Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Introduction

The PUSKADARAN is committed to meeting the highest standards of ethical behaviour at all stages of the publication process. Journal of Regional and Budget Studies (JRBS) is an open-access journal ran by the PUSKADARAN. The journal is published quarterly with four regular issues (excluding special issues) and one volume per year, and accessible online at https://ojs.sipadma.com/. From submission to publication, each paper is handled by the editorial board of the journal as per the best practice principles below.

 

Research Integrity

The PUSKADARAN works hard to create an environment that fosters the strictest scientific and ethical standards. The fundamental principles of research integrity, or responsible conduct of research, include honesty in all aspects of research; scrupulous care, thoroughness, and excellence in research practice; transparency and open communication; and care and respect for all participants in and subjects of research.

·       Honesty in gathering data; using and acknowledging the work of others; presenting research goals, intentions, and findings; reporting on research methods and procedures; and conveying valid interpretations and making justifiable claims based on research findings.

·       Scrupulous care, thoroughness, and excellence in performing research and using appropriate methods; adhering to an agreed protocol where appropriate; drawing interpretations and conclusions from the research; and communicating the results.

·       Transparency and open communication in the reporting of research data collection methods; the analysis and interpretation of data; making research findings widely available; and presenting the work to other researchers and to the general public.

·       Care and respect for all participants in and subjects of research, including humans, animals, the environment, and cultural objects; and the stewardship of research and scholarship for future generations.

We are fully committed to the above principles, and unwaveringly support researchers in embedding them in their everyday work.

 

 

 

Editorial Process

The PUSKADARAN is committed to editorial independence, and strive in all cases to prevent this principle from being compromised through conflicts of interest, fear, or any other corporate, business, financial or political influence. We do not discriminate against authors, editors or peer reviewers based on personal characteristics or identity. During the editorial process,

·       Each paper submitted to our journals is initially evaluated by an editor covering the subject area, who will decide whether to send it for peer review in consultation with experts in relevant fields. If the paper is suitable for consideration by the PUSKADARAN, the editor who has been assigned the paper will select a minimum of two peer reviewers for the paper, after consulting the editors who have lately handled papers in relevant fields. The editor must guarantee the selection of peer reviewers who are most qualified and best able to provide a critical, expert, and unbiased evaluation of the paper.

·       Editorial decisions on each paper are made by the editor who has been assigned the paper based on the comments of the peer reviewers. Possible decisions include accept, minor revision, major revision, and rejection. The decisions are made solely based on the scientific merits of the content of the paper, regardless of the author’s gender, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, or their ethnic or geographic origin. 

·       The editor who has been assigned the paper not divulge any information relating to the paper to any other person beyond the authors and reviewers. He/she is also ultimately in charge of ensuring the timely completion of the peer review and publication/rejection of the paper. The editorial board of the journal are committed to the confidentiality of papers, authors, and reviewers, ensuring the necessary anonymity in the publishing process.

The names, affiliations, and contact information of each member in the JRBS editorial board can be accessed at https://ojs.sipadma.com/

 

Peer Review 

Peer review is critical to maintaining the standards of our publication. Peer-reviewed articles are building blocks of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. For each paper entering the peer review process, at least two peer reviewers are selected, who must be independent from the authors and their institutions, able to evaluate the technical aspects of the paper, and available to evaluate the paper within the required period. The peer reviewers selected are expected to:

v  Furnish an objective and detailed evaluation of the paper, and contribute to the decision-making process;

v  Keep any information provided by the editor who has been assigned the paper confidential, without copying or keeping the manuscript;

v  Alert the editor who has been assigned the paper any content that has been published and that is highly similar to the paper being reviewed;

v  Notify the editor who has been assigned the paper any potential conflict of interest;

v  Reason his/her evaluations, and submit a complete, detailed report to the editor who has been assigned the paper; and

v  Commit to evaluating the paper as quickly as possible to meet the deadlines, and advise the editor who has been assigned the paper immediately about the risk of failing to finish the evaluation within the required period.

Confidentiality is of paramount importance to the peer review process. Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts. If a reviewer wishes to seek advice from colleagues while assessing a manuscript, he/she must consult with the editor and provide the names of any such colleagues to the journal with the final report.

Regardless of whether a submitted manuscript is eventually published, correspondence with the journal, reviewers’ comments and other confidential material must not be published, disclosed, or otherwise publicised without prior written consent. Reviewers should be aware that it is our policy to keep their names confidential and that we do our utmost to ensure this confidentiality.

 

Authors and Authors Responsibilities

Authorship provides credit for a researcher’s paper to a study and carries accountability. Each author is expected to meet the following requirements:

v  Having made substantial papers to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the creation of new software used in the work;

v  Having drafted the work or substantively revising it;

v  Having approved the submitted version; and

v  Having agreed both to be personally accountable for the author's own papers and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and the resolution documented in the literature.

The corresponding author, as the person who handles the manuscript and correspondence during the publication process, is responsible for ensuring that data and materials comply with transparency and reproducibility standards of the field and journal; ensuring that original data and materials upon which the submission is based are preserved following best practices in the field so that they are retrievable for reanalysis; confirming that data and materials accurately reflects the original; foreseeing and minimizing obstacles to the sharing of data and materials described in the work; serving as the point of contact for queries about the published paper, namely, informing all co-authors of any matters arising in relation to the published paper and to ensure such matters are dealt with promptly, and notifying the journal immediately if he/she becomes aware of any aspect that requires correction.