Publication Ethics & Malpractice Policy
The purpose of this policy is to:
Promote integrity and ethical conduct throughout the publishing process.
Protect the reliability and credibility of the published scholarly record.
Establish clear expectations for authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher.
Prevent plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, and other forms of misconduct.
Provide a transparent framework for responding to suspected or confirmed publication misconduct.
Support appropriate corrections and other post-publication actions when concerns affect the published record.
This policy should be read together with the SB Knowledge Press policies on Authorship & Contributorship, Conflict of Interest, Peer Review & Editorial, Research Integrity & Misconduct, Copyright & Licensing, AI Use & Disclosure, and Corrections, Retractions & Post-Publication.
This policy applies to publications and publishing activities of SB Knowledge Press, including, where applicable:
Authored books
Edited books and edited volumes
Textbooks and reference works
Research and academic books
Conference proceedings
Professional and educational publications
Other scholarly or research-based works published by SB Knowledge Press
It applies to authors, co-authors, editors, contributors, reviewers, editorial personnel, and other individuals involved in the publication process.
SB Knowledge Press's approach to publication ethics is based on the following principles:
Integrity: Authors and contributors are expected to present their work honestly and accurately.
Originality: Submitted work should be original and should appropriately acknowledge the work of others.
Transparency: Relevant information concerning authorship, funding, conflicts of interest, permissions, and the use of AI or third-party material should be disclosed appropriately.
Accountability: Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of their submitted work.
Fairness: Editorial and assessment decisions should be made fairly and on appropriate professional and scholarly grounds.
Confidentiality: Confidential information obtained during editorial assessment or review should be handled appropriately.
Correction of the Record: When credible evidence shows that a published work contains a significant error or unreliable information, appropriate corrective action should be considered.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submissions:
Represent their own original work or appropriately acknowledge the contributions of others.
Do not contain plagiarized, fabricated, falsified, or misleading material.
Accurately represent research methods, findings, sources, and supporting information.
Properly acknowledge relevant sources and contributors.
Comply with applicable copyright and permissions requirements.
Meet relevant research-ethics requirements.
Disclose relevant conflicts of interest.
Disclose significant use of AI tools in accordance with the AI Use & Disclosure Policy.
Do not contain knowingly false or misleading information.
Are not simultaneously submitted for publication elsewhere where such simultaneous submission would conflict with an applicable agreement or publishing requirement.
Authors should promptly inform SB Knowledge Press if they identify a significant error in their submitted or published work.
Plagiarism includes presenting another person's words, ideas, data, images, structure, or other intellectual contribution as one's own without appropriate acknowledgment.
Examples may include:
Direct copying without quotation or attribution.
Substantial unattributed paraphrasing.
Presenting another person's ideas or research findings as original.
Reusing substantial portions of one's own previously published work without appropriate disclosure or permission where required.
Using third-party figures, tables, photographs, illustrations, or other protected material without appropriate permission or attribution.
SB Knowledge Press may request clarification, revision, documentation, permissions, or other appropriate action when plagiarism or unauthorized reuse is suspected.
Serious or confirmed cases may result in rejection, withdrawal, correction, or other action appropriate to the circumstances.
Fabrication
Fabrication means making up data, results, sources, experiments, observations, or other research information and presenting them as genuine.
Falsification
Falsification includes manipulating, altering, omitting, or misrepresenting research materials, methods, data, results, images, or other information in a way that may produce a misleading representation of the work.
Such conduct may constitute serious research or publication misconduct.
Where concerns are raised about research integrity, SB Knowledge Press may seek clarification or supporting information and may involve the relevant institution or responsible authority where appropriate.
Authors should not submit or publish substantially the same work through multiple publication channels in a manner that creates duplicate or misleading publication records.
Authors should disclose relevant previous publications, pre-publication versions, related works, or substantial overlap where applicable.
Where substantial inappropriate duplication is identified, SB Knowledge Press may take appropriate editorial or post-publication action.
