Publication ethics

In the submission process to NSEM, authors must comply with the following set of guidelines:

Authorship
Every author listed on a journal article should have made a significant contribution to the work reported (in terms of research conception or design, or acquisition of data, or the analysis and interpretation of data). As an author or co-author, you share responsibility and accountability for the content of your article. Author(s) need to avoid:
♦ Gift (guest) authorship: where someone is added to the list of authors who has not been involved in writing the paper.
♦ Ghost authorship: where someone has been involved in writing the paper but is not included in the list of authors.
♦ NSEM requires that authors list no more than two affiliations. A third affiliation may be considered in exceptional cases, but this will necessitate a detailed verification process, which could significantly delay the publication process. Therefore, authors are strongly encouraged to limit their affiliations to two to avoid unnecessary complications.
♦ NSME does not allow authors to amend their affiliation details after the initial submission. The affiliation or institution information provided should accurately reflect where the research was conducted at the time of submission. Additionally, changes in authorship (such as adding a new author or altering the author sequence) may not be possible, as these changes must comply with COPE guidelines and may require investigation before approval. No changes will be made once the paper is accepted.
 
Plagiarism
♦ When somebody presents the work of others (data, words or theories) as if they were his/her own and without proper acknowledgement.
♦ When citing others’ (or your own) previous work, please ensure you have: 
 
Clearly marked quoted verbatim text from another source with quotation marks. Attributed and referenced the source of the quotation clearly within the text and in the Reference section.
Obtained permission from the original publisher and rights holder when using previously published figures or tables.
 
Self-plagiarism.
♦ Self-plagiarism is the redundant reuse of your own work, usually without proper citation. It creates repetition in the academic literature and can skew meta-analyses if the same sets of data are published multiple times as “new” data.
♦ If you’re discussing your own previous work, make sure you cite it. NSEM uses Turnitin to screen for unoriginal material. Authors submitting to a NSEM should be aware that their paper may be submitted to Turnitin at any point during the peer-review or production process.
♦ Any allegations of plagiarism or self-plagiarism made to a journal will be investigated by the editor of the journal. If the allegations appear to be founded, all named authors of the paper will be contacted and an explanation of the overlapping material will be requested.
♦ Journal Editorial Board members may be contacted to assist in further evaluation of the paper and allegations. If the explanation is not satisfactory, the submission will be rejected, and no future submissions may be accepted (at our discretion).

Data fabrication / falsification. 
It is essential that all data is accurate, and representative of your research. Data sharing is more and more prevalent, increasing the transparency of raw data. Some journals request that raw data is uploaded as a supplemental file for publication (you can check the instruction for authors to see if this is the case on the journal you are submitting to). NSEM encourages you to submit your supplemental data with your article. Cases of data fabrication/falsification will be evaluated by the editor of the journal. Authors may be contacted to provide supporting raw data where required. Journal Editorial Board members may be contacted to assist in further evaluation of the paper and allegations. If the explanation is not satisfactory, the submission will be rejected, and no future submissions may be accepted (at our discretion).

Conflicts of interest.
It is very important to be honest about any conflicts of interest, whether sources of research funding, direct or indirect financial support, supply of equipment or materials, or other support. Remember to declare it when you submit your paper. If a conflict of interest is not declared to the journal upon submission, or during review, and it affects the actual or potential interpretation of the results, the paper may be rejected or retracted.

Ethics Checklist.
Before you submit, make sure:
♦ You’ve read the journal’s instructions for authors, and checked and followed any instructions regarding data sets, ethics approval, or statements.
♦ All authors have been named on the paper, and the online submission form.
♦ All material has been referenced in the text clearly and thoroughly.
♦ Data has been carefully checked and any supplemental data required by the journal included.
♦ Any relevant interests have been declared to the journal.
♦ You have obtained (written) permission to reuse any figures, tables, and data sets.
♦ You have only submitted the paper to one journal at a time.
♦ You’ve notified all the co-authors that the paper has been submitted.

Crossref.
The Nexus of Structural Equation Modeling (NSEM) is indexed in CrossRef. Crossmark is a multi-publisher initiative from Crossref to provide a standard way for readers to locate the current version of a piece of content. By applying the Crossmark logo, NSEM is committing to maintaining the content it publishes, and to alerting readers to changes if and when they occur. To ensure direct linking to and from its contents, Online archives have also been indexed. Every Article will be provided with DOI and will remain the permanent link of that article.

Responsibility of Editors.
♦ All submitted manuscripts are reviewed under the Double-blind Peer Review process. The editors are fully responsible for managing the review process. The final publication decision must be confirmed by the editor-in-chief.
♦ Editors should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content regardless of the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnicity, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
♦ The editors and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
♦ Unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s own research without the express written permission of the author. Editors should avoid any kind of potential conflict of interest when performing their duties in concerned capacities in order to maintain the integrity of the publication ethics and raise the standard of the journal.

Responsibility of the Reviewers. 
♦ Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.
♦ Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
♦ Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
♦ Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Responsibility of the Authors. 
♦ Where applicable, manuscripts must contain a statement to the effect that all reported human and/or animal studies were reviewed by an appropriate ethics committee and conducted in accordance with appropriate ethical standards, such as those specified in the APA Publication Manual (Section 8.04, 6th Edition). The authors should also state clearly in the main text that all participants had given their informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study. Details that may disclose participants’ identities should be omitted.
♦ Authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest relevant to the publication of the manuscript by disclosing financial interests or connections, whether direct or indirect, and other situations that might raise the question of bias in the work reported or the conclusions, implications, or opinions stated. These items may include commercial or other sources of funding, personal relationships, or direct academic competition. Such information will be held in confidence while the paper is under review and will not influence the editorial decision. If the article is accepted for publication, the Editor will usually discuss with the authors the manner in which such information is to be communicated to the readers.
♦ Authors should note that submission implies that (i) the content has not been published previously in any language or venue, except as an abstract in the proceedings of a scientific meeting or symposium; (ii) the manuscript is not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere; and (iii) the corresponding author should ensure that there is a full consensus of all co-authors in approving the final version of the paper and its submission for publication.

Responsibility of Publisher
The publisher (Arcstics Publishing) is involved in handling of unethical publishing behavior. In cases of scientific misconduct, plagiarism, or fraudulent publication, the publisher (with the editors), will clarify the situation and take actions including publication of an erratum, correction or even the retraction. The publisher with the editors, will prevent the publication of fraudulent papers and will not allow misconduct to take place.