In order to standardize the publishing behavior of the journal "Iron Steel Vanadium Titanium" (hereinafter referred to as the Journal), to promote the integrity of scientific research, to create a good academic atmosphere for the Journal, and to improve the overall publishing professional ethics, the Editorial Office hereby solemnly declares that all parties (including authors, editorial staff, reviewers, etc.) involved in the publication of papers in this Journal must reach a consensus on generally accepted publishing ethics, abide by them, and fulfil the following responsibilities and related requirements:
1. Editor’s duties
(1) Editors: Editors will strictly implement relevant national laws and regulations, do not act for commercial interests, abide by the ethical standards and norms of academic publishing, and uphold the integrity of scientific research. Editors will handle all manuscripts in a timely and fair manner to ensure that edited manuscripts are published on a high quality and timely basis.
(2) Manuscript review: The Editorial Office uses the CNKI academic misconduct detection software to detect academic misconduct in the first-read manuscript. After passing the test, the first-read manuscript is assigned to the subject editor of the corresponding discipline, and the subject editor forwards it to the peer reviewer for a "double-blind review". After a final review by the editor-in-chief, the Editorial Office decides whether to accept, reject or modify the manuscript.
(3) The Editorial Office will fully respect the legitimate rights and interests of authors. Articles with disputed authorship, unattributed references, copying, plagiarism, falsification and other academic misconduct will be rejected for publication.
(4) Fairness: The decision to accept or reject a manuscript is based on the academic level and the purpose and scope of the journal, regardless of the author’s gender, race, religion, nationality, and the influence of status, seniority and authority.
(5) The Editorial Office will fully respect the author's research findings and the opinions of the reviewers. It will maintain the authenticity and integrity of review records, keep confidential all information related to the review and revision process, and will not disclose any information about the submitted paper to others except for information required as appropriate for the corresponding author, reviewers and members of the Editorial Board.
(6) In the editing and publishing, the editor shall respect the author's views while adhering to publishing standards, and shall not make any unauthorized changes to the key academic views; if the manuscript is published, the Editorial Office will pay the author a one-off payment for the manuscript and the transfer fee.
(7) For papers with conflicts of interest or shared interests, the editor should take the initiative to avoid them. At the same time, authors should be informed of their right to appeal against the results of the review.
2. Author’s Duties
(1) Publication standards: Submitted manuscripts should be original. Articles should have detailed basic data, objective statement and analysis and accurate conclusions, without misrepresentation and academic misconduct such as fabrication, falsification of data and plagiarism. The published paper should not be a content classified as national confidential, without multiple submissions, duplicate publications and intellectual property disputes.
(2) Originality: The author must warrants that his/her contribution is original. Citation of other people’s research should be clearly indicated in the citation and should be referenced in details. There should be no plagiarism or other infringements of the research results.
(3) Signature requirements: All signed authors must have been substantially involved in the research or article; and should have made substantial contributions to the development and design of the research program, the acquisition and interpretation of the research data, the drafting of the article, and critical revision of important content. It must be ensured that all authors agree to the final version of the article for publication and sign a copyright agreement.
(4) Statement of conflict of interest : In order to safeguard the interests of all relevant parties and prevent conflict of interest, authors are required to disclose the following relevant information when submitting the article: Funding projects and funding sources that are helpful to support or understand the research results or the article, including the name and number of the project fund should be stated, and any funding information irrelevant to the research should be excluded; the institutions of all signed authors should be listed; those other than the authors who have provided help and support for the article should be mentioned in the Acknowledgments; any interested parties who may influence the fair and impartial evaluation of the article, such as members of the editorial board and peer reviewers, etc. who should recuse themselves, should be disclosed.
(5) Authorship changes: Any additions, deletions, or reordering of authors should be made before the manuscript is accepted. If it is necessary to add or delete some authors before the article is published, the corresponding author must submit a written application to the Editorial Office in a timely manner, explaining the reasons for the change. Additionally a confirmation letter with signatures of all authors agreeing to the modification must be delivered to the Editorial Office.
3. Reviewer’s duties
(1) Confidentiality: Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of the manuscript under review and any related information. They should not use or publish any data, opinions, and conclusions from the manuscript without authorization.
(2) Content review: Reviewers should adhere to the principles of objectivity, fairness, and prudence when conducting academic evaluations of the manuscript under review. They should refrain from evaluating individuals or making personal attacks. They should assess the research data presented in the manuscript under review. If any data is found similar to or duplicated with the research data in an individual’s ongoing research or a known published article, they must promptly inform the Editorial Office and provide relevant evidential information. Opinions on whether to accept or reject an article will be made regardless of the contributor's race, gender, religion, belief, status, seniority or authority. To avoid ambiguity, opinions related to the academic value of the article and whether to accept it must be clearly and accurately expressed.
(3) Without the consent of the Editorial Office, reviewers must not delegate others such as colleagues, students to conduct the review on their behalf.
(4) If a reviewer is found to have used the review for personal gain or even plagiarized the contents of the reviewed manuscript, the Editorial Office will issue a warning, or prohibit them from reviewing the manuscript depending on the severity of the case.
(5) Reviewers should recuse themselves from reviewing an article that involves conflicts of interest against the authors, their institution, or enterprise due to competition or cooperation.
4. Correction and retraction
(1) Correction: In the event of an error in a published article (including online publishing), related to the text, charts, funding or other information (excluding major errors in the main points or conclusions), the Editorial Office will issue an erratum or perform a full-text substitution to correct the content. The journal’s website and database platform will be updated simultaneously.
(2) Retraction: The Editorial Office may retract a published or accepted manuscript in the event of legal infringements, defamations or other legal restrictions, or proven academic misconduct (including plagiarism, data falsification, leaks, etc.); or serious scientific errors to the extent that the results and conclusions of the article are found unreliable. The retraction made by the Editorial Office includes a statement, notification to the authors and their institution, and a request for relevant databases to remove the online version to terminate the dissemination of the paper.
Editorial Office of "Iron Steel Vanadium Titanium"
Note: Authors are required to read and download the “Publishing Ethics and Academic Misconduct Warranty" and the "Copyright Transfer Statement" from the "Submission Guidelines" on the homepage of the "Iron Steel Vanadium Titanium" website, and submit the above signed documents to the submission system.
