Site Investigations


a new section in Ontario Archaeology

Starting in 2009, Ontario Archaeology will include a new section devoted to the results of Cultural Resource Management work in Ontario. To be titled ìSite Investigations,î this new section will contain articles focused on archaeological investigations of sites by licensed CRM investigators. We hope to promote the results of CRM research in the best and fastest possible way in an enduring format to the widest readership.

Unlike standard articles in OA, contributions to Site Investigations will not be peer-reviewed. This decision reflects a need to capture a larger segment of research in Ontario.

Most field research in the province is now CRM. Investigators in the CRM industry often do not submit manuscripts to peer-review journals, citing a lack of time and effort available to them for seeing their articles through the peer-review process. We hope this new section of the journal will encourage investigators to contact us about publishing those license reports which they, themselves, consider most significant. Working with license-holders and report-authors, OA editors will make a careful selection, based on significance and clarity of presentation, editing as necessary for publication. The Site Investigations section will be clearly distinguished within the journal by heading, and its intent and premises explained in an editorial (in the first volume) and byline (in continuing volumes).

Any publications in Site Investigations that are based on licence reports will meet the following criteria:

  • the final draft will be acceptable to the author and licensee as well as to OAís editors;
  • the report(s) on which the final draft is based will have been reviewed by the Ministry of Culture and the licensee(s) will have received confirmation that the reporting and fieldwork conducted meets current licensing and conservation requirements;
  • the report(s) are already publicly accessible through the Provincial Register of Reports or, for pre-2005 reports, the original licensee has consented to allow access for research purposes;
  • the report(s) and final draft do not contain any confidential information.

We hope this section and streamlined route to publication will provide an incentive for CRM report-writers to submit their existing license work.

For more information, please contact OA editor.