Henry Stewart Publications – Publication Ethics Policy

1. Purpose

Henry Stewart Publications (HSP) is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, ensuring the integrity, transparency and professionalism of its journals (which combine contributions from academics and practitioners). The purpose of this policy, which is based inter alia on COPE’s principles, is to outline the responsibilities of authors, editors, reviewers and the publisher in promoting sound ethical practice, and to set out how ethical issues will be handled.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all content published in HSP journals, including articles, reviews, case-studies, editorials, special issues, and any supplementary material. All submissions must comply with these ethical standards.

3. Editorial and peer-review process

• All manuscripts submitted to HSP journals will undergo peer review unless an article type (e.g., invited commentary) is clearly identified otherwise. (In all cases, the review process used should be described on the journal’s website.)
• Decisions on manuscripts will be made by the editor or editorial board based on the merit of the work, its originality, relevance to the journal’s scope and its soundness. The origin (institution, nationality, gender, ethnicity, etc.) of the author will not influence editorial decisions.
• Editors and reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves if there is a risk of bias.
• Reviewers should evaluate rigorously and impartially, keep the manuscript confidential, and not use the material for their own benefit.

4. Authorship, contributorship and acknowledgements

• Authors should meet clear criteria for authorship: substantial contribution to conception/design/data/analysis; drafting or revising the article; final approval of the version; accountability for all aspects of the work.
• All contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be listed in acknowledgements with their role described.
• Changes to authorship (addition, removal or re-ordering) after submission must be approved by all authors and explained to the editor.
• Artificial intelligence tools (e.g., large-language models) may assist but cannot be listed as an author; any use must be transparently disclosed.

5. Originality, prior publication, and redundant publication

• Submissions must be original, not published elsewhere, and not under consideration by another journal.
• If parts of the work have been previously published (e.g., conference proceedings, working papers), this must be disclosed on submission and the editor will determine whether the submission qualifies as original.
• Duplicate or redundant publication (including “salami slicing”) is not permitted.

6. Data, materials and transparency

• Authors should provide accurate, complete and reproducible data, methods and analysis; any limitations should be clearly disclosed.
• Where applicable, authors should provide a data availability statement and, if possible, share underlying data, code, or materials, unless prevented by confidentiality, legal or ethical constraints.
• Manipulation or fabrication of data, images, or figures is strictly prohibited.

7. Conflicts of interest and funding disclosure

• All authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that might affect their work (or be perceived to affect) at the time of submission.
• Funding sources must be acknowledged and described.
• Editors and reviewers must also declare any relevant conflicts of interest.

8. Ethical oversight and human/animal research

• Where research involves human participants, animals, or sensitive data, authors must confirm that ethical approval or equivalent oversight was obtained and that participants gave informed consent (or that consent was appropriately waived).
• Research must be conducted in accordance with recognised ethical standards.

9. Corrections, retractions and expressions of concern

• HSP journals will follow recognised procedures (e.g., COPE guidelines) for issuing corrections, retractions or expressions of concern when problems are identified post-publication.
• The published record must clearly indicate any changes.
• Editors and the publisher are responsible for investigating ethical issues and taking appropriate action.

10. Advertising, revenue and editorial independence

• The journal business model (subscriptions, author charges, sponsorship, advertising) must be transparent on the journal web site. (Principles of Transparency)
• Editorial decisions must be independent of commercial interests, revenue sources or advertising concerns.

11. Website information and transparency

According to the Principles of Transparency (COPE/DOAJ/OASPA/WAME), the journal website must clearly provide:

• The journal name, scope and readership.
• Whether the content is peer-reviewed and the type of peer-review process.
• Editorial board membership, affiliations, and contact information.
• Author fees (if any) and publication processes clearly stated.
• Copyright/licensing terms, archiving policy, and access information.
• A clear publication schedule (frequency) and any archiving/back-up arrangements.
• Policies for advertisement, direct marketing and handling of ethical issues.

12. Use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools

• Authors must disclose any use of generative-AI tools (e.g., in drafting text, analysing data, creating images), specifying the tool name, version, extent and purpose.
• Any AI-generated text must have been reviewed, edited and accepted by the human authors; AI cannot be a co-author.
• Reviewers/editors may not rely solely on AI tools to make peer-review or editorial decisions; confidentiality of submissions must be maintained.

13. Breach of ethics and complaints procedure

• If authors, reviewers or editors suspect or identify misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, data fabrication, peer-review manipulation), they must report this to the journal editor or publisher.
• The journal will follow a transparent process to investigate, in line with COPE’s flowcharts and guidelines. (COPE)
• Outcomes may include correction, retraction, expression of concern, sanctions on individuals or bans from future submission.
• Appeals and grievances from authors or reviewers will be treated fairly and objectively.

14. Responsibilities of authors, reviewers, editors and publisher

• Authors: ensure originality, accuracy, full disclosure of conflicts, appropriate authorship, compliance with ethical standards, data integrity and responsibility for content.
• Reviewers: provide timely, constructive, impartial reviews; keep submissions confidential; declare conflicts; not reuse ideas from manuscripts under review.
• Editors: manage peer review fairly, maintain confidentiality, ensure no undue influence, uphold ethical standards, act on misconduct.
• Publisher (HSP): support editorial independence, provide clear website information, ensure transparent business and publishing practices, provide oversight of ethical issues, support training where required.

15. Monitoring and review of policy

HSP will periodically review this ethics policy to reflect developments in publishing ethics (for example new issues around AI, open data, peer-review innovations). Editors and authors will be informed of any changes.

16. Archiving

Henry Stewart Publications is committed to the electronic backup and preservation of all the content in its 22 journal titles. The journal articles are maintained online hosted by both the Henry Stewart and the Ingenta platforms as well as e-copies of all articles being kept on a separate database. In addition, the Henry Stewart journals’ hosting service Ingenta makes content available to the preservation service Portico.