Journal of Scientific Information Research

Publishing Ethics Statement

Adhering to ethical standards is essential for all individuals involved in academic research, paper writing, and publishing. All academic misconduct in the process of publishing scientific papers violates the academic ethics of the journal. In the process of engaging in scientific and technological publishing and scientific research, authors and publishers should strictly abide by the Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China, the Patent Law, and the Scientific Ethics Code for Scientific and Technological Workers (Trial) promulgated by the China Association for Science and Technology. The editorial office of the Journal of Scientific Information Research is committed to maintaining a high standard of publication quality through rigorous peer review and adherence to ethical standards. The editorial office takes any violation of professional and publication ethics very seriously, including plagiarism, fabrication of data, falsification of authorship,and has zero tolerance for such behavior.

Responsibilities and Obligations of Each Entity

1. Responsibilities of Author

Ensure that all submitted manuscripts in the Journal of Scientific Information Research are written completely, originally, and accurately, without any plagiarism or other misconduct. If authors have used the work and/or words of others, these must be appropriately cited or quoted.
Ensure that the submission has not been previously published or is currently in the process of being published elsewhere in the same form, including in Chinese or other languages.
Authors are requested to submit the raw data related to their paper for editorial review and should be ready to make the data publicly accessible, whenever feasible. Additionally, they should be prepared to retain this data for a reasonable period post-publication.
Co-authors of scientific research papers should accurately reflect the work and contributions of each author. In accordance with international standards for scientific research papers, the identification of author qualifications must satisfy the following four conditions:
- Make substantial contributions in designing concepts, conducting experiments and research, collecting data, analyzing results, etc.;
- Writing articles, or making critical modifications to important academic content;
- Final review and finalization of articles to be published;
- The Journal of Scientific Information Research (SIR) requires that all authors listed should meet at least one of the above conditions and agree to take responsibility for all aspects of the research work to ensure that any accuracy or integrity issues related to any part of the paper are appropriately investigated and resolved. The corresponding author should ensure that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication
Have the obligation to notify SIR editors or publisher promptly if there is a significant error in their publications discovered or identified. Authors should also cooperate with the editors to correct the article and publish an erratum, corrigendum, or to retract the paper, where it is deemed necessary. It is the obligation of the authors to cooperate with editors and to provide requested documents.

2. Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

Ensure a scientific and accurate review of the manuscripts, and provide objective and fair evaluations. Utilize professional knowledge and skills to assess the originality, scientific rigor, practical value of the manuscripts, as well as the appropriateness of research methodologies, scientific design, accuracy of results and conclusions, and the presence of any flaws. Offer fair evaluations to assist editors in decision-making. Provide detailed revision suggestions for issues within the article to aid authors in enhancing the quality of their paper.
Respect the author's research results and avoid manuscripts with conflicting interests. The evaluation of the reviewed manuscripts is only based on academic standards, and no personal evaluation or personal attacks should be made. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the paper.
Provide feedback to the editorial department by filling out review opinions in a timely manner and within the specified time. Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.
Maintain the confidentiality of the reviewed manuscripts; do not share them with others for reading or discussion, and refrain from using or publishing the data, viewpoints, and conclusions contained within the reviewed manuscripts.
All review opinions and information must be kept confidential and cannot be used for personal purposes.

3. Responsibilities of Editorial Office

Strictly adhere to relevant national laws and regulations, adhere to academic publishing ethics and norms, and maintain research integrity. Promptly and fairly handle all submissions, ensuring that edited manuscripts are of high quality and published on time.
Follow the principle of objectivity and neutrality, and should not have prejudice against the author's workplace, gender, professional title, academic honor, etc.
Follow the principle of confidentiality, protect the author's submission information, protect the personal information of authors, reviewers, readers, and develop new reviewers on a regular basis.
Editors should make flexible time schedule for reviewers and ensure they have enough time to complete review work.
Select manuscripts fairly, impartially and promptly, accept or reject articles only based on the scientific, innovative, and clear aspects of the paper, as well as the degree of match with the journal's scope of submission.
Have the obligation to give entire, detailed, and clear revising suggestions for the manuscript to be accepted or to be revised. If the author disagrees with any changes made to the article, editors should give the author response to any complaints, and communicate comprehensively with authors to reach the agreement of changes.
Have the obligation to investigate and communicate academic misconduct. Once there is an academic ethical appeal related to the submission of a paper or the publication of an article, effective response measures must be taken. If necessary, corrections, clarifications, retractions or apologies should be made public in a timely manner.

Policies on Conflicts of Interest

To ensure transparency, objectivity, and fairness in the publication process, all participants (authors, reviewers, and editors) must declare any potential conflicts of interest that could influence their judgment.

