About the Journal

About

The LJMU ASPIRE journal is a peer-reviewed, open-access, multidisciplinary academic journal led by the LJMU PGR community for LJMU students, with support from LJMU staff and the Doctoral Academy.

ASPIRE is an acrostic, which means Assiduous Student Projects and Impactful Research Excellence. The name of our journal captures the essence of student creativity, involvement, and the diligent pursuit of research excellence. We hope that the LJMU ASPIRE JOURNAL will inspire current and future LJMU students in their academic and professional pursuits.

The purpose of the journal is to:

  • Publish high-quality undergraduate and postgraduate research from students at LJMU;
  • Enhance the visibility of student research at LJMU;
  • Foster a collaborative academic environment between PGRs and other students (master's and undergraduates).

We accept online submissions via the journal website (via the LJMU Library). See the Guidelines section regarding the submission process and further information. Additionally, anyone interested in discussing a paper topic or becoming a reviewer is welcome to contact the editorial team via email.

Focus and Scope

The LJMU ASPIRE journal is a multidisciplinary academic journal. The Journal is a PGR-led initiative meaning it is manged entirely by the LJMU PGR community with support from LJMU staff, the LJMU library and the LJMU Doctoral Academy.

The journal is committed to being a positive platform that celebrates the research being conducted at LJMU, through the publication of high-quality undergraduate and postgraduate research from LJMU students.

Moreover, as a PGR-led initiative the ASPIRE Journal hopes to provide LJMU students with professional development opportunities including the opportunity for students to develop their writing and scientific communications skills, and for postgraduate student to develop their skills in academic reviewing, editing and mentorship.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content with no submission or publication fees. The content in this journal is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence and allows others to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, link to the full text of the first version of this article, or to use it for any other lawful purpose in accordance with the license. The author maintains copyright for the article published in this journal and grants the journal the right of first publication of the work.

Notice and Takedown Policy

If you are a rights holder and are concerned that you have found material in LJMU Open Journals which infringes UK law, please contact us by emailing openjournals@ljmu.ac.uk, stating the following:

  1. Your contact details and the reason for the withdrawal request, some examples are:
    1. Unauthorised use by reason of reproduction and/or making available the material
    2. Breach of moral right of [paternity/integrity/right not to have my work subjected to derogatory treatment]
    3. Other complaints, e.g. defamation, breach of confidence, data protection
  1. The full bibliographic details of the material and the full URL
  2. Proof that you are the rights holder or are an authorised representative.

 Upon receipt of notification the ‘Notice and Takedown’ procedure is then invoked as follows:

  1. LJMU will acknowledge receipt of your complaint by email or letter and will make an initial assessment of the validity and plausibility of the complaint. We aim to acknowledge and assess the complaint within seven days of receipt.
  2. Where grounds for complaint are plausible, the material will be temporarily removed from public view in LJMU Open Journals pending an agreed solution.
  3. LJMU will contact the contributor who deposited the material, if relevant. The contributor will be notified that the material is subject to a complaint, under what allegations, and will be encouraged to assuage the complaints concerned.
  4. The complainant and the contributor will be encouraged to resolve the issue swiftly and amicably and to the satisfaction of both parties, with the following possible outcomes:
    1. The material is replaced on LJMU Open Journals unchanged.
    2. The material is replaced on LJMU Open Journals with changes.
    3. The material is permanently removed from LJMU Open Journals.
    4. In some cases a metadata record will remain. This will be on a case by case basis.

If the contributor and the complainant are unable to agree a solution from receipt of notification, the material will remain unavailable through LJMU Open Journals until a time when a resolution has been reached. It may be necessary for us to seek legal advice before the complaint can be fully resolved.