Publication Ethics Policy and Malpractice Statement Folia Orientalia implements the ethical principles recommended by the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE). All persons involved in the publication process must be familiar with the ethical standards of Folia Orientalia. The following are the standards of ethical conduct expected of all parties involved in publishing in Folia Orientalia: the authors, the editors and editorial board, and the reviewers.
Duties of Editors Monitoring the ethical standards: The editorial board monitors the ethical standards of scientific publications and takes all possible action against any publication malpractice.
Fair play: Submitted manuscripts are evaluated for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, citizenship or political ideology.
Publication decisions: The editor is responsible for deciding which of the submitted articles should or should not be published. The decision to accept or reject an article for publication is based on its significance, originality, clarity and its relevance to the scope of the journal.
Confidentiality: The editor and the members of the editorial board must ensure that all material submitted to the journal remains confidential during the review process. They must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the authors, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisors, and the publisher.
Disclosure and conflict of interest: Unpublished material disclosed in the submitted manuscript may not be used by the editor and editorial board for their own research without the written consent of the author(s). Editors will always prevent business needs from compromising intellectual and ethical standards.
Maintain the integrity of the academic record: Editors will maintain the integrity of the published scholarly record by issuing corrections and retractions when necessary and by pursuing suspected or alleged research and publication misconduct. Plagiarism and falsification of data will not be tolerated. The editorial board will always be prepared to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies where appropriate.
Retractions of the articles: Editors will consider retracting a publication if:
- they have clear evidence that the results are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct (e.g. data fabrication) or honest error (e.g. miscalculation or experimental error);
- the results have been previously published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission or justification (cases of redundant publication);
- it constitutes plagiarism or reports unethical research.
The retraction notice should be linked to the retracted article (by including the title and authors in the retraction heading), clearly identify the retracted article, and state who is retracting the article. Retraction notices should always state the reason(s) for retraction to distinguish honest error from misconduct. Retracted articles will not be removed from the print or electronic archives of the journal, but their retracted status will be indicated as clearly as possible.
Duties of Authors Reporting standards: Authors of reports of original research should provide an accurate account of the work carried out and an objective discussion of its significance. The underlying data should be accurately reported in the paper. The paper should contain sufficient detail and references to enable others to replicate the work. Fabrication of results and fraudulent or inaccurate statements are unethical and may result in rejection or retraction of a manuscript or published article.
Originality and plagiarism: Authors should ensure that they have written entirely original work, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, they must be cited or quoted. Plagiarism and falsified data are not acceptable.
Data access retention: Authors may be asked to provide raw data for editorial review, should be prepared to provide public access to such data, and should be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication of their work.
Multiple or concurrent publication: Authors should generally not publish a manuscript describing substantially the same research in more than one journal. Simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal is unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.
Authorship of the manuscript: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a substantial contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have contributed should be listed as co-authors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate and no inappropriate co-authors are included in the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
Acknowledgement of sources: Appropriate acknowledgement of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the scope of the reported work.
Fundamental errors in published work: If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his or her own published work, it is the author's responsibility to notify the editor or publisher immediately and to cooperate with the editor in retracting or correcting the paper.
Duties of Reviewers Contribution to editorial decisions: Peer reviews help the editor make editorial decisions and can also help authors improve their manuscripts.
Promptness: Any selected reviewer who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript, or who knows that timely review will be impossible, should inform the editor and excuse themselves/herself/himself from the review process.
Confidentiality: All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They should not be shown to or discussed with anyone other than those authorised by the editor.
Standards of objectivity: Reviews should be carried out objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly with appropriate supporting evidence.
Acknowledgement of sources: Reviewers should identify the relevant published work not cited by the authors. Any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and other published work should be reported to the editor.
Disclosure and conflicts of interest: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal gain. Reviewers should not consider reviewing manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest arising from competitive, collaborative or other relationships with any of the authors, companies or institutions involved in the preparation of a paper.
Data Sharing Folia Orientalia encourages authors to disseminate the data and other supporting materials through archiving them in an appropriate public repository. Authors may include a data availability statement, including a link to the repository they have used, in order that this statement can be published in their paper. Shared data should be referenced.
Post-Publication Discussions Folia Orientalia encourages open discussions and transparency in scholarly publishing. Authors, readers and the scientific community are encouraged to engage in constructive and evidence-based debates on the content and findings of published works. Readers may submit letters to the editor, sharing their opinions, comments or additional insights related to a specific article. The editorial board will consider publishing selected letters with a view to fostering a well-rounded scholarly conversation.
Corrections, Revisions and Retractions Folia Orientalia is committed to ensuring the accuracy and reliability of published articles. If errors, inaccuracies, or significant omissions are identified after publication, the journal will implement the following measures:
Corrections: If minor errors or typographical mistakes are identified that do not alter the scientific content, Folia Orientalia will issue a formal correction, clearly stating the errors and providing accurate information.
Revisions: If substantial errors or inaccuracies are identified that affect the scientific content, the authors will be asked to submit a revised version of the article with the necessary corrections. The revised article will undergo editorial review and, if approved, will be published with a note indicating that it is a revised version.
Retractions: In cases of severe misconduct, ethical violations, or fraudulent data, Folia Orientalia may consider retracting an article. Retractions will be issued when there is clear evidence of unreliability or falsification of data in the published work. The retracted article will remain accessible with a prominent notice indicating that it has been retracted, providing a clear explanation for the retraction. The author’s institution may be informed about the matter.
Compliance and Transparency The editors, editorial board, referees and authors of Folia Orientalia are expected to adhere to the policies outlined in this information and to actively participate in post-publication discussions and corrections as necessary. All corrections, revisions and retractions will be documented and made publicly available on the journal’s website.
Policy Review The editors and editorial board will periodically review and update this policy to ensure its effectiveness and alignment with best practices in post-publication discussion and correction. Any revisions to this policy will be communicated to authors and made publicly available on the journal’s website.