Publication Ethics

Digital Social Sciences is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, and research transparency. The journal follows the ethical principles and best practices recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The following guidelines outline the responsibilities of editors, reviewers, and authors involved in the publication process.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on their academic merit, originality, relevance, methodological quality, and contribution to the journal's scope. Editorial decisions are made independently and without discrimination based on authors' nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, political views, or personal characteristics.

Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and disclose any conflicts of interest. Editors who have a conflict related to a submission must recuse themselves from handling the manuscript. They are also responsible for ensuring a fair peer review process and addressing allegations of research misconduct, plagiarism, or ethical violations. Where necessary, corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions may be issued.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play a vital role in supporting editorial decisions and improving the quality of submitted manuscripts. Reviews should be objective, constructive, evidence-based, and completed within the agreed timeframe.

Reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential documents and may not use or disclose unpublished information obtained through peer review. Any potential conflict of interest must be disclosed to the editors, and reviewers should decline assignments where impartiality may be compromised. Suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other ethical concerns should be reported to the editorial office.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted manuscripts are original, accurate, and ethically conducted. Research findings must be presented honestly, with sufficient detail to permit verification and replication where appropriate. Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, citation manipulation, and other forms of research misconduct are strictly prohibited.

Authors should acknowledge all sources appropriately, disclose any conflicts of interest, and identify funding sources relevant to the research. Manuscripts submitted to Digital Social Sciences must not be under consideration by another journal or previously published elsewhere, except where clearly disclosed and permitted.

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the work. All authors must approve the final manuscript before submission and agree to its publication.

For studies involving human participants or animals, authors must comply with applicable ethical standards, obtain required approvals, and ensure that informed consent and participant confidentiality are properly maintained.

Authors have an ongoing responsibility to notify the journal if significant errors or inaccuracies are discovered in their published work. When necessary, Digital Social Sciences will publish corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

Through adherence to these principles, Digital Social Sciences seeks to promote ethical research, transparent scholarship, and trust in academic publishing.