Ethical Guidelines

Journal of Research in Curriculum & Instruction (JRCI) is committed to meeting and upholding ethical standards at all stages of the publication process. Below is a summary of our key expectations of editors, reviewers and authors.

 

Editors’ responsibilities

● Editors act in a balanced, objective and fair way while carrying out their expected duties, without discrimination on grounds of gender, seniority, institutional affiliation, religious or political beliefs, ethnic or geographical origin of the authors.

● Editors handle all submissions for sponsored supplements or special issues in the same way as other submissions, so that articles are considered and accepted solely on their academic merit and without commercial influence.

● Editors take a responsibility for accepting or rejecting a manuscript for publication and may seek advice on a manuscript from specialists chosen for their expertise and fair judgment.

● Editors shall disclose no information about the manuscript submitted for publication to anyone other than the author and designated reviewers until after the evaluation process is complete.

● Editors adopt and follow reasonable procedures in the event of complaints of an ethical or conflict nature, in accordance with the policies and procedures of the institute where appropriate.

● Editors give authors a reasonable opportunity to respond to any complaints. All complaints should be investigated no matter when the original publication was approved. Documentation associated with any such complaints should be retained.

Reviewers’ responsibilities

● Reviewers contribute to the decision-making process, and assist in improving the quality of the published manuscripts by reviewing the manuscript objectively, in a timely manner

● Reviewers maintain the confidentiality of any information supplied by the editor or author. To not retain or copy the manuscript.

● Reviewers alert the editor to any published or submitted content that is substantially similar to that under review.

● Reviewers should be aware of any potential conflicts of interest (financial, institutional, collaborative or other relationships between the reviewer and author) and to alert the editor to these, if necessary withdrawing their services for that manuscript.

Authors’ responsibilities

● Authors should maintain accurate records of data associated with their submitted manuscript, and provide access to these data when reasonably requested.

● Authors should assert that the manuscript as submitted is not under consideration or accepted for publication elsewhere. When portions of the content overlap with published or submitted content, authors should acknowledge and cite those sources.

● Authors should confirm that all the work in the submitted manuscript is original and to acknowledge and cite content reproduced from other sources.

● Authors should ensure that any studies involving human subjects conform to national, local and institutional laws and requirements and confirm that approval has been sought and obtained where appropriate.

● Authors should declare any potential conflicts of interest that could be considered problematic at any stage during the publication process.

● Authors should notify the journal editors immediately if a significant error in their publication is identified and should cooperate with the editors to publish an erratum, correction, or to retract the paper, where it is necessary.

Identification & investigation of unethical behavior

● Misconduct and unethical behavior may include, but not limited to examples as provided above.

● Misconduct and unethical behavior may be identified and brought to the attention of the editor(s) at any time, by anyone.

● Whoever informs the editors of such conduct should provide sufficient information and evidence in order for an investigation to be initiated. All allegations should be taken seriously and treated in the same way, until a successful decision or conclusion is reached.

● An initial decision should be taken by the editor, who should consult with or seek advice from the advisory board, if appropriate.

● Evidence should be gathered, while avoiding spreading any allegations beyond those who need to know.

● The editors, in consultation with the advisory board if appropriate, should make the decision either by examining the available evidence themselves or by further consultation with a limited number of experts.