Code of ethics
Integrity in research publication has become a major issue of debate over the past years. The editors of PREDELLA are seriously concerned about the increase of plagiarism and other forms of fraud and misconduct in academic publishing.
We consider it an essential part of our ethical responsibilities as editors to be aware of these challenges, and to develop strategies for addressing them. We expect the same awareness of our journal’s peer reviewers.
Likewise, PREDELLA is committed to ethical standards in its own editorial policy. To support and promote integrity in research publication, we fully endorse the position statements for editors and authors that were developed at the 2nd World Conference on Research Integrity in Singapore in 2010. Both position statements were published under a Creative Commons licence. The following statement is inspired by the COPE Code of Conduct.
Editors have a duty to act if they suspect misconduct or if an allegation of scholarly misconduct is brought to them. This duty extends to both published and unpublished papers.
Editors have a system for managing their own conflicts of interest as well as those of the staff, authors, reviewers, and editorial board members.
Editors have a process for handling submissions from the editors, employees, and members of the editorial board to ensure unbiased review.
Editors encourage study and research into peer review and publishing, and reassess the journal’s processes in the light of new findings.
Editors guarantee that errors, and inaccurate or misleading statements are corrected promptly and with due prominence.
Editors will publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when needed.
Editors will respond promptly to complaints and will ensure there is a way for dissatisfied complainants to take complaints further. Complaints and appeals should be sent to editors@predella.it.
Editors ensure that contents are published on a timely basis, following the journal’s stated frequency.
Editors take all reasonable steps to guarantee that the published material is securely preserved and that all articles are published in open access, freely available to anyone. Permanent identifiers such as DOI and NBN guarantee tracking and preservation of articles in the long term.