Duties of Authors
Ensuring Originality and Copyright Acknowledgement
- Authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, or conformed to copyright regulations. If the authors have used words of others, those words should be clearly cited and are used within a reasonable range, and if the authors have used pictures, images or long citations of others, permission should be obtained. No act of plagiarism or copyright infringement is allowed. The editorial committee has the right to require authors to provide copyright permissions and authors are obliged to provide such documents.
- Authors should not submit the same manuscript to multiple journals or publications, or publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal. Other than translated works of important published articles, which may be published under “Report”, the Journal does not accept published manuscripts. If the above-mentioned violation is found, the Journal will no longer accept submissions of the same author.
- For collected publication or secondary publication, primary reference should be cited and the data and interpretation should be the same as those of the primary document.
Protecting Authenticity and Correctness
- Authors should present an accurate and complete account of the research results and data used. No fabrication or alternation is allowed. If investigation, interviews, experiments were conducted to produce original data, authors should explain in detail how these data were produced, and the results and data should be properly stored. The editorial committee has the right to require authors to provide original data and authors are obliged to provide such data.
- When authors discover inaccuracy in their manuscripts, they should immediately inform the editorial committee to retract or correct the paper. If the editorial committee learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, it is the obligation of the author to provide the correct data and adopt relevant measures.
In Compliance with Research Ethics
- Authors should ensure that research procedures were performed in compliance with research ethics standards and relevant regulations. If the work involves human subjects and uses direct personal information, informed consent of the subjects should be obtained and their privacy should be protected. If minors are involved in the research, consents of their legal representatives and guardians should be obtained.
- If authors intend to use privately obtained information, such as dialogues, letters, or discussions, or to use information obtained because of reviewing others’ research or cases, consents of people who are involved should be obtained before use.
- The editorial committee has the right to require authors to provide relevant research ethics proof and authors are obliged to provide such proof.
Declaration of Interests and Contribution
- All sources of financial support or actual benefits with economic value for the research should be disclosed. If, during the conduct of the research, funds, equipment, or resources have been accepted, they should be stated in the manuscripts.
- All those who made an actual contribution to the manuscripts should be listed as authors or should be stated in the manuscripts for their contribution. On the other hand, those who did not make an actual contribution to the work should not be listed as authors.
- If two or more people are listed as authors in the work, the corresponding author should get consents from all authors before submitting, correcting, and ensuring the publication of manuscripts.
Duties of Reviewers
Contribution to Editorial Decisions and Ensuring Quality
- Selected referees should make sure that reviewed manuscripts are relevant to their own fields, that they are qualified to review, and that they can finish the review on time. If they feel unqualified or cannot finish the review on time, they should decline to participate in the review process.
- Reviewers should review the manuscripts based on their subjects, methodology, logic, and academic value to ensure quality.
Ensuring Objectivity and Avoid Conflicts of Interest
- Reviews should be conducted in a just and objective manner. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments for authors to correct and to make changes to their articles and for the editorial committee to take into account.
- Reviewers should explain to the editorial committee and decline to participate in the review process when they find out that they have potential conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with the authors or the papers they review.
Ensuring Research Ethics and Copyright Regulations
- Referees should review the paper based on academic originality, correctness in citation, and the legitimacy of sources. If any violation of academic ethics is found, reviewers should notify the editorial committee with concrete evidence for future measures.
Maintaining Confidentiality
- Any manuscripts received for review and the review process should be treated as confidential. Reviewers should not disclose any information to anyone other than the editors.
Duties of the Editorial Committee
Review and Publication Decisions
- When the editorial committee receives research articles and theme articles, they should first conduct qualification reviews according to subjects, formats, and quality before submitting for peer review. The committee should then follow the peer review process and invite experts of relevant fields to be reviewers. The committee should also consider and avoid potential conflicts of interest to ensure the review process is professional. Reviews for book reviews and reports shall be conducted by the editorial committee alone.
- The editorial committee should take into account professional judgement of reviewers and academic value of the manuscripts submitted before deciding which manuscripts to be published. If, for various reasons, the publication of manuscripts is delayed or the manuscripts cannot be published, the editorial committee should notify the authors as soon as possible to protect the rights of authors.
Adherence to Editorial Ethics and Confidentiality
- The Journal adopts double-blind review process. The editorial committee passes information for authors and reviewers and should not disclose information of either authors nor reviewers to the other side, nor should they provide unnecessary information or information that may affect the fairness of the review process.
- The editorial committee should treat unpublished manuscripts, including those under review or rejected, and the review process as confidential and should not disclose information to unnecessary personnel or make public.
- The editorial committee should not use unpublished information of submitted papers or review comments of referees for personal purposes.
Safeguarding Academic Value
- The editorial committee should be dedicated to assisting the publication of works with academic value regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality, politics, or any irrelevant issue to the quality of manuscripts.
- If the editorial committee has concerns about the original data, copyright, research ethics, and relevant interests, they should look into the matter and take appropriate measures. The committee can ask authors to provide relevant information and proof when deemed necessary. If, after investigation, it is found that the manuscript in question violates academic ethics, measures, such as correction, retraction, and publication of clarification statement, should be adopted immediately whether the paper is published or not.
Avoidance of Conflicts of Interest
- In order to ensure that the review process remains just and professional, the editor-in-chief and the executive editor should not submit articles to the Journal during their term. If other members of the editorial committee submit their articles to the Journal, they should not be involved in decisions about papers they have submitted.
- When members of the editorial committee or anyone that involved in the editing process find that they have potential conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with the authors or the papers they review, they should take the initiative to explain and avoid involving in the process. At the same time, the editorial committee should find replacement.