This code of publication ethics aims to define the standards of ethical behaviour for all parties involved in publishing in the journal „Endourology and Minimally Invasive Surgery” and to settle the most important issues between Authors and the Editorial Board. The code is designed to provide a set of minimum standards to guarantee the originality and quality of the publications. It serves the interests of readers and the entire scholarly community and supports the spread of knowledge. The code rests upon values and principles that promote good practice and discourage misconduct. It is in accordance with internationally accepted ethical rules and standards for scientific research and contributes to the self-regulation of the scholarly community as a supplement to legal regulations.
Journal of „Endourology and Minimally Invasive Surgery” behaves in accordance with the codes of conduct and international standards established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) – Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors and Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers.
1. Publication and authorship
Authors, submitting an article to the journal of „Endourology and Minimally Invasive Surgery”, declare that it is their original research, it does not contain any fraudulent data, it has not been published before and it has not been copied or plagiarized in whole or in part from other authors’ work. Papers published in the journal of „Endourology and Minimally Invasive Surgery” should cite original references whenever previously published work is quoted or is directly relevant to the presented results. Public dissemination of the referee reports and the editorial correspondence by the authors is inappropriate.
Any infringements of professional ethical codes, such as plagiarism, fraudulent use of data, bogus claims of authorship, will not be tolerated by the editors.
2. Author’s responsibilities
- Authors bear responsibility for the authenticity and originality of published research. They are obliged to adhere to the Code of Ethics and to guarantee that the submitted paper is original, not published, and not submitted for publication elsewhere
- Authors are obliged to cite all the works they have used and properly follow the citation guide of the journal.
- Authors must present the results of their research with clarity and precision, describe their working methods and provide sufficient detail and references to permit others to verify their conclusions. Fraudulent data is inadmissible.
- Authors are obliged to participate in the peer–review process and to provide corrections for mistakes.
- Authors are obliged to disclose all external sources of finance and to notify them about a potential conflict of interest
3. Peer review and responsibility for the reviewers
All papers submitted to the journal of „ Endourology and minimally invasive surgery“ are subject to a double-blind peer-review process according to the journal’s scholarly and editorial standards.
The journal „Endourology and Minimally Invasive Surgery” , is committed to maintaining high standards through rigorous peer review together with strict ethical policies. Peer review facilitates the final editorial decision to accept or reject a paper. It may also help the authors in improving their articles. The reviewers are responsible for evaluating the scientific contribution; they are expected to provide an objective judgement. Reviewers should point out relevant published work which is not cited by the authors.
Reviewers should inform in time the Editor in Chief if they consider themselves incompetent in the field or if they are not able to participate in the peer-review process for any reason. Reviewers also must keep strict confidentiality; the reviewed articles and the contents of the referee correspondence must not be shared with other parties.
4. Editorial responsibilities
The editors are responsible for everything published in the journal. They strive to ensure that the journal meets the needs of the authors and readers it is intended for. The editors strive to continually improve the journal by protecting freedom of expression and accept or reject a paper based on its relevance, originality, clarity of exposition, and relevance to the disciplined focus of the journal and notify the author of their decision. The editors rule out the possibility that business goals may compromise intellectual and ethical standards.
Editorial board members participate in the peer review process and ensure the completeness and accuracy of the submitted information. They communicate with authors and coordinate revisions with them. The Editorial Board may return articles for corrections or revisions. In case of dishonesty (plagiarism, misleading information, misuse of data, re-publishing of the same article elsewhere, etc.) the journal will not accept the submitted article for publication. The editors ensure that all articles and reports are reviewed by appropriately qualified reviewers. The editors publish guidelines for authors on what is expected of them and announce deadlines for submission and acceptance of articles. Editors provide guidance to reviewers on everything that is expected of them.
The editors encourage reviewers to raise and comment on ethical issues in the presence of misconduct in submissions. The editors monitor the reviewers’ work and ensure its high standard. Editors should provide new editorial board members with guidance on what is expected of them and inform current members of new policies and developments. The editors regularly review the composition of the editorial board. Editors ensure that people involved in the editorial process have received appropriate guidance and are up-to-date on the latest journal management recommendations. Editors comply with privacy laws and protect the confidentiality of personal information.
The editors strive to ensure that the articles that are published are in accordance with internationally accepted ethical standards. Editors take appropriate action if they suspect misconduct. Editors in these cases do not simply reject a development but are obliged to investigate suspected cases. Editors correct erroneous, inaccurate and misleading statements with due care.
5. Publishing ethics issues
Editors are responsible for safeguarding publishing ethics. They encourage responsible behavior and discourage misconduct, also they are expected to educate the researchers about publication ethics. They must not allow plagiarism or fraudulent data to be published. They maintain the integrity of the academic record. The relationship between editors and publishers is based on editorial independence. The editors decide which articles to publish without the intervention of the journal publisher. The editors communicate regularly with the publisher of the journal. Editors work with their publishers to protect authors’ rights. Provide guidelines for retracting articles, publishing corrections, clarifications and apologies when necessary. They preclude business needs from compromising intellectual and ethical standards. The editorial decisions on which articles to publish are based on the quality and suitability of the article for the readers rather than for immediate financial or political gain.
Editors and referees work under conditions of strict confidentiality. The journals and their authors will not reveal the identity of referees for the contents of peer-review correspondence to individuals outside of the respective peer-review process. All the people involved in the publication process – including editors, referees, authors, and journal staff members – are expected to respect the basic standards for professional tolerance and respect.