SERA Open Press is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics. Our policies are aligned with the Core Practices and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing jointly issued by COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, and WASE.
All parties involved in the publication process — editors, reviewers, authors, and the publisher — are expected to adhere to the ethical standards outlined below.
Duties of Editors
Editorial Decisions
Editors are responsible for deciding which manuscripts submitted to their journal are published. These decisions are based solely on the manuscript's scholarly merit, originality, clarity, and relevance to the journal's scope. Decisions are never influenced by the author's race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, institutional affiliation, or political philosophy.
Fairness and Confidentiality
- Editors evaluate manuscripts on their intellectual content without regard to the identity of the authors.
- Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
- Unpublished materials in a submitted manuscript must not be used by editors or editorial staff for their own research without the express written consent of the author.
Conflicts of Interest
- Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest — whether personal, financial, intellectual, professional, or political — that could compromise impartial editorial judgment.
- In such cases, the manuscript will be assigned to another qualified editor.
Investigation of Ethical Concerns
- Editors must take responsive measures when ethical complaints are raised concerning a submitted or published manuscript. These measures include contacting the author(s), giving due consideration to the complaint, and, when necessary, contacting the relevant institution or funder.
- Editors must follow COPE guidelines and flowcharts when handling suspected misconduct.
Duties of Reviewers
Contribution to Editorial Decisions
Peer review is essential to scholarly publishing. Reviewers assist the editor in making editorial decisions and, through constructive feedback, help authors improve their manuscripts.
Promptness
Reviewers who feel unqualified to review a manuscript, or who know they cannot complete a review within the agreed timeframe, should notify the editor promptly so that alternative reviewers can be contacted.
Confidentiality
- All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.
- Reviewers must not share or discuss the manuscript with anyone not authorized by the editor.
- Reviewers must not upload manuscript text into external AI tools or other third-party services unless explicitly authorized under the journal's Reviewer AI Use Policy. See our AI Transparency Statement for details.
Standards of Objectivity
Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments and references.
Acknowledgment of Sources
Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Reviewers should also alert the editor to any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.
Conflicts of Interest
Reviewers must not review manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest arising from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors, institutions, or companies connected to the manuscript.
Duties of Authors
Reporting Standards
Authors of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed, the data obtained, and an objective discussion of the significance of the results. The manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to evaluate and, where applicable, replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
Originality and Plagiarism
Authors must ensure that their work is entirely original. If they have used the work or words of others, this must be appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism in all its forms — including passing off another's work as one's own, copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another's work without attribution, and claiming results from research conducted by others — constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Submission
Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. An author should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication, unless the subsequent publication is clearly identified as a secondary publication (e.g., a translation or expanded version) with appropriate cross-referencing.
Authorship
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. SERA Press follows the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) for documenting author contributions and recommends adherence to ICMJE authorship criteria.
The corresponding author must ensure that:
- All appropriate co-authors are included on the manuscript
- No inappropriate co-authors are included
- All co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript
- All co-authors have agreed to its submission for publication
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
All authors must disclose any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project must be disclosed.
Acknowledgment of Sources
Authors must give proper acknowledgment to the work of others. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.
Fundamental Errors in Published Works
When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, the author has an obligation to promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.
Data Access and Retention
Authors may be asked to provide the raw data associated with a manuscript for editorial review and should be prepared to make the data publicly available if practicable. Authors should retain such data for a reasonable time after publication to allow verification.
Use of Artificial Intelligence
Authors must disclose any use of AI tools in the preparation of their manuscript. AI tools (such as large language models) cannot be listed as authors because they cannot take responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work. Authors remain fully responsible for all content, including any content generated or assisted by AI tools.
For detailed AI policies applicable to authors, reviewers, and editors, see our AI Transparency Statement.
Plagiarism and Misconduct Detection
All manuscripts submitted to SERA Open Press journals are screened for plagiarism and textual similarity using established detection tools. Manuscripts with significant textual overlap with previously published work (without appropriate citation) will be rejected or, if already published, may be subject to retraction.
If misconduct is suspected at any stage (before or after publication), SERA Open Press will follow COPE guidelines in investigating the matter.
Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern
SERA Press is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.
Corrections (Errata/Corrigenda)
If errors are identified in a published article that do not affect the overall findings or conclusions, a correction notice will be published and linked to the original article.
Retractions
An article may be retracted if:
- There is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, whether as a result of misconduct (e.g., data fabrication or falsification) or honest error
- The findings have been previously published elsewhere without proper disclosure or permission
- The work constitutes plagiarism
- The research was conducted unethically
Retraction notices will follow COPE Retraction Guidelines and will clearly state the reason for retraction. Retracted articles will remain accessible (not deleted) but will be clearly marked as retracted.
Expressions of Concern
Where an investigation into alleged misconduct is ongoing and a definitive conclusion has not yet been reached, an expression of concern may be published to alert readers.
Complaints and Appeals
Complaints
Anyone who believes that SERA Open Press has not adhered to its stated editorial or ethical policies may submit a complaint to: ethics@serapress.com
All complaints will be acknowledged, investigated, and responded to in a timely manner, following COPE guidance on handling complaints.
Appeals Against Editorial Decisions
Authors who wish to appeal an editorial decision (e.g., a rejection) may do so by submitting a written appeal to the journal's editor-in-chief. Appeals must provide a clear, substantive rationale for why the decision should be reconsidered.
The editor-in-chief will evaluate the appeal and may:
- Uphold the original decision
- Request additional peer review
- Reverse the decision
Appeals are handled confidentially. The decision on an appeal is final.
Publisher's Role
SERA Open Press, as publisher, does not interfere with editorial decisions. The publisher supports editors and the editorial process by providing infrastructure, maintaining platform security, and ensuring that all published content is preserved and accessible.
The publisher ensures that advertising, sponsorship, or any other commercial revenue does not influence editorial decisions.