Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement of Journal of Mechanics of Continua and Mathematical Sciences (JMCMS) are based, in large part, on the guidelines and standards developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The relevant duties and expectations of authors, reviewers, and editors of the journal are presented below.

Responsibilities of Authors

A manuscript submitted to the Journal of Mechanics of Continua and Mathematical Sciences for publication, the author(s) warrant that the manuscript is their own, original work and that it has neither been published formerly nor is presently being taken into consideration for publication elsewhere. They also warrant that the sources of any thoughts and/or words in the manuscript that are not their own have been properly attributed through appropriate citations and/or quotes. An author should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in multiple journals or publication venues. Such redundant publication is usually considered to represent unethical publishing behavior, and if discovered may result in a manuscript under consideration being rejected, or a published article being retracted. Authors of manuscripts reporting on original research should present an accurate account of the work performed, accompanied by an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying information ought to be represented accurately in the manuscript. The manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to allow others to replicate the work. The fabrication of effects and the making of fraudulent or knowingly misguided statements represent unethical conduct and may be cause for rejection or retraction of a manuscript or published article. Where the manuscript reports on commercial software, hardware, or other products, authors have to consist of a declaration at the start of the manuscript wherein they must either state that no conflict of interest exists or describe the character of any potential conflict. All sources of financial support for the research should also be disclosed with inside the manuscript. The author(s) of a manuscript agree that if the manuscript is accepted for publication in the Journal of Mechanics of Continua and Mathematical Sciences, the published article will be copyrighted using a Creative Commons “Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)” license. The name of the authors needs to be listed inside the article in order of their contribution to the research work, and all authors take responsibility for their personal contributions. Only those individuals who have made a substantive contribution should be listed as authors; those whose contributions are oblique or marginal (e.g., colleagues or supervisors who have reviewed drafts of the work or provided proofreading assistance, and heads of research institutes/centers/labs) need to be named in an “Acknowledgments” section at the end of the article, immediately preceding the Reference List. The corresponding author must ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included in the article and that all listed co-authors have visible and approved the final version of the article and agreed to its publication. When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in an article of his/hers that has been published in the Journal of Mechanics of Continua and Mathematical Sciences, he/she has an obligation to promptly notify the editors and cooperate with them to correct the article or retract it as suitable.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

The reviewers of the Journal of Mechanics of Continua and Mathematical Sciences perform work for the journal on a volunteer basis. Given that maximum of those people is in full-time employment, their reviewing activities for the Journal of Mechanics of Continua and Mathematical Sciences must, by necessity, now no longer be their pinnacle priority. Reviewers are free to decline invitations to review particular manuscripts at their discretion, for example, if their contemporary employment workload and/or different commitments make it prohibitive for them to finish a review in a timely fashion and to do justice to the task in the available timeframe. They should also not accept manuscript review assignments for which they feel unqualified. Reviewers who have accepted manuscript assignments are normally expected to submit their reviews within three weeks. They should recuse themselves from the assignment if it turns obvious to them at any level that they do not possess the required expertise to carry out the review, or that they may have a potential conflict of interest in performing the review (e.g., one resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, institutions, or companies associated with the manuscript). Privileged information or ideas obtained by reviewers through the peer review process must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents, and must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the Editor of the Journal of Mechanics of Continua and Mathematical Sciences. When accomplishing their reviews, reviewers are requested to do so as objectively as possible, refraining from engaging in personal criticism of the author(s). They are endorsed to explicit their perspectives clearly, explaining and justifying all recommendations made. They should always attempt to provide detailed and constructive feedback to assist the author(s) in enhancing their work, although the manuscript is, in their opinion, not publishable. Reviewers should identify in their reviews relevant published work that has not been cited by the author(s), together with any instances in which proper attribution of sources has not been provided. They should call to the responsible editor’s attention any important resemblances among a manuscript under consideration and other published articles or papers of which they are aware, in addition to any concerns they might have in relation to the ethical acceptability of the research reported in the manuscript. Reviewers should follow the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics)

Responsibilities of Editors

The Editor of the Journal of Mechanics of Continua and Mathematical Sciences has ultimate responsibility for determining if a manuscript submitted to the Journal of Mechanics of Continua and Mathematical Sciences should be published, and in doing so is guided through the journal’s policies as decided through the Editorial Board of the Journal of Mechanics of Continua and Mathematical Sciences Journal and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.  The editors will evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to the race, colour, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the author(s). They will not disclose any information about a manuscript under consideration to anyone other than the author(s), reviewers and potential reviewers, and in some instances the Journal of Mechanics of Continua and Mathematical Sciences editorial board members, as appropriate. Additionally, the editors will make every effort to make sure the integrity of the blind review process by not revealing the identity of the author(s) of a manuscript to the reviewers of that manuscript, and vice versa. When evaluating a manuscript for publication, in addition to considering standard criteria pertaining to the rigor of the manuscript, the quality of its presentation, and its contribution to humanity’s inventory knowledge, the editors will also seek evidence that ethical harms have been minimized in the conduct of the reported research. They will query whether or not the advantages outweigh the harms in the particular study’s case. Since the Journal of Mechanics of Continua and Mathematical Sciences welcomes the submission of manuscripts from any country, it is far essential to understand that legal guidelines and regulations regarding research ethics and ethical approval vary worldwide. As such, the editors may need to seek clarification in this regard with the author(s) and request that they deliver a letter from the concerning institutional ethics committee or board that approved the research. The editors will be guided with the aid of using COPE’s Guidelines for Retracting Articles when considering retracting, issuing an expression of concern about, and issuing corrections referring to articles that have been published in the Journal of Mechanics of Continua and Mathematical Sciences. Editors should follow the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) on retractions.