International Society for the Study of Information (IS4SI)
Code of Ethics
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Peer Review Ethical Policy
The International Society for the Study of Information (IS4SI) is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and ethical conduct in all scholarly endeavors. The peer review process is fundamental to ensuring the quality, credibility, and reliability of research disseminated under the society’s auspices.
This Peer Review Ethical Policy establishes principles and guidelines for reviewers, authors, and editors involved in the peer review process. Its aim is to foster a review system characterized by transparency, fairness, and impartiality, while respecting confidentiality and intellectual property rights.
6.1. Key Policy Elements
- Impartiality and Fairness: A review should not be written with bias and conflicts of interest from the person writing the review in question. Critique plays a major role in developing/ refining manuscripts.
- Integrity: They should supervise their subordinates with one main aim of assessing their work based on merit. A potential conflict of interests should also be declared, and he or she should try to stay as neutral as possible.
- Intellectual Property: Author’s property is protected by intellectual property rights, and the gathering of peer review info for pecuniary gain banned.
- Confidentiality: Reviewers are supposed to keep information about manuscripts in confidence and not to disclose it to anyone.
Compliance with these principles protects the credibility of peer review and helps to build the body of knowledge in information studies. Lab policy promotes ethical practice and sharing of research information to better the academic society globally.
6.2. Summit Peer Review Process
Summit is committed to a rigorous peer review process to uphold the integrity of the academic record. Manuscripts are evaluated for alignment with submission guidelines and scope. Suitable manuscripts are forwarded to at least two independent expert reviewers for detailed, constructive feedback and recommendations. The handling editor, after careful consideration of reviewer comments, makes the final decision.
Confidentiality is paramount. The disclosure of reviewer or author identities, or details of the review process, is prohibited without mutual consent. This process ensures a fair, unbiased evaluation and maintains trust within the scientific community.
6.2.1. Each reviewer has the following specific ethical responsibilities and duties
- Impartiality and Objectivity: The objective opinions are important. It should be understood that potential conflicts of interest have to be reported, and that a reviewer should step down where necessary.
- Constructive Feedback: Still, focused and research-based remarks are useful when it comes to editing of the manuscripts presented.
- Confidentiality: Manuscripts that authors submit should not be shared with anyone, and should be treated as confidential documents.
- Timeliness: The reviews should be done according to a specified timeline.
- Integrity and Ethical Conduct: Ethical behaviors at the highest level are expected. Use of other people’s work should be discouraged and stealing should be stamped out wholly, all intellectual property rights should be recognized and assured while Pass words and peer review information shall not be used for one’s gain.
This policy supports scholarly communication and protects the principle of peer review as the essential and reliable means to verify and enhance the quality of academic work.
6.2.2. Specific Summit Reviewer Commitments
- The use of peer review information for personal or organizational advantage is prohibited.
- Manuscripts should be reviewed within the reviewer’s subject expertise.
- Peer review confidentiality must be maintained.
- In cases of conflicts of interest, advice from the Summit editorial board should be sought.
- Timely contributions to the peer review process are expected.
- Reviews should be based on the merit of the work, independent of author characteristics.
- Assertive, objective, and constructive feedback is essential, with avoidance of harmful or insulting language.
6.3. Specific ethical responsibilities and duties of the Editor
IS4SI expects all editors to conduct themselves ethically as the role players of guaranteeing the appropriateness of content produced in the academic realm. Editors are responsible for how review process is conducted, by making the decision on manuscript acceptance/rejection and enhancing the quality of the published research by verifying that the work is conducted to the highest and ethical standards.
6.3.1. Core Ethical Responsibilities
- Impartiality and Fairness: The final selection process should be merited not influenced by the personal views of the ‘Editor-in-Chief’ or else influenced by self-interest. Helpful comments should be offered to the authors.
- Integrity and Ethical Conduct: It is to be noted that acme has always been expected to work in the high ethical standards. The unauthorized use of other people’s work, original research, and ownership of ideas should be omitted. Ethical problems or any concern of unethical behavior should be detected and report.
- Confidentiality: Author manuscripts must be considered as confidential and their sharing with people who are not involved in the reviewing process can be only done with authors’ permission.
- Timeliness: The peer review process needs to be fast to allow fast research dissemination, and to maintain trust with the authors and reviewers.
- Transparency: Policies and standards of IS4SI must be communicated effectively with authors, reviewers, and readers. This involves the guidelines for preparing manuscripts, the peer review system and management of conflict of interest.
In so doing, editors help to move knowledge forward and support the IS4SI values of integrity, fairness and excellence. This helps to safeguard the independence of editorial procedures and at the same time maintain its role of a competent filter and critique of scholarly output.
6.3.2. Editor’s Specific Duties
Editors are responsible for:
- Identifying and recruiting authors, readers, and expert reviewers.
- Researching peer review and publishing practices, and reassessing Summit processes based on new findings.
- Reducing publication misconduct.
- Ensuring that all publications are reviewed by suitably qualified reviewers and identifying non-peer-reviewed sections.
- Regularly reviewing author instructions and providing updates with new guidelines.
- Providing international standards for authors.
- Selecting appropriate reviewers for submissions, ensuring they can judge the work without conflicts of interest.
IS4SI 2024
