Unethical behaviour

Procedures for dealing with unethical behavior

Unethical behavior may be identified and brought to the attention of the editor and publisher at any time by anyone and should provide sufficient information and evidence to start an investigation.

All allegations should be taken seriously and treated in the same way until a successful decision or conclusion is reached. All reported acts of unethical publishing behavior must be examined, even if they are discovered years after publication.

The editor should take suitable measures according to the situation when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper, in conjunction with the publisher.

Such measures will generally include contacting the author of the manuscript and giving due consideration to the complaint but may also involve further communications to the relevant institutions, depending on the seriousness of the misconduct.

Minor misconduct might be dealt with without the need to consult more widely. In all cases, the author should be given the possibility to respond to any allegations.

Serious misconduct might require the use of one or more following measures:

• Informing the author or reviewer where a misunderstanding or misapplication of acceptable standards appears to be.
• Publication of a formal notice detailing the misconduct.
• A formal letter to the head of the author's or reviewer's department or funding agency.
• Withdrawal of a publication from the journal, combined with informing the head of the author's or reviewer's department
• Imposition of a formal embargo on contributions from an individual for a certain period.