EDITORIAL ETHICS

Sapiens Scientific Evolution (SEC) maintains a strong commitment to the highest standards of scientific integrity, editorial transparency, academic responsibility, and ethical publishing practices.

The journal adheres to the principles, recommendations, and international standards promoted by:

All individuals involved in the editorial process including authors, reviewers, editors, editorial board members, and editorial staff are expected to act in accordance with these principles throughout manuscript submission, peer review, publication, and post-publication activities.

The journal promotes a culture of responsible research grounded in scientific honesty, transparency, reproducibility, accountability, impartiality, respect for research participants, and preservation of the integrity of the scholarly record.

1. Authorship, Contributions, and ORCID

Authorship must accurately reflect substantial intellectual contributions to the scholarly work.

Authors should have significantly contributed to one or more of the following activities:

Study conception and design.
Data collection, analysis, or interpretation.
Methodological or technical development.
Drafting of the manuscript.
Critical revision of intellectual content.
Approval of the final version.
Accountability for the accuracy and integrity of the work.

All authors must meet internationally recognized authorship criteria and assume public responsibility for the scientific content of the publication.

The journal requires disclosure of individual contributions using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) framework.

In addition, all authors must provide a valid ORCID iD to promote transparency, accurate author identification, scholarly interoperability, and proper attribution of scientific contributions.

Any request to add, remove, or rearrange authors after manuscript submission must be fully justified and accompanied by written consent from all authors involved.

2. Research Ethics

Research submitted to the journal must comply with all applicable national and international ethical standards and regulations.

Research Involving Human Participants

Studies involving human participants must adhere to the principles established in the Declaration of Helsinki and applicable institutional and legal requirements.

Authors must provide:

The name of the ethics committee or Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Ethical approval number or reference code, when applicable.
Confirmation that informed consent was obtained from participants when required.

Research Involving Animals

Studies involving animals must comply with national and international standards for animal welfare and responsible experimentation.

Authors must report the relevant ethical approval and describe measures implemented to minimize animal suffering.

Research Involving Vulnerable Populations

When research involves:

Children and adolescents.
Older adults.
Individuals with disabilities.
Indigenous communities.
Socially or economically vulnerable groups.
Other populations requiring special protection.

Authors must describe the additional ethical safeguards implemented to protect participants.

The journal may request supporting documentation to verify compliance with ethical requirements at any stage of the editorial process.

3. Scientific Integrity and Research Misconduct

The journal does not tolerate any form of scientific misconduct.

Examples of misconduct include, but are not limited to:

Data fabrication.
Data falsification.
Manipulation of results.
Selective reporting of findings.
Plagiarism.
Self-plagiarism.
Duplicate or redundant publication.
Simultaneous submission to multiple journals.
Citation manipulation.
Inappropriate image or figure manipulation.
Undisclosed use of third-party writing services.
Misrepresentation of authorship.
Failure to disclose conflicts of interest.
Concealment of ethical non-compliance.

Allegations or suspicions of misconduct will be investigated in accordance with COPE guidelines and may result in editorial actions before or after publication.

4. Plagiarism and Similarity Screening

All submitted manuscripts undergo similarity screening using specialized plagiarism-detection software.

Similarity reports are evaluated within their scholarly and contextual framework.

A high similarity percentage does not automatically constitute plagiarism. However, evidence of plagiarism, duplicate publication, excessive text reuse, or other forms of unethical publication practice may result in:

Requests for clarification.
Requests for correction.
Rejection of the manuscript.
Retraction of published articles.
Notification of relevant academic institutions when appropriate.

5. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, academic, personal, or political interests that could influence—or be perceived to influence—the editorial process or interpretation of research findings.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not automatically preclude publication.

However, failure to disclose relevant information may lead to corrