Publication Ethics

The Publication Ethics policy of Changing Societies & Personalities (hereinafter: the Journal) has been developed following the guidelines of international and national authorities in the field of ethical issues:

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

The European Association of Science Editors (EASE)

Association of Science Editors and Publishers (ASEP)

Peer Review Process

A double-blind peer review method is obligatory for processing of all manuscripts reporting original research that are submitted to the Editorial office of the Journal. This implies that neither the reviewer is aware of the authorship of the manuscript, nor the author maintains any contact with the reviewer.

  1. Members of the Editorial board and leading global experts in corresponding areas of sciences, invited as independent readers, perform peer reviews. Editor-in-chief, Deputy Editors or Co-Editors choose readers for peer review. We aim to limit the review process to 10 weeks, though in some cases the schedule may be adjusted at the reviewer’s request.
  2. Prior to peer review, all submissions undergo preliminary assessment by the Editorial Team to ensure their compliance with the journal’s requirements, particularly with regard to the quality of the English language used. In cases where the language is deemed insufficient for peer review, the authors may be advised to resubmit their manuscript upon having it proofread by a competent editor.
  3. Reviewer has an option to abnegate the assessment should any conflict of interests arise that may affect perception or interpretation of the manuscript. Upon the scrutiny, the reviewer is expected to present the Editorial board with one of the following recommendations:
    • to accept submission (i.e. to accept the manuscript for publication without revisions);
    • revisions required (i.e. to request the author to revise the manuscript following the reviewers’ comments);
    • resubmit for review (i.e. to request the author to perform major revision, upon which the manuscript is resubmitted as a new submission);
    • resubmit elsewhere (i.e. to invite the author to resubmit the manuscript to another journal);
    • decline submission (i.e. to reject the manuscript outright).
  4. If the reviewer has recommended any revisions, the Editorial staff would suggest the author either to implement the corrections, or to dispute them reasonably. Authors are kindly required to limit their revision to 3 months and resubmit the adapted manuscript within this period for final evaluation.
  5. We politely request that the Editor be notified verbally or in writing should the author decide to refuse from publishing the manuscript. In case the author fails to do so within 3 months since receiving a copy of the initial review, the Editorial board takes the manuscript off the register and notifies the author accordingly.
  6. If the author and reviewers meet insoluble contradictions regarding revision of the manuscript, the Editor-in-chief resolves the conflict by his own authority.
  7. The Editorial board reaches final decision to reject a manuscript on the hearing according to reviewers’ recommendations, and duly notifies the authors of their decision via e-mail. The board does not accept previously rejected manuscripts for re-evaluation.
  8. Upon the decision to accept the manuscript for publishing, the editorial staff notifies the authors of the scheduled date of publication.
  9. Kindly note that positive review does not guarantee the acceptance, as final decision in all cases lies with the Editorial board. By his authority, Editor-in-chief rules final solution of every conflict.
  10. Original reviews of submitted manuscripts remain deposited permanently (not less than 5 years).
  11. Manuscript reviews are not published. Reviews can be sent to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russian Federation in case of query.

Plagiarism

The Journal is currently using Google Scholar for plagiarism detection in manuscripts. Papers will be withdrawn from any stage of the publication process (even if the article has already been published) if any form of plagiarism has been found.

Plagiarism may take various forms, from passing off another paper as the author(s) own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another(s) paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is therefore unacceptable.

The Editorial Board considers the following to be the forms of plagiarism:

  • use (word-for-word citation) of any materials without indicating the source;
  • use of images, pictures, photographs, tables, diagrams, schemes or any other forms of graphical information presentation without indicating the source;
  • use of images, pictures, photographs, tables, diagrams, schemes or any other forms of graphical information presentation published in scientific and popular issues without approval of the copyright holder;
  • use of the materials without written permission, whose authors or copyright holders do not permit use of their materials without their formal approval.

