Publishing Ethics

Code of Ethics

Axia Academic Publishers and its Editors are committed to the values, the ethical standards and the best practices in publication of academic research presented and constantly discussed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). As books and serial publications are the products of a collaborative work between the publisher, the editors, the reviewers and the author(s), it is of crucial importance to regulate the specific duties and responsibilities of all involved parties.

I. Duties and responsibilities of the Publisher

To support to the editors in applying the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors.
To offer editors technical support including publishing tools and tools for detecting plagiarism, self-plagiarism, text recycling and redundant publications.
To respect the editorial independence.
To respect the freedom of expression of the authors.
To guarantee the privacy of the authors and peer reviewers.
To protect intellectual property and copyright.
To ensure fair editing and peer review.
To ensure the transparency and integrity of the publishing process.
To ensure publication of books and journals in a timely manner.
To take action within the editor(s) in cases of conflict interest, suspected or detected incorrect authorship contribution or/and misconduct following the COPE Best Practice Guidelines.

II. Duties and responsibilities of the Editors

To acknowledge receipt of submitted manuscript.
To determine if the submitted manuscript fits the journal's topics and general guidelines and if so to ensure an efficient review process.
To handle the manuscript and any related information in a confidential manner, including the names and other details of the authors and the reviewers.
To decide to accept or reject a manuscript for publication with reference only to the manuscript's academic contribution (importance, argumentation, novelty, consistence etc.) and its relevance to the journal's topics and profile.
To assure and respect the intellectual independence of authors and their freedom of expression.
To publish and regularly update the guidelines of submission on the journal's homepage.
To select competent reviewers free from competing interests.
To provide the reviewers with the guidelines and academic criteria of evaluation of the submitted manuscripts.
To take action in case of suspected or detected incorrect authorship attribution.
To take action in case of suspected or detected misconduct following the COPE Best Practice Guidelines.

III. Duties and responsibilities of the Reviewers

To respect strictly the confidentiality of the manuscript during the review process.
To review carefully the quality of the paper and to suggest any improvements if needed.
To evaluate a manuscript for publication with reference only to the manuscript's academic contribution (importance, argumentation, novelty, consistence etc.) and its relevance to the journal's topics and profile.
To review the manuscript in a timely manner.
To inform the editors of any suspected or detected misconduct including disputed authorship, text recycling, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, redundant publication(s) etc.
To disclose any potential competing interests before agreeing to review a manuscript.

IV. Duties and responsibilities of the Authors

The English Oxford Dictionary defines an author as "a writer of a book, article, or document" or "an originator of a plan or idea". The authorship includes a significant involvement in study conception, data collection, or data analysis/interpretation as well as the involvement in drafting and revising manuscript, approval of its final version for publication, and responsibility for accuracy and integrity of all aspects and data of the presented research.

The author submitting a manuscript to Axia Academic Publishers has the following duties and responsibilities:

To assure that he/she is the author of the manuscript, including all copyrights, and to provide correct information about himself/herself in form of a brief biography including name, address, institutional affiliation, academic degree and position, and main publications. In case of multiple authorship, all authors should to be able to display their individual contribution and those of their co-author(s).
To not use any pseudonym but to provide his/hers real name. Submitting a paper under a pseudonym will lead to an automatic rejection of the manuscript for the reason of using a fake personality.
To assure that the manuscript/paper is original and has not been previously published in or simultaneously submitted to another publisher and/or serial publication (journal, book series), and consequently, not to withdraw it after accetance.
To not present interpretations, theses, methods, research data and/or results, as new if already published it in previous publications.
To not engage in falsification of the ideas of interpreted authors, data and sources, but to present it with accuracy.
To not use microaggressive language.
To give full attribution of the used sources.
To not breach any copyright or make use of plagiarized data, reference omissions, self-plagiarism or text recycling.
To not engage in redundant publication(s).
To declare any potential conflicts of interest.

V. Anti-Plagiarism Policy

1. Origin and definition of Plagiarism

According to the English Oxford Dictionary the word plagiarism originates "from Latin plagiarius 'kidnapper' (from plagium 'a kidnapping', from Greek plagion) +-ism." It defines it as "the practice of taking someone else's work or ideas and passing them off as one's own".

2. Forms of Plagiarism

The different forms of plagiarism, as detected by a study by iThenticate, are:

Replication: Submitting a paper to multiple publications in an attempt to get it published more than once.
Duplication: Re-using work from one's own previous studies and papers without attribution.
Secondary source: Using a secondary source, but only citing the primary sources contained within the secondary one.
Misleading attribution: Removing an author’s name, despite significant contributions; an inaccurate or insufficient list of authors who contributed to a manuscript.
Invalid source: Referencing either an incorrect or not existent source.
Paraphrasing: Taking the words of another and using them alongside original text without attribution.
Repetitive research: Repeating data or text from a similar study with a similar methodology in a new study without proper attribution.
Unethical collaboration: Accidental or intentional use of each other’s work without proper attribution; when people who are working together violate a code of conduct.
Verbatim: Copying of another’s words and works without providing proper attribution, indentation or quotation marks.
Complete: Taking a manuscript from another researcher and resubmitting it under one’s own name.

3. Anti-Plagiarism Policy

Axia Academic Publishers has zero tolerance for plagiarism of other’s ideas, discoveries, data, and/or work, nor for self-plagiarism, text recycling or duplicate publications. All submitted texts have to pass through an initial screening and will be checked through the iThenticate's plagiarism detection software. In addition, the reviewers should instantly inform the editors if they suspect or discover any form of plagiarism.

Any quotations, paraphrases or reproductions of illustrations/graphics/charts should acknowledge the original source(s).