Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statements

Our publication ethics and publication malpractice statements are largely based on our Code of conduct and Best Practice Guide for Journal Editors (Committee on Publication Ethics, 2011).

Editorial Board Responsibilities

  1. Publication Decision: The editorial board is responsible for deciding which manuscripts are submitted to the journal for publication. The Chief Editor's decision to accept or reject a manuscript for publication is based on its importance, originality, clarity, and relevance to the scope of the journal.
  2. Fair Game: Editorial Boards and reviewers rate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to the author's race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, nationality, or political ideology.
  3. Confidentiality: The Editorial Board must ensure that all material submitted to the journal remains confidential when reviewed. The editorial board and editorial staff must not disclose any information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the appropriate authors, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisors, and the publisher, as appropriate.
  4. Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: Unpublished material disclosed in a submitted paper will not be used by editors or members of the editorial board for their research purposes without the express written consent of the author.
  5. Self-Cited Journal: An editor may not engage in any practice that requires authors to cite their journal either as a condition of implied or express acceptance for publication. Any recommendation as to which article to cite in the manuscript should be made based on direct relevance to the author's article, to enhance the final published research. Editors should direct authors to relevant literature as part of the peer review process; however, this should never include instructions to cite individual journals.
  6. Engagement and Cooperation in Investigations: An editor should take reasonably responsive steps when an ethical complaint has been raised regarding a submitted manuscript or published paper, together with the publisher (or the public). Such steps will generally include contacting the authors of the manuscript or paper and giving appropriate consideration to the respective complaints or claims made, but may also include further communication with relevant research institutes and bodies, and if the complaint is upheld, publication of the corrections. , retractions, expressions of concern, or other notes that may be relevant. Any reported act of unethical publishing behavior should be looked into, even if it is discovered years after publication.
  7. Publication Decision: The Editor-in-Chief of a journal is responsible for deciding which of the submitted articles should be published. The Editor-in-Chief may be guided by the policies of the journal's Editorial Board and limited by applicable legal requirements regarding defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The Editor-in-Chief may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

  1. Contribution to Editorial Decisions: The peer-review process helps editors and the editorial board in making editorial decisions and can also serve authors in improving papers.
  2. Accuracy: Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in the manuscript or knows that a rapid review is not possible must notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.
  3. Confidentiality: Any manuscript received for review must be treated as a confidential document. They may not be disclosed or discussed with others except as permitted by the editors.
  4. Standards of Objectivity: Reviews must be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees must express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
  5. Acknowledgment of Source: The reviewer should identify cases in which relevant published works mentioned in the manuscript have not been cited in the references section. They must indicate whether observations or arguments derived from other publications are accompanied by their respective sources. Reviewers will advise editors of any substantial convenience or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and other published papers of which they have personal knowledge.
  6. Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal gain. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest arising from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the paper.

Author Assignment

  1. Reporting Standards: Authors of original research reports must present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. The data must be recovered accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to enable others to replicate the work. False or intentionally inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
  2. Data Access and Retention: Authors may be asked to provide raw data from their study along with the paper for editorial review and should be prepared to make the data publicly available when practicable. In any event, authors should ensure the accessibility of such data to other competent professionals for at least ten years after publication (preferably via an institutional or subject-based data repository or other data center), provided that the confidentiality of participants is protected and legal rights regarding proprietary data do not hinder his release.
  3. Originality, Plagiarism: The author will only submit completely original work, and will faithfully quote or quote the work and/or words of others. Publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the work reported should also be cited. Plagiarism takes many forms, from "passing" someone else's paper as the author's own, to copying or paraphrasing important parts of another paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research done by someone else. Plagiarism in all its forms is unethical and unacceptable publishing behavior.
  4. Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: In general, papers describing essentially the same research should not be published in more than one journal. Submitting the same paper to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. Manuscripts that have been published as copyrighted material elsewhere cannot be submitted. In addition, manuscripts under review by the journal may not be sent back to copyrighted publications.
  5. Acknowledgment of Source: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others should always be given. Authors should cite influential publications in determining the nature of the work being reported. Information obtained privately, such as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, may not be used or reported without the explicit written consent of the source. Information obtained in the course of confidential service, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, may not be used without written permission from the authors of works involved in these services.
  6. Paperwork: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, conduct, or interpretation of the research being reported. All who have made significant contributions must be listed as co-authors. Corresponding authors ensure that all contributing co-authors and no persons who are not involved are included in the list of authors. The corresponding author will also verify that all co-authors have approved the final version of this paper and have approved its submission for publication.
  7. Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: All authors must include a statement disclosing a financial or another substantive conflict of interest that could be construed to influence the outcome or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project must be disclosed.
  8. Fundamental Errors in Published Work: When an author discovers significant errors or inaccuracies in his self-published work, the author must immediately notify the editor of the journal or publisher and to cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper in an erratum. 

Reference

Publication Ethics Committee (COPE). (2011, March 7). Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guide for Journal Editors. Retrieved from https://publicationethics.org/