Peer review & Ethical guidelines

Journal Quality

The editorial board seeks to ensure the scientific quality of the journal, in particular by complying with the rules of good practice set out below. More specifically, it focuses on ensuring regular turnover in the composition of its board of reviewers and scientific committee as well as in its own membership with a view to ensuring professional rigor.

Review Process

With the exception of book reviews and “Research in progress”, which are evaluated by the review editor, articles submitted to the journal are evaluated following a double-bind review process.

In the event of doubts or diverging evaluations among the reviewers, additional opinions may be sought by the editorial board.

Proposals that do not present the formal criteria of an academic article may be rejected by the editorial board without an evaluation report being supplied.

When reaching a decision, the editorial board considers legal requirements in terms of defamation, copyright violation, and plagiarism.

Conflict of Interest

Editorial board members must recuse themselves if there is a conflict of interest with an author or with the content of the manuscript to be reviewed.

Impartiality

Manuscripts are evaluated on their intellectual and scientific content without distinctions based on the author’s ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, nationality, university affiliation, or political views.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts received for review are treated confidentially. No information about a manuscript submitted to the journal may be disclosed to anyone other than the author, potential reviewers, and if needed the publisher.

The editorial board moreover guarantees the anonymity of the reviewers.

Data Use

The data presented in the submitted articles may not be used prior to publication in the research of an editorial board member or reviewer without the author’s express written consent.

Freedom of expression and scientific debate

The editorial board selects the articles in an impartial manner. It particularly pays attention to articles that contribute to the scientific debate. Any article offering relevant criticism of an article published in the journal can be published. Authors have a right of reply to criticism of their article(s).

Relationship with the readers

Readers can obtain information about the funding of the research presented in the journal. The editorial board commits to answering reader complaints.

Commercial/political conflicts of interest

Articles are selected based on their academic interest to the readers and not on the commercial/political benefits they can bring to the journal. The editorial board ensures the journal’s independence vis-à-vis its publisher and its owner(s).

Actions that go against the ethics of the publication

The editorial board must seek to identify and prevent any action deemed to go against the ethics of the publication. It is committed to investigate any complaint made against the journal, according to the procedure described below. The author should always have a right of reply to a complaint. The editorial board should always be prepared to publish corrections, apologies or clarifications whenever they are called for.

Procedure to follow in the event of a breach of ethics of the publication

Anyone can file a complaint for breach of ethics of the publication to the editorial board of the journal.

The person filing the complaint must provide supporting elements. Any complaint is to be taken seriously by the editorial board and must be treated until conclusion. Any complaint will be handled, no matter its date of publication. The supporting elements submitted as part of a complaint must be kept and archived by the editorial board.

Measures to be implemented in the event of a complaint:

– Interview with the author of the article, if the complaint stems from a misunderstanding of the code of ethics of the journal or the publication guidelines

– Written notification sent to the author, providing details about the alleged breach of ethics of the publication. This notification serves as a first warning.

– Written notification sent to the institution/organization where the author is employed

– Publication of an editorial in the journal, informing the readers about the procedure

– Withdrawal of the article from the journal and indexes where it might be featured

– Ban on any new articles written by the author, duration to be determined

– Refer to an outside organization with authority to deal with the complaint