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Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement |
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“Editura POLITEHNICA”
(EP) -
www.editurapolitehnica.upt.ro
(POLITEHNICA
Publishing House
belongs to
University POLITEHNICA Timişoara (UPT,
www.upt.ro)
and has published for decades now text books, monographs
and scientific bulletins (journals) divided in series
dedicated to various branches of engineering. |
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Editura POLITEHNICA
www.editurapolitehnica.upt.ro
All journals serve to
further academic discussions of topics, irrespective of
their nature – whether religious, gender-based,
environmental, ethical, political, or other potentially
or topically contentious subjects.
“Editura POLITEHNICA”
(EP) is
binding oneself to meeting and sustaining standards of
ethical behavior at all stages of the review and
publication processes.
The main aim of the
“Editura
POLITEHNICA” (EP)
is to consolidate its position as an unit, specialized
in the technical books and journals, didactically or
scientifically, thus bringing real added value to the
prestige of the
University POLITEHNICA
Timişoara (UPT).
Quality assurance, on both components: content and form,
at a reasonable price, is another objective of
“Editura POLITEHNICA”
(EP).
The Editorial Board
follows that the authors, the journal editor, the
peer-reviewers, the journal publisher, and the owner of
the journal have responsibilities to meet expected
actual ethical standards at all stages in their
involvement from submission (upload) to publication of
each article.
ACTA TECHNICA CORVINIENSIS – Bulletin of
Engineering
is dedicated to following the best
practices on ethical matters, errors and retractions.
The prevention of publication malpractice is one of the
important responsibilities of the editorial board. Any
kind of unethical behavior is not acceptable, and the
Journal does not tolerate plagiarism in any form.
The ethic statements of the
ACTA TECHNICA CORVINIENSIS – Bulletin of Engineering
are based on
the
Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers
and
Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors
of the
Committee on Publication
Ethics (COPE).
It is necessary to agree upon
standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties
involved in the act of publishing: the author, the
proceedings editor, the peer reviewer and the publisher.
A summary of our key
expectations for authors, editors and (peer-) reviewers,
is here detailed:
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SECTION A: Publication and Authorship |
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By submitting a manuscript to this journal, each author
explicitly confirms that the manuscript meets the
highest ethical standards for authors and coauthors.
All manuscripts must be submitted using the format
outlined in the Instructions to Authors.
The Editor-in-Chief and the reviewers evaluate
manuscripts for their intellectual content without
regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious
belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political
philosophy of the Authors.
All submitted papers are subject to strict peer-review
process by at least two international reviewers that are
experts in the area of the particular paper and they
will make a recommendation to accept, reject, or modify
the manuscript.
The reviewing of manuscripts is an essential step in the
publication process.
The factors that are taken into account in review are
relevance, significance, originality, readability and
language.
The possible decisions include acceptance, acceptance
with revisions (minor or major), or rejection.
If authors are encouraged to revise and resubmit a
submission, there is no guarantee that the revised
submission will be accepted.
Rejected articles will not be re-reviewed.
The paper acceptance is constrained by such legal
requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel,
copyright infringement and plagiarism.
No research can be included in more than one publication
(Multiple,
Redundant, or Concurrent Publications).
It is unethical for an author to publish
manuscripts describing essentially the same research in
more than one journal of primary publication. Submitting
the same manuscript to more than one journal
concurrently is unethical and unacceptable.
The Editor-in-Chief, the members of the Editorial Board,
and any editorial staff must not disclose any
information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other
than the authors of the manuscript, reviewers, potential
reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher,
as appropriate. |
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SECTION B: Authors' Responsibilities & Duties
(Obligations
of Authors) |
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An author's central obligation is to present a concise,
accurate account of the research performed as well as an
objective discussion of its significance.
Authors must certify that their manuscripts are their
original work, and if the authors have used the work
and/or words of others that this has been appropriately
cited or quoted. Authors must state that all data in the
paper are real and authentic. Fraudulent or knowingly
inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and
are unacceptable.
Authors must certify that the manuscript has not
previously been published or is not currently being
considered for publication elsewhere. An author should
not in general publish manuscripts describing
essentially the same research in more than one journal
or conference. Submitting the same manuscript to more
than one journal or conference constitutes unethical
publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
All Authors mentioned in the paper must have
significantly contributed to the research. Authorship
should be limited to those who have made a significant
contribution to the conception, design, execution, or
interpretation of the reported study. All those who have
made significant contributions should be listed as
co-authors. 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 on 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.
Authors must participate in the peer review process.
Authors are obliged to provide retractions or
corrections of mistakes.
Authors must notify the Editors of any conflicts of
interest.
Authors must identify all sources used in the creation
of their manuscript.
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.
An author should make no changes to a paper after it has
been accepted. If there is a compelling reason to make
changes, the author is obligated to inform the editor
directly of the nature of the desired change. Only the
editor has the final authority to approve any such
requested changes.
Authors must report any errors they discover in their
published paper to the Editors. When an author discovers
a significant error or inaccuracy in his or 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. |
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SECTION C: Reviewers' Responsibilities & Duties
(Obligations
of Reviewers of Manuscripts) |
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Reviewers should keep all information regarding papers,
obtained through peer review, confidential and treat
them as privileged information or ideas, and not used
for personal advantage.
Reviews should be conducted objectively, with no
personal criticism of the author.
