Publication ethics and malpractice statement

Publishing Ethics: Academic Research

Introduction

Egitto e Vicino Oriente (EVO) is a peer-reviewed journal which accepts the ethical guidelines for journal publication elaborated by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors: http://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines.

Research Integrity

We uphold the following the principles:

• honesty in all aspects of research;
• scrupulous care, thoroughness and excellence in research practice;
• transparency and open communication;
• care and respect for all participants in and subjects of research;
• accountability both for one’s own research integrity and that of others when behaviour falls short of our standards.

In addition to the general principles above, we expect our editorial teams to provide specific guidelines and policy for authors on research integrity and ethics appropriate to their subject matter and discipline.

Editorial Process

We are committed to editorial independence, and strive in all cases to prevent this principle from being compromised through competing interests, fear, or any other corporate, business, financial or political influence. Our editorial processes reflect this commitment to editorial independence.

We do not discriminate against authors, editors or peer reviewers based on personal characteristics or identity. We are committed to embedding diversity, removing barriers to inclusion, and promoting equity at every stage of our publishing process. We actively seek and encourage submissions from scholars of diverse backgrounds, including race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, and disability.

Proposals submitted for our journal are initially reviewed by inhouse editors, who may also consult relevant external book series editors or subject specialists. If the proposal is suitable for consideration, the proposal, along with sample content, will be sent to a minimum of two external and independent peer reviewers. The peer reviewers’ assessments are used to inform the editor’s decision as to whether or not to recommend publication. Editorial decisions on manuscripts submitted to our journal are made by internal academic editors and based on independent peer review reports.

We do not tolerate abusive behaviour or correspondence towards our staff and others involved in the publishing process on our behalf. If anyone involved in this process engages in such behaviour we have the right to take action to protect others from this abuse. This may include, for example, withdrawal of a manuscript from consideration, or challenging clearly abusive peer review comments.

Peer Review

Peer review is critical to maintaining the standards of our publications. We:

• provide appropriate systems, training and support to facilitate rigorous, fair and effective peer review for all our publications;
• encourage our editors and peer reviewers to familiarise themselves with and act in accordance with relevant best practice guidelines on peer review, referring to COPE’s Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers;
• expect those who oversee the peer review process to be able to recognise warning signs of fraudulent or manipulated peer review, and to raise any concerns by emailing evo@humnet.unipi.it. People who oversee the peer review process may be internal to University of Pisa or contracted by us directly or indirectly;
• support our editors and peer reviewers in investigating and acting on any suspected cases of manipulated or fraudulent peer review;
• protect the confidentiality of participants in the peer review process where anonymity forms part of that publication’s peer review process. We also expect our publishing partners, authors and peer reviewers to uphold any relevant confidentiality arrangements for each book or journal and to provide necessary information to support this.

Authorship and Contributorship

We acknowledge that different disciplines and publication formats have different norms for who is listed as an author. Where no other guidance is specified, we recommend applying the following principles:

• Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; and/or
• Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and/or 3. Final approval of the version to be published; and
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

The corresponding author’s specific responsibilities include:

• Manuscript correction and proofreading. Handling the revisions and re-submission of revised manuscripts up to the acceptance of the manuscripts;
• Agreeing to and signing the Author Publishing Agreement on behalf of relevant coauthors and/or arranging for any third-party copyright owners’ signature;
• Arranging for payment of an APC (article processing charge) where one is required. The affiliation of the corresponding author is used to determine eligibility for discounted or waived APCs under Open Access Agreements.
• Acting on behalf of all co-authors in responding to queries from all sources postpublication, including questions relating to publishing ethics, reuse of content, or the availability of data, materials, resources etc.

We encourage authors to list anyone who does not meet the criteria for authorship in an Acknowledgments section in their publication with permission, for example to recognise the contributions of anyone who provided research or writing assistance.

Affiliations

Any article affiliations should represent the institution(s) at which the research presented was conducted and/or supported and/or approved. For non-research content, any affiliations should represent the institution(s) with which each author is currently affiliated.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as ‘using someone else’s ideas, words, data, or other material produced by them without acknowledgement’. Plagiarism can occur in respect to all types of sources and media, including:

• text, illustrations, musical quotations, extended mathematical derivations, computer code, etc.;
• material downloaded from websites or drawn from manuscripts or other media;
• published and unpublished material, including lectures, presentations and grey literature. We do not tolerate plagiarism in any of our publications, and we reserve the right to check all submissions through appropriate plagiarism checking tools. Submissions containing suspected plagiarism, in whole or part, will be rejected. If plagiarism is discovered postpublication, we will follow our guidance outlined in the Retractions, Corrections and Expressions of Concern section of these guidelines. We expect our readers, reviewers and editors to raise any suspicions of plagiarism, either by contacting the relevant editor or by emailing evo@humnet.unipi.it.

Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Duplicate or redundant publication, or ‘self-plagiarism’, occurs when a work, or substantial parts of a work, is published more than once by the author(s) of the work without appropriate cross-referencing or justification for the overlap. This can be in the same or a different language. We do not support substantial overlap between publications, unless:

• it is felt that editorially this will strengthen the academic discourse; and
• we have clear approval from the original publication; and
• we include citation of the original source.

