Ethical Space: Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Ethical Space: The International Journal of Communication Ethics is committed to high standards of scholarship. The editors expect authors to uphold these standards too. Specifically, the editors ask authors intending to publish with the journal to read this statement before submitting. The discussions and guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) are used by the editors to guide them in decisions on inappropriate practice.

Publication and Authorship

Ethical Space publishes only original work, except where otherwise made explicit. If the journal republishes work already published or scheduled to be published elsewhere, including on a website or in a book, that will be acknowledged.

It is the responsibility of authors to make sure that work submitted to the editors is their own work. Work must not be plagiarised, that is, the wording and ideas must be original or the sources properly acknowledged in the text.

The editors ensure that joint authorship is properly acknowledged and that the form of that acknowledgement is agreed among the authors. Authors should only be listed if they have contributed significantly to the work.

All research articles are blind peer‐reviewed. Shorter pieces may be published through review by the editors.

All articles are expected to follow closely the journal’s style guidelines.

Authors’ Responsibilities

Authors must take responsibility for ensuring the work meets high standards of integrity.

The work must be their own, facts must be accurate, data must be authentic and relevant information must be included. Details of funding or any conflicts of interest that are relevant to the work should be indicated at the end of the article.

Authors must also take responsibility for adherence to relevant research ethics codes. They should declare when they have obtained permission of ethics committees or institutional review boards and ensure they follow the terms of that permission, on issues such as anonymity, confidentiality and consultation. We do not always require the permission of such boards for publication, but do always ask for evidence of ethical reflection on research methods before agreeing to publish.

Reviewers’ Responsibilities

The confidentiality of authors and reviewers to each other will be maintained, except where there is clear agreement otherwise.

Reviewers are expected to operate by high standards. They should declare any conflicts of interest to the editors before reading the work. They should maintain the confidentiality of the work until it is published. They should also ensure that they act in the best interests of the journal and research when reviewing. They should, therefore, act with respect towards others’ ideas and expression and write opinionated but also fair reviews.

Editorial Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of the editors to be fair, prompt and thorough in editing and to show care towards authors and their ideas. They reserve the right to reject material and those decisions are final but they have a responsibility to communicate their decisions in a way that is understandable. They will also consider any feedback. The editors aim to ensure there is no perceived conflict of interest in their processes and each editor will step back from decision‐making when there is a risk of that.

The editors take seriously their responsibility to broaden the range of voices heard in scholarship. They take positive actions to ensure diversity and equity in research, which includes a commitment to publish more work by people from groups that are underrepresented. Good research is at times a partnership and the editors encourage research that cuts across traditional lines of academia, civil society, government and professional work and so contributes to mutual understanding. The journal also seeks to publish the work of young researchers as well as that of media activists when appropriate.

Publishing Ethics

The editors will correct errors when they come to light. They will publish retractions, apologies or clarifications according to a high standard of integrity – and ensure the indexers and other post‐publication services are aware of any statements along these lines.