Publication ethics

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement for the Jorunal Radovi Šumarskog fakulteta Univerziteta u Sarajevu

These statements are formulated based on existing Elsevier policies and COPE’s Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

Ethical Guidelines for Journal Publication

These guidelines adhere to existing Elsevier policies.

The University of Sarajevo Faculty of Forestry, as the publisher of the “Radovi” journal, acknowledges its guardianship duties over all stages of publishing. We are committed to upholding ethical standards and fulfilling our responsibilities.

We ensure that advertising, reprinting, or other commercial activities do not influence editorial decisions.

1. Duties of the Editorial Board

These guidelines are informed by existing Elsevier policies and COPE’s Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

Publication Decisions

The Editor-in-Chief and/or Managing Editor (hereinafter referred to as “Editors”), in agreement with the Editor-in-Chief, are responsible for determining which submitted articles should be published. Editors evaluate manuscripts based on their intellectual content, without considering factors such as race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff should handle submitted manuscripts with the utmost confidentiality, only sharing information with authorized individuals such as the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as necessary for the peer review and publication process. This ensures that the rights of authors and the integrity of the scholarly publication are respected.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Editors must not use unpublished materials from submitted manuscripts in their own research without explicit written consent from the author. They should also refrain from using privileged information obtained through peer review for personal gain. Editors should disclose any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from handling manuscripts involving such conflicts.

Involvement and Cooperation in Investigations

Editors must respond promptly to ethical complaints regarding submitted manuscripts or published papers, in collaboration with the publisher (or society). Responsive measures may include contacting the author, assessing complaints, and, if necessary, issuing corrections, retractions, expressions of concern, or other relevant actions.

2. Duties of Authors

These guidelines align with existing Elsevier policies.

Reporting Standards

Authors should provide an accurate account of their research and its significance, presenting underlying data accurately and with sufficient detail for replication.

Fraudulent or Inaccurate Statements

Authors must avoid making fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements, as such behavior is unethical and unacceptable.

Review and Professional Publication

Authors should ensure that review articles are accurate and objective, while editorial opinions are clearly identified as such.

Data Access and Retention

Authors may be required to provide raw data for editorial review and should be prepared to make such data publicly accessible. They should retain data for a reasonable time after publication.

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that their work is original and properly cited, avoiding all forms of plagiarism. All submitted papers are subject to the obligatory check for potential plagiarism using of Plagiarism Detecting Software at the University of Sarajevo.

https://unsa.ba/o-univerzitetu/propisi/pravilnik-o-nacinu-koristenja-softvera-za-detekciju-plagijarizma

Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.

Multiple Publication

Authors should not submit essentially the same research to multiple journals concurrently, nor should they publish previously published work without proper citation.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Authors must properly acknowledge the work of others and obtain permission for using private or confidential information.

Authorship

Authorship should be limited to those who have made significant contributions to the study, with all appropriate co-authors listed and in agreement with the final version of the paper. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Hazards and Human or Animal Subjects

Authors must clearly identify any hazards in their work and ensure compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines regarding human or animal subjects.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Authors should disclose any financial or substantive conflicts of interest that could influence their work, as well as all sources of financial support. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed at the earliest stage possible.

Fundamental Errors

Authors are obligated to promptly notify editors of significant errors in their published work and cooperate in issuing retractions or corrections when necessary.

3. Duties of Reviewers

These guidelines adhere to existing Elsevier policies and COPE’s Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists editors in making editorial decisions and helps authors improve their work. All scholars should contribute fairly to the peer review process.

Journal Radovi are open to all who wish to contribute to fair and quality reviewing process.

Promptness

Reviewers should promptly inform editors if they are unable to review a manuscript in a timely manner or they feel unqualified to review the research.

Confidentiality

Reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential documents and refrain from discussing them without authorization.

Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively, without personal criticism of the author.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work and disclose any overlap between the manuscript under review and other published papers if they have such personal knowledge.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

Reviewers should not use unpublished materials for their own research without written permission of author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.