Publication ethics

To uphold the integrity of the publication process, Survey Methodology adheres to three core ethical principles: (1) authorship, (2) maintaining trust in scientific findings, and (3) the fairness of the publication process.

Authors are invited to familiarize themselves with these principles. Failure to meet ethical standards may result in the rejection or retraction of a paper. The same ethical standards apply to referees and the editorial team during the review process.

1. Authorship

Authorship refers to the importance of attributing due credit to people for their ideas and the importance of holding authors accountable for the originality and integrity of the content submitted to the journal.

Unacceptable practices include (but are not limited to):

• Wrongful attribution of authorship:
  • Selling or gifting authorship.
  • Excluding contributors who deserve authorship.
• Plagiarism:
  • Copying text, ideas, or data from another source without proper attribution. This includes self-plagiarism.
• Inappropriate use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI):
  • GenAI tools should not be used to create original content that is attributed as the authors’ own work.
  • GenAI tools must not be treated as accountable for the originality or integrity of submitted content. Authors are responsible for any errors or plagiarism, regardless of GenAI involvement.
  • GenAI tools should not be used in ways that contradict any of the three core principles outlined in this document.

2. Maintaining trust in scientific findings

Survey Methodology is dedicated to being a trustworthy source of scientific information.

Unacceptable practices include (but are not limited to):

• Citation manipulation:
  • Citing irrelevant or non-existent sources.
  • Using citations to boost metrics artificially.
• Data fabrication and falsification.
• Insufficient transparency:
  • Failing to provide adequate information for critical assessment or replication of results.
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest:
  • Financial, personal, or professional relationships that may bias:
    • the research or its interpretation.
    • the decision to accept or reject a manuscript (see Fairness of publication process below).

3. Fairness of the publication process

Survey Methodology is committed to unbiased and transparent handling of all submissions.

Unacceptable practices include (but are not limited to):

• Submitting the same paper to multiple journals simultaneously.
• Publishing the same research in multiple journals.
• Breaching the confidentiality of the review process.
• Making disrespectful comments or personal attacks.