COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics)

All JMS journals abide by COPE standards (see:  http://www.publicationethics.org/ ). COPE provides advice to editors and publishers on all aspects of publication ethics and, in particular, how to handle cases of research and publication misconduct. This means that every JMS journal adheres to high ethical standards in publishing. Below is the statement of publication ethics for each JMS journal.

Publication Ethics

All JMS journals are dedicated to publish high-quality academic research papers with ethical standards and forbids any violation regarding publication. Being concerned with this ethical issue, we declare the following ethical publication standards and retraction outlined for authors, the journal editorial board and the publisher respectively.

For Authors:

1. Authors agree not to indulge in any practices or activities that could bring the publishing journal into disrepute;

2. All authors' contact information shall be clearly visible in their published paper;

3. Authors agree to report any personal misconduct to the editorial board of publishing journal;

4. Authors agree to retract a manuscript if it constitutes plagiarism or reports of unethical research;

5. Authors agree to retract a manuscript if there are clear evidences that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct or honest error;

6. Authors agree not to apply unreliable data in their manuscript which may result from honest error or from research misconduct;

7. Authors agree not to submit redundant publication (i.e. authors presenting the same data in several publications);

8. Authors agree not to submit a manuscript with failure to disclose a major competing interest likely to influence interpretations or recommendations.

For the Journal Editorial Board:

1. The editorial team shall provide the full names and affiliations of the journal's editors on the publishing journal Website;

2. All of the manuscripts, apart from any editorial material that is clearly marked as such, shall be subjected to double-blind review process;

3. Only assign manuscripts for reviews to the editorial members who have the subject expertise required to carry out a proper assessment and who can assess in a timely manner;

4. Respect the confidentiality of review and not reveal any details of a manuscript or its review, during or after their viewing process, beyond those that are released by the journal;

5. Will not allow reviews of publishing journal to be influenced by the origins of a manuscript, by the nationality, religious or political beliefs, gender or other characteristics of the authors, or by commercial considerations;

6. Be objective and constructive in paper reviews, refraining from being hostile or inflammatory and from making libelous or derogatory personal comments;

7. Acknowledge that review process is largely a reciprocal endeavor and undertake it to carry out the fair share of reviewing in a timely manner;

8. Provide journals with personal and professional information that is accurate and a true representation of expertise;

9. Recognize that impersonation of another individual during the review process is considered serious misconduct;

10. Editors shall retract a publication if they have clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct or honest error;

11. Editors shall retract a publication if the manuscript constitutes plagiarism or reports of unethical research;

12. Editors shall issue an expression of concern if the manuscript they received included inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors, evidence that the findings are unreliable but the authors' institution will not investigate the case, or an investigation is underway but a judgment will not be available for a considerable time;

13. Journal editors shall issue a correction if the author list is incorrect (i.e. a deserving author has been omitted or somebody who does not meet authorship criteria has been included).

For Publisher:

1. Any direct marketing activities that the publisher engages in shall be appropriate and unobtrusive;

2. The authors' information shown in the publishing journal Website demonstrates that care has been taken to ensure high standards of presentation;

3. Information about the management of publishing journal journal shall be clearly indicated on the Website;

4. Publishers shall not use organizational names that would mislead potential authors and editors about the nature of the journal's owner.