SOCIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS: THE JOURNAL’S ETHICAL PRINCIPLES of AUTHORSHIP, REVIEW AND PUBLICATION OF MANUSCRIPTS
The journal Sociological Problems is committed to publishing articles, reviews and surveys that meet the highest academic and ethical standards; this policy is ensured by the the effots of the authors as well as by activities of reviewers and publishers. The Ethical Principles presented here regulate the relations between the parties thus designated.
THE AUTHORS
- They offer original articles. This means the manuscript submitted to the journal’s editorial office has not been published elsewhere in its present, or a similar, form. The author is obliged to alert the publisher if some significant part of the manuscript has already been published in a collection, a monograph, or in another journal; based on this information, the publisher will decide whether to publish the article. The submitted article cannot concurrently be offered for publication elsewhere.
- Slanderous assertions and consciously misleading statements are considered to be unethical deeds on the part of the author and can serve as grounds for rejection of the manuscript.
- In submitting the manuscript, the author guarantees that the text in question is not in violation of any other person’s copyright. Authors are committed to include honest references. Any form of plagiarism is deemed unethical.
- When an article has more than one author, there should be guarantee that each of them agrees with the submitted manuscript and consents to the co-authorship.
THE PUBLISHER
- The publisher is committed to publish the manuscripts in due time, and solely based on their academic merit.
- The publisher is bound to respect the dignity of the author. The former must treat as confidential any information concerning his relations with the author in the course of the work involved in acceptance of manuscripts.
- The publisher has no right to use for his own research unpublished information contained in the manuscripts without the authors’ explicit consent.
- The publisher is obliged to react to any unethical deed found related to the manuscript submitted for publication. In case of uncertainty with regard to ethical problems found to arise with respect to the manuscript, the publisher must turn to the Ethics Commission of the Bulgarian Sociological Association.
THE REVIEWERS
- The reviewers are committed to evaluate the submitted manuscripts objectively and in accordance with academic standards. If they feel they are not competent enough to assess an article, they must refuse to do so. The assessments should be based on clear and convincing arguments.
- The reviewers are committed to evaluating manuscripts only if they themselves are not in conflict of interests with the author or with some of the co-authors.
- During the time they are working on the manuscripts, the reviewers treat these as confidential documents.
- The reviewers have no right to use for their own research unpublished information contained in the reviewed manuscripts.