Publication Ethics and Integrity
Editorial PRAXIS · Scholarly responsibility
Integrity in the creation and publication of knowledge
This policy establishes the ethical responsibilities of those involved in preparing, assessing and publishing books, monographs, chapters and other scholarly works through Editorial PRAXIS.
01 · PRINCIPLES AND REFERENCES
Ethical orientation
Editorial PRAXIS promotes intellectual honesty, appropriate attribution, transparency and respectful treatment. Decisions must be based on scholarly and editorial criteria, without discrimination on grounds of personal characteristics unrelated to assessment of the work.
- COPE · Committee on Publication Ethics: a reference for publication ethics, authorship, competing interests, possible misconduct and correction of the scholarly record.
- ICMJE · International Committee of Medical Journal Editors: recommendations considered where relevant to medical research content, particularly regarding contributions, transparency and publication responsibilities.
- CONABIOS · Consejo Nacional de Bioética en Salud: a reference for applicable bioethics review requirements and provisions concerning health research conducted in the Dominican Republic.
Reference to these organisations does not imply membership, accreditation, certification or approval of Editorial PRAXIS or its publications. Applicability is assessed according to the work, study and relevant jurisdiction.
02 · AUTHORSHIP AND CONTRIBUTIONS
Recognition and accountability
Authorship must reflect a substantial intellectual contribution and a willingness to take responsibility for the content contributed. Everyone identified as an author must know of their inclusion and approve the version submitted for publication.
Honorary, imposed or unearned authorship, and the omission of qualifying contributors, are unacceptable. Funding, general supervision or administrative support alone does not justify authorship. Other contributions should be acknowledged appropriately and with permission where individuals are named.
Edited works must distinguish chapter authors, coordinators, compilers and academic editors. Coordinating a volume does not automatically confer coauthorship of every chapter.
Authorship changes require justification and documented agreement from those affected. Where a dispute cannot be resolved by the publisher, processing may be suspended and the competent institution asked to intervene. Artificial intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors.
03 · ORIGINALITY AND BACKGROUND
Prior publication and reuse
Contributors must disclose whether a work or part of it derives from a thesis, preprint, report, article, earlier edition, translation or other previously disseminated material. Such origins do not automatically preclude consideration, but the contribution of the new work, ownership of rights and transparency of presentation must be assessed.
New editions, adaptations and translations must be identified as such. Previously published material must not be presented as entirely new. Incompatible simultaneous assessment must not be maintained without disclosure and the necessary agreements.
04 · ATTRIBUTION AND SOURCES
Plagiarism and citation manipulation
Appropriating text, ideas, data, images, translations or other contributions without appropriate acknowledgement is unacceptable. Paraphrasing requires attribution when it reproduces another person's ideas; changing words or translating a text does not remove this obligation.
Reuse of one's own work must be disclosed and cited where appropriate. Similarities will be assessed in context: no similarity percentage alone establishes plagiarism or provides an automatic acceptance or rejection threshold.
References must be relevant and verifiable. Fabricated references, misleading attribution and citation requests intended solely to increase the metrics of authors, editors or publications are unacceptable.
05 · EVIDENCE AND DOCUMENTATION
Integrity of data, analyses and images
Results must accurately represent the work undertaken. Fabricating data, falsifying results, misleading image manipulation and withholding relevant information that changes the interpretation of findings are unacceptable.
Methods, limitations and analytical decisions must be described clearly enough to assess the evidence. Legitimate image adjustments must preserve meaning and be disclosed where relevant.
The publisher may request data, records or explanations to examine specific concerns, while respecting ethical and confidentiality restrictions. Contributors should explain the availability of supporting materials and access conditions where applicable.
06 · ETHICAL OVERSIGHT
Research involving humans and animals
Works reporting research involving human participants must describe the ethics review, consent and other permissions appropriate to the design and context. Any exemption or waiver must be identified and supported by documentation.
For research conducted in the Dominican Republic, documentation of required approvals and authorisations will be requested according to the study, including CONABIOS approval where applicable. Research undertaken elsewhere will be assessed with regard to requirements of the competent authorities and committees in the place of conduct.
Consent to participate in research does not necessarily authorise publication of identifiable information. Particular attention must be given to individuals or groups in vulnerable circumstances.
Animal studies must report relevant approvals and welfare measures. Editorial assessment does not replace ethics committee approval or retrospectively remedy the absence of a required authorisation.
07 · TRANSPARENCY AND INDEPENDENCE
Competing interests and funding
Authors, reviewers and editors must disclose financial, professional, institutional or personal relationships that could influence, or appear to influence, their involvement. Disclosure does not automatically require exclusion; it enables appropriate management.
Funding sources and funders' roles in study design, data collection, analysis, preparation of the work and the decision to publish must be identified where applicable.
Sponsorship, institutional relationships or payments, if applicable under the publication costs policy, do not guarantee acceptance or permit required assessment to be bypassed. Anyone with a competing interest that compromises impartiality must withdraw from the decision.
08 · INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Permissions and third-party materials
Contributors must verify that they hold the rights or permissions needed to reproduce substantial text extracts, figures, photographs, instruments and other third-party materials. Sources and applicable conditions must be identified.
Availability online does not mean material may be freely reused. Publication licences, rights retained by authors and reuse conditions are addressed in the separate access and licensing policy.
09 · ASSESSMENT OF CONCERNS
Reporting and examining possible breaches
Concerns will be examined before or after publication. Reports should identify the work and provide specific information allowing the issue to be assessed. Anonymous reports may be considered where sufficiently substantiated; anonymity alone is not grounds for dismissal.
The publisher will conduct an initial assessment, preserve relevant documentation and seek explanations from those concerned where appropriate. An allegation is not automatic proof of misconduct. Conflicts involving the person handling the case must be managed by appointing an alternative.
Assessment or publication may be suspended while significant concerns are clarified. Institutions, committees or other competent authorities may be asked to intervene where necessary. Information will be shared on a limited, justified basis, with efforts to protect those raising concerns in good faith.
10 · PUBLISHED WORKS
Corrections, expressions of concern and retractions
Action will depend on the nature, extent and effect of the problem on the work or its chapters. The purpose is to protect the reliability of the scholarly record, rather than to impose a penalty through an editorial notice.
- Correction: addresses limited errors where the principal content remains reliable.
- Expression of concern: alerts readers to significant issues requiring investigation or remaining unresolved.
- Retraction: may be appropriate where problems substantially undermine the content or serious breaches justify this action.
Notices must identify the affected content, explain the reasons and be linked to its bibliographic record. Where a problem is confined to a chapter, action concerning that unit will be considered without automatically attributing the same responsibility to the rest of the work.
Publications will not be silently deleted to conceal a problem. Removal of the full text will be exceptional and justified, for example by serious risks or legal requirements, while retaining appropriate public information about the action.
11 · RELATED POLICIES
Coordinated application
This page sets out integrity standards. Assessment stages are described in the editorial process; personal information handling in the privacy statement; artificial intelligence uses and disclosures in the relevant policy; and requests for reconsideration in complaints and appeals. Those documents complement this policy without replacing it.
INSTITUTIONAL REFERENCES
Guidance and reference organisations
INSTITUTIONAL CONTACT
Reporting an integrity concern
Use the subject line Publication Integrity · Editorial PRAXIS. Identify the work or chapter, describe the facts and attach only necessary supporting documents. Avoid sending irrelevant sensitive personal information.
