Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Public Administration & Policy (PAP) is dedicating to advancing public administration scholarship by publishing the highest quality theoretical and empirical work in the field. Public Administration & Policy (PAP) is multidisciplinary and includes within its scope administrative, political, humanities & social scientific and policy-based research that improves our understanding of the public sector. 

Public Administration & Policy (PAP) adopts the provisions of the “Publishing Ethics” recommended by Elsevier and the “Guidelines” recommended by the Commission on Publication Ethics (COPE), which includes the duties of the authors, editors and reviewers.

Duties of Authors

Reporting Standards

Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Data Access and Retention

Authors should be prepared to provide public access to research data and should be prepared to retain such data for editorial review and/or to comply with the open data requirements of the journal.

Originality and Plagiarism 

The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited or quoted and permission has been obtained where necessary. 

Plagiarism takes many forms, from “passing off” another’s paper as the author’s own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another’s paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical behavior and is unacceptable.

Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication

In general, an author should not submit for consideration in another journal a paper that has been published previously. An author should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal of primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical behavior and is unacceptable. In accordance with international academic practice, papers that have been read at academic conferences at home and abroad are regarded as unpublished works, and are welcome to be revised and submitted to Public Administration & Policy (PAP).

Acknowledgement of Sources

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have influenced the reported work and that give the work appropriate context within the larger scholarly record. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source.

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 reported study.  All those who have made substantial contributions should be listed as co-authors.

Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the paper, they should be recognized in the acknowledgements section.

The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Declaration of Competing Interests

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could be viewed as inappropriately influencing (bias) their work. All sources of financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article should be disclosed.

Examples of potential conflicts of interest which should be disclosed include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed at the earliest possible stage.

Notification of Fundamental Errors

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper if deemed necessary by the editor. If the editor or the publisher learn from a third party that a published work contains an error, it is the obligation of the author to cooperate with the editor, including providing evidence to the editor where requested.

Duties of Editors

Publication decisions

For the manuscript that has completed “peer review”, the editorial committee may decide whether to publish, reject or request other review according to the content, format and review opinions of the article. Works that have met the examination and approval must still be confirmed by the editorial committee of Public Administration & Policy (PAP) whether the degree of revision of the article meets the requirement before publication. The author will be notified of the results of the review in due course.

Fair Play

The editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Confidentiality 

Editors and those assisting in editing shall not disclose any information about the original manuscript to anyone except individual authors, review committees, editorial consultants and publisher of the journal. 

Disclosure & Competing Interest

1. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.

2. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.

3. When the editor believes that there’s a conflict of interest with the submitting author, enterprise, organization, etc., he/she must recuse himself/herself from the review of the manuscript and request the editorial board to act as an agent. 

4. Any potential editorial conflicts of interest should be declared to the editor, and then updated if and when new conflicts arise. 

5. If a conflict of interest is revealed after publication, it is necessary to take measures such as issuing correction instructions, revocation of publication or declaration of interest.

Vigilance over the Published Record

When there is a violation of the ethics of the submitted work, the editor should take appropriate measures, include contacting the author of the manuscript or paper and giving due consideration to the respective complaint or claims made, in conjunction with the publisher (or printing agency). An editor presented with convincing evidence of misconduct should coordinate with the publisher (and/or the printing agency) to arrange the prompt publication of a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other correction to the record, as may be relevant. Retrospective effect can still be applied to published works.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Any selected reviewer 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 decline to participate in the review process.

Confidentiality 

Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not share the review or information about the paper with anyone or contact the authors directly without permission from the editor.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively.  Reviewers should be aware of any personal bias they may have and take this into account when reviewing a paper. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. 

Acknowledgement of Sources

Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation.

A reviewer should be alert to potential ethical issues in the paper and should bring these to the attention of the editor, including any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which the reviewer has personal knowledge. 

Disclosure & Competing Interest

Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.