Publishing Ethic
Mechanical Theory and System (MTS) upholds the highest standards of academic integrity and ethical publishing. This policy aligns with guidelines by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and addresses responsibilities of authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher.
1. Author Responsibilities
- Originality and Plagiarism:
- Submitted work must be original, and any reuse of prior content (text, figures, data) must be explicitly cited or quoted.
- Manuscripts with >15% similarity (excluding references and methods) via iThenticate screening will be rejected.
- Data Integrity:
- Experimental data, simulations, or computational models must be accurate and reproducible. Fabrication, falsification, or selective omission of data is prohibited.
- Raw datasets and code must be deposited in public repositories (e.g., Zenodo, GitHub) with a persistent DOI.
- Authorship Criteria:
- All listed authors must have contributed substantially to the research (e.g., conceptualization, analysis, writing).
- "Ghost," "guest," or undeclared authorship violates MTS policy.
- Conflict of Interest:
- Authors must disclose funding sources, institutional affiliations, or personal relationships that could influence the research.
2. Reviewer Responsibilities
- Confidentiality:
- Reviewers must treat submissions as confidential and refrain from sharing or using unpublished content.
- Objectivity:
- Reviews must focus on academic merit, avoiding personal criticism.
- Reviewers with conflicts of interest (e.g., collaboration with authors in the past 3 years) must decline the invitation.
- Timeliness:
- Reviewers must submit reports within 3 weeks or notify editors of delays.
3. Editorial Responsibilities
- Fair Evaluation:
- Editors ensure submissions are evaluated solely on scholarly merit, regardless of authors’ race, gender, or institutional affiliation.
- Conflict Management:
- Editors recuse themselves from handling manuscripts with personal or professional ties to authors.
- Misconduct Investigation:
- Suspected ethical violations (e.g., plagiarism, data fraud) will trigger a formal investigation following COPE guidelines.
4. Handling Misconduct
- Process:
- Initial Assessment: The editorial board reviews evidence of potential misconduct.
- Author Response: Authors are given 14 days to respond to allegations.
- Resolution: Outcomes may include manuscript rejection, retraction, or reporting to institutional authorities.
- Retractions:
- Published articles with severe errors or misconduct will be retracted with a clear notice linking to the original paper.
5. Data and Code Transparency
- Mandatory Sharing:
- All articles must include a Data Availability Statement specifying repository access links (e.g., DOI for Zenodo, GitHub release tag).
- FAIR Compliance:
- Shared data must be Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR principles).
6. Conflict of Interest (COI) Policy
- Disclosure:
- Authors, reviewers, and editors must declare any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that could bias their work.
- Industrial funding for research must be explicitly stated in the manuscript.
- Management:
- Undeclared COIs discovered post-publication may lead to corrections or retractions.
7. Post-Publication Corrections
- Errata:
- Minor errors (e.g., typographical, non-critical data) are corrected via an erratum notice.
- Corrigenda:
- Major errors affecting conclusions require a corrigendum linked to the original article.
By adhering to these principles, MTS ensures transparency, accountability, and trust in the dissemination of materials science research. For further details, consult our Ethics Handbook or contact the editorial office at mts@gospub.com.
