Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series adheres in the strictest sense to the ethical guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics and only publishes original, authentic work. The journal has its own CODE OF ETHICAL PRINCIPLES:.
According to the ethical principles of COPE - Code of Conduct for Journal Editors, the general duties and responsibilities for ASHUES editors consists in:
» 1. To be accountable for everything published in ASHUES journal.
This means the editors should:
- strive to meet the needs of readers and authors;
- strive to constantly improve ASHUES journal;
- 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.
Best practice for ASHUES editors would include:
- actively seeking the views of authors, readers, reviewers and editorial board members about ways of improving ASHUES journal’s processes
- encouraging and being aware of research into peer review and publishing and reassessing the ASHUES journal’s processes in the light of new findings
- supporting initiatives designed to reduce research and publication misconduct
- supporting initiatives to educate researchers about publication ethics
- assessing the effects of ASHUES journal policies on author and reviewer behaviour and revising policies, as required, to encourage responsible behaviour and discourage misconduct
»2. Relations with readers Best practice for ASHUES editors would include:
- ensuring that all published reports and reviews of research have been reviewed by suitably qualified reviewers
- ensuring that non-peer-reviewed sections of their journal are clearly identified
- adopting processes that encourage accuracy, completeness and clarity of research reporting, including technical editing and the use of appropriate guidelines and checklists
- considering developing a transparency policy to encourage maximum disclosure about the provenance of non-research articles
- adopting authorship or contributorship systems that promote good practice
- informing readers about steps taken to ensure that submissions from members of the ASHUES journal’s staff or editorial board receive an objective and unbiased evaluation
»3. Relations with authors
- ASHUES 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 ASHUES journal.
- ASHUES editors shall not reverse decisions to accept submissions, unless serious problems are identified with the submission.
- New ASHUES editors shall not overturn decisions to publish submissions made by the previous ASHUES editor, unless serious problems are identified.
- A description of peer review processes shall be published and ASHUES editors shall be ready to justify any important deviation from the described processes.
- ASHUES editors shall publish guidance to authors on everything that is expected of them.
- ASHUES editors shall provide guidance about criteria for authorship and/or who shall be listed as a contributor following the standards within the relevant field. Best practice for ASHUES editors would include:
- reviewing author instructions regularly and providing links to relevant guidelines
- publishing relevant competing interests for all contributors and publishing corrections if competing interests are revealed after publication
- ensuring that appropriate reviewers are selected for submissions
- respecting requests from authors that an individual shall not review their submission, if these are well-reasoned and practicable
- publishing submission and acceptance dates for article.
»4. Relations with reviewers
- ASHUES editors shall provide guidance to reviewers on everything that is expected of them, including the need to handle submitted material in confidence.
- ASHUES editors shall require reviewers to disclose any potential competing interests before agreeing to review a submission.
- ASHUES editors shall have systems to ensure that peer reviewers’ identities are protected unless they use an open review system that is declared to authors and reviewers. Best practice for ASHUES editors would include:
- encouraging reviewers to comment on ethical questions and possible research and publication misconduct raised by submissions
- encouraging reviewers to comment on the originality of submissions and to be alert to redundant publication and plagiarism
- considering providing reviewers with tools to detect related publications (e.g. links to cited references and bibliographic searches)
- sending reviewers’ comments to authors in their entirety unless they contain offensive or libellous remarks
- seeking to acknowledge the contribution of reviewers to the journal
- encouraging academic institutions to recognise peer review activities as part of the scholarly process
- monitoring the performance of peer reviewers and taking steps to ensure this is of high standard
- developing and maintaining a database of suitable reviewers and updating this on the basis of reviewer performance
- ceasing to use reviewers who consistently produce discourteous, poor quality or late reviews
- ensuring that the reviewer database reflects the community of their journal and adding new reviewers as needed
- using a wide range of sources (not just personal contacts) to identify potential new reviewers (e.g. author suggestions, bibliographic databases)
» 5. Relations with editorial board members
ASHUES Editors shall provide new editorial board members with guidelines on everything that is expected of them and should keep existing members updated on new policies and developments. Best practice for ASHUES editors would include:
- having policies in place for handling submissions from editorial board members to ensure unbiased review
- identifying suitably qualified editorial board members who can actively contribute to the development and good management of the journal
- regularly reviewing the composition of the editorial board
- providing clear guidance to editorial board members about their expected functions and duties, which might include: —— acting as ambassadors for the journal —— supporting and promoting the journal —— seeking out the best authors and best work (e.g. from meeting abstracts) and actively encouraging submissions —— reviewing submissions to the journal —— accepting commissions to write editorials, reviews and commentaries on papers in their speciality area —— attending and contributing to editorial board meetings
- consulting editorial board members periodically (e.g. once a year) to gauge their opinions about the running of the journal, informing them of any changes to journal policies and identifying future challenge
» 6. Relations with ASHUES Journal publisher
- the relationship of ASHUES editors to Romania de Maine Publishing House, as publisher, is complex but shall be based firmly on the principle of editorial independence.