Authors: Must declare all financial and non-financial relationships that could be perceived as potential conflicts of interest, such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, patents, and research grants. If there are no conflicts of interest, this should also be explicitly stated (e.g., "The authors declare no conflicts of interest.").
Reviewers: Should decline to review a manuscript if they have a conflict of interest regarding the authors or the research content (e.g., recent collaboration, direct competition, personal relationship) and inform the editorial office immediately.
Editors: Editors and editorial board members must not handle manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest and should delegate the manuscript to another editor for handling.

Policies on Data Sharing and Reproducibility

The journal encourages and supports the sharing of research data to promote transparency and reproducibility in academic research.

Authors should state the availability of their research data in the article. It is strongly recommended that authors deposit the key data supporting their conclusions in a public, trusted repository and provide an access link and a data description in the paper.
The editorial office reserves the right to request raw data for verification during manuscript review or after publication. Authors are obliged to comply.
For research involving software, code, or specific algorithms, authors should provide sufficient detail to allow others to reproduce the results.

Handling of Academic Misconduct

The Journal of Scientific Information Research adheres to strict ethical academic standards and is committed to preventing all forms of academic misconduct. Upon discovery or receipt of an allegation of research misconduct, the Journal will immediately conduct a rigorous investigation following the Committee on Publication Ethics(COPE) guidelines.

Submissions are initially screened for academic misconduct using the CNKI AMLC system (https://check.cnki.net/amlc/). If the similarity check results exceed 6% (or 10% for review articles), the submission process will be terminated

Individuals found to have engaged in simultaneous submission (or multiple submissions), particularly first and corresponding authors, will be blacklisted and their submissions will not be accepted for a period of 5 years. Should published papers be found to involve dual publication (or multiple publications), plagiarism, fabrication, or other forms of academic misconduct,enforcement measures will include blacklisting the authors, retraction of the paper, public notice in the journal and on online platforms, and a lifetime ban on future submissions.

Policy on Ethical Oversight

For studies involving human participants (e.g., surveys, interviews, behavioral observations), authors must state in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained from all participants and that the study protocol was approved by a relevant ethics review committee (e.g., an institutional review board, IRB). If ethical approval was not required for the study, the authors must provide a justification.
For studies using datasets containing personally identifiable information (e.g., GPS trajectories, detailed accident records, travel diaries), authors must provide a detailed description of the data anonymization or de-identification measures taken to protect personal privacy.
All studies must comply with the laws and regulations concerning data protection and personal privacy in their country and region. Authors are responsible for ensuring that data collection and use are compliant.

Policy on Intellectual Property

Copyright: Submission of a manuscript implies that, upon acceptance for publication, copyright will be transferred to the editorial office of the Journal of Scientific Information Research. The Journal allows authors to share and use the article for non-commercial purposes under a specific license agreement (e.g., CC BY-NC-ND).
Permissions: Authors must obtain written permission from the copyright holder to use any copyrighted material (e.g., figures, tables, photographs) in their manuscript and must provide clear attribution in the manuscript.

Post-Publication Discussion Options

Readers may submit comments or different perspectives on published articles via a "Letter to the Editor."
The editorial office will screen these letters, and those of academic value will be sent to the original author(s) for a response.
The letter and the author's response may be published in a specific section of the Journal after peer review to ensure transparent academic discussion.

Policies on Corrections and Retractions

The Journal is committed to maintaining the accuracy of the academic record. If errors that affect the conclusions or credibility of a study are discovered after publication, the following actions will be taken:

Corrigendum/Erratum: For unintentional errors made by the author(s) or the Journal that do not invalidate the study's conclusions, a correction notice will be published
Retraction: For articles involving serious academic misconduct (e.g., data fabrication, plagiarism) or where the findings are entirely unreliable, the article will be retracted. The retraction notice will explain the reason for retraction and be permanently linked to the original article.
Expression of Concern: An expression of concern may be issued if there is inconclusive evidence of misconduct or if an investigation is ongoing, but there are valid concerns about the reliability of the research.

Handling of Complaints and Appeals

The journal is committed to handling complaints and appeals regarding the journal, its staff, or published articles in a prompt, fair, and constructive manner.

Complaint Process: Authors, readers, or other interested parties may file a complaint with the editorial office via the official email address kjqbyj@hninfo.org.cn. The complaint should be clear, specific, and supported by relevant evidence.
Handling Mechanism: The editorial office will acknowledge receipt of the complaint within five working days and initiate an investigation. The Editor-in-Chief will oversee the investigation and may consult with editorial board members or experts in the relevant field. The editorial office will follow the relevant COPE flowcharts.
Appeal Mechanism: If an author disagrees with an academic decision made by the editorial office (e.g., rejection of a manuscript), they may submit an appeal. The appeal letter should detail the reasons and provide justification. The Editor-in-Chief will re-examine the decision-making process or invite new reviewers for arbitration. The outcome of the appeal will be final.

The Journal is committed to following COPE guidelines and taking all necessary measures to prevent academic misconduct, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication, thereby safeguarding the integrity and credibility of the scholarly record.