Publication Ethics

In accordance with best practice guidelines, journal editors are responsible for publishing work that emphasizes honesty, originality, and objectivity as ethical standards. The following is a code of conduct for authors, editors, and reviewers of the Journal of Public Administration Progress (JPAP) adapted from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Duties of Authors

1. Reporting Standards:

Authors of original research reports should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. The underlying data must be accurately represented in the paper. The paper should contain sufficient detail and references to allow others to replicate the work. Deliberately fraudulent or inaccurate statements constitute unethical and unacceptable behavior.

2. Data Access and Storage:

Authors are requested to provide raw data with respect to papers for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data (in accordance with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases), where practicable, and in any case should be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

3. Originality and Plagiarism:

Authors should ensure that they have written a wholly original piece of work, and where authors have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.

4. Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication:

An author should not, in general, publish a manuscript describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously constitutes unethical and unacceptable publishing behavior.

5. Acknowledgment of Sources:

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others should always be given. Authors should cite publications that were influential in determining the nature of the reported work.

6. Authorship of Papers:

Authorship should be limited to those who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, conduct, or interpretation of the reported study. All persons who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. If others have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included in the manuscript and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript and approved the submission of the manuscript for publication.

7. Disclosure and Conflict of Interest:

All authors must disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to affect the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for this project must be disclosed.

8. Fundamental errors in published work:

When an author discovers significant errors or inaccuracies in the published work, the author is obligated to immediately notify the journal editor or publisher and work with the editor to retract or correct the manuscript.

9. Hazards and Human or Animal Subjects:

If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have unusual hazards inherent in their use, the authors should clearly identify these in the manuscript.

Duties of the Editor

1. Fair Play:

Editors at all times evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to the author's race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, nationality, or political philosophy.

2. Confidentiality:

Editors and editorial staff should not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisors, and the publisher, as appropriate.

3. Disclosures and Conflicts of Interest:

Unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript should not be used in the editor's own research without the written consent of the authors.

4. Publication Decisions:

The journal's board of editors is responsible for deciding which articles submitted to the journal will be published. The validity of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers should always drive the decision. The editors may be guided by the journal's editorial board policy and constrained by applicable legal requirements regarding defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. Editors may confer with other editors or reviewers in making these decisions.

5. Manuscript Review:

The editor should ensure that each manuscript is first evaluated by the editor for originality. Editors should organize and use peer review fairly and judiciously. Editors should explain their peer review process in the information for authors and also indicate which parts of the journal are peer reviewed. Editors should use appropriate peer reviewers for papers being considered for publication by selecting people with sufficient experience.