The Editorial Board considers the following to be the forms of incorrect borrowing:

  • absence of graphical highlighting of literal text citation when there are references to the source;
  • incorrect references (incomplete bibliographic description of the sources, which prevents their identification;
  • reference not to the first source of the borrowed text without clear indication of this fact (mistake in primary source determination);
  • absence of references from the text to the sources listed in the bibliography of the article;
  • excessive citation (in case there are references to the sources and graphical highlighting of the cited text), the volume of which is not justified by the genre and aims of the article.

The Journal does not allow any forms of plagiarism.

Retraction guidelines

The Editorial Board may consider retracting a publication due to the following reasons:

  • the publication constitutes any forms of plagiarism (see Plagiarism);
  • third party expresses claims concerning copyrights for the article or its parts;
  • the findings have previously been published elsewhere before the date of its publication in the Journal.
  • serious errors have been revealed in the published article, which place its scientific value in question.

In such cases, the Editor should initiate the revision, after which the article may be retracted. The Act on retraction is complied, which is signed by the Editor-in-Chief. The copy of the Act is sent to the author of the article. In this case, the article is not physically withdrawn from the published edition and the file of the issue on the Journal web site. The Editorial Office publishes a retraction notification on the corresponding page of the Journal site. The Editorial Office should attentively consider issuing an expression of concern about the revealed problems in the published materials.

The Editorial Board considers it a responsibility of authors and reviewers to promptly inform about unintended mistakes and other problems revealed after the publication of the article.

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is their 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 learn 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 to the Editor on the correctness of the original paper.

Human Subjects

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.

Conflict of interests

  • Editor should refrain herself (himself) (i.e. should ask a Co-Editor, associate Editor or other member of the Editorial board instead to review and consider) from considering manuscripts, in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or (possibly) institutions connected to the papers.
  • Authors must declare any potential conflict of interest – be it professional or financial – which could be held to arise with respect to the article. 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. In case an article is submitted by a member of the editorial board, it is treated on the equal ground as any other paper.
  • Reviewers should declare any potential conflict of interest (which may, for example, be personal, financial, intellectual, professional, political or religious) prior to agreeing to review a manuscript including any relationship with the author that may potentially bias their review.

Ethical code for journal editors

We ask all journal editors to make every reasonable effort to adhere to the following ethical code for Changing Societies & Personalities journal articles that are worthy of peer review:

  • Journal editors should be accountable for everything published in their journals meaning that they should strive to meet the needs of readers and authors; strive to constantly improve their journal; have processes in place to assure the quality of the material they publish; champion freedom of expression; maintain the integrity of the academic record; preclude business needs from compromising intellectual and ethical standards; always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed.
  • Journal editors should give unbiased consideration to each manuscript submitted for consideration for publication, and should judge each on its merits, without regard to race, religion, nationality, sex, seniority, or institutional affiliation of the author(s).
  • Journal editors’ decisions to accept or reject a paper for publication should be based on the paper’s importance, originality and clarity, and the study’s validity and its relevance to the remit of the journal. Editors should not reverse decisions to accept submissions unless serious problems are identified with the submission.
  • Journal editors must ensure that all published reports and reviews of research have been reviewed by suitably qualified reviewers (including statistical review where appropriate), and ensure that non-peer-reviewed sections of their journal are clearly identified
  • Journal editors must keep the peer-review process confidential. The editor and any editorial staff of the journal 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.
  • If a journal editor receives a claim that a submitted article is under consideration elsewhere or has already been published, then he or she has a duty to investigate the matter with CS&P Editorial Board.
  • An editor should take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper. Such measures will generally include contacting the author of the manuscript or paper and giving due consideration of the respective complaint or claims made.
  • Journal editors may reject a submitted manuscript without resort to formal peer review if they consider the manuscript to be inappropriate for the journal and outside its scope.
  • Journal editors should make all reasonable effort to process submitted manuscripts in an efficient and timely manner.
  • Journal editors should arrange for responsibility of the peer review of any original research article authored by themselves to be delegated to a member of the CS&P Editorial Board as appropriate.
  • If a journal editor is presented with convincing evidence that the main substance or conclusions of an article published in the journal are erroneous, then, in consultation with CS&P Editorial Board, the journal editor should facilitate publication of an appropriate corrigendum or erratum.
  • Editor should refrain herself (himself) (i.e. should ask a co-editor, associate editor or other member of the editorial board instead to review and consider) from considering manuscripts, in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or (possibly) institutions connected to the papers.
  • Any data or analysis presented in a submitted manuscript should not be used in a journal editor's own research except with the consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
  • Editors should be alert to intellectual property issues and work with their publisher to handle potential breaches of intellectual property laws and conventions.
  • Journal editors should make decisions on which articles to publish based on quality and suitability for the journal and without interference from the journal owner/publisher.

