Guidelines on Publication Ethics

MeTis is guided by the publication code of ethics developed by COPE: Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.
 
All parties involved in the life of the journal-authors, Editor and members of the Scientific Steering Committee, and referees-declare that they are aware of, agree with, and accept the following ethical requirements.

Duties of the Editor and members of the Scientific Steering Committee.
 
Decisions about publication
They are responsible for deciding whether or not to publish proposed articles and may take into account the opinion of the referees in producing that decision.
 
Correctness
They evaluate articles proposed for publication based on their content without discrimination on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political orientation of the authors.
 
Confidentiality
They and other staff members (the editorial staff) agree not to disclose information about proposed articles to anyone other than the author, referees, and editor.
 
Conflict of interest and disclosure
They undertake not to use in their own research the contents of an article proposed for publication without the written consent of the author.

Duties of referees

Contribution to editorial decision-making
Peer-review is a procedure that helps scientific management and editors make decisions about proposed articles and also allows the author to improve his or her contribution.
 
Adherence to timelines
A referee who does not feel adequate for the proposed task or who knows that he or she cannot do the reading in the required time is required to notify the coordinators promptly.
 
Confidentiality
 
Any text assigned for reading should be considered confidential. Therefore, such texts should not be discussed with others without explicit permission from the Director or members of the Scientific Steering Committee.
 
Objectivity
Peer review must be conducted objectively. Any personal judgment about the author is inappropriate. Referees are required to give adequate reasons for their judgments.
 
Indication of texts
Referees undertake to accurately indicate the bibliographic details of key works that may have been overlooked by the author. The referee should also point out to the editors any similarities or overlaps of the text received for reading with other works known to him or her.
 
Conflict of interest and disclosure
Confidential information or guidance 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 relationship with the author and/or his or her home institution, if either is identified.

Duties of authors
 
Access and retention of data
If the Editor or members of the Scientific Steering Committee deem it appropriate, the authors of articles 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 be made accessible if necessary.
 
Originality and plagiarism
Authors are required to declare that they have composed an original work in its entirety and have cited all texts used (click here). MeTis will perform plagiarism checks on all submitted contributions using the Compilatio platform.
 
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 behavior.
 
Indication of sources
The author should always provide the correct indication of sources and contributions mentioned in the article.
 
Authorship of the work
The authorship of the work should be correctly attributed and all those who made significant contributions to the conception, organization, implementation, and reworking of the research underlying the article should be indicated as co-authors. If other people participated significantly in some stage of the research their contribution should be explicitly acknowledged.
In the case of contributions written by several hands, the author submitting the text to the journal is required to state that he or she has correctly stated the names of all other co-authors, that he or she has obtained their approval of the final version of the article and their consent to publication in MeTis.
 
Conflict of interest and disclosure
All authors are required to explicitly declare that there are no conflicts of interest that might have affected the results achieved or interpretations proposed. Authors must also indicate the funding bodies, if any, of the research and/or project from which the article stems.
 
Errors in published articles
When an author identifies a relevant error or inaccuracy in one of his or her articles, he or she must promptly inform the journal editors and provide them with all necessary information to point out the necessary corrections at the bottom of the article.
 
 
The author assumes full responsibility for his or her own work, including references to persons or facts traceable to them and including any anthologized passages and any illustrative apparatus, relieving the Editor and the Editor of the Journal from any control of merit.
The author undertakes, in any case, to provide the Publisher with documentation regarding the acquisition of rights for all illustrations that may be included in the work and for the anthologized excerpts.
The author also undertakes to procedurally and substantially indemnify and hold harmless the Publisher and the Scientific Editor of the journal from any prejudicial consequences to the latter arising, directly and/or indirectly, from claims for damages or similar claims made by third parties and suffered by the Publisher and the Editor of the journal in connection with this agreement.