Policies

Philosophy of Confluence: Emerging Voices in Music Research and Creativity

Confluence: Emerging Voices in Music Research and Creativity is an open-access, refereed journal dedicated to showcasing exemplary student and recent alumni work connected to music research, creativity, pedagogy, and practice. The journal reflects a broad understanding of music-related inquiry, including scholarly, creative, pedagogical, theoretical, historical, and practice-based work.

Because submissions emerge from coursework, mentored research, or creative activity, the journal’s editorial philosophy is both rigorous and educational. The review process is designed not only to evaluate quality and readiness for publication, but also to provide constructive feedback that supports continued growth as scholars, artists, teachers, and practitioners.

For more information, please see the Aims & Scope page.

Who Can Submit?

Submissions are welcome from current undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Louisville, as well as recent alumni (within the past three years).

Submissions should demonstrate meaningful engagement with music-related inquiry. While many submissions will originate in the School of Music, work from other disciplines will be considered when it clearly aligns with the journal’s scope.

All submissions must be accompanied by a faculty endorsement confirming that the work has been reviewed and is ready for consideration.

Types of Submissions

The journal welcomes a wide range of submission types, reflecting the diversity of music-related scholarship and creative work. Submissions may include:

• Research articles and analytical essays
• Theoretical or historical studies
• Reflective or practitioner essays
• Pedagogical or curriculum materials
• Practice-based or clinical studies
• Interdisciplinary projects
• Creative works (e.g., compositions, scores, recordings)
• Multimedia submissions (e.g., video essays, performances, teaching demonstrations, podcasts)

All submissions should clearly communicate their scholarly, creative, pedagogical, or applied significance.

General Submission Rules

Submitted work must be original and must not have been previously published in the same form. Submissions should not be under review elsewhere at the time of submission.

Each submission must include:

• A brief author statement (approximately 100–200 words) describing the context of the work and its relationship to music-related inquiry
• A faculty endorsement confirming that the work has reached a polished, publication-ready stage

By submitting work to Confluence: Emerging Voices in Music Research and Creativity, authors agree not to submit the same material to another publication until the editorial decision process is complete. Authors with questions about submission terms should contact the editors.

Review Process

Confluence: Emerging Voices in Music Research and Creativity is a refereed journal. Submissions are reviewed by members of the editorial board or designated faculty reviewers using criteria such as clarity, originality, rigor, and contribution to the field.

The review process is not anonymous and is designed to support mentorship and constructive feedback.

Submissions may receive one of the following decisions:

• Accept with little-to-no revisions
• Revise and resubmit
• Reject with the option to consider resubmission at a later time

Formatting Requirements

For initial submission, authors should format their work according to the conventions of the discipline or field most relevant to the submission (e.g., APA, Chicago, MLA, or other appropriate style guides). Submissions should demonstrate clear organization, consistent formatting, and appropriate citation practices. While many submissions will align with established scholarly formats such as research papers or essays, the journal also welcomes creative, multimedia, and practice-based work that may not conform to a single prescribed style manual. In such cases, authors should ensure that their work is presented in a clear, coherent, and professionally organized manner.

There are, however, specific requirements governing the formatting of the final submission. See Final Submission Preparation Guidelines for details.

Authors are responsible for producing an electronic version of the work as a high-quality PDF, or a Microsoft Word or RTF file that can be converted to PDF.

Research Integrity and Ethical Responsibilities

All submissions must reflect standards of academic honesty and proper attribution. Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of their work and for obtaining permission to use any third-party materials.

Where applicable, submissions involving human participants or classroom data should comply with institutional research policies.

Conflicts of interest should be disclosed and will be managed appropriately.

Rights for Authors and ThinkIR

As described in the submission agreement, authors assign copyright in the submission to ThinkIR: The University of Louisville's Institutional Repository, subject to the personal-use exceptions outlined below.

Attribution and Usage Policies

Personal-use Exceptions

The following uses are permitted to authors without additional permission, provided the work is not altered and includes proper attribution:

• Storage and back-up of the article on personal devices not publicly accessible
• Posting on a non-commercial personal website
• Posting in a non-commercial institutional repository affiliated with the author’s institution
• Posting on a non-commercial course website for instructional use

Questions about permitted use should contact the editors.

General Terms and Conditions of Use

Users of the ThinkIR platform agree not to misuse the service or software.

If any provision of these policies or the submission agreement is found to be invalid, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.