Ethics

This general statement will be supplemented by instructions to authors (as well as in communications to editors and peer reviewers) relevant for each journal. In case the journal is affiliated to or owned by a Society: In the event of any conflict between this statement and Society guidelines, policies or procedures, Society preference prevails.

Ethics and Procedures

General

The editor(s) and publisher of this Journal believe that there are fundamental principles underlying scholarly or professional publishing. While this may not amount to a formal "code of conduct", these fundamental principles with respect to the authors' paper are that the paper should:

  • be the authors' own original work, which has not been previously published elsewhere
  • reflect the authors' own research and analysis and do so in a truthful and complete manner
  • properly credit the meaningful contributions of co-authors and co-researchers
  • not be submitted to more than one journal for consideration (ensuring it is not under redundant simultaneous peer review), and
  • be appropriately placed in the context of prior and existing research.

For a full description of the standards of expected ethical behaviour by all parties involved in the publishing process (the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, the publisher and the society for society-owned or sponsored journals) please see: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/intro.cws_home/publishing.

Of equal importance are ethical guidelines dealing with research methods and research funding, including issues dealing with informed consent, research subject privacy rights, conflicts of interest, and sources of funding.

While it may not be possible to draft a "code" that applies adequately to all instances and circumstances, we believe it useful to outline our expectations of authors and procedures that the Journal will employ in the event of questions concerning author conduct. Relevant conflicts of interest should be disclosed (see http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorshome.authors/conflictsofinterest).

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