- ASHUES editors should make decisions on which articles to publish based on quality and suitability for the journal and without interference from the ASHUES journal publisher.
- ASHUES editors shall have a written contract(s) setting out their relationship with the journal’s publisher. Best practice for ASHUES editors would include:
- establishing mechanisms to handle disagreements between themselves and the ASHUES journal publisher with due process
- communicating regularly with their journal’s publisher
» 7. Editorial and peer review processes
- ASHUES editors shall strive to ensure that peer review at their journal is fair, unbiased and timely.
- ASHUES editors shall have systems to ensure that material submitted to their journal remains confidential while under review. Best practice for ASHUES editors would include:
- ensuring that people involved with the editorial process (including themselves) receive adequate training and keep abreast of the latest guidelines, recommendations and evidence about peer review and ASHUES journal management
- keeping informed about research into peer review and technological advances
- adopting peer review methods best suited for their journal and the research community it serves
- reviewing peer review practices periodically to see if improvement is possible
» 8. Quality assurance
ASHUES editors shall take all reasonable steps to ensure the quality of the material they publish, recognising that journals and sections within journals will have different aims and standards. Best practice for ASHUES editors would include: - having systems in place to detect falsified data (e.g. inappropriately manipulated photographic images or plagiarised text) either for routine use or when suspicions are raised
- basing decisions about ASHUES journal house style on relevant evidence of factors that raise the quality of reporting rather than simply on aesthetic grounds or personal preference
» 9. Protecting individual data
ASHUES editors must obey laws on confidentiality in their own jurisdiction. Regardless of local statutes, however, they should always protect the confidentiality of individual information obtained in the course of research or professional interactions. It is therefore almost always necessary to obtain written informed consent for publication from people who might recognise themselves or be identified by others (e.g. from case reports or photographs). It may be possible to publish individual information without explicit consent if public interest considerations outweigh possible harms, it is impossible to obtain consent and a reasonable individual would be unlikely to object to publication. Best practice for ASHUES editors would include: - publishing their policy on publishing individual data (e.g. identifiable personal details or images) and explaining this clearly to authors Note that consent to take part in research or undergo treatment is not the same as consent to publish personal details, images or quotations.
» 10. Encouraging ethical research
- ASHUES editors should endeavour to ensure that research they publish was carried out according to the relevant internationally accepted guidelines ASHUES editors should seek assurances that all research has been approved by an appropriate body (e.g. institutional review board). However, editors should recognise that such approval does not guarantee that the research is ethical. Best practice for ASHUES editors would include:
- being prepared to request evidence of ethical research approval and to question authors about ethical aspects if concerns are raised or clarifications are needed
- appointing a journal ethics advisor or panel to advise on specific cases and review journal policies periodically
» 11. Dealing with possible misconduct
- 11.1. ASHUES editors have a duty to act if they suspect misconduct or if an allegation of misconduct is brought to them. This duty extends to both published and unpublished papers.
- 11.2. ASHUES editors should not simply reject papers that raise concerns about possible misconduct. They are ethically obliged to pursue alleged cases.
- 11.3. ASHUES editors should follow the COPE flowcharts where applicable.
- 11.4. ASHUES editors should first seek a response from those suspected of misconduct. If they are not satisfied with the response, they should ask an appropriate body (an internal USH regulatory body) to investigate.
- 11.5. ASHUES editors should make all reasonable efforts to ensure that a proper investigation into alleged misconduct is conducted; if this does not happen, editors should make all reasonable attempts to persist in obtaining a resolution to the problem. This is an onerous but important duty.
» 12. Ensuring the integrity of the academic record
- 12.1. Errors, inaccurate or misleading statements must be corrected promptly and with due prominence.
- 12.2. ASHUES editors should follow the COPE guidelines on retractions. Best practice for ASHUES editors would include:
- taking steps to reduce covert redundant publication
- ensuring that published material is securely archived
- having systems in place to give authors the opportunity to make original research articles freely available
» 13. Intellectual property
- 13.1. ASHUES editors should be alert to intellectual property issues and work with their publisher to handle potential breaches of intellectual property laws and conventions. Best practice for ASHUES editors would include:
- adopting systems for detecting plagiarism (e.g. software, searching for similar titles) in submitted items (either routinely or when suspicions are raised)
- supporting authors whose copyright has been breached or who have been the victims of plagiarism
- being prepared to work with their publisher to defend authors’ rights and pursue offenders (e.g. by requesting retractions or removal of material from websites) irrespective of whether their journal holds the copyright
» 14. Encouraging debate
- 14.1. ASHUES editors should encourage and be willing to consider cogent criticisms of work published in their journal.
- 14.2. Authors of criticised material should be given the opportunity to respond.
