UVA Library’s Aperio to begin publishing Research in Special Education

Aperio, the UVA Library-led open access press, is pleased to announce the launch of Research in Special Education (RiSE), an open-access journal.

RiSE will publish all types of research, including replications and studies with null or negative findings, as well as non-empirical papers (e.g., theoretical and conceptual papers, commentaries, and how-to guides) related to research, with the goal of advancing special education. RiSE will be the only diamond open-access journal, in which all articles are freely available to all without any cost to authors to publish, devoted specifically to research in special education and related fields. 

RiSE’s founding co-editors-in-chief, Bryan G. Cook and William J. Therrien, are both professors in the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development and well-respected researchers in special education. Both editors also serve as co-directors of the Special Education Research Accelerator (SERA), a platform for crowdsourcing research, and the Aletheia Society, a professional organization for special education researchers. Additionally, Cook co-edits the annual volume Advances in Learning and Behavior Disabilities, is former co-editor of the journal Behavioral Disorders, and is former President of the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division for Research. Therrien co-edits Journal of Special Education, is former co-editor of the journal Exceptional Children, and is former President of the Council for Exceptional Children’s Division for Learning Disabilities.

By publishing with Aperio, Cook and Therrien developed an open-access journal that is not only free to readers, but also does not levy any publishing charges to authors. This means that critical research findings that inform policy and practice in special education will be available to policymakers, educators, specialists, parents, and other parties who often cannot access the paywalled articles published in other journals. Additionally, RiSE encourages (e.g., awards electronic badges) and facilitates the application of other open practices (e.g., preregistration, open data, open materials) that help make the process and products of science transparent and accessible. 

Aperio, a service of UVA Library, publishes discipline-leading, high-quality open access journals. By removing price and permission barriers, Aperio increases the dissemination, visibility, accessibility, and impact of research and scholarship across disciplines, while providing its journals with a stable and committed institutional home.

“We’re excited to launch RiSE and provide the special education research community an alternative to traditional journals that enable researchers to make their work open for all. There is significant enthusiasm in the field for this approach to publishing and the benefits it can have for researchers, educators, and the education of students with disabilities,” said Cook.

“RiSE expands opportunities for researchers to share their work openly and transparently,” said Therrien. “By removing publication fees and promoting open-science practices, RiSE ensures critical research reaches the policymakers, educators, and families who rely on it to advance outcomes for students with disabilities.”

“We are pleased for Aperio to be the home for RiSE, and that the editors encourage authors to use open-science practices to provide all aspects of their research to ensure further advancement in the field of special education” added Jennifer Roper, Director of Digital Strategies and Scholarly Communications at UVA Library.

Research in Special Education is the sixth journal in Aperio’s portfolio and is available at http://riseopenjournal.org/. The journal is free for both readers and authors, and individual articles will be published immediately after completing production. All articles will be published using a Creative Commons license, meaning authors retain their copyright and have the right to attribution.

Learn more about Aperio, the University of Virginia’s open access press.