We expect our readers, reviewers and editors to raise any suspicions of duplicate or redundant publication, either by contacting the relevant editor or by emailing evo@humnet.unipi.it.

When authors submit manuscripts to our journal, these manuscripts should not be under consideration, accepted for publication or in press within a different journal, book or similar entity.

Competing Interests and Funding

We try to ensure that Egitto e Vicino Oriente is free from undue influence. Authors submitting a journal manuscript to our journal are required to declare any potential competing interests that could interfere with the objectivity or integrity of a publication. Competing interests are situations that could be perceived to exert an undue influence on the presentation, review or publication of a piece of work. These may be financial, non-financial, professional, contractual or personal in nature. We also expect that anyone who suspects an undisclosed competing interests regarding a work published or under consideration by EVO should inform us emailing evo@humnet.unipi.it.

Libel, Defamation and Freedom of Expression

Freedom of expression is critical to us as academic publishers, but we do not support publishing false statements that harm the reputation of individuals, groups, or organisations. Our legal team can advise on pre-publication libel reviews, and will also address allegations of libel in any of our publications.

Retractions, Corrections and Expressions of Concern

If an author is found to have made an error, the journal will issue a corrigendum. If the journal is found to have made an error, they will issue an erratum. Retractions are usually reserved for articles that are so seriously flawed that their findings or conclusions should not be relied upon, or that contain substantial plagiarism or life-endangering content.

In exceptional cases, we may remove an article from online publication where we believe it is necessary to comply with our legal obligations. This includes, without limitation, where we have concerns that the article is defamatory, violates personal privacy or confidentiality laws, is the subject of a court order, or might pose a serious health risk to the general public. In these circumstances, we may decide to remove the article and publish a notice that clearly states why the full article has been removed. Our next step would be to investigate the concern and, if appropriate, address it through dialogue or negotiation with any third parties involved or by referring it to a relevant institution for investigation. Where any content is retracted, we would do so in a way that still preserves the integrity of the academic record and of other affiliated works. This includes maintaining any associated metadata and, if legally possible, the abstract.

Image Manipulation, Falsification and Fabrication

Where research data are collected or presented as images, modifying these images can sometimes misrepresent the results obtained or their significance. We recognise that there can be legitimate reasons for modifying images, but we expect authors to avoid modifying images where this leads to the falsification, fabrication, or misrepresentation of their results.

Fraudulent Problem solving and Research Misconduct

Where we are made aware of fraudulent research, our first concern is the integrity of content we have published. Any publication found to include fraudulent results will be retracted, or an appropriate correction or expression of concern will be issued. Please see the Retractions, Corrections and Expressions of Concern section of these guidelines for more information.

Data and Supporting Evidence

We support transparency and openness around data, code, and other materials associated with research. We expect authors to maintain accurate records of supporting evidence necessary to allow others to understand, verify, and replicate new findings, and to supply or provide access to this supporting evidence, on reasonable request. Where appropriate and where allowed by their employer, funding body or others who might have an interest, we encourage authors to:

• deposit evidence in a suitable repository or storage location, for sharing and further use by others; and
• describe where the evidence may be found in a Data Availability Statement which authors should include in their publication.

Unless otherwise stated, it should be assumed that data, code, and other materials or supplementary files will not be peerreviewed.

Integrity of Record

We maintain a record of the existence of everything we publish with information (metadata) describing each publication. If our content is deemed not to comply with the laws of a sovereign nation, we make every effort to ensure the metadata remain accessible within that jurisdiction. Where we are obliged to alter the publication record in any way, such as in the case of research misconduct leading to retraction of a publication, we preserve the academic record as far possible. See the Retractions, Corrections and Expressions of Concern of these guidelines for information about how we do this. We apply these same principles to our marketing, and do not modify or manipulate the representation of the academic record in our marketing activities. When any product is purchased or subscribed to, we supply it only in its totality to the customer, who is not entitled to alter its content in any way that is inconsistent with the licensing terms under which it was published. Any sale of disaggregated products is subject to the contracts with the copyright holders of the original products.

Ethical Business Practices

Censorship

We will never be complicit in censorship. EVO is fully committed to the principle and promotion of freedom of speech and expression. Our goal is to disseminate knowledge to the widest possible audience, and to serve the academic community in all countries around the world.

Marketing Abstraction

Social media and email communication are powerful tools for disseminating and engaging with our journal, for reaching new readers and for keeping content alive. However, such onward communication should never be at the expense of the integrity of the content or of the academic record. All colleagues with responsibility for our social media channels are expected to familiarise themselves with best practice in media use. Colleagues are also expected to apply these policies and this guidance when using external influencers during a social media campaign.

PR / Media

We recommend Academic colleagues who are involved in media or publicity familiarise themselves with and follow the International Public Relations Association’s Code of Conduct, and observe these standards in any press releases or other media communications. Where we solicit or encourage media activities concerning one of our authors, editors or publishing partners, we strive to keep them informed.