This statement is based on COPE’s (Committee on Publication Ethics) Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors. https://publicationethics.org/files/Code_of_conduct_for_journal_editors.pdf
It is necessary that all parties involved – authors, editors, publishers and reviewers – are aware of and share the following ethical requirements.
DUTIES OF EDITORS
Publication decisions
The editorial director and the editorial board of Platform Architecture and Design are responsible for deciding whether or not to publish proposed articles. The editors may refer to the journal’s scientific committee and are bound by the requirements of current laws regarding defamation, copyright infringement and plagiarism.
Fairness
The editorial director and the editorial staff of Platform Architecture and Design are responsible for the decision to publish or not the proposed articles. The editors may refer to the journal’s scientific committee and are bound by the requirements of applicable laws regarding defamation, copyright infringement and plagiarism.
The editors of “Platform Architecture and Design” evaluate articles proposed for publication on the basis of their scientific content without discrimination on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political orientation of the authors.
The editorial board members’ decision to accept or reject a manuscript for publication must be based solely on the importance, originality, and clarity of the text, as well as the validity of the study and its relevance to the interests of the journal. The peer review process must be impartial.
All stages of the review process must be carried out using the protocol set out in the journal’s editorial practice, to ensure the impartiality of the final decision and to guarantee that submitted materials remain confidential throughout the evaluation process.
The editors of Platform Architecture and Design must be willing to accept well-founded criticism of published work and must not be precluded from publishing research that challenges previously published work. It is also their duty to publish corrections, clarifications, and retractions where necessary. Authors must always be given the opportunity to respond to criticism and the journal is not biased against studies that propose negative results.
Confidentiality
The editor and any member of the editorial board or scientific committee must refrain from disclosing information about texts submitted for review to anyone other than the corresponding author, referee, potential referee, editorial advisor, and publisher, as appropriate.
Conflict of interest and disclosure
Unpublished material contained in a text submitted to the journal must not be used in research by the editor or a member of the editorial board without the express written consent of the author.
DUTIES OF REFEREES
Contribution to editorial decision
The practice of peer reviewing helps the editorial staff to make editorial decisions and, through editorial communication with the author, can also allow the author to improve their contribution.
Respecting time
If the referee does not feel adequate to the task proposed or knows that he/she will not be able to carry out the reading in the required time, he/she must promptly inform the editorial staff.
Confidentiality
Any text assigned for reading must be considered confidential. Therefore, these texts must not be discussed with other people without the explicit permission of the editorial office.
Objectivity
The peer review procedure must be conducted objectively. Any personal judgement of the author is inappropriate. Referees are obliged to give adequate reasons for their judgements.
Indication of texts
Referees are obliged to provide precise bibliographical references to key works that the author may have overlooked. Referees must also inform the editor of any similarities or overlaps between the text they read and other works known to them.
Conflict of interest and disclosure
All confidential information or indications obtained during the peer review process must be considered confidential and may not be used for personal purposes. Referees are required not to accept for reading articles for which there is a conflict of interest due to previous collaborative or competitive relationships with the author and/or his/her institution.
AUTHORS’ DUTIES
Data access and preservation
Authors of original research must also make available the sources or data on which the research is based so that they can be retained for a reasonable period of time after publication and possibly be made accessible to others who may wish to use the work.
False or inaccurate statements constitute ethically unacceptable behaviour.
Originality and plagiarism
Authors must guarantee the absolute originality of the texts submitted, and in the case of using the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately indicated or quoted.
Multiple, repetitive and/or competing publications
The author should not publish articles describing the same research in more than one journal. Simultaneously submitting the same text to more than one journal constitutes unethical and unacceptable behaviour.
Indication of sources
The author must always provide the correct indication of sources and contributions mentioned in the article.
Paternity of the work
The authorship of the work must be correctly attributed and all persons who have made a significant contribution to the conception, organisation, realisation and elaboration of the research on which the article is based must be indicated as co-authors; if other persons have participated significantly in some phases of the research, their contribution must be explicitly acknowledged.
In the case of co-written contributions, the author submitting the text to the journal must declare that he/she has correctly stated the names of all the other co-authors, that he/she has obtained their approval of the final version of the article and their consent to publication in Platform Architecture and Design.
Conflict of interest and disclosure
All authors are required to explicitly declare that there are no conflicts of interest that might have affected their results or proposed interpretations of their work. Authors must also indicate the funding bodies, if any, of the research and/or project from which the article originates.
Errors in published articles
When an author identifies a significant error or inaccuracy in his or her published work, he or she must promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and provide them with all the information they need to make the necessary corrections at the end of the article.