Authors are expected to:
Cite relevant sources accurately.
Avoid deliberately misleading citation practices.
Give appropriate credit to original research and ideas.
Avoid unnecessary or excessive citation intended primarily to manipulate perceived impact or visibility.
Ensure that references reasonably support the claims for which they are cited.
Citation errors should be corrected when they materially affect the accuracy or integrity of a publication.
Authorship should reflect genuine and substantive contributions to the work.
All listed authors should:
Have made an appropriate contribution to the work.
Approve the submitted version where applicable.
Accept responsibility for their contribution.
Agree to the submission and publication arrangements.
Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the applicable authorship criteria may be acknowledged appropriately.
Authorship disputes should normally be addressed among the authors and, where necessary, through the relevant institution or responsible authority. SB Knowledge Press may suspend consideration of a submission while an authorship dispute is being resolved.
Detailed requirements are provided in the Authorship & Contributorship Policy.
Authors, editors, reviewers, and other relevant contributors should disclose conflicts of interest that could reasonably influence, or appear to influence, their work or decisions.
Potential conflicts may include:
Financial interests
Employment or professional relationships
Personal relationships
Institutional interests
Consulting or commercial relationships
Intellectual or competitive interests
Other relevant relationships or circumstances
The existence of a conflict does not necessarily prevent publication or participation in the editorial process; appropriate disclosure and management are the primary considerations.
Detailed requirements are provided in the Conflict of Interest Policy.
Research involving human participants, animals, clinical activities, vulnerable populations, sensitive personal information, or other ethically regulated areas should comply with applicable ethical and regulatory requirements.
Where applicable, authors may be required to provide information regarding:
Ethics committee or institutional approval
Informed consent
Consent for publication
Animal welfare requirements
Protection of personal or confidential information
Registration of relevant studies
Other discipline-specific ethical requirements
SB Knowledge Press may request appropriate documentation where ethical oversight is relevant to a publication.
Detailed requirements are provided in the Research Ethics & Ethical Oversight Policy.
Authors should maintain appropriate records supporting the research, analysis, and conclusions presented in their work.
Where applicable, authors should provide sufficient methodological information to allow readers and qualified researchers to understand and evaluate the work.
Requirements relating to data availability, supporting materials, and reproducibility are addressed in the Data Availability & Reproducibility Policy.
AI tools may be used in accordance with the SB Knowledge Press AI Use & Disclosure Policy.
Authors remain responsible for:
The accuracy of submitted content.
The originality and integrity of the work.
Verification of AI-generated or AI-assisted content.
Appropriate disclosure of significant AI use.
Copyright and intellectual-property considerations.
Compliance with ethical and publishing requirements.
AI tools should not be listed as authors.
Editors and reviewers are expected to:
Treat submitted material confidentially.
Assess work fairly and objectively within the scope of their role.
Avoid inappropriate personal, professional, or competitive bias.
Disclose relevant conflicts of interest.
Avoid using unpublished information obtained through the editorial or review process for personal advantage.
Raise credible concerns about potential misconduct through appropriate channels.
The specific review process applicable to a publication is described in the Peer Review & Editorial Policy.
SB Knowledge Press takes credible allegations of publication or research misconduct seriously, whether concerns arise before or after publication.
Concerns may be raised by:
Authors
Editors
Reviewers
Researchers
Readers
Institutions
Other relevant stakeholders
Where appropriate, concerns should include sufficient information and supporting evidence to allow an informed assessment.
Anonymous concerns may also be considered where they contain credible and sufficiently specific information.
When a credible concern is received, SB Knowledge Press may conduct an initial assessment to determine:
Whether the concern falls within the scope of this policy.
Whether sufficient information is available.
Whether clarification should be requested from the author or other relevant party.
Whether additional documentation or evidence is required.
Whether the matter should be referred to an institution, ethics committee, or other appropriate authority.
Not every allegation will constitute misconduct, and an allegation alone will not automatically establish wrongdoing.
Depending on the nature and seriousness of the concern, SB Knowledge Press may:
Request an explanation or supporting documentation.
Consult relevant editors or reviewers.
Seek information from an author's institution or responsible organization.
Request clarification concerning data, sources, permissions, or research procedures.
Cooperate with other publishers or institutions where a matter involves multiple publications or organizations.
Where an institutional investigation is appropriate, SB Knowledge Press may take publishing action based on credible information available to it while respecting applicable confidentiality and procedural requirements.
COPE recommends that publishers and journals take allegations seriously and maintain clear procedures for handling concerns before and after publication.
Depending on the circumstances and available evidence, possible actions may include:
No further action where concerns are not substantiated.
Request for clarification or additional information.
Correction or amendment of a manuscript before publication.
Rejection or withdrawal of a submission.
Correction of a published work.
Publication of an appropriate editorial notice.
Expression of concern where appropriate.
Retraction or withdrawal of a published work where warranted.
Referral to an appropriate institution or authority.
Other proportionate action consistent with the applicable publishing agreement and circumstances.
The appropriate response will depend on the nature, seriousness, evidence, and effect of the concern on the reliability of the publication.
Where an error or integrity concern materially affects a published work, SB Knowledge Press may consider appropriate post-publication action.
Generally:
Minor errors that do not materially affect the work may require limited correction.
Significant errors affecting the interpretation or reliability of the work may require a formal correction.
Unreliable or invalid findings or serious publication-integrity concerns may warrant retraction or another appropriate editorial notice.
Corrections and retractions will be handled in accordance with the Corrections, Retractions & Post-Publication Policy.
COPE guidance emphasizes maintaining the integrity of the published record and using corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when evidence warrants such action.
SB Knowledge Press will handle allegations and related information with appropriate confidentiality, subject to:
Applicable law
Contractual obligations
The need to investigate the concern properly
The need to protect the integrity of the publishing process
Information that must be disclosed to relevant authorities or institutions
Personal information will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Policy.
SB Knowledge Press aims to handle publication-ethics concerns fairly and consistently.
Individuals involved in an allegation will be given a reasonable opportunity to provide relevant information or clarification where appropriate.
An allegation should not itself be treated as proof of misconduct.
Where an editorial or publishing decision is subject to an appeal or complaint, the applicable Complaints & Appeals Policy will apply.
SB Knowledge Press may maintain appropriate records relating to:
Allegations and concerns
Supporting documentation
Communications
Investigations and assessments
Editorial decisions
Corrections, retractions, or other actions
Records will be retained and handled in accordance with applicable legal, contractual, privacy, and organizational requirements.
SB Knowledge Press encourages individuals to raise genuine concerns about publication integrity.
Reports should be made responsibly and should contain factual information wherever possible.
SB Knowledge Press does not support knowingly false, malicious, or deliberately misleading allegations. At the same time, a concern raised in good faith will not be treated as misconduct merely because it is ultimately found to be unsubstantiated.
This policy should be read together with the following SB Knowledge Press policies:
Authorship & Contributorship Policy
Conflict of Interest Policy
Complaints & Appeals Policy
Peer Review & Editorial Policy
Research Integrity & Misconduct Policy
Research Ethics & Ethical Oversight Policy
Data Availability & Reproducibility Policy
Copyright & Licensing Policy
AI Use & Disclosure Policy
Corrections, Retractions & Post-Publication Policy
These policies address specific areas in greater detail and should be applied according to the nature of the publication and circumstances involved. This policy structure broadly reflects the areas identified in established publication-ethics frameworks.
SB Knowledge Press may review and update this policy periodically to reflect developments in publishing ethics, research practices, technology, applicable requirements, and organizational procedures.
The version applicable to a particular publication or publishing agreement may depend on the terms communicated to the relevant parties.
Our Commitment
We believe that responsible publishing requires shared commitment from authors, editors, reviewers, institutions, and publishers. By maintaining clear ethical standards and responding appropriately to credible concerns, we aim to protect the quality and reliability of the publications we publish.