with distinct headings for the following sections: Introduction, Objectives, Methods, Results and Conclusion.

An unstructured abstract is submitted for all other categories of papers, except for reports for which an abstract is not required.

Key words

Abstracts should be accompanied by three to five key words in Serbian and English. Keywords should be relevant to the content of the paper and suitable for searching and indexing.

Key words are written below the abstract as follows:

Keywords: first, second, third

Structure

Introduction: The introductory part defines the research problem, gives a summary of relevant theories and previous research, expresses an author’s intention to expand or review existing knowledge, and sets the research aim.

Methods: The sampling procedure, sample, applied instruments and procedures, and statistical methods should be described in detail so that the results can be repeated. Well-known methods should not be described, but only their name and reference should be provided.

Results: Results should be presented clearly and concisely, using tables or charts, without duplication. Decimals should be written with a period. Zeros should not be written when reporting statistics whose absolute value is theoretically limited to the range 0–1 (e.g. r, p, α). Decimals should be rounded to two decimal places, except for percentages which are rounded to one decimal place, and results for which the data on differences on the third decimal place is important (e.g. p). The results of statistical processing should be reported as follows: (t(88) = 4.39, p <.001, d = 0.63) or (r = -.11, p = .38).

Tables: Tables should be in Word format and marked with Arabic numerals, in the order in which they appear in the text. The number is written above the table and the title, bold and left-aligned (e.g. Table 1). The title should be written below the number with double spacing, capitalized, italic, and left-aligned. Tables should not contain vertical lines. Horizontal lines should be used at the top and bottom of the table and to separate headers from other rows. All text entries should be capitalized. Headings in the header and all entries should be centered, except for the entries in the far-left column which should be left-aligned. A note explaining the content (e.g. abbreviations, asterisks indicating probability) should be given below the table. In the text, tables are listed as follows: “In Table 1…”.

Charts and figures: Charts and figures are marked with Arabic numerals, in the order in which they appear in the text. The number is written above the chart or figure and the title, bold and left-aligned (e.g. Chart 1, Figure 1). The title should be written below the number with double spacing, capitalized, italic, and left-aligned. Charts and figures should be legible in size and resolution. A legend explaining the symbols should be positioned within the boundaries of the chart or figure. A note explaining the content (e.g. abbreviations, copyright) should be given below the chart or figure. In the text, charts and figures are listed as follows: “In Chart 1…”.

Discussion: Discussion should include interpretation of the obtained results in the context of theories and research presented in the introductory part, with an explanation of whether the mentioned studies support or dispute the obtained results. Advantages and limitations of the research should be mentioned in the discussion. It is also advisable to provide recommendations.

Conclusion: Conclusions should be linked to research objectives by avoiding unfounded statements which are not supported by the obtained results. The data given in Introduction and Results sections should not be repeated in detail. New information should be separated from previous research and the contribution of the paper to the improvement of scientific knowledge should be explained.

Acknowledgements: Acknowledgments, at the end of the text, should state financial and technical assistance, advice, etc. For stating the names of persons and institutions, their consent is required.

References: The list of references includes only the references the author referred to in the paper, in alphabetical order, by the authors’ surnames. All references are written in Latin. References by the same author are listed according to the year of publication, from the oldest to the most recent. References by the same author published in the same year should be marked with letters (e.g. 2019a, 2019b). References of several authors with the same first author are listed in alphabetical order according to the surname of the second author or, if they are the same, the third, etc.

Abbreviations: Full term should be given for each abbreviation when mentioned in the text for the first time, e.g. intellectual disability (ID).

Footnotes: Footnotes should not be used except for comments and additional text.

Referring to sources within the text

For a detailed list of rules applied when referring to sources within the text, please consult the valid version of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.), the so-called APA 7 manual (American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000). Some of the most important rules are given below.

