Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics

1. Introduction

The Iranian Journal of Soil Research (IJSR) is a forum for quarterly publicationof original peer-reviewed papers. The journal aims to present findings of studies on a wide range of issues including soil survey, soil fertility and chemistry, soil-water-plant relationship, soil erosion and degradation, and sustainable utilization of soil resources in Iran. The target groups of the journal include scientists and research staff in educational and executive organizations, graduate students, agents of agricultural extension and advisory services, and policy makers. The main language of the journal is Persian (Farsi) with English abstracts. Submissions are accepted from original research works not being published or submitted to other journals.

2. Authors’ Responsibilities

  • All authors should sign the Commitment Letter accepting their responsibility toward the contents of the manuscript and should promise not to send the paper to other journals while it is being reviewed here.
  • Authors will indicate the names of all those who were involved and avoid writing the names of persons not having a role in the research.
  • Authors should be member of recognized education or research institutions and should provide information about their affiliation and e-mail.
  • The manuscript submission must be for the first publication. Prior submissions of the manuscript to other journals should be avoided or acknowledged.
  • The main contents and data in the manuscript should be drawn from authors’ authentic and original research work, while the materials/data quoted or used from other research should be carefully documented and cited as reference. Duplication of previous works is not allowed.
  • Authors are expected to follow the instructions given in “Authors’  Guide ”
  • Authors must carefully read the reviewers’ comments and revise the paper accordingly and/or submit proper responses.
  • Names of the authors and the order of names will not be changed after the paper is submitted to the journal.
  • Authors should clearly warn against any risks, if any, to humans and environment due to their research results.
  • The contents of the published paper are the responsibility of the authors and not necessarily those of the editor(s) or publisher.
  • Authors must conform to the scientific ethics and avoid any misconduct, e.g. try to recognize and contact the reviewers (see section 3).

 

3. Unethical Practices and Scientific Misconduct

  • Plagiarism i.e. presenting someone else's data or ideas as one's own.
  • Fabrication i.e. making up and reporting unrealistic data in the manuscript.
  • Falsification i.e. changing research materials and processes, or changing or not reporting some data such that the research is not fully represented in the manuscript.
  • Omitting the names of one or more person(s) who have had effective role in the research or addition of the names of people who were not involved in the pertinent research.
  • Disrespectful behavior/ response toward reviewers or expressing threats for acquiring acceptance.
  • Attempts to recognize and contact the reviewers.

 

 

4. Reviewers’ Responsibilities

  • Reviewers should quickly inform the editor-in-chief of their acceptance or decline to review the manuscript.
  • Reviewers should avoid reviewing manuscripts in which they have common material or intellectual interest. Reviewers should have no conflict of interest.
  • Reviewers are expected to decline reviewing articles that are not in their scientific field of specialization.
  • It is expected that the reviewers carefully read all the contents of the article and annotate their comments/corrections on the main text and fill out the reviewers’ questionnaire and send the file and the filled-in questionnaire to the editor-in-chief.
  • Reviewers are expected to inform the editor of any scientific misconduct (section 3) of the authors with specific and clear reference. All communication should be treated confidentially
  • Reviewers will avoid reviewing papers that they have been involved in, even though their names are not mentioned as co-author.
  • It is expected that reviewers will help and guide the authors with respect to analysis of the results and editing of the manuscript and inform the authors of similar research and references.
  • Reviewers are to follow codes of scientific ethics, responsibility, punctuality, and fairness, providing reliable evidence for their comments and informing the editor of their evaluation of the article without pre-judgment.

5. Responsibilities of the Editors

  • Preparation of a data bank of suitable specialized reviewers for the journal.
  • Proposing qualified reviewers for the manuscripts submitted to the journal.
  • Editor-in-chief is responsible for the preliminary evaluation of the general scientific framework of the submitted articles with respect to the scope of the topics relevant to the journal.
  • Editor-in-chief is responsible for informing the corresponding author about the reviewers’ comments/corrections and guiding the authors to take actions.
  • Editor-in-chief will assign the final reviewer and will also decide on rejection of the manuscripts based on the reviewers’ comments.
  • Acceptance of an article is the responsibility of the editorial board and the decision is reached in the board meeting. Editor-in chief is responsible to issue the acceptance/rejection letter once the board approves/rejects the manuscript.
  • All members of the board will treat information regarding each article as confidential.
  • The editorial board is responsible for publishing any reasonable criticism regarding the contents of previously published manuscripts.

6. Responsibilities of the Person In Charge of  Journal Bureau

  • Receiving the submissions and keeping all the information regarding each manuscript as confidential.
  • Guiding and helping the authors or reviewers for using the Internet system and site of the journal.
    • Sending articles to reviewers according to the decisions made by the editorial board.
    • Follow up with the reviewers or authors to avoid delay in action on their parts.
      • Announcement of the date, time, and place of the board meeting.
    • Preparation of the documents and files for the board meeting including a report on the number of papers received, accepted, or rejected since the last meeting.
    • Informing the manager-in-charge or the editor-in-chief of any problems regarding publishing/ printing of the journal or complains by the authors.
    • Print formatting and preparation of a professionally formatted, print-ready PDF file of articles for each journal issue.