- 14.3. Studies reporting negative results should not be excluded. Best practice for ASHUES editors would include:
- being open to research that challenges previous work published in the journal
» 15. Complaints
- 15.1. ASHUES editors should respond promptly to complaints and should ensure there is a way for dissatisfied complainants to take complaints further. This mechanism should be made clear in the journal and should include information on how to refer unresolved matters to COPE.
- 15.2. ASHUES editors should follow the procedure set out in the COPE flowchart on complaints.
» 16. Commercial considerations
- 16.1. ASHUES Journal is having policies and systems in place to ensure that commercial considerations do not affect editorial decisions
- 16.2. ASHUES editors are having declared policies on advertising in relation to the content of the journal and on processes for publishing sponsored supplements.
- 16.3. Reprints will be published as they appear in the journal unless a correction needs to be included, in which case it should be clearly identified.
» 17. Conflicts of interest
- 17.1. ASHUES editors are having systems for managing their own conflicts of interest as well as those of their staff, authors, reviewers and editorial board members.
- 17.2. ASHUES Journal has a declared process for handling submissions from the editors or members of the editorial board to ensure unbiased review Best practice for ASHUES editors would include:
publishing lists of relevant interests (financial, academic and other kinds) of all editorial staff and members of editorial boards (which should be updated at least annually)
By submitting a manuscript to Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series, the author warrants that the enclosed text is authentic and does not infringe on any existing copyrights. Moreover, it is the authors responsibility to that ensure that the manuscript contains no instances of plagiarism or self-plagiarism, properly cites all verbatim quotations taken from or paraphrases of other works, and that permission has been duly obtained for the re-use of any parts or elements of other works where permission is either implicitly or explicitly required by the copyright holder.The authors assume full responsibility for the correctness of the citations in the articles published in the ASHUES Journal. THE ASHUES Journal editorial and management body and the specialized scientific reviewers are not responsible for any possible citation errors made by the authors.
About citations: The editors of Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series may undertake certain measures, including but not limited to the use of online peer review software, in order to verify the authenticity of the received manuscript. However, the responsibility of ensuring the originality of the work and conforming to all existing national and international copyright laws lies entirely with the author. As such, the author will indemnify the publisher against any and all third party claims arising from the breach of the aforementioned copyright infringement warranty.
All manuscripts found to not be in compliance with the authenticity guidelines set forth herein will be subject to automatic rejection and a permanent exclusion of the manuscripts author from future submissions to Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series, either as sole author or co-author.
Any claim of plagiarism that is received regarding an already published article will be duly investigated to the full extent. If it is found that a published article indeed fails to meet the authenticity guidelines of Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series, the publication of such an article will be retracted, wherever possible, and the author of the article will be excluded from future submissions to Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series, either as sole author or co-author. Further, in such cases, the publisher of Annals of Spiru Haret University. Economic Series may proceed with (civil or penal) legal action against the author, depending on the circumstances and severity of the infringement.
We check all papers against plagiarism using Safe Assign Module offered by BlackBoard TM.
About students, master students and PhD. students: Any student, master or PhD. student who wishes to publish in ASHUES journal is welcome to do so once a year only if he / she carries out the work co-authored with the guiding teacher or any other teacher, who takes responsibility for the published data and research. Also, in the same year, he/she can publish other 2 scientific papers only in co-authoring with another 4 or 5 collaborators (at least one of them to be a professor), to be other collaborators each time. The scientific papers will not be published in successive issues.
Rules regarding the publication of the article by an author, other than students: Any author who is a researcher or professor can publish within the ASHUES journal one scientific paper per year as a single author and a maximum of other 2 scientific papers only in co-authoring with another 3, 4 or 5 collaborators, having other collaborators each time. The scientific papers will not be published in successive issues.
Publication of articles by authors coming from the same country or from the same institution: In a single issue of the ASHUES journal cannot be published more than 3 articles by authors coming from the same institution or from the same country. Exceptions are approved only by Editorial Board Members or by the main editors of the ASHUES journal.
Communication of any issues related to the journal or articles published in the journal (ESPECIALLY BY STUDENTS):
Please take into consideration and respect that communication with ASHUES journal editors and EAB members or with reviewers for any issues regarding the journal or articles published therein is made only via the official e-mail address, published on the journal’s site.
It is forbidden to use the personal or service email addresses of main editors, EAB members or reviewers for notifying any issues related to the journal or articles appearing in it.
Any notices that are made on issues related to the journal will have to be well verified, true and can be proved. Any errors that appear in the journal site will be immediately rectified, once the problem has been resolved.
Uploading an article on ASHUES journal's site: Each author wishing to publish a scientific paper on the ASHUES journal’s site will have to personally upload his/her paper on the website, take the responsibility for the content of published paper and must provide the required information by the site form. It is forbidden to upload articles by foreign persons, other than those who wrote the article. Articles that are proven to be uploaded and assumed by people other than their authors will be withdrawn from publication.