• If reference is made to a source that has one or two authors, their surnames and year of publication are always given (e.g. Johnson & Stevens, 1999; Popović, 2013; Popović & Jovanović, 2009; Stevens, 2011).
• If the authors' surnames are not written in parentheses, i.e. as part of a sentence, then only the year is written in parentheses (e.g. as Popović and Jovanović (2009) consider ...).
• Each quote (literally quoting parts of the text) should be within quotation marks and followed by information about the page number the quote was taken from (e.g. this is indicated by numerous studies “which confirm the impact of playing violent video games on psychological processes” (Stojanović, 2019, p. 202)).
• If reference is made to a source which has three or more authors, only the surname of the first author is given followed by “et al.” within a sentence and year in parentheses (e.g. in the research by Hue et al. (2004)).
• If two authors have the same surname, the first letter of their names should be added in front of each (e.g. A. Babić, 2014; B. Babić, 2012; E. Johnson, 2001; L. Johnson, 1998;).
• If a reference has no author, the name of institution and the year should be provided (e.g. WHO, 2020).
• When referring to multiple sources, the order is alphabetical, and the sources should be separated by a semi-colon (e.g. Bijelić, 2018; Kovač, 2014; Vuletić, 2009). More references by the same author are listed chronologically, from the oldest to the most recent one (e.g. Popović, 2015, 2019).

Rules for listing references

References are given in accordance with APA 7 standards, at the end of the paper, in the References section. If a DOI number is available, it is necessary to provide this information as well. The DOI number should be provided as a link (e.g. https://doi.org/10.5937/specedreh20-32793). The description and examples of listing common references are given below.

Journal article

According to APA 7 standards, if a paper has up to 20 authors, names of all authors should be listed. If the number of authors exceeds 20, it is necessary to state the first 19 and separate them from the last author with an ellipsis (…).

Examples of listing articles with up to 20 authors:

• Banković, S., Baloš, V., & Brojčin, B. (2019). Forme i funkcije komunikacije kod učenika s poremećajem iz spektra autizma [Forms and functions of communication in a population of students with autism spectrum disorder]. Specijalna edukacija i rehabilitacija, 18(3), 237-271. https://doi.org/10.5937/specedreh18-23572
• Winter, K., Spengler, S., Bermpohl, F., Singer, T., & Kanske, P. (2017). Social cognition in aggressive offenders: Impaired empathy, but intact theory of mind. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-00745-0

Example of listing an article with more than 20 authors:

• Buttrick, N., Choi, H., Wilson, T. D., Oishi, S., Boker, S. M., Gilbert, D. T., Alper, S., Aveyard, M., Cheong, W., Čolić, M. V., Dalgar, I., Doğulu, C., Karabati, S., Kim, E., Knežević, G., Komiya, A., Laclé, C. O., Ambrosio Lage, C., Lazarević, L. B., . . . Wilks, D. C. (2019). Cross-cultural consistency and relativity in the enjoyment of thinking versus doing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 117(5), e71–e83. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000198

Book

• Vuković, M. (2019). Neurodegenerativni poremećaji govora i jezika [Neurodegenerative speech and language disorders]. Univerzitet u Beogradu – Fakultet za specijalnu edukaciju i rehabilitaciju.
• Ganz, J. B. (2014). Aided augmentative communication for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-0814-1

Chapter in monographs or thematic collections

• Boisjoli, J. A., & Matson, J. L. (2010). General methods of assessment. In J. L. Matson (Ed.), Social behavior and skills in children (pp. 61-75). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0234-4

Conference presentation

• DiGiuseppe, R., Leaf, R., Exner, T., & Robin, M. (1988, September). The development of a measure of irrational/rational thinking [Paper presentation]. World Congress of Behavior Therapy, Edinburgh, Scotland.

If the presentation is printed in conference proceedings, citation rules for papers in monographs or thematic collections are applied.

Doctoral dissertation

• Clarke, B. D. (2013). Parents’ perceptions and awareness of cyberbullying of children and adolescents [Doctoral dissertation, Antioch University]. AURA. https://aura.antioch.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1071&context=etds

References with no authors

• Every Student Succeeds Act, 20 U.S.C. § 6301. (2015). https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/senate-bill/1177
• World Health Organization (WHO). (2018). Strategic Guidance on accelerating actions for adolescent Health in South-East Asia Region (2018-2022). World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia.

Websites

Example of listing a website when the author is known:

• Strauss, E. (2018, September 20). Parents, stop feeling so guilty about TV time. CNN Health. https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/20/health/screentime-guilt-parenting-strauss/index.html

Example of listing a website when the author is unknown:

• World Health Organization. (2020, May 1). Billions worldwide living with herpes. https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/01-05-2020-billions-worldwide-living-with-herpes

If the website does not have an author, the title of the website or paper being cited is provided instead of the author's name.