Human Behavior, Development and Society Statement of Publication Ethics
“The publication of an article in a peer-reviewed journal is an essential building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. It is a direct reflection of the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the scientific method. It is therefore important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editors, and the peer reviewer.” (Elsevier, Publishing Ethics Guidelines)

 

DUTIES OF AUTHORS
Original Work: Human Behavior, Development and Society expects that manuscripts submitted to be considered for publication are the author(s) own original work, are not currently under review elsewhere, and have not been previously published in any language. Manuscripts should not “recycle” essentially the same material that has been published elsewhere. Turnitin software is used to check for plagiarism and/or previous publication, and Human Behavior, Development and Society rejects articles that have substantial proportions of text that are copied from other sources.
Authorship: The names of authors appearing on manuscripts should be limited to individuals who have made significant contributions to the article. Individuals who have provided technical assistance or support may be thanked by mentioning their contributions in the Acknowledgements. The corresponding author should ensure that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper, and have agreed to its submission for publication.
Accuracy: Authors of original research papers should present an accurate account of their work along with an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper; adding data or removal of outlier results are unacceptable. Conclusions should be based on evidence presented in the paper, not on personal opinions.
Errors: If significant errors/inaccuracies become apparent after an article has already been submitted, Human Behavior, Development and Society expects authors to immediately contact the Editorial Staff so that appropriate corrections may be made in a timely manner.
Acknowledgement of Sources: A research paper builds upon previously published work. Author(s) should paraphrase ideas or results that have been previously published elsewhere in their own words, along with citing these works in the paper and listing them in the references. Making statements of facts or ideas without citing evidence to back up these statements is not good research practice.
Disclosure of Financial Support and Conflicts of Interest: Financial support received for research and the paper writing process should be disclosed in the acknowledgments, and any potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed to the Human Behavior, Development and Society editorial team when a manuscript is first submitted.
Protection of Human Subjects: Human Behavior, Development and Society expects that experiments using human subjects have been conducted in compliance with international standards and research protocols, and that they received prior review and approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or ethics committee. Such approval and the approving entity’s name should be specified in the Methods section.

Article Withdrawal by Author: An article may be withdrawn prior to the double-blind review process. In such an instance, the author(s) should inform the editors and clearly state the reasons for withdrawal. Withdrawing a submission during the peer review process or during production is considered unprofessional and unethical, and should be avoided. HBDS does not accept future submissions from authors who have previously withdrawn a paper in this manner. Once an article has been published, it may no longer be withdrawn by an author.

 

DUTIES OF EDITORS
Confidentiality: The editors of Human Behavior, Development and Society use a “double-blind” peer review process, where neither authors nor reviewers know each other’s identity. The editors endeavor to protect the identity of author(s) and reviewers throughout the review process.

Unpublished materials from a submitted manuscript must not be quoted or referenced by an editor without the express written consent of the author. Information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
Objectivity: Decisions on publication are made objectively by the Human Behavior, Development and Society Administrative Board after reviewing the submitted manuscript and the peer reviews. The importance of the article’s contribution to the existing research in its field, the quality of articulation of the argument, and the strength of evidence provided are critical factors in the decision to publish.
Conflicts of Interest: Editors are not allowed to publish or co-publish articles that appear in Human Behavior, Development and Society, and they must recuse themselves from the review process when they have a conflict of interest or personal stake in the publication of a research article.

 

DUTIES OF REVIEWERS
Confidentiality: Reviewers should respect the confidentiality of the review process. They should not discuss aspects of the work under review with other researchers until after an article is published. Unpublished materials disclosed in a manuscript under review must not be quoted or referenced by a reviewer without the express written consent of the author, requested through the editor. Information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
Objectivity: Manuscripts should be reviewed objectively in the context of the reviewer’s expertise in the field. The importance of the article’s contribution to the existing research in its field, the quality of articulation of the argument, and the strength of the evidence provided are critical factors in reviewing the quality of a manuscript. Personal opinions without backing evidence should not be used as criteria for review decisions.
Conflicts of Interest: If the reviewer realizes, after receiving a manuscript for review, that he or she has been involved in the research described, knows the researcher(s) involved in the research, or for any reason cannot give an objective review of the manuscript, the reviewer should inform the editors and decline to review it. Conflicts of interest may include competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the paper under review.
Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should point out important relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. A reviewer should also call to the editor’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

 

SUBMISSIONS
Unsolicited manuscripts are welcomed. Submissions must be in the form of completed articles; partially completed articles are not considered.
Articles published elsewhere will not be considered. Full manuscripts of abstracts published in any form will be considered, but editorial judgment will be exercised to accept or reject.
The journal’s policy is not to reconsider an article that has been rejected by its referees. Papers that primarily feature negative results are also unlikely to be accepted, as are those which focus on promoting a concept by selectively choosing positive results.
Papers rejected by the editorial team are not open to reconsideration. Rejection may be based on a number of considerations including relevance, interest to readers, timeliness, adoption of a writing style that is considered offensive or partisan political, outside the space considerations stipulated by the journal, or failure to follow the specified guidelines.

If poor scientific or professional practice such as plagiarism, fraudulent data, and bogus or honorary authorship is found to have been used in an article, it may be removed by HBDS while in production or after publication. The journal reserves the right to publish statements regarding articles that are withdrawn or removed.  

 

PROCESS FOR PREVENTING/DEALING WITH ALLEGATIONS OF RESEARCH MISCONDUCT

Human Behavior, Development and Society (HBDS) journal is committed to upholding high standards of research integrity and ethical publishing practices. Allegations of research misconduct such as plagiarism, data falsification, citation manipulation, and so on will be taken seriously. The journal’s Publication Ethics are based on guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

All stakeholders are encouraged to report any concerns or allegations of research conduct through the journal’s established channels. The process to prevent breaches of these guidelines and deal with allegations of misconduct is described below.

 

PREVENTION OF MISCONDUCT

• HBDS uses plagiarism detection software to pre-screen manuscripts for originality before sending them for peer review. Those with high similarity scores are rejected.
• If peer reviewers or editors notice any signs of research misconduct, they are encouraged to indicate their suspicions and concerns.

 

DEALING WITH ALLEGATIONS OF MISCONDUCT

• Upon receiving allegations of research misconduct, the Editorial Board will conduct a thorough investigation and carefully examine all evidence.
• Accused author(s) will be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations and present any evidence supporting their case.
• HBDS will keep protect the privacy and reputations of all parties by keeping the investigative process and its outcome confidential.
• If allegations are found to be incorrect, or cannot be verified because of a lack of evidence, then they will be dismissed and related parties notified of the outcome.
• If research misconduct is found to have occurred, suitable action is taken that may include, but is not limited to, expression of concern, correction, declining to publish a manuscript, retraction, or other measures consistent with COPE guidelines.
• The journal reserves the right to publish statements about articles that are withdrawn or removed.