About the Journal

Table of contents

About Groma

The project Groma was started in 2007 as a means of enhancing the experimental activities of the University of Bologna's Laboratories, the learning structures of the University in which academic topics are faced with a methodological and practical approach. The use of the name of Groma, a Roman tool for land surveying, is intended to be a reference to both antiquity and technology.
The first publications were two books, Groma 1 and Groma 2, dedicated to Archaeology in Piceno, Dalmatia and Epirus and to the non-invasive methodologies and diagnostics applied to archaeology. The focus of these previous volumes and the main research used in them were methodological themes in relation to the Mediterranean basin and mostly the Adriatic areas.
The new open access peer-reviewed e-journal will further expand the range of the contributions to a wider methodological scope.
Groma was firstly published by BraDypUS. Communicating Cultural Heritage. Archaeopress began publishing Groma in conjunction with the Department of History and Cultures, University of Bologna, in 2022.

Publication Fees & APC

Groma does not apply any author's submission fee, any article processing charge (APC) or any other publication related fee. Groma is therefore an Open Content Journal.

License and Copyright

Groma publishes its contents with open access to ensure the widest diffusion and circulation possible of historic knowledge overseen by the scientific community.
All published material is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND) license.
You are free to share, copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format. Groma cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
The following terms must be respected:

  • Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  • NonCommercial — You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
    NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
  • NoDerivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.

Each author holds the ownership and copyright of the text and images of his own article. Exceptions will be properly indicated.
Groma is a research and historic information journal that is produced and edited as part of the academic and research activity of the University of Bologna. Sometimes, for scientific reasons, texts or images are cited for which it was not possible to find out who the original author is. The Department of History, Culture and Civilization is of course available to discuss eventual copyright issues.
The brands cited in Groma are exclusively of their respective owners. Said brands are cited by Groma only for academic and scientific purposes.

Archiving policy

Groma articles are archived with CLOCKSS.

Web site

Groma is published using open-sourced software Open Journal System (OJS) by Open Knowledge Foundation (OKF).

Indexing

Groma in indexed in:

Use of Generative AI (GenAI) and AI-assisted technologies

Groma recognises the opportunities represented by chatbots and generative AI (GenAI) in academic publishing, however it complies with the necessity of holding precise policies to improve transparency in their use.
Authors can use GenAI or other AI-assisted technologies only for minor aspects of the publishing process, such as for the improvement of clarity of language and translation of manuscript for the purpose of publishing, however they should not use these tools for the creation and writing of core scientific content, as well as for plagiarism, fabrication, and manipulation of data and references. Authors must take full responsibilities for accuracy, integrity and originality of their manuscripts, as well as for their submission and careful oversight in the revision, therefore GenAI or other AI-assisted technologies should not be listed as authors or co-authors. Authors must disclose the use of GenAI or other AI-assisted technologies in their papers, notes or book reviews in the acknowledgment section, providing name, version, extension number and manufacturer of the tools and the specific tasks the tools were used for. The statement can be presented as following:

During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used [specifics of the AI tool] to improve readability and language. After using this tool, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication.

The use of AI-generated images, simple graphs, diagrams, illustrations, and tables is not permitted. Two exceptions are possible: for data representation using charts or images of verified data clearly cited in the text, or when AI use is part of the research design or methods. In both cases, authors must explain how the tools were used in the image creation process and describe the use in a reproducible manner in the methods section of their paper. All these products must be labelled as AI-generated in the caption field.
Editors, Advisory Board Members and external Peer Reviewers are asked not to upload manuscripts into AI tools mainly due to confidentiality concerns and to the limitations of these technologies in the lack of up-to-date knowledge, as they cannot replace human expertise and judgement. If they use GenAI or other AI-assisted technologies to support their evaluation of the submitted manuscripts, they are required to declare how they employed these tools in the report form.

Publication Ethics Code

Groma is a peer-reviewed academic journal whose publication ethics code is based on the COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.
All parties involved in the publication process (authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers) are required to be aware of and adhere to the following ethical principles.

Duties of Editors

  • Publication Decisions: Editors of Groma are responsible for deciding whether submitted articles should be published. Editors may consult reviewers in making these decisions.
  • Fairness: Editors evaluate submitted manuscripts solely on the basis of their academic content, without regard to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy.
  • Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and the publisher.
  • Conflicts of Interest and Disclosure: Editors commit not to use unpublished material from a submitted manuscript in their own research without the express written consent of the author.

Duties of Reviewers

  • Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists editors in making editorial decisions and may also help authors improve their manuscripts.
  • Timeliness: A reviewer who feels unqualified to review a manuscript or knows that timely review will be impossible should immediately notify the editors.
  • Confidentiality: All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shared or discussed with others without explicit authorization from the editors.
  • Objectivity: Reviews must be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers are expected to provide clear and well-reasoned evaluations.
    Acknowledgment of Sources
    Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the author. They must inform the editors of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and other published work of which they are aware.
  • Conflicts of Interest and Disclosure: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not evaluate manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors or institutions associated with the submission.

Duties of Authors

  • Data Access and Retention: Authors may be asked to provide the raw data supporting their article for editorial review and should be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication and to make it accessible, if required.
  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must guarantee that their work is entirely original and that any use of others’ work is properly cited.
  • Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: Authors should not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously. Submitting the same research to multiple journals constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
  • Acknowledgment of Sources: Authors must properly acknowledge all sources and contributions cited in the manuscript.
  • Authorship of the Work: Authorship must be accurately attributed. All individuals who have made substantial contributions to the conception, design, execution, or revision of the research should be listed as co-authors. Contributions from others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research should be clearly acknowledged.
    In cases of co-authored papers, the corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors are properly listed, that they have approved the final version of the paper, and that they have agreed to its submission for publication in Groma.
  • Conflicts of Interest and Disclosure: All authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that might be perceived as influencing the results or interpretation of their manuscript. Authors should also indicate any financial support received for the research or the project on which the article is based.
  • Errors in Published Articles: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they are obliged to promptly notify the editors and cooperate to publish an appropriate erratum or correction notice.

Process for identification of and dealing with allegations of research misconduct

Groma adheres to the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines in addressing all allegations of research or publication misconduct. Any suspected misconduct, including but not limited to plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, redundant publication, inappropriate authorship, or undisclosed conflicts of interest, will be treated seriously and investigated promptly.
Upon receiving an allegation, the editors will conduct a preliminary assessment. If the claim appears credible, the author(s) involved will be invited to provide an explanation. When necessary, the matter will be referred to the relevant institution or research organisation for further investigation, in accordance with COPE procedures.
Should the results of the inquiry be positive, possible outcomes include rejection of the manuscript; retraction of published articles if ethical breaches are discovered post-publication; notification to institutions, funders, or other stakeholders, where appropriate. All proceedings will be handled confidentially, impartially, and in full respect of due process.

Revenue sources

The publication of Groma is granted by the economic support of the Department of History and Culture, University of Bologna, through public funding allocated for the publication of open access scientific research.

Advertising

Groma does not accept any form of advertising. No commercial products, services, or promotional content are permitted in any part of the journal, either in print or online.

Direct marketing

Direct marketing by Groma is carried out responsibly and with respect for the academic community. Such communications are relevant, clearly identified as originating from the journal, and targeted only to appropriate recipients. All information provided about the journal is accurate, transparent, and never misleading.