Between is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal. Between’s ethic statements are based on the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors developed by the COPE - Committee on Publication Ethics.

It is necessary that all the different parties involved in the publishing of each article (authors, editors-in-chief, editorial board, editors of single issues, reviewers) agree upon the following standards of ethical behavior.

 

GENERAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SCIENTIFIC AND EDITORIAL BOARD

Publication Decisions

Guest editors and journal editors are responsible for the peer-review process and both parties decide whether the submitted articles should be published or not. The final decision is communicated to the author within 16 weeks from the submission. In case of a contrast between two opinions, the editor may seek the advice of a third referee.

Fairness

The editors evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, political philosophy or academic affiliation of the authors.

Confidentiality

The editorial board involved in the process must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers and other editorial advisors, as appropriate.

Between guards in its archives the results of the peer-review processes for each article (published or not).

Disclosure Process and Conflict of Interest

The editorial board commits not to use unpublished materials from submitted articles without the express written consent of the author.

Between recurs to the same peer-review process for contributions submitted by members of the editorial board.

Quality

The editorial board verifies every six months the review process in order to improve its results.

 

GENERAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF REVIWERS

Contribution to editorial decisions

The double-blind peer-review process assists both the editors in their decisions and the authors in improving their articles.

Promptness

Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the article for which his/her contribution is requested or unable to submit his/her review within the 30 days schedule should immediately notify the editors.

Confidentiality

Any manuscripts must be treated as confidential material. They must not be shown to or discussed with others unless previously authorized by the editors.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews of submitted manuscripts are to be objective. The reviewers must express their opinions, exclusively about the article, with a clear argumentation through a standard form provided to them by editors.

Disclosure Process and Conflict of Interest

Information and indications obtained during the peer-review process must be considered as confidential material and they are not to be used for personal purposes. Reviewers must not accept any manuscript for which a potential conflict of interest exists.

If the reviewer asks for changes as a condition to publish a particular article, and the editors consider them appropriate, he/she will have the opportunity verify that the author of the reviewed article has adopted them before giving the final approval.

  

GENERAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF AUTHORS

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors have to submit only original and unpublished research. They need to provide for their articles correct indications of all bibliographic sources and/or any other accessed material.

Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publications

An author should not submit manuscripts already published or under review process in another journal. Submitting the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior, thus it is unacceptable.

Between keeps the right to republish texts previously published elsewhere, providing a clear reference to the original publication. Articles published in Between may be republished on other websites and blogs, with the previous approval of the editorial board.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Proper acknowledgment of the research and work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the submitted articles.

Authorship

Authorship must be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution and interpretation of the submitted article. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Those who have substantially participated in the research project should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.

In case of article written by different authors, the submitting author must ensure that all other co-authors are included and acknowledged, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission to the journal for its publication.

Disclosure Process and Conflict of Interest

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript.

Errors in published works

When an author discovers an error or inaccuracy in his/her own published article, he/she has to notify the journal editors or the editorial board promptly and cooperate with them in order to correct it.

 

PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF THE PUBLICATION ETHICS

If a member of the scientific board, a reviewer or an author violate one of principles mentioned before, his/her contribution to Between will no longer be accepted.

If an article does not comply with these ethic statements, it will be expunged and replaced by a note explaining that the article previously published was removed as it did not respect the journal’s publication ethics.