Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Journal of System Safety (JSS) strives to maintain the highest levels of publication ethics, as described in the guidelines and core practices of the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE).

This statement provides a concise summary of the duties of all participants in the process. For additional detail, please see the additional journal policies listed at the end of the statement.

Duties of the Journal Editor (Editor-in-Chief)

  • Editorial Policy: Establishes and implements editorial policy for the journal to provide a transparent and equitable publishing experience for all participants
  • Decision-Making: Exercises final decision-making authority on submitted manuscripts in a fair and unbiased manner based on a rigorous evaluation of scientific merit free from outside influences.
  • Delegation: Allocates decision-making authority to associate editors as appropriate for their expertise
  • Staff Selection: Approves peer reviewer, editor, and editorial board applications based on a fair evaluation process and per journal policies.
  • Process Oversight: Oversees the overall submission, review, and publication processes to ensure quality. Provides primary ethical oversight for the journal.
  • Confidentiality: Protects the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and communications
  • Conflict Resolution: Responsible for investigating and replying to reported ethical concerns or issues. Responsible for resolving post-publication inquiries or conflicts.
  • Leadership: Primary interface between the journal and ISSS society leadership. Chairs editorial board meetings. Chairs editorial staff meetings

Duties of the Associate Editors

  • Quality: Assists the editor to review submitted manuscripts for quality. As requested by the editor, may act as a peer reviewer on an as-needed basis. Ensures a rigorous, fair, and ethical review process.
  • Coordination: As requested by the editor, interfaces with reviewers and/or authors during the peer review process to ensure scientific rigor and ethical behavior among authors and reviewers.
  • Decision Support: As requested by the editor, makes recommendations regarding the acceptance of submitted manuscripts in a fair and unbiased manner based on a rigorous evaluation of scientific merit free from outside influences.
  • Implement Policy: Assists the editor in transparently and equitably implementing journal policies
  • Ethics: Assist the editor in monitoring the review and publication process for potential ethical violations or misconduct.
  • Confidentiality: Protects the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and communications
  • Recruiting: Assists the editor in recruiting authors, reviewers, and editors from their network based on a fair evaluation process and per journal policies..
  • Promotion: Assists the editor in marketing the journal on social media and elsewhere per journal policies.

Duties of the Editorial Board

  • Advisors: Advise the editor regarding journal policy. Advise the editor on development of the journal. Participate in appeal committees as needed.
  • Quality: Participate in the peer review process when requested by the editor. Read the journal and provide candid feedback to the editor.
  • Subject Expert: Suggest topics and special issues to the editor and act as a Guest editor as requested. Periodically submit their own manuscripts to the journal.
  • Promotion: Raise awareness about the journal and encourage colleagues to submit manuscripts. As requested by the editor, suggest candidates for editorial staff or board

Duties of Reviewer

  • Quality: Only accepts assignments to review manuscripts on topics for which they are qualified and have the time to review. Provides timely input into the editorial process through well-structured comments and supporting arguments
  • Ethics: Reports any potential or perceived conflict of interest before accepting an assignment. Reports potential ethical issues, including plagiarism or overlap with existing research
  • Fairness: Avoids derogatory, personal, biased, or negatively toned comments on manuscripts
  • Confidentiality: Protects the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and communications

Duties of Authors

  • Integrity: Submitted manuscripts shall be accurate and objective and consist of the author’s own work per the JSS Authorship Policy. Submitted manuscripts shall not be concurrently submitted to multiple journals, nor shall they have been published previously. Proper acknowledgement and citation of the work of others shall be given.
  • Quality: Manuscripts shall contain sufficient detail and citations to replicate the work. 
  • Confidentiality: Authors shall protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and communications
  • Ethics: Research involving clinical trials, human subjects, or animal subjects shall be conducted per relevant ethical standards and per journal policies
  • Corrections: If a significant error is discovered post-publication, the article shall notify the journal and work with the editor to correct the error

Duties of the Society Leadership

  • Promote the journal within the society and the society’s partners
  • Provide financial support for the journal consistent with the agreed mission
  • Encourage society members to volunteer for the journal
  • Support the editorial independence and ethical policies of the editorial staff

 


Additional Information

For additional details on the duties summarized above, please see these JSS policies: