Ethical Issues
Ethical considerations for authors, reviewers, and guest editors
Mutatis Mutandis: Latin American Translation Journal follows the Code of Ethics of the University of Antioquia (https://bit.ly/2Ub8erV) and the guidelines for best publication practices established by COPE, Committee on Publication Ethics (http://publicationethics.org/). We hope all authors read said guidelines and make sure they follow them before submitting their papers.
Below you will find some of our ethical guidelines for authors, reviewers, and editors:
-Authors acknowledge that the manuscript they are submitting is original, and not a redundant, simultaneous or fragmented (salami) publication. If the text has already been published in a blog or other similar medium, it will be considered to be already published. In the case of articles derived from theses, the original text should be credited; the article should be autonomous in its objectives, treatment of its research problem, and conclusions. If one of the questionable publication practices mentioned above is detected in an article, it will be removed from the review and publication process. To help with the detection of this malpractice, all articles that overcome the review stage are passed through the similarity check software provided by iThenticate, and can use other similarity detection resources if a preliminary reading leads to suspect of plagiarism in some part or ole manuscript submitted for peer review.
-Authors are aware that the article cannot be submitted simultaneously to other journals. At the same time, if the author wishes to stop the publication process, they must inform the editor.
-Authors pledge to assume full responsibility for the article’s content. All persons credited as “authors” must have participated in the whole research process (data collection, analysis, and writing). If it is necessary, the editor will request a declaration of authorship.
-Authors respect copyright and note all the external references cited in the text rigorously and correctly. Mutatis Mutandis checks papers to detect any type of plagiarism or self-plagiarism, detecting
matches with other published works. Likewise, we check materials in other languages when we suspect that the text may have been partially or completely published in a different language. We suggest self-citations do not comprise more than 10% of a text’s total citations.
-Authors are aware that all research articles with data resulting from studies with people should follow international research and data processing ethics protocols (anonymity, confidentiality, informed consent before the study and publication, among others). The editor or guest editors may request the written consent forms or the institutional letters that guarantee that the study fulfills all ethical requirements.
-Regarding authorship, we recommend authors avoid questionable practices such as gift and ghost authorship. They should know, clearly, who should be included in the acknowledgments section.
-Authors must wait a year before submitting another text for review after publishing an article in the journal.
-Reviewers are experts on the field they assess, and will express clearly whether they can or cannot review the text.
-Reviewers pledge to observe the strictest confidentiality about the content of articles. Likewise, their academic verdicts must be precise, respectful and well justified, and help the article improve (even if it is rejected). They will avoid any prejudice related to gender, race, nationality, or academic interests. Mutatis Mutandis promotes good manners and good relationships between colleagues.
-Reviewers must not use the reviewed article’s content for any purposes other than its review.
-Reviewers pledge to inform the editor about any irregular situation.
-Reviewers pledge to inform the editor if they have reviewed a similar paper for another journal.
-Reviewers pledge to suggest other reviewers if they do not have time to review the article or if they consider they have a conflict of interest.
-Guest editors pledge to fulfill their responsibilities, stated in the section “Guidelines for editors”.
-Guest editors must accept or reject articles based on objective, academic criteria, always respecting the journal’s editorial policies.
-Guest editors pledge to ensure the confidentiality and anonymity of authors and reviewers.
-Guest editors pledge to inform the editor about any irregular situation.
We insist on the necessity of authors, reviewers and editors informing any conflicts of interest in a timely and proper manner.
Retractions, corrections and expressions of concern
Retractions: According to COPE, retractions are a mechanism for correcting the literature and alerting
readers to articles that contain such flawed or erroneous content or data that their findings and conclusions cannot be relied upon. This unreliable content may result from honest error, naive mistakes, or research misconduct.
Publications are retracted specifically when the editors have clear evidence which shows that:
1. The findings are unreliable, either as a result of major error (e.g. miscalculation or experimental error), or as a result of fabrication (e.g., of data) or falsification (e.g., image manipulation).
2. The findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper attribution to previous sources or disclosure to the editor, permission to republish, or justification (i.e., cases of redundant publication or plagiarism).
3. It contains material or data without authorization for use, outside what the Budapest Treaty defines as fair use of copyrighted material. For more information, see sections 12.15 and 12.17 of the APA manual.
4. Copyright has been infringed or there is some other serious legal issue (e.g., libel, privacy).
5. It reports unethical research.
6. It has been published solely on the basis of a compromised or manipulated peer review process.
7. The authors failed to disclose a major conflict of interest that, in the view of the editor, would have unduly affected interpretations of the work or recommendations by editors and peer reviewers.
According to COPE, retractions should satisfy some conditions:
1. They should be linked to the retracted article whenever possible (i.e., in all online versions).
2. The retracted article should be clearly identified (e.g., by including the title and authors in the retraction heading or citing the retracted article).
3. They should be clearly identified as a retraction (i.e., distinct from other types of correction or comment).
4. They should be published promptly to minimize harmful effects.
5. They should be freely available to all readers (i.e., not behind access barriers or available only to subscribers).
6. They should state who is retracting the article.
7. They should state the reason(s) for retraction.
8. They should be objective and avoid inflammatory language (COPE Retraction Guidelines).
Corrections: According to Wiley’s Best Practice Guidelines on Publishing Ethics, corrections are published when authors or readers notify that there is an important error in the publication, especially an error that could affect the interpretation of data or information presented in the article. However, if the error is so fundamental that it invalidates the findings, a retraction should be made. When published, they should be fully distinguishable from retractions and expressions of concern relating to
questionable research practices. Besides, they should be included in indexing systems, linked to the article, and be free to access, just like retractions (Best Practice Guidelines on Publishing Ethics, Wiley).
According to Publishing Ethics: Academic Research, by Cambridge University Press (see https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-file-manager/file/5b44807ace5b3fca0954531e/CUP-Research-Publishing-Ethics-Guidelines-2019.pdf), corrections are only issued if the mistake was made by the author. If it was made by the journal, a corrigendum is issued. Journals can make changes without notification if these are minor changes, such as those which would likely occur during typesetting or proofreading (see the Cambridge University Press manual).
Expressions of concern: Expressions of concern are published when the editor has well-founded concerns or suspicions and feels that readers should be made aware of potentially misleading information (Best Practice Guidelines on Publishing Ethics, in https://authorservices.wiley.com/ethics-guidelines/index.html).
According to COPE, editors should consider an expression of concern if:
-They receive inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors.
-There is evidence that the findings are unreliable, but the authors’ institution will not investigate the case.
-They believe that an investigation into alleged misconduct related to the publication either has not been, or would not be, fair and impartial or conclusive.
-An investigation is underway but a judgment will not be available for a considerable time.
As with retractions and corrections, COPE advises that expressions of concern should be linked to the article and state the reasons for the concern. If more evidence becomes available, the expression of concern could be replaced by a retraction notice or an exonerating statement, depending on the outcome (COPE Forum 26 February 2018: Expressions of Concern).
