Publication Ethics

Spirituality Studies acknowledges, honors and applies all standards of publication ethics in accordance with general consensus as promulgated in Elsevier‘s Publishing Ethics Resource Kit, COPE‘s Code of Conduct for Journal, and other catalogs of ethical standards. Spirituality Studies refuses plagiarism of any kind.

By the very act of submitting articles to Spirituality Studies authors affirm that their contents are original and their article had neither been published elsewhere, nor it is under review for publication anywhere. The following duties are obligatory for authors, editors, reviewers and the publisher of the Spirituality Studies Journal.

Reporting standards: Authors of research studies should present an accurate account of their original research, whether theoretical or empirical, as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements are unacceptable.

Originality and plagiarism: Authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works and they appropriately refer to works and/or words of other authors.

Data access and retention: In case of research studies of empirical nature authors should provide raw data related to their manuscripts for editorial review, and they also must retain such data.

Multiple publications: Manuscripts based on the same research are usually published exclusively in only one journal. In case of an update or extension of a previously published article, a reference to the original publication ought to be explicitly acknowledged.

In justified cases, the Editorial Team may decide to publish a manuscript that had been previously published in another media, either in its original or modified form. Such cases include, for instance, an extraordinary contribution to human understanding of the matter provided by the article. Then an explicit reference to the original publication is made in the re-published paper along with copyright acknowledgements.

Acknowledgement of sources: Authors should acknowledge all sources of data used in their articles and refer to all publications they had been working with.

Authorship of the paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study.

Disclosure of financial support and conflicts of interest: Authors should disclose any conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results of their manuscript. Sources of financial support for the article should be also disclosed.

Fundamental errors in published works: If at any point of time, authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in submitted manuscript or published work, then the error or inaccuracy must be reported to the Editor-in-Chief without delay.

Publication decisions: The Editor-in-Chief is authorized to accept, reject, or request modifications to all articles submitted to Spirituality Studies.

Review of manuscripts: Two reviewers are appointed by the Editor-in-Chief from the internal database of reviewers for double-blind review based on the topic and character of the reviewed academic papers and research studies. Reviewers are obliged to make an explicit and reasonable recommendations to publish the manuscript in its present form, or to modify it or to reject it.

Fair play: Manuscripts are evaluated solely on their scholarly merit without regard to authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or views.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest: Spirituality Studies fully respects evaluations of its reviewers and makes its decisions as follows:

If both reviewers recommend publishing the manuscript, it is accepted.

If both reviewers recommend not publishing the manuscript, it is rejected.

If one or both reviewers recommend making a revision of the manuscript, the author(s) is asked to re-elaborate it. The revised manuscript is reviewed repeatedly by the same reviewers.

If reviewers significantly diverge in their conclusions, the final decision on acceptance or rejection of the manuscript is made by the Editor-in-Chief.

Editors must not disclose any information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than its authors and reviewers or potential reviewers. Unpublished materials disclosed in submitted manuscripts must not be used in favor of anyone who has a view of the manuscript.

Confidentiality: The Editor-in-Chief must ensure that information regarding authorship of manuscripts is kept confidential. In order to do so, in manuscripts assigned for reviewing all identification data on their authors are removed. The relationship between authors and reviewers is anonymous on both sides.

Development: Editors should strive to meet the needs of readers and authors, continually improve the journal, ensure the quality of the published material and protect freedom of expression.

Double-blind review: The Editor-in-Chief is authorized to appoint two reviewers for double-blind review of academic papers and research studies who are experts in the given field and come from different institutions than the author of the submission.

Promptness: If it is not possible for a reviewer to complete a review of a manuscript within the time limit of 60 days, the Editor-in-Chief appoints another reviewer.

Confidentiality: Information regarding manuscripts submitted by authors are kept confidential.

Acknowledgement of sources: Reviewers must ensure that authors have acknowledged all sources of data used in the research, both theoretical or empirical. The Editor-in-Chief is immediately notified about any kind of similarity with any other published paper of which reviewer has knowledge and had not been acknowledged by the author(s).

Standards of objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Any kind of personal criticism of the author(s) is unacceptable. Reviewers are obliged to express their views explicitly and support them by relevant arguments.

Conflict of interest: Reviewers should not review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors or institutions connected to the manuscripts.

The publisher respects privacy of authors and reviewers, protects intellectual property and copyright, and fosters editorial independence.