The publication of an article in a peer-reviewed Journal is an essential building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. It is a direct reflection of the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the scientific method. It is therefore important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the Journal editor; the peer reviewer; and the author; and et al.
Duties of Editors
Publication decision: The ultimate decision whether to publish a manuscript is the responsibility of editors of the Journal. To serve our readers and the scientific community best, editors must weigh the claims of each paper against the many others also under consideration. During publication decision, editors should evaluate the strength of the arguments raised by the reviewers and by the authors, and also consider other information not available to either party when it is necessary.
Fair play: Editorial independence, decisions and content should not be compromised by commercial or financial interests, or by any specific arrangements with advertising clients or sponsors. In the cases of academic controversy, editors should assume a neutral and impartial standpoint between the disputing parties.
Confidentiality: Editors keep confidential all details about a submitted manuscript and do not comment to any outside organization about manuscripts under consideration or rejected by the Journal. Editors are not allowed to discuss manuscripts with third parties or to reveal information about correspondence and other interactions with authors and reviewers. Editors do not release reviewers' identities to authors or to other reviewers, and at the same time, not release authors' identities to reviewers.
Disclosure and avoidance of possible conflicts of interest: At the early stage of manuscript submission, editors should call attention to the potential conflicts of interests behind the manuscript, and check through the authors' statement on those interest issues to promote the integrity of relevant information disclosure. If necessary, editors may inform the authors about the examples of potential conflicts of interests and help them in disclosure.
Involvement and cooperation in investigations: In the cases of academic misconducts, editors are involved in revelation and required to cooperate in investigation and testimony.
Duties of Reviewers
Contribution to editorial decision: Reviewers make an independent assessment of the importance and technical accuracy of the results described in the manuscript, to provide the editors with necessary information needed to reach a decision. Reviewers should also instruct the authors on how they can strengthen their paper to the point where it may be acceptable. As far as possible, a negative review on the weaknesses of the manuscript should be explained to the authors the weaknesses of their manuscript, so that rejected authors can understand the basis for the decision and see in broad terms what needs to be done to improve the manuscript for publication elsewhere.
Promptness: The Journal are committed to rapid editorial decisions and publication, and we believe that an efficient editorial process is a valuable service both to our authors and to the scientific community as a whole. We therefore ask reviewers to respond promptly within the number of days agreed. If reviewers anticipate a longer delay than previously expected, we ask them to let us know so that we can keep the authors informed and, where necessary, find alternatives.
Confidentiality: As a condition of agreeing to assess the manuscript, all reviewers undertake to keep submitted manuscripts and associated data confidential, and not to redistribute them without permission from the Journal.
Standards of objectivity: Reviewers should base their objective judgement on the technical soundness, including creativity, significance, convincingness and logic, etc., of the manuscript.
Acknowledgement of sources: Reviewers are expected to carefully check if the authors have appropriately cited the publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.
Disclosure and avoidance of possible conflicts of interest: We ask reviewers to draw our attention to anything that might affect their review, and even to decline to review in any cases where they may be felt unable to be objective. For example: if you work in the same department or institute as one of the authors; if you have worked on the reviewed paper previously with one of the author; or you have a professional or financial connection to the article. These should all be listed when responding to the editor’s invitation for review.
Duties of Authors
Reporting standards: Authors of reports on original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
Data access and retention: Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.
Originality and plagiarism: The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, it is ensured that this has been appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
Multiple or concurrent publication: An author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.
Acknowledgement of sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately, such as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source.
Authorship of the paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included in the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
Hazards and human or animal subjects: If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript. If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) has(have) approved them. Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.
Disclosure and avoidance of possible conflicts of interest: All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed possibly at the earliest stage possible.
Fundamental errors in published works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the Journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper. If the editor or the publisher learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, it is the obligation of the author to promptly retract or correct the paper or provide evidence of the correctness of the original paper to the editor.
"Five Behaviors Not Allowed" in academic paper publication:
Ⅰ. The paper is not allowed to be written by “third parties”. Science and technology workers should complete the paper writing on their own, and resolutely resist the “third parties” to provide a paper writing service.
Ⅱ. The paper is not allowed to be submitted by “third parties”. Science and technology workers should learn and master the academic journal submission process, complete the submission of the paper and respond to the review in person, and resolutely resist the “third parties” to provide the paper submission service.
Ⅲ. The paper content is not allowed to be modified by “third parties”. The authors authorize “third parties” to make language polishing, which should be based on the manuscripts completed by the authors and be only perfection of language expression. The modification of the paper content in the name of polishing the language is resolutely resisted.
Ⅳ. Providing false information on the peer reviewer is not allowed. If peer reviewers are required to be recommended by scientific and technical workers in the paper publication in academic journals, the authenticity and reliability of reviewer name, contact information and etc. should be ensured, and any fraud behavior in the peer review process should be resolutely resisted.
Ⅴ. Infringing the standard of authorship is not allowed. All co-authors of the paper should have reviewed and approved the final version of the paper in advance and have agreed to its submission for publication. The manuscript drafter must first solicit all co-authors’ opinions on the paper and obtain their consent of the authorship. Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the paper and the authorship of those who have no substantial contribution to the paper should be resolutely resisted.
"The third parties" in the above “Five Behaviors Not Allowed” mean any organization or individual other than the author and the journal; “paper ghostwriting service” means that the paper has not been written by the byliner in person but completed by others; “paper submitting service” means that the submission of the paper, the response to the review and etc. behaviors have not been completed by the byliner in person but deputized by others.
Misconduct Prevention
The Journal adopts the AMLC service to verify the originality and facticity of paper content before publication. Any contributor, once found with plagiarism, shall be deprived of publication on the Journal for life thereafter and the published paper must also be retracted.
