Editorial ethics and integrity

Editorial ethics and integrity

Editorial ethics and integrity policy

Revista Ecúmene de Ciencias Sociales endorses the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA): https://sfdora.org/read/ and the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (https://publicationethics.org/resources/code-conduct), with particular attention to authorship and contributions, peer review, and ethical oversight. It also endorses the Chapultepec Principles on Ethics and Good Practice in the Use and Development of Artificial Intelligence. The commitments of the Editorial Committee to authors and the journal's guiding principles of editorial ethics are set out below.

Commitments to authors

  • Publish manuscripts that have undergone rigorous peer review and make an academic contribution.
  • Ensure that all submitted manuscripts are assessed impartially throughout the process.
  • Protect the anonymity of manuscripts during review.
  • Select reviewers appropriately and impartially.
  • Ensure that authorship accurately reflects contributions to the work, based on the information supplied at submission.
  • Address relevant conflict-of-interest disclosures and corrections raised by submitters and contributors before publication.
  • Follow good scholarly practice and prevent misconduct.
  • Respond to submitters' questions by email.

Editorial ethics

When research involves human participants, the responsibilities of those involved in the editorial and publication process are as follows:

Editorial bodies:

  • Provide guidance and training to everyone involved in the editorial process. Training must explain the stages of double-anonymous peer review and how to complete review and revision forms.
  • The journal's editors will ensure that all parties—editors, reviewers, and authors—observe ethical standards throughout the editorial process.
  • The editorial bodies support ethical practice in research, manuscript preparation, review, and publication. If a breach is identified, the review process will be suspended.
  • Follow good scholarly practice and prevent misconduct.
  • Respond to submitters' questions by email.
  • Promote the quality of published work and protect freedom of expression.

Ethical practice in relation to submitters:

  • Ensure that all submitted manuscripts are assessed impartially and in accordance with the editorial requirements.
  • Anonymize manuscripts before sending them to reviewers.
  • Prevent misconduct and ensure that authorship reflects the contributions reported by the authors at submission.
  • Receive disclosures of conflicts of interest and requests for corrections or amendments from submitters and contributors before publication.
  • To appeal or request a review of a final decision, authors must email ecumene@ensq.edu.mx or revistaecumenecs@gmail.com with a statement of no more than one page clearly explaining the grounds for the request, together with supporting documents. The appropriate editorial body will decide the appeal ethically and impartially. The committee may request additional information from those involved while respecting applicable personal data protection law.
  • Select reviewers appropriately and impartially.
  • Authors will be kept informed of the stage of review their manuscript has reached.
  • The editorial bodies recognize that artificial intelligence tools may support research but do not replace human authorship. The use of AI or generative AI (GenAI) must therefore be disclosed after the references.
  • The rights transfer agreement must state that the research complied with the ethical procedures applicable to social science research.

Ethical practice in relation to reviewers

  • Provide reviewers with the review form and clear evaluation criteria.
  • Ask reviewers to disclose, before accepting an invitation, any conflict of interest that could compromise an impartial assessment.
  • Instruct reviewers to email the editorial team if they identify indications of plagiarism, redundant publication, or other ethical violations in a manuscript.
  • Acknowledge reviewers' work with a certificate of participation when the review is complete.
  • Reviewers may not use artificial intelligence to produce their reports or comments on submitted manuscripts.

Appeals and corrections policy

1) Appeals

To appeal or request a review of a final decision, authors must email ecumene@ensq.edu.mx or revistaecumenecs@gmail.com with a statement of no more than one page clearly explaining the grounds for the request, together with supporting documents. The appropriate editorial body will decide the appeal ethically and impartially. The committee may request additional information from those involved while respecting applicable personal data protection law.

The decision will be based on an impartial assessment. If the appeal is upheld, the journal will make the necessary correction; otherwise, it will communicate the reasons for its decision. This appeals policy does not replace peer review or the other editorial stages accepted by authors when submitting their manuscript.

2) Corrections

RECS follows principles of scholarly rigor, professional ethics, and integrity throughout the editorial process. If a layout error is found after publication, the journal will assess the necessary correction.

Authors must promptly report any error they identify to the editorial team at ecumene@ensq.edu.mx or revistaecumenecs@gmail.com. Corrections are at the Editorial Committee's discretion. In cases of misconduct or a deliberately undisclosed conflict of interest, the journal may suspend the individual publication without affecting the entire issue.