Publication Ethics

Our ethic statements are based on COPE’s Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

Publication Decisions

The editor is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Fair Play

An editor evaluates manuscripts for intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Confidentiality (Editors)

The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest (Editors)

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.

Duties of Reviewers

  • Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and may assist the author in improving the paper.
  • Promptness: Referees who feel unqualified or unable to promptly review should notify the editor and excuse themselves.
  • Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.
  • Standards of Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively with clear, supported arguments.
  • Acknowledgement of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant work not cited and notify the editor of any overlap with other publications.
  • Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must keep information confidential and decline if a conflict of interest exists.

Duties of Authors

  • Reporting Standards: Authors must present accurate work and sufficient detail to allow replication. Fraudulent statements are unethical.
  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must submit original work and properly cite or quote the work of others.
  • Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: Authors should not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently.
  • Acknowledgement of Sources: Proper acknowledgment must be given to others whose work influenced the research.
  • Authorship of the Paper: Only those who significantly contributed to the study should be listed as authors. All co-authors must approve the final version and submission.
  • Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors must disclose any conflicts of interest and financial support.
  • Fundamental Errors in Published Works: Authors must promptly notify the editor if a significant error is found and cooperate in correcting it.