Code of Conduct for Editors
Adhering to the following points will confirm that editors are working to the highest standard of editorial practice.
- Editors provide the journal with relevant resources, guidance and opinions from experts; adequate training is also obtained to perform the role effectively and ultimately help improve the overall quality of the journal.
- Editors reduce rates of academic misconduct.
- Editors promote initiatives that raise awareness amongst researchers about publication ethics.
- Editors provide direct, up to date and relevant advice to reviewers.
- Editors demand reviewers to share any possible competing interests before agreeing to review a submission.
- Editors support reviewers’ efforts to ensure the originality of submissions and identify cases of dismissed publication and plagiarism.
- Editors recruit new reviewers from various sources, apart from personal contact details (e.g. author suggestions, bibliographic databases).
- Editors follow the COPE and ICMJE guidelines in cases of suspected misconduct.
- Editors act as an ambassador for the journal, advocating and promoting the journal, searching for best authors and remarkable work (e.g. from conference abstracts)
- Editors must consult editorial board members regularly to take their opinions about the progress made by the journal into account and to stay informed of any changes in journal policies, and gauge threats posed by future challenges.
- Editors must protect policies on publishing individual personal information that may breach standards of confidentiality (e.g. details or images of patients).
- Editors should stay updated with the latest guidelines, recommendations and evidence about peer review and journal management.
- Editors must respect deadlines and keep track of relevant announcements regarding the journal.
