Publishing Ethics

AJSS – STATEMENT OF PUBLICATION ETHICS

  • PUBLICATION AND AUTHORSHIP

List of references and financial support

All materials and information obtained from other sources should be properly cited in the manuscript and included in the list of references. Copyrighted materials (tables or figures for example) should only be reproduced if the authors have been granted appropriate permission with an acknowledgement provided.
Financial support (if any) should be clearly acknowledged so as to declare any potential conflicts of interest.

Plagiarism and falsified data

Data and information presented in the manuscript need to be original. Data should not be fake, falsified or plagiarized. Plagiarism is any act of misrepresenting work or ideas of other authors as one’s own without acknowledging its source.

Dual submission and publication

Authors should declare that the submitted manuscript has not been published elsewhere and is not under review or consideration of publication by other journals. This includes also non-English publications. Poster or oral presentation of parts of the work including a short abstract is not considered as prior publication.

  • AUTHORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES

Authors must adhere to the peer review process

All submitted manuscripts are subject to review by suitably qualified reviewers. Authors are obliged to adhere strictly to editorial policies throughout the review process. When submitting a revised version of a manuscript, all changes made to the manuscript should be explicitly described via a response’s to reviewers document addressed to the editor.

All listed authors should have significantly contributed to the research

All individuals who have made a significant contribution to the manuscript should be included on the list of authors; all people listed as authors should have made an independent material contribution to the manuscript.
The Corresponding author should obtain prior approval from all listed authors for the submission, review and publication of all versions of the manuscript.

All data reported should be true and authentic

Data and information presented in the manuscript need to be original. Authors should maintain accurate records of data associated with their manuscript, and supply or provide access to these if needed.

Authors should ensure that any studies involving human or animal subjects conform to national, local and institutional laws and requirements and confirm that approval has been sought and obtained where applicable.
All authors are obliged to provide corrections or retractions of mistakes
Authors should notify promptly the journal editor if a significant error in their publication is identified and cooperate with the editor to make the appropriate arrangements to correct the error.

  • REVIEWERS’ RESPONSABILITIES

Evaluation should be objective

Reviewers should contribute to the decision-making process, and assist in improving the quality of the published paper by reviewing the manuscript objectively, in a timely manner.
Editors may also choose to amend reviewer comments to ensure that courtesy and respect are maintained.

Reviewers should have no conflicts of interest

Reviewers should be aware of any potential conflicts of interest (with respect to the research, the authors and/or research funders) and alert the editor to these. A reviewer who feels inadequate to judge the manuscript should return the manuscript promptly without review and inform the editor of any potential conflict of interest.

Reviewers should perform thorough scientific review

Reviewers should convey any constructive suggestions for revision of the manuscript, considering the quality and significance of the experimental work, the completeness of the description of material and methods, and the logical interpretation of the results.
Furthermore, reviewers should point out any relevant published and so far uncited work, and any unethical behavior of the authors (plagiarism, fake data, dual publication, etc.).

Reviewed manuscripts should be dealt with confidentially

Reviewers should maintain the confidentiality of any information supplied by the editor or author
The manuscript is the property of the authors until a copyright agreement between the publisher and the authors is signed.

  • EDITORIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

 Editors may make an overall decision to reject or accept a manuscript

The Editors’ decisions to accept or reject a manuscript for publication should be based on the importance, originality, clarity, and relevance of the paper. Editors should process manuscripts submitted in a timely manner.
Editors should ensure that appropriate reviewers are selected for submissions. These are individuals with relevant expertise capable of critically evaluating the manuscript, who have no competing interests. Editors highlight the need for all reviewers to be objective in their evaluation.


Editors should have no conflicts of interest

Editors should have no potential conflicts of interest with regard to the manuscript (with respect to the research, authors and/or research funders).
If the editors appear to have any potential conflict of interest, they should avoid handling the manuscript, which should be assigned to another qualified person.
Editors should encourage the publishing of correction or withdrawal notice in the presence of errors
Editors should correct errors if detected prior to publication or publish correction notices if they are detected subsequently.
If an author or other person brings an apparent error to an editor’s attention, the editor should notify all authors and ask for corrections to be made. If the authors do not comply with the request in a timely manner, the editor should publish a notice of correction or withdraw the article.

Editors should at all times maintain the anonymity of reviewers


Editors and members of the editorial staff should not reveal the identity of reviewers prior to or following publication of the manuscript.

  • PUBLISHING ETHICS ISSUES

Monitoring/conservation of publishing ethics by the editorial board

Editors should be open to opinions expressed by authors, reviewers and editorial board members relating to ways of improving any aspects of the journal, with particular regard to publishing ethics. Editors should actively monitor the fair performance of reviewers.

Guidelines for retracting manuscripts

Editors should consider retracting a publication if:
– the manuscript contains plagiarized and/or fraudulent data and information
– the results have been published elsewhere without proper citation, permission or justification
Maintaining integrity of the published manuscripts
Editors should be responsible for the integrity of all manuscripts published in the journal. Editors should ensure appropriate procedures and rules are in place to make certain the results they publish are of high quality.

Avoiding that business needs compromise intellectual and ethical standards

Funding sponsors should not compromise the publication of results of the research. Researchers should not enter into agreements that permit the funding sponsor to influence publication of the results.

Responsibility for the publication of corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies (if any)

Authors should notify promptly the journal editor if a significant error in their publication is identified.
When a published paper contains a significant error or inaccuracy, authors should cooperate promptly with the editor to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies or to retract the paper, if judged necessary.

Dealing with potential misconduct

Editors have a duty to take action if they suspect misconduct or if an allegation of misconduct is notified to them. This duty extends to both published and unpublished papers. Editors should not simply reject papers that raise concerns over potential misconduct. They are ethically obliged to pursue suspected cases.
Editors should first seek a response from those suspected of misconduct. If they are not satisfied with the response, they should ask the relevant employers, or institution, or other appropriate body to investigate. Editors should make all reasonable efforts to ensure that a proper investigation into alleged misconduct is conducted; should the latter not take place, editors should make all reasonable attempts to obtain a resolution to the problem.