Publishing Ethics

We value integrity, quality, and trust. We practise ethical publishing and are committed to upholding principles of the highest ethical standards in every step of the publication process. Adherence to ethical codes of conduct in publishing is a responsibility of the authors and editors – therefore, some general guidelines of expected ethical behaviour should be observed:

For Authors

Authors are primarily responsible for the following:

• Originality — The work that authors wish to publish must be original and of their own creation. It must also not have been previously published in other forms and media or in any language. While recognising that authors may sometimes legitimately use artificial intelligence (AI) software in researching content for books, AI generated content is generally not considered to be an author's original work. 
• Content — While freedom of speech is valued, authors must ensure that their work does not contain any form of libel.
• No plagiarism — Plagiarism in any form, whether it is claiming credit for the work of others or not appropriately cited, is unacceptable. Any content (data, text, or images) by other sources in authors’ own work must be acknowledged appropriately.
• No infringement of rights — Infringement means using the content of others in one’s own work without permission. Obtain permission where necessary to avoid infringement of copyright/ intellectual property rights/other rights.

For Editors

Editors are primarily responsible for the following:

• Fair treatment — The editor evaluates the author’s work in an impartial and objective manner, with neither bias nor prejudice with regard to the author’s gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, or religious beliefs.
• Quality — The editor must ensure that the quality of the author’s work is maintained at the highest level of excellence. Potential plagiarism and rights’ infringement must be constantly checked and looked into.
• Author confidentiality — The author’s work and any discussion arising from it are kept confidential and privy only to the editor; no information will be shared outside of the author–editor relationship unless otherwise agreed upon.
• Reviewer confidentiality — If reviewers are engaged, the editor will protect their identities and not disclose them unless otherwise agreed upon.

A good working relationship between an author and an editor relies on trust, respect, and transparency. Professionalism is expected from both sides and responding to each other in a timely manner is equally important. The integrity of the published work is a responsibility shared by both, as the author ensures that his/her work meets ethical requirements and the editor guides the author in doing so.