ETHICAL STANDARDS
Ethical Standards of Publishing and Associated Editorial Policies
Ethical standards of publishing exist to motivate authors to publish high-quality scientific articles that contribute to science and practice and to ensure public trust in scientific discoveries. Editors, reviewers, and authors must adhere to ethical principles in accordance with these guidelines.
Ethical standards of publishing define the criteria that all articles must meet to prevent various ethical violations, including:
- Fabrication and falsification of data and research results;
- Unethical research and writing practices;
- Submitting the same article to more than one journal simultaneously;
- Plagiarism – Authors are required to submit a scanned and signed Statement of Originality of the paper. All papers submitted to the journal are subject to originality checks using the Thenticate Professional Plagiarism Prevention program.
Journal Policy on Authorship and Author Contributions
All individuals listed as authors must have given consent to be authors of the submitted paper, made a significant scientific contribution to the research, and agreed with the presented claims. Authorship is based on contributions to the conception and content of the paper, obtaining results, analysis of results, design of the paper, and final critical review before preparation for publication. When writing a paper, authors should adhere to ethical principles. Anyone who has contributed to the research but is not listed as an author should be acknowledged with their permission.
Handling Complaints and Appeals
The editorial board of the journal is responsible for handling complaints and appeals in case of ethical standards violations. The editorial board decides on the course of action for resolving complaints and provides feedback to the complainant. If the complainant remains dissatisfied with the handling, further action will be taken in accordance with applicable regulations.
Reporting Research Misconduct
In case of ethical standards violations when publishing papers in the journal, the editorial board will request a written explanation from the author if all necessary elements are included in the complaint. If the complaint is founded, the editorial board will take the following actions depending on the situation: if the paper is published, it will be retracted; if the complaint is made during the review process, revisions will be requested; and if a response is not received within the specified time frame or the explanation is unsatisfactory, the paper may be retracted or rejected. The complainant will be promptly informed of the outcome of the complaint, after which the matter will be considered closed.
Journal Policy on Conflict of Interest
Authors should disclose in their paper any financial or other substantial conflicts of interest that could affect the presented research results or their interpretation. Likewise, the editor and reviewers are required to disclose any conflict of interest with the author of the paper. If a conflict of interest exists, the person involved will be excluded from the review process.
If the submitted manuscript is the result of a scientific research project, it is necessary to state the name and number of the project at the bottom of the last page of the manuscript, as well as the name of the institution that funded the project. If the manuscript was previously presented at a conference as an oral presentation (under the same or similar title), this information should be noted on the first page of the article before the abstract.
Journal Policy on Data Distribution and Research Reproducibility
In accordance with the Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), authors grant the publisher the right to publish the article, distribute it in all forms and media, and be cited as its original publisher in the event of its further use. The material must not be used for commercial purposes.
Journal Policy on Ethical Oversight
The ethical code of the journal Novi Ekonomist is based on the guidelines and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org/guidance).
Journal Policy on Intellectual Property
The journal Novi Ekonomist takes all necessary and legal measures to protect intellectual property.
Journal Options for Post-Publication Discussions
The journal Novi Ekonomist allows discussion of papers after publication through correspondence with the editor-in-chief.
Journal Policy on Corrections and Retractions
If it is determined that there has been a violation of ethical standards—such as fabrication and falsification of data and research results, unethical research and writing practices, submitting the same article to more than one journal simultaneously, plagiarism, etc.—the published paper must be retracted. Additionally, a published paper may be retracted to correct any subsequently discovered errors. If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published paper, they are obliged to immediately notify the journal's editor or publisher and cooperate with them to retract the paper or publish an appropriate correction. The retracted paper will be retained in its original form, but each page of the PDF document will be marked with a watermark stating RETRACTED, indicating that the paper has been retracted.
Authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers are responsible for preventing ethical standard violations.
Responsibilities of authors
Authors should write papers in accordance with ethical standards. When an author submits a paper, they sign a form titled: Author Statement of Originality. This confirms that:
- The paper is original and entirely the result of the author's research, does not contain parts of texts previously published, and does not violate any proprietary or copyright rights.
- Authors fully assume responsibility for the conducted research, analysis, interpretation of data, and conclusions.
- The bibliographic references used are clearly cited within the paper and in the literature section.
- The sources of graphs, images, or quotations from other authors are clearly highlighted in accordance with standards.
- Authors have obtained permission from copyright holders to include those parts in the paper.
- The paper (or part of the paper) has not been published and will not be submitted in physical or electronic form for publication to any other journal or publication.
- All data in the paper are true and authentic; otherwise, authors should be prepared for the possibility of retraction of the paper or correction of errors.
Authors should disclose in their paper any financial or other substantial conflicts of interest that could affect the presented research results or their interpretation.
Responsibilities of reviewers
Reviewers must not have any conflicts of interest with the authors and/or the sponsors of the research. A reviewer should be competent in the specific scientific field of the submitted paper. Each paper should receive unique reviews that cannot be identical to reviews of other papers. Reviews should include the reviewer’s expert opinion on the value of the paper, a recommendation for publication, categorization, relevance assessment, and the article's compliance with the Authors' Guidelines and the Article Writing Template. The review should contribute to the decision-making process and help the author improve the quality of the paper through communication with the editor.
Any selected reviewer who knows they will be unable to complete the review within the specified timeframe should notify the editor and decline to participate in the review process. All manuscripts must be treated as confidential documents; reviewers must not share the review or information about the paper. Information obtained through the review must be confidential and must not be copied or retained.
Reviewers should alert the editor if any potential ethical issues are identified in the article.
Responsibilities of Editors
The editor must ensure that the review process is fair, impartial, and timely, preventing any discrimination against authors on any grounds. The editor has complete responsibility and authority to accept or reject an article. The editor must not have any conflict of interest regarding the articles they accept or reject.
The editor should protect the identities of the reviewers. The editor must safeguard the confidentiality of all materials submitted to the journal and all communications with reviewers.
The journal's editorial policy should promote transparency and thorough, honest reporting. The editor should ensure that reviewers and authors clearly understand what is expected of them.
In the case of complaints about violations of the criteria that articles must meet according to ethical publishing standards, the editor should implement appropriate procedures in accordance with the regulations governing this area.
Responsibilities of the Publisher
The Faculty of Business Economics Bijeljina, as the publisher of the scientific journal Novi Ekonomist, will ensure the maintenance of good practices as defined by the above standards. The publisher plays a key role in providing support, resources, and nurturing the process of scientific communication.