This journal follows strict ethical guidelines concerning article publication, and any inappropriate attitude will not be tolerated. As such, we adopt the ethical guidelines provided by the Code of Conduct and Best-Practice for Journal Editors (COPE - Comittee on Publication Ethics). 

Duties of editors

1. Publication decisions

The editors are responsible for deciding which of the papers that are submitted to the journal will be published. Manuscripts are to be evaluated impartially, equably and regardless of the race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, nationality or political ideas of the authors. The decision whether or not to publish an article will be based on the article’s importance, originality and clarity, as well as on its pertinence with regard to the journal’s objectives. Papers to be published must comply with the legal framework, and not infringe upon the reputation of people or institutions, or break copyright and plagiarism rules.

2. Confidentiality

The journal’s editors and other members of staff, as well as external collaborators, will never share information of any kind about the manuscripts received, other than with the author and the reviewers, and only insofar as this meets a well-defined purpose.

3. Conflict of interest

Information contained in the articles submitted must not be used by reviewers in their own research, unless the authors have given their express consent in writing.

Duties of reviewers

1. Assist editors’ decisions

The purpose of peer-reviews is to assist the editors in publication decisions by evaluating the quality and pertinence of articles, as well as by contributing to improve their quality. 

2. Diligence

Reviewers who believe not to be qualified for evaluating an article, or who are not capable of undertaking the review with due diligence, will inform the journal editors and decline to participate in the evaluation. 

3. Confidentiality

Manuscripts will be treated as confidential documents. They must not be publicly shared or discussed without the permission of the editors. 

4. Objectivity

Reviewers will evaluate articles objectively. Personal criticism will be avoided at all times. The reviewers must express their opinions clearly and with supporting arguments. 

5. Citations and sources

Reviewers must point out published works which are cited in the manuscript but are not listed in the bibliography. Similarly, they must point out arguments or observations in the manuscript which require a bibliographic reference.

Reviewers must inform the editor of significant similarities or overlaps between the manuscript and published works of which they are aware.

6. Conflicts of interest

Reviewers should treat information and ideas contained within the reviewed manuscripts with the utmost confidentiality, and no personal gain may be elicited from them. Reviewers must forgo reviewing manuscripts with which there is a potential conflict of interest, be it in relation to competitive, collaborative or other relationships, or to links with authors, institutions or companies related in any way to the article. 

Duties of authors

1. Quality standards

Research must be original and the work undertaken must be clearly presented, and its relevance must be objectively asserted. Supporting data must be clearly presented in the manuscript. References must be detailed and clear, allowing readers to follow them and adequately assess the manuscript’s arguments and conclusions. Intentionally false or inaccurate assertions are ethically unacceptable, and will be considered a cause for exclusion.

2. Research data access

Authors must be prepared to provide their research data for review and publication along with the manuscript. At any rate, it is understood that researchers must put these data at the disposal of the scientific community, provided that the confidentiality of participants is maintained and that no institutional rights are infringed upon. 

3. Originality, plagiarism and sources

Manuscripts submitted must be original, and the work of other authors should be adequately cited and credited. Works by other authors which have played a significant role in framing the work reported in the manuscript must also be adequately cited and credited.

4. Multiple, redundant and simultaneous publications

As a rule, the same research must not be published in more than one journal. Sending the same manuscript to several journals is ethically reprehensible and a cause for exclusion. 

Manuscripts which have already been published, or which are undergoing the review process in a different journal, must never be submitted. This does not affect the author’s full ownership over the work, and over its publication and reproduction rights. 

5. Authorship

Authorship should be limited to those who have made an important contribution to the conception, elaboration or interpretation of the work. All those who have made such a contribution should be listed as authors.

The corresponding author should ensure that only these persons are listed as authors. Similarly, the corresponding author should submit the latest version of the article to his co-authors for their endorsement, prior to publication.

6. Conflict of interest

Authors should clearly state the source of their funding, and should avoid all conflict of interest that may affect the results, interpretation and conclusions.

7. Fundamental errors

Should authors find significant errors or inaccuracies, they should inform the editors diligently and contribute to correct or, if necessary, to rectify the manuscript.