A reviewer of a manuscript should judge objectively the
quality of the manuscript and respect the intellectual
independence of the authors. In no case is personal
criticism appropriate.
Reviewers should express their views clearly with
supporting arguments.
Reviewers should explain and support their judgments
adequately so that editors and authors may understand
the basis of their comments. Any statement that an
observation, derivation, or argument had been previously
reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation.
Reviewers should identify relevant published work that
has not been cited by the authors.
Reviewers should also call to the Editor in Chief's
attention any substantial similarity or overlap between
the manuscript under consideration and any other
published paper of which they have personal knowledge.
Reviewers should not review manuscripts in which they
have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive,
collaborative, or other relationships or connections
with any of the authors, companies, or institutions
connected to the papers.
Peer review assists Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial
Board in making editorial decisions and through the
editorial communications with the author may also assist
the author in improving the paper. |
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SECTION D: Editors' & Publisher's Responsibilities & Duties
(Obligations
of Editors&
Publisher) |
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Both EP and the
Editor-in-Chief, on behalf of which it publishes, shall
ensure that the good practice is continuous to the
standards delineated above.
Based on the review report of the editorial review
board, the editor can accept, reject, or request
modifications to the manuscript.
Editors have complete responsibility and authority to
accept a submitted paper for publication or to reject
it. The editor may confer with reviewers for an
evaluation to use in making this decision.
Editors are responsible for the contents and overall
quality of the publication.
Editors should always consider the needs of the authors
and the readers when attempting to improve the
publication.
Editors should guarantee the quality of the papers and
the integrity of the academic record.
Editors should publish errata pages or make corrections
when needed.
Editors should have a clear picture of a research's
funding sources.
Editors should base their decisions solely one the
papers' importance, originality, clarity and relevance
to publication's scope.
Editors should not reverse their decisions nor overturn
the ones of previous editors without serious reason.
Editors should preserve the anonymity of reviewers.
Editors should ensure that all research material they
publish conforms to internationally accepted ethical
guidelines.
Editors should only accept a paper when reasonably
certain.
Editors should act if they suspect misconduct, whether a
paper is published or unpublished, and make all
reasonable attempts to persist in obtaining a resolution
to the problem.
Editors should not reject papers based on suspicions,
they should have proof of misconduct.
Editors should not allow any conflicts of interest
between staff, authors, reviewers and board members.
The editors will be guided by
Committee on Publication
Ethics (COPE)'s
Guidelines for Retracting Articles when
considering retracting, issuing expressions of concern
about, and issuing corrections pertaining to articles
that have been published.
Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted
manuscript will not be used in the own research of the
Editor-in-Chief or the members of the Editorial Board
without the express written consent of the author.
If the editor is presented with convincing evidence that
the main substance or conclusions of a paper published
in the journal are erroneous, the editor should
facilitate publication of an appropriate paper pointing
out the error and, if possible, correcting it. |
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Identification of unethical (malpractice) behavior: |
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Misconduct and unethical
behavior may be identified and brought to the attention
of the editor in chief and publisher at any time, by
anyone using any way of communication.
Misconduct and unethical
behavior may include, but need not be limited to,
examples as delineated above.
Whoever informs the
Editor-in-Chief or Publisher of such conduct should
provide sufficient information and evidence in order for
an investigation to be initiated. All allegations should
be taken seriously and treated in the same way, until a
successful decision or conclusion is reached. |
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Breaches: |
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Minor misconduct might be
dealt with/without the need to consult more widely. In
any event, the author should be given the opportunity to
respond to any allegations.
Serious misconduct might
require that the employer of the accused be notified.
The editor in chief, together with the publisher, should
make the decision whether or not to involve the
employers, either by examining the available evidence
themselves or by further consultation with a limited
number of experts. |
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Investigation: |
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An initial decision
should be taken by the Editor-in-Chief, who should
consult with or seek advice from the publisher, if
appropriate.
Evidence should be
gathered, while avoiding spreading any allegations
beyond those who need to know. |
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Outcomes: |
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Informing or educating
the author or reviewer where there appears to be a
misunderstanding or misapplication of acceptable
standards.
A more strongly worded
letter to the author or reviewer covering the misconduct
and as a warning to future behavior.
Publication of a formal
notice detailing the misconduct.
Publication of an
editorial detailing the misconduct.
A formal letter to the
head of the author's or reviewer's department or funding
agency.
Formal retraction or
withdrawal of a publication from the journal, in
conjunction with informing the head of the author or
reviewer's department, Abstracting & Indexing services
and the readership of the publication.
Imposition of a formal
embargo on contributions from an individual for a
defined period in this way, papers found with signs of
plagiarism / self-plagiarism are rejected; the author
will receive a letter where he is also announced that he
is barred from sending another paper proposal to the
Journal for 2 years.
Reporting the case and
outcome to a professional organization or higher
authority for further investigation and action.
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Important
definition: |
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Conflict of interest
means that Authors submitting a paper must declare any
potential conflicts of interest - of any type:
financial, non-financial, professional, or personal;
Conflicts of interest are
those that could be considered or viewed as exerting an
undue influence on the presentation, review or
publication of their work. |
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Editura POLITEHNICA
www.editurapolitehnica.upt.ro
copyright
©
University Politehnica Timisoara,
Faculty of Engineering Hunedoara,
5,
Revolutiei, 331128, Hunedoara, ROMANIA
http://acta.fih.upt.ro/ |
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