Publication Ethics
SCI FORSCHEN functions as an open access publication, and maintains 51 high quality journals that contain research work performed by leading experts in their respective fields. As an open access publication, there are certain responsibilities that we need to fulfil and some ethics criteria that we need to meet. This statement describes all that SCI FORSCHEN does to ensure high quality papers for the research community, and how we make sure that our services always offer fair and quality services to the authors who use our publishing services. Our publication focuses on the scholarly community, which expects us to meet certain standards, and we are always striving to match to these expectations. Since we charge the authors a publication fee, we need to make sure that this commercial transaction does not influence out publishing decision in any way. At SCI FORSCHEN, we go to great lengths to ensure that our peer review team scrutinizes each manuscript thoroughly and does not allow any kind of inferior quality, or error laden documents to be published.
The recent debacle where some researchers intentionally submitted low quality documents to multiple open access journals and were successful in being published in several of these journals has raised a doubt regarding the kind of commitment that open access publications have when it comes to ensuring the quality of their journals. SCI FORSCHEN was not one of the publications that published this document, and even in the future we will strive to keep our record blemish free.
The Responsibilities of the Author
SCI FORSCHEN believes that the author is responsible for the content that he publishes on in an open access journal. The onus of ensuring that the manuscript is original, the research work is not adulterated, and that the work adds value to the research community, lies with the author. We expect the author to clearly explain the significance of his or her research work, along with a true and genuine account of his work to us. SCI FORSCHEN also expects that the author will not risk their standing in the community by trying to pass off existing work as their own, and that they will only submit the work to the journal for publication that they have the right to publish. It is also expected that the author will use a research work for just one manuscript, instead of reusing it for multiple manuscripts. They are also expected to cite previous research work, by them or another scholar, which influences their work. In case a scholar is receiving financial aid from any organization that may govern, or influence their field of research in any manner, they are required to reveal the sources of their funding.
The Responsibilities of the Reviewer
Peer review is a great way to quickly establish the quality of a number of manuscripts. However, as the incident has proved, it is prone to certain weaknesses when the individual reviewers do not pay enough attention to the work they are checking. Reviewers serve as the link between the editor and the author, and as such their role is very important in ensuring a high standard of quality in the peer review process. A reviewer is expected to maintain the confidentiality of the research work at all times. They are not allowed to share the name of the author, or any information pertaining to what they have been working on with anyone. They need to remove all copies of the manuscript once the review process has been finalized. Suggesting improvements and providing constructive criticism is a major part of the job of a reviewer. The reviewer needs to do this in a positive and non confrontational manner, and should never do anything that may aggravate the author in any way. The reviewer may sometimes be offered a review task based on the assumption that they are knowledgeable about the field. In case there has been an error in the assigning of the review task, and the reviewer feels that they lack the experience to judge the article fairly, they must inform the review board and decline the offer. The reviewer needs to assess a manuscript impartially and without any prejudice. They should also make sure that the review is completed on time, while being available to the author in case they need certain points clarified. The editors of SCI FORSCHEN are similarly tasked with upholding the quality standard of our journals. They need to always be vigilant and help SCI FORSCHEN meet the taxing requirements that the academic world imposes on all quality open access journals and publications.