Responsibilities

Responsibilities

The SWS Scholarly Society Vienna is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity and ethical conduct in the publication process. Our editors play a crucial role in upholding these standards. The following outlines the key responsibilities of our editors:

1. Publication Decisions

  • Editors are responsible for making the final decision on whether submitted articles should be published. This decision must be based on the paper’s significance, originality, clarity, and its relevance to the journal's scope.
  • Editors should consider the recommendations of reviewers in making their decision. However, the ultimate responsibility for publication decisions lies with the editor.

2. Fair Play

  • Editors must ensure that all submissions are evaluated on their intellectual content without regard to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy.
  • Decisions should be based solely on the manuscript’s merit and relevance to the journal.

3. Confidentiality

  • Editors must treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents. They must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher.
  • Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s own research without the express written consent of the author.

4. Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

  • Editors must avoid any conflicts of interest. They should recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.
  • Editors must ensure that any potential conflicts of interest are declared and managed appropriately.

5. Ethical Oversight

  • Editors should take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication.
  • In cases of suspected misconduct, editors should follow COPE’s guidelines (or equivalent) and may need to contact the authors’ institutions or funding agencies for investigation.
  • Editors should be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when needed.

6. Peer Review Process

  • Editors are responsible for ensuring a fair and unbiased peer review process. They should select reviewers who have suitable expertise and avoid those with conflicts of interest.
  • Editors should provide clear guidance to reviewers on their responsibilities and the journal’s expectations.
  • Editors should monitor the performance of peer reviewers and take steps to ensure that the process is timely, fair, and thorough.

7. Accountability

  • Editors should take responsibility for everything they publish and ensure that the journal’s reputation and integrity are upheld.
  • Editors should be transparent about editorial processes and decision-making.

By adhering to these responsibilities, our editors help ensure the integrity and quality of the research published in our journals, fostering trust and respect within the academic community.