ETHICS POLICY
The “Studies in Risk and Sustainable Development” ethics policy adheres to the following guidelines: COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) and PERK (Publishing Ethics Resource Kit).
The duties and ethical issues that apply to Authors, Reviewers, Editors and the Publisher are summarized below:
- AUTHORS
Authors should submit the paper only if the following conditions apply:
- Research is conducted rigorously and adheres to the academic standards.
- The paper is original (has not been published before in the current or similar form).
- The paper is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
- The Authorship of the paper has been agreed prior to submission, to prevent the practices of ghost authorship, gift authorship or disputes over the order of authors and their contribution.
- The paper is free from citation manipulations, such as excessive self-citation, coercive citation or citation pushing.
- For the use of any third-party material, the permissions have been obtained.
- For the use of any named individuals or organization, the proof of consent has been obtained, if the study is potentially libelous or contains sensitive information.
- No case of plagiarism, including self-plagiarism or text recycling, is detected.
Authors should note that the journal Editors:
- check the originality of the manuscripts submitted to SRSD for consideration,
- may ask to review the data or request the original data files, if they suspect fabrication of data,
- may ask for the permissions to use of third party materials or a proof of consent of named individuals or organizations.
Authors should disclose conflict of interests by providing in their manuscripts the information on financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations, at the earliest convenient stage. In particular, all sources of financial support should be disclosed and the role of the sponsor should be explained.
Authors are obliged to promptly inform the Editor or the Publisher if they discover a fundamental error in their own published manuscripts, and then to cooperate with the Editor in the process of corrections.
- REVIEWERS
Reviewers of this journal are obliged to:
- Treat the reviewed manuscripts and the related correspondence with the Editorial Team as highly confidential. If the Reviewer obtains privileged information or ideas through the peer review, it must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
- Alert the Editorial Team if they suspect plagiarism or any other ethical concerns.
- Notify the Editorial Team if they suspect any conflict of interest related to the revised paper.
- Inform the Editorial Team if they receive the invitation to review a paper that does not match their field of expertise.
- Inform the Editorial Team if they are not able to review the manuscript in due time, to ensure the promptness of the review process.
- Objectively evaluate the reviewed manuscripts, based solely on the content of the revised paper and its relevance to the SRSD’s aims and scope. The comments should be formulated clearly, with supporting arguments, in order to help the Author(s) to improve their manuscripts.
- Assist the Editorial Board and the Publisher in the peer review process and in making the final decision concerning the submitted manuscripts.
- EDITORS
The Editorial Team is obliged to:
- Ensure the unbiased and timely double-blind peer review process of the submitted manuscript, and the related protection of authors’ and reviewers’ identity.
- Ensure the quality of the peer review process, by selecting the appropriate peer reviewers and applying the review policy that encourages the transparency and completeness of the peer reviewers’ comments.
- Evaluate the manuscripts based exclusively on their merit, in an objective manner.
- Protect the confidentiality of the submitted manuscripts and correspondence.
- Provide guidance to the Authors and Reviewers on the current procedures that apply to the manuscript submissions and review.
- Take responsive measures in case of ethical concerns related to the submitted or published papers, and follow the COPE guidelines in such cases.
- Arrange prompt publication of corrections, reactions, expressions of concern or apologies, whenever needed.
The Editor is solely and independently responsible for the decision on the publication of submitted manuscripts. In this decision, the Editor is guided by the SRSD’s policies and may confer with the Editorial Team, Editorial Board Members or Reviewers. The validation of the manuscript in question is always driven by its importance to the research community. The Editor cooperates closely with the Editorial Team on the organization of the flow of the manuscripts submitted to SRSD.
The Editorial Board Members provide an advice to SRSD, as the experts in the fields relevant to the journal’s aims and scope. In particular, the Editorial Board Members:
- Provide an advice and guidance on the journal strategy, aim and scope, guidelines and policies.
- Identify the timely and important topics for SRSD’s special issues.
- Actively promote the journal to their colleagues and peers, to attract new authors and submissions.
- Assist the Editorial Team in decision making in case of conflicting reviews or ethical concerns.
- Support the peer review process of manuscripts submitted to SRSD.
- PUBLISHER
As a Publisher, the Publishing House of the University of Economics in Katowice ensures an application of good practices and maintenance of the journal publishing standards. The Publisher provides practical support to the Editorial Team, ensures the autonomy of editorial decisions, protects the intellectual property rights and the copyright standards. Moreover, the Publisher provides technical support in the process of publication, archiving, abstracting and indexing.
The Publisher ensures protection of personal data (GDPR).