Ethical code for authors

We expect all authors submitting to Changing Societies & Personalities journal to adhere to the following ethical code:

  • All authors must warrant that their article is their own original work, which does not infringe the intellectual property rights of any other person or entity, and cannot be construed as plagiarizing any other published work, including their own previously published work. Plagiarism takes many forms, from ‘passing off’ another’s paper as the author’s own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another’s paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
  • All authors named on the paper are equally held accountable for the content of a submitted manuscript or published paper. All persons who have made significant scientific or literary contributions to the work reported should be named as co-authors. The corresponding author must ensure all named co-authors consent to publication and to being named as a co-author. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.
  • Authors must not submit a manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously. An author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal of primary publication. Authors should not submit previously published work, nor work, which is based in substance on previously published work, either in part or whole.
  • Authors must appropriately cite all relevant publications. The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, this has been appropriately cited or quoted. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, should not be used or reported in the author's work unless fully cited, and with the permission of that third party.
  • If required, authors must facilitate access to data sets described in the article. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work.
  • Authors must declare any potential conflict of interest – be it professional or financial – which could be held to arise with respect to the article. 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.
  • Authors must avoid making defamatory statements in submitted articles, which could be construed as impugning any person's reputation.

Ethical code for peer reviewers

We ask all peer reviewers to make every reasonable effort to adhere to the following ethical code for Changing Societies & Personalities journal articles they have agreed to review:

  • Reviewers must give unbiased consideration to each manuscript submitted for consideration for publication, and should judge each on its merits, without regard to race, religion, nationality, sex, seniority, or institutional affiliation of the author(s).
  • Reviewers should declare any potential conflict of interest interests (which may, for example, be personal, financial, intellectual, professional, political or religious) prior to agreeing to review a manuscript including any relationship with the author that may potentially bias their review.
  • Reviewers must keep the peer review process confidential; information or correspondence about a manuscript should not be shared with anyone outside of the peer review process.
  • Reviewers should provide a constructive, comprehensive, evidenced, and appropriately substantial peer review report, and provide feedback that will help the authors to improve their manuscript. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments and make clear, which suggested additional investigations are essential to support claims made in the manuscript under consideration and which will just strengthen or extend the work. Reviewers must ensure that their comments and recommendations for the editor are consistent with their report for the authors.
  • Reviewers must be objective in their reviews, refraining from being hostile or inflammatory. Reviewers must avoid making statements in their report, which might be construed as impugning any person's reputation. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate.
  • Reviewers must be aware of the sensitivities surrounding language issues that are due to the authors writing in a language that is not their own, and phrase the feedback appropriately and with due respect.
  • Reviewer must not suggest that authors include citations to the reviewer’s (or their associates’) work merely to increase the reviewer’s (or their associates’) citation count or to enhance the visibility of their or their associates’ work; suggestions must be based on valid academic or technological reasons.
  • Any selected reviewer who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.
  • Reviewers should make all reasonable effort to submit their report and recommendation in a timely manner, informing the editor if this is not possible.
  • Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. Reviewers should call to the journal editor's attention any significant similarity between the manuscript under consideration and any published paper or submitted manuscripts, of which they are aware.
  • Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.