Procedures
Use of Text-Comparing Software and Supplementary Enquiries
The journal uses a text-comparing software called Turnitin. It may likewise undertake supplementary enquiries in order to most fully ascertain the integrity of the articles submitted.
Complaints
Anyone who takes notice of, or has been affected by, the commission of an ethical infraction can denounce it in good faith and present means of conviction to whoever is in charge of the journal. Once a complaint has been received, the director should make appropriate inquiries and take one of the actions immediately below (see especially numbers 1-4).
Measures to Be Taken
When a member of the journal takes notice of, or receives a, complaint regarding an ethical infraction, he/she will undertake the corresponding inquest in order to rule out its commission, or, should elements of conviction be available, present a report with the preliminary observations listing the possible infractions committed in a clear and precise manner. The required inquest shall be undertaken depending on the nature of the infraction, and in accordance with the pertinent COPE flowcharts (https://publicationethics.org/).
Potential offenders will have a minimum of twenty days in which to clear up the observations made in a responsible and honest manner. These explanations will be sent to the editor in chief, who will assess the explanations given by the possible offenders in order to finally establish whether these infractions were actually committed.
Some of the following measures shall be taken should an ethical infraction be established.
1. Correction or retraction of the article
If necessary, the journal may determine that an article should be retracted or corrected. For this purpose, the COPE guidelines (https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines) will be used.
2. Measures Against Authors
The commission of an ethical infraction will entail the rejection of the article submitted and the notification of the incident to the institution to which the author is affiliated. In addition, some of the following measures may also be taken, depending on how serious are the events regarding the infraction committed:
- A temporary ban from publishing a new article from one up to three years.
- The publication of a note regarding the case on the journal’s webpage and social networks.
3. Measures Against Members of the Journal
In the case of infractions committed by some member of the journal, the individual responsible will have to publicly apologise or resign in accordance with the magnitude of the infraction, and the institution promoting the journal or to which the offender is affiliated can be notified of said event.
4. Measures Against Referees
In the case of infractions committed by referees, these will be notified to the institution to which they are affiliated. In addition, some of the following measures may also be taken, depending on how serious the events are regarding the infraction committed:
- Their exclusion from the list of referees.
- The publication of a note regarding the case.
Research Undertaken with Human Beings or Animals
The favourable opinion of an ethics committee will be required whenever the article submitted is the result of research work undertaken with human beings or animals. The article will be preliminarily rejected should the above-mentioned opinion not be included with the article on its submission.
Interpretation of the Ethical Guidelines
In case of doubt, the meaning and scope of the present guidelines will be established by whoever is in charge of the journal in conjunction with the editorial board, in accordance with the journal’s international ethics standards and the sources used in preparing these guidelines.
