International Journal of Maritime Crime & Security

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

International Journal of Maritime Crime & Security (IJMCS) published by the Centre for Centre for Business & Economic Research (CBER) endeavors to adhere to the highest standard of ethics of publication of scholarly research work. IJMCS’s Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement is guided by COPE’s (Committee on Publication Ethics) Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors, reviewers and authors. It is of paramount importance that all the stakeholders involved in the publishing process agree to abide by the standards and norms as prescribed below while carrying out their individual tasks in the pursuit of professional excellence that the journal aims to achieve.

Publication process

It is fundamental that the authors are kept fully informed about the status of their paper at all stages. Although these are detailed in the journal’s guidelines to authors, the editors feel that the authors would like to see them in practice. Thus, the process starts off with acknowledgment of receipt of papers as they are received. This reminds the authors of the process that their papers will go through a series of steps and that they will be briefed about the developments throughout. Most importantly, the objective is to take the authors into confidence telling them in no uncertain terms that they need not worry about any lapses taking place on the journal side.

The editorial team comprising the chief editor, managing editor, and the editors, with their collective wisdom and experience, first screens the papers to make sure that the papers fully comply with the journal’s focus and would look to be of an acceptable standard overall to warrant further processing – reviewing etc. If not, the paper may be returned to the author, very often, advising them that, for better exposure, it should be sent to some other journal expressly more dedicated to the theme. From an ethical point of view, this aspect is deemed highly important and is considered as an USP of the journal. The papers, once through this screening, will then be sent to the reviewers. In case the review yields positive results, the paper will be accepted for publication subject to any other conditions being met in that the publication process is subject to the Journal abiding by the legal requirements in force regarding libel, breaches of copyright, plagiarism amongst others.

Duties and responsibilities of authors

It is well specified in the journal policy that only scholarly works would be considered for potential publication. The authors are requested to go through the pages detailing submission procedures and note that their work is obliged to go through a peer review process prior to any consideration for publication. They themselves should satisfy that the work is objective and original enough, that there is application of theory to practice wherever warranted, conclusions are supported by evidence and it adds to the body of knowledge already in existence. Where there is more than one author all authors are expected to significantly contribute to the research. These are all hall marks of being scholarly.

It needs to be emphasized that there is a conscious effort to avoid plagiarism. The works must be well referenced. Poor referencing is often a cause for refusal of a paper because of the possible interpretation that ideas have been borrowed from other researchers without acknowledging them. All authors must agree to submit a statement that all data in the article is real and authentic and fully complies with the guidance and rubrics of the journal. It is also a requirement of submission for consideration that the author/authors declare any financial support received with a view to undertaking or commissioning the said research.

The same research work should not be submitted to another journal when it is under consideration by one. Should authors so feel that the time being taken by a journal, IJMCS for instance, is unacceptable to them, they should ask for withdrawing their paper from consideration.

Once an article has been peer-reviewed and approved for publication it will be sent back to the authors for a final check and it is imperative that the article is thoroughly appraised and that notification is sent of any retraction and any mistakes or errors that have been corrected prior to publication.

Authors need to note that payments made for the submission of the article are purely to cover administrative costs and publication and have no bearing on the peer review process or acceptance for publication. In the event of a paper being declined for publication any submission fee paid in advance will be refunded minus a £100 administration charge within six weeks of receipt of the refund from being completed and submitted (the said will be emailed along with notification of non-acceptance). If the paper is accepted for publication and if the author/authors then decide to notify of their decision to withdraw the paper after paying the fees, the following will apply:

• If notice of 6 weeks or more is given –Full refund less administrative costs
• If notice of 4 weeks or more is given – 50%
• If notice of less than 4 weeks is given – No refund is given.

Please note that international money transfer fees will be deducted from any money refunded.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

The journal uses double-blind review process. The reviewers advise the editors as to whether the paper is of publishable material or not. If it is not, sufficient reasons should be provided so that the author(s) can go back to the drawing board and improve upon what they had already done.

Reviewers must also accept only those papers where they would feel competent enough to perform the duties expected of them. To facilitate this process, IJMCS has a competency data base of all its reviewers which are updated periodically. As business environment changes, there will be emerging areas of research. The journal proactively considers inviting new reviewers to smoothen the review process so that the authors are not inconvenienced. Reviewers must endeavour to be objective at all times and should declare any conflict of interest with regards to the research, the authors and or any institutions or bodies that have provided funding for the said research. Diligence is important and reviewers should be sure to point out relevant published work not yet cited. All articles should be treated with confidentiality at all times.

Editor’s responsibilities

Responsibility

From the outset it must be understood that the Editor has complete responsibility and authority to reject/accept an article. They will only accept an article once it has undergone the Journal’s established processes and when as certain as is reasonably possible that the paper meets accepted academic standards and the rubric as set out by the Journal. The Editor is ever mindful of the issue of conflict of interest with regard to the acceptance or rejection of an article.

Promptness

In addition to their responsibilities as elaborated above in the ‘Publication process’ above, the journal editors are committed to provide timely review to the authors. If a reviewer does not submit his/her report in a timely manner, the paper is immediately sent to another qualified reviewer.

The Editor-in-Chief or the other editors would communicate with the authors, as required, briefing them why the paper, in its present shape could not be published.

Non-Discrimination

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

Confidentiality

The Editor, reviewers, and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial team, and the publisher, as appropriate. IJMCS is assiduous in its compliance to the UK Data Protection Act (1998). The Editorial team will take all reasonable steps to protect and preserve the anonymity of the reviewers.

Transparency

When errors are found the Editor commits to ensure the publication of a correction or retraction.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used by any of the editorial board members and reviewers in their own research.

Declaration

The Journal and its Editorial commits to be ever vigilant in regard to monitoring and safeguarding publishing ethics and will work assiduously to maintain the integrity of the academic record. With a view to accuracy it recognizes that on rare occasions there may be need for retractions, in this regard its policy in regards to notices of retract is as follows:

• The said retraction will be linked to the retracted article wherever possible (i.e. online)
• Clearly identify the retracted article by including the title and authors in the retraction heading
• be clearly identified as a retraction (i.e. distinct from other types of correction or comment)
• be published as promptly as possible so as to minimize harmful effects from misleading publications

In the same vein the Editorial team is willing to publish clarifications, corrections and apologies in the same spirit. From the outset the Journal will do everything humanly possible to minimise the risk of plagiarism or the publishing of fraudulent data. The paramount aim is for further scholarly endeavour and thus business needs will not be permitted to compromise or sully intellectual and ethical standards.

DISCLAIMER

1. International Journal of Maritime Crime & Security (IJMCS, the editors, the Editorial Board is not responsible for authors’ expressed opinions, views, and the contents of the published manuscripts in the IJMCS. The originality, proofreading of manuscripts and errors are the sole responsibility of the individual authors. All manuscripts submitted for review and publication in the Journal go under double-blind reviews for authenticity, ethical issues, and useful contributions. Decisions of the reviewers are the only tool for publication in the IJMCS. Final decision, as noted above, is, however, taken by the editorial team at IJMCS.
2. IJMCS reserve the rights to add, amend, modify, or delete its rules, policies, and procedures affecting its relationship with contributors as deemed necessary by the administration. Any such amendment, modification, addition, or deletion shall not be reconsidered a violation of the relationship between IJMCS and contributors.
3. Whilst the IJMCS and reviewers will make every effort to ensure that no paper submitted contains any plagiarised material, it must be stressed that this is ultimately the responsibility of the author.