Publication Ethics

Common Senses: Social & Humanities Journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and scholarly integrity. The journal follows the principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applies these principles to editors, reviewers, authors, and all parties involved in the publication process.

The journal is committed to the principles of integrity, fairness, transparency, confidentiality, accountability, and respect for intellectual property. All parties involved in the publication process are expected to uphold these principles and contribute to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.

1. Ethical Standards for Editors

1.1 Publication Decisions

The Editor-in-Chief and editorial team are responsible for making publication decisions based on the manuscript's scholarly quality, originality, relevance to the journal's focus and scope, methodological or analytical rigor, and contribution to scholarship.

Editorial decisions must be independent and must not be influenced by the author's nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, institutional affiliation, political views, or other personal characteristics. Publication decisions should also be free from commercial or financial influence.

Editors may consult with other editors or reviewers when making editorial decisions. The final decision remains the responsibility of the assigned editor or Editor-in-Chief.

1.2 Fair and Objective Evaluation

Editors evaluate manuscripts based on their intellectual and scholarly content. Manuscripts are assessed fairly and consistently without discrimination.

The journal applies a double-anonymous peer review process, in which the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from one another.

1.3 Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and related information. Information about a manuscript may only be shared with individuals directly involved in the editorial and peer-review process or with others when required for legitimate ethical or legal purposes.

Editors must not use unpublished information, ideas, or materials obtained through the editorial process for personal or professional advantage.

1.4 Conflicts of Interest

Editors must disclose and appropriately manage any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest.

An editor should not handle a manuscript when a conflict of interest may compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, impartial editorial judgment. In such circumstances, the manuscript should be assigned to another qualified editor.

1.5 Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions must remain independent from the journal's financial arrangements, including publication fees. The payment of publication costs must not influence the editorial decision to accept or reject a manuscript.

1.6 Ethical Concerns and Investigations

Editors must respond appropriately and promptly to credible allegations of publication or research misconduct, whether concerns arise before or after publication.

Where necessary, the journal may request clarification or supporting documentation from authors, reviewers, institutions, or other relevant parties. The journal may also cooperate with the authors' institutions or other appropriate organizations in investigating serious ethical concerns.

Depending on the outcome of an investigation, the journal may take appropriate action, including requesting corrections, issuing expressions of concern, retracting an article, or taking other measures necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

2. Ethical Standards for Reviewers

Peer reviewers play an essential role in maintaining the quality and integrity of scholarly communication. Common Senses expects reviewers to conduct reviews objectively, confidentially, constructively, and within the agreed timeframe. These principles are consistent with COPE's guidance for peer reviewers.

2.1 Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists editors in evaluating the scholarly quality, relevance, originality, and contribution of submitted manuscripts. Reviewers should provide clear, evidence-based, and constructive comments that may also help authors improve their work.

Reviewer recommendations inform editorial decisions but do not determine the final decision.

2.2 Expertise and Timeliness

Reviewers should only accept invitations to review manuscripts for which they have appropriate expertise.

A reviewer who is unable to provide an appropriate or timely review should promptly decline the invitation and, where possible, inform the editor of the reason.

The journal's standard target for reviewer invitation response is within 7 working days.

2.3 Confidentiality

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not disclose, share, reproduce, distribute, or discuss manuscript content with others without permission from the journal.

Reviewers must not contact authors directly about a manuscript under review.

Reviewers should not involve another person in reviewing a manuscript without prior permission from the journal.

2.4 Objectivity and Constructive Review

Reviews must be conducted objectively and professionally. Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate.

Reviewers should clearly explain the basis of their recommendations and distinguish between major scholarly concerns and minor suggestions.

2.5 Sources and Originality

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately cited when such omissions are important to the manuscript's scholarly argument.

Reviewers should also notify the editor if they identify substantial similarity, possible plagiarism, redundant publication, or other potential ethical concerns. Reviewers should not conduct independent investigations of suspected misconduct; such concerns should be communicated confidentially to the editor.

2.6 Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest before accepting or continuing a review.

Conflicts may arise from competitive, collaborative, institutional, personal, financial, or other relationships with the authors or organizations connected to the manuscript.

Reviewers should decline the invitation when such a conflict could compromise their impartiality.

2.7 Use of Unpublished Information

Reviewers must not use unpublished information, ideas, arguments, data, or findings obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage.

3. Ethical Standards for Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submissions are original, accurately reported, ethically conducted, and appropriately acknowledged.

3.1 Research Integrity and Reporting

Authors must present their research accurately and transparently. Data, findings, interpretations, and other research information must not be fabricated, falsified, or intentionally misrepresented.

Manuscripts should provide sufficient information about the research design, methods, analytical procedures, and sources to allow readers to understand and critically assess the work.

3.2 Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts are their original work.

Plagiarism, including the presentation of another person's ideas, words, data, or work as one's own, is unacceptable. Appropriate citation and acknowledgment are required whenever authors use ideas, words, data, images, or other intellectual contributions from other sources.

The journal also considers substantial unattributed reuse of an author's own previously published work, including inappropriate self-plagiarism or redundant publication, to be an ethical concern.

All submitted manuscripts may undergo similarity screening. Similarity reports are evaluated contextually by the editorial team; a similarity percentage alone does not determine whether plagiarism has occurred.

3.3 Duplicate and Concurrent Submission

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal.

A manuscript submitted to Common Senses must not have been published previously or be under consideration for publication elsewhere, unless the authors have clearly disclosed the circumstances and received permission from the journal.

3.4 Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship should reflect substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; drafting or substantial revision of the manuscript; and approval of the final version.

All individuals who meet the journal's authorship criteria should be appropriately recognized as authors, while individuals who do not meet authorship criteria should not be listed as authors.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that:

  • all listed authors have approved the manuscript;

  • all authors have agreed to its submission;

  • author contributions are accurately represented; and

  • no eligible contributor has been improperly omitted.

The journal does not permit guest authorship, honorary authorship, or ghost authorship.

Any authorship dispute should be addressed transparently and, where necessary, may involve the relevant institution or other appropriate authority. COPE recommends that journals maintain clear authorship and contributorship policies and processes for handling disputes.

3.5 Citation and Acknowledgment

Authors must properly acknowledge the sources of ideas, arguments, data, quotations, images, and other materials used in their manuscripts.

Private communications, unpublished materials, or information obtained from third parties should only be used where appropriate and, when necessary, with permission from the source.

Authors must not manipulate citations or engage in citation practices intended primarily to artificially increase citation counts.

3.6 Research Ethics and Ethical Oversight

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their research complies with applicable ethical standards and legal requirements.

Research involving human participants, personal or confidential information, vulnerable populations, or other ethically sensitive subjects should include appropriate ethical consideration and, where required, approval from a relevant ethics committee or institutional review body.

Where applicable, authors should provide information regarding ethical approval, informed consent, consent for publication, and the protection of participant confidentiality.

3.7 Data and Research Materials

Authors should retain relevant research data and materials for a reasonable period after publication and should be prepared to provide appropriate supporting information when reasonably requested by the editor, subject to ethical, legal, privacy, confidentiality, and intellectual-property restrictions.

Where appropriate, authors are encouraged to provide information about data availability and research materials in accordance with disciplinary standards.

3.8 Use of Artificial Intelligence

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of their manuscripts when using artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

AI tools may be used as research or writing assistance where their use is appropriate and transparently disclosed in accordance with the journal's AI and Generative AI Policy.

AI tools must not be listed as authors or credited with authorship.

Authors remain responsible for verifying AI-assisted content, including factual claims, citations, interpretations, and references. The use of AI must not result in plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, undisclosed appropriation of intellectual work, or violation of confidentiality.

3.9 Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, personal, institutional, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation.

Any relevant conflict of interest should be disclosed at the time of submission and updated if circumstances change.

3.10 Funding

Authors should disclose sources of financial or material support for the research and publication where applicable.

The role of the funding source in the research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing, or decision to submit the manuscript should be disclosed when relevant.

3.11 Errors in Published Work

If authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must promptly notify the journal and cooperate with the editorial team to determine appropriate action.

Depending on the nature and significance of the error, the journal may publish a correction, clarification, expression of concern, or retraction.

4. Publication Misconduct

Common Senses considers the following to be serious ethical concerns:

  • plagiarism and inappropriate text reuse;

  • fabrication or falsification of data;

  • duplicate or redundant publication;

  • simultaneous submission;

  • inappropriate authorship or contributorship;

  • undisclosed conflicts of interest;

  • citation manipulation;

  • manipulation or fabrication of peer review;

  • misuse of confidential information;

  • inappropriate use or undisclosed use of AI where disclosure is required;

  • research conducted without appropriate ethical oversight where such oversight is required; and

  • other practices that compromise the integrity of the scholarly record.

Allegations of misconduct are assessed carefully and confidentially. The journal may request explanations, supporting documents, or institutional clarification and will follow appropriate ethical procedures when investigating concerns.

5. Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, and other stakeholders may raise legitimate complaints concerning editorial decisions, publication processes, ethical issues, or other matters related to the journal.

Complaints should be submitted to the editorial office with sufficient information and supporting evidence where available.

The journal will review complaints fairly, confidentially, and as promptly as reasonably possible.

Authors may also appeal an editorial decision when they believe that a significant error, misunderstanding, procedural irregularity, or other substantive issue affected the decision. Appeals should provide a clear explanation and supporting justification.

Complaints and appeals will not affect an author's future consideration by the journal when submitted in good faith.

6. Corrections, Retractions, and Post-Publication Actions

The journal is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the published scholarly record.

When a significant error, ethical concern, or other problem is identified after publication, the journal will assess the matter and take appropriate action.

Possible post-publication actions include:

  • Correction — for errors that can be corrected without invalidating the main contribution of the article;

  • Expression of Concern — when substantial concerns exist but an investigation or resolution is still pending; and

  • Retraction — when the reliability or integrity of a published article is substantially compromised.

Corrections and retractions will be clearly linked to the original article and will remain part of the scholarly record. The journal will not remove a published article solely to conceal an error or misconduct.

These procedures are consistent with COPE's recommendation that journals maintain mechanisms for correcting, revising, or retracting published articles.

7. Copyright, Licensing, and Intellectual Property

Authors retain copyright of their published work and grant the journal the right to publish and disseminate the article under the journal's stated publishing agreement.

Articles published by Common Senses are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license, unless otherwise stated.

The journal expects authors to obtain appropriate permission for copyrighted materials that are not covered by applicable exceptions or licenses.

8. Ethical Commitment

Publication ethics is a shared responsibility.

Editors, reviewers, authors, and the journal's editorial and publishing teams are expected to act with integrity, fairness, transparency, confidentiality, and accountability throughout the publication process.

Common Senses is committed to addressing ethical concerns responsibly and to protecting the integrity of the scholarly record in accordance with COPE principles and relevant ethical standards.