Ethical practice guidelines for SÁM journals

The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies publishes two peer-reviewed journals, Orð og tunga and Gripla. The Institute‘s internal governing committee has approved the following guidelines with regard to the rights and obligations of editors, authors, peer-reviewers and the Institute director concerning these two journals.

 

OBLIGATIONS OF AUTHORS

Quality of research

Authors of articles that present original research should give readers an accurate account of the research undertaken and discuss conclusions in an objective manner. They should also mention all data on which the research draws. Peer-reviewed articles should present sufficient information to allow others to replicate the research if necessary. It is unacceptable to publish conclusions based on manipulated or false data. 

Data access and retention

The author should be able to give editors access to raw data if this is requested. The author should retain all research-data after the publication of the article.

Originality and plagiarism

The author should ensure that the work (text and ideas) is entirely their own. If the text or ideas of other parties are used, this should be clearly acknowledged with the necessary citations included, following the journal‘s instructions. 

Duplicate publications

In general, articles that have already been published in other journals or are in the process of being reviewed by other journals will not be accepted. In certain instances, it may be possible to justify the publication of an article that has been previously been published in another language. This must always be acknowledged, however, and the original article cited.  

 Acknowledgement of sources

Authors bear responsibility for ensuring that all written sources used are properly cited, and they should reference any other work that has had a significant influence on the research. Information obtained privately, e.g. in conversations or letters, may not be used except with written permission of the source. Information obtained by the author in confidence, e.g. from peer-reviewers or editors, may not be used except with written permission of the source. 

 Authorship of articles

Authorship of articles should be restricted to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, execution and interpretation of the research, or who have contributed to writing up the research. Other parties who have participated in certain ways should be acknowledged in footnotes. It is the responsibility of the first author to ensure that all those listed as co-authors have contributed substantially and that they have read and approved the manuscript in its final version before being sent to the journal.  

Data protection

Authors are responsible for ensuring that they comply with Icelandic data protection laws, including the aquisition of necessary permissions regarding collection and analysis of data.

Funding

Authors are responsible for specifying funding bodies that have supported the research, and also declaring possible conflicts of interest that might be interpreted to have influenced the research.

Fundamental errors in published works

If authors discover serious errors in the published research it is their responsibility to inform the editors as soon as possible. Together with the editors, authors shall publish corrections or retract the article. If editors receive notice from a third party that fundamental errors exist, authors shall respond by demonstrating the correctness of the original research or sending in corrections which will be published in the next volume of the journal, in collaboration with the editors.

 

OBLIGATIONS OF THE EDITORS

Publication decisions

Journal editors bear responsibility for deciding whhich articles are to be published. Editors shall identify two reviewers who are specialists in the article‘s field of study, and the decision to publish shall be made on the basis that the reviewers deem the article to fulfil academic requirements and to be fit for publication in all respects. If reviewers are not in agreement, the opinion of a third party shall be sought. Editors may not publish an article deemed unfit for publication by reviewers. Editors shall always make decisions on the basis of the journal‘s editorial policies, the intellectual contribution of the article, and the relevance of research presented for readers of the journal. Other issues that may influence editorial decisions regarding publication include disregard of these ethical practice guidelines (plagiarism, breach of data protectoin laws). Editors may, if necessary, seek the opinion of a specialist on the journal‘s advisory committee.   

Equal rights

Editors and the journal‘s advisory committee bear responsibility for ensuring that legal equality and non-discrimination is upheld at all times, and that authors‘ race, gender, age, sexual orientation, religious belief or political opinions do not influence evaluation of the article‘s intellectual value.  

Confidentiality

Journal editors and other editorial parties shall not disclose information about submitted articles to parties other than authors, reviewers or possible reviewers, those on the journal‘s advisory committee, or the Institute director (as the publisher‘s representative).

Citation of unpublished material

Journal editors may not cite unpublished material that has been sent to them for evaluation and possible publication except with the written permission of the author. 

Breach of ethical practice guidelines

It is responsibility of the journal editors to take all charges of breach of ethical practice guidelines seriously and to report charges to the director of the Institute. This will most likely involve contacting the article author in order to give the author the opportunity to respond to the accusations. In some instances, the journal may need to publish corrections or even retract the article.

 

OBLICATIONS OF THE REVIEWERS

Contribution of reviewers

Journal editors bear responsibility for chooseing which articles shall be published and they must base their decision on the evaluation of at least two peer-reviewers. Reviewers‘ evaluations also serve the purpose of helping authors to improve their texts. Positive evaulation on the part of reviewers does not necessarily guarantee publication, however, and the decision to publish shall be solely in the hands of editors. 

Qualificationss and timeframe

Reviewers who do not consider themselves to be qualified to evaluate the intellectual value of an article (for example because of a conflict of interest with regard to the author), or who do not have time to submit their evaluation within the required timeframe should turn down the request to review as quickly as possible. 

Confidentiality

Reviewers should consider the evaluation of a manuscript as confidential. They should not show or discuss the content of a manuscript to any other party except with permission of the editors.

Impartiality

Reviewers must always ensure impartiality and should base criticism on solid arguments. Comments about the person or character of authors or disparaging criticism are not appropriate.

Evaluation of sources

Reviewers must provide information about published sources they consider to be lacking in the author‘s manuscript. Reviewers also bear responsibility for informing editors if they see clear similarities between the manuscript and material that has been already published.

Citation of unpublished material

Reviewers may not cite unpublished material that has been sent to them for evaluation and possible publication except with the written permission of the author. 

 

(Partly based on Elsivier‘s Publishing Ethics Guidelines)