Publication ethics and best practices of the RVAP

This declaration seeks to set out the criteria applied by the Basque Journal of Public Administration in order to ensure the transparency and integrity of the publishing process.

These commitments are inspired by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines, is aimed at both editors and reviewers and authors: http://publicationethics.org/resources/code-conduct

Commitments by authors

• Originality and plagiarism: authors of the submitted manuscripts to the RVAP shall ensure that their work is original, that it does not contain large parts from other authors or from own pieces of previous published works and that if those parts were to be included it would be with the data and place of their prior publication. Besides, they confirm the accuracy of data, i.e. that empiric data have not been altered. That may be even detected by using software intended for that purpose but always under the supervision of the Journal’s direction, which shall follow the COPE guidelines on Good Publication Practices for those cases. In the event of detection of plagiarism, the Direction or Editorial Board shall refuse its publication.
• Multiple and/or repetitive publications: authors should not publish articles that reproduce same results in more one scientific journal. The simultaneous proposal of the same contribution to multiple scientific journals shall be considered incorrect and reprehensible.
• Publication Standards: authors should respect the standards for the submission of manuscripts, which shall be available on the Journal’s website. Likewise, the formal requisites that are the style guidelines of the Journal to be followed by the submitted manuscripts will also be detailed on the Journal’s website. Manuscripts shall be sent in an electronic media, by email, to the Secretary of the Journal: argitalpenak-ivap@ivap.eus. The receipt of the submitted manuscripts shall be acknowledged within a maximum of  thirty days.
• List of sources: authors shall always provide the correct reference of the sources and materials mentioned in the article.
• Authorship: with regard to the authorship of the work, it will be ensured the inclusion of those persons that have made a substantial scientific and intellectual contribution to it.
• Conflict of interests and dissemination: authors must expressly state at the beginning of the contribution any professional or personal relationship that may be relevant. They must also indicate funding sources that helped the research that led to the publication.
• Responsibility: all authors accept the responsibility for what has been written, they should take into account the latest and most relevant scientific literature on the subject under analysis and to consider the different trends of knowledge.
• Errors in the published manuscripts: in the event of a substantial error or inaccuracy identified by the authors themselves, they must immediately inform the Journal Editors and provide them with all the information necessary for the appropriated corrections at the bottom of the same article.

Commitments of the reviewers

• Peer reviewing: manuscripts shall always be screened by at least two (external) experts members of the Advisory Board of the Basque Journal of Public Administration with the anonymous peer-review of the paper by the double blind procedure.  The opinion of a third reviewer may be sought in the event of significant discrepancies between the two assessments as to whether or not the article should be published. Assignment of papers to peer reviewers will be made without disclosing the identity of their authorship.
• Final Decision on the publication: in view of the reviewers’ opinions, the Editorial Board shall adopt its final decision on its publication.
• Transfer of rights: the submission of manuscripts implies the automatic transfer exclusively to the Basque Journal of Public Administration of the rights of distribution, public communication and reproduction of published articles, including computer media.
• Respect of time limits: the reviewers undertake to screen the manuscripts in the shortest possible time in order to respect the submission times.
• Confidentiality: Every manuscript submitted for review shall be treated as confidential. Therefore, reviewers shall refrain from discussing them with other persons.
• Objectivity: in the reviewing process of manuscripts the following aspects shall be particularly analized in an objective manner: the relevance of the topic of the work, structure and narrative, wording and style; quality and methodology (including the adequacy of the references used); scope of the scientific contributions and potential impact; as well as the respect for the formal criteria of the Journal. The experts shall advise on both the positive and negative aspects of the reviewed manuscripts and they will recommend their publication and within which section or, as the case may be, their no publication.
• Displaying the text: the reviewers agree to accurately identify the bibliographic references of key works possibly forgotten by the author. They shall also inform the editors of any similarity or overlaps with other published works.
• Conflict of interests and confidentiality: conflicts of interests in the appointment of reviewers should be avoided, specifically in case there is a personal or direct labour relationship with the author. Any information obtained during the peer review process is confidential and cannot be used for personal purposes.

Commitments for the Editorial Board and the Advisory Board

• Guidelines: the Editorial Board of the RVAP shall act in accordance with the principles of impartiality, integrity, confidentiality, independence and objectivity.
• Impartiality: the Editorial Board of the RVAP ensures the selection of the most qualified reviewers to issue a critical and expert assessment of the work. Members of the Editorial Board shall not act as external reviewers but those of the Advisory Board.
• Decision on the publication: after the reviewing process and the decision adopted by the Editorial Board, the RVAP officially informs the authors stating the reasons therefor either of the publication of the manuscript and the section where it shall be included –along with requiring the necessary amendments, if any- or of its refusal. If the reviewers have proposed amendments, they shall be communicated to the authors so that they can modify the work before publication.
• Integrity: the Editorial Board will evaluate submissions for publication only on the basis of their scientific  quality, without discrimination on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic origin, nationality or ideological opinion. With total respect for the freedom of research, expression and creation, the RVAP shall ensure that the manuscripts do not contain pejorative or discriminatory expressions towards persons or groups. It will also promote gender equality.
• Confidentiality: the Direction and the Editorial Board undertake not to disclose the information related to submissions for publication to other persons apart from authors, reviewers and editors in such a way that anonymity preserves the intellectual integrity of the whole process.
• Conflict of interests and dissemination: The members of the Editorial Board undertake not to use in their own researches contents from the submited manuscripts unless written consent is given by their authors.
• Respect of time limits: The Direction of the Journal is responsible for the fullfilment of the time limits in reviews and in the publication of the accepted manuscripts in order to ensure a rapid dissemination of research results. The Direction shall promptly inform the authors once a decision on the publication, refusal or need for revision has been adopted taking into consideration that is a quaterly Journal.
• Gratuity: the publication in the RVAP is free so not fee is charged for the submission of original manuscripts and for participating in the editorial process. The tasks of the members of the Editorial Board including the Direction and also of the Advisory Board shall not confer entitlement to remuneration. If the publication has received any type of public funding, this should be indicated in a note at the beginning of the work.
• Open Access: the RVAP is in charge of the storage of the manuscripts in appropriate servers and shall ensure the preservation and permanent accesibility to their content. Access shall be open, inmediate and full-text.
• Patrimonial rights of the publications: the IVAP shall retain the patrimonial rights (copyright) upon the published works and it fosters and allows its reuse under the terms of Creative Commons BY-NC-ND license so as to copy, use, communicate, transmit and publicly exhibit them as long as 1) the authorship and the original source of its publication are cited, 2) there is not commercial use, 3) no derivative works license and 4) there is a mention to the licence of use and its specifics.
• Mechanisms against plagiarism and other irregularities: where there is a suspicion of plagiarism or any other potential irregularity, the Editorial Board shall act diligently. Involved parties shall be heard before any action is taken to handle with potential irregularities, including the removal or supression of the manuscript. Submitted manuscripts with plagiarized content shall not be published in the Journal and if they had already been, they shall be removed. It is responsability of the Direction and Editorial Board to decide upon the removal of the texts with plagiarism or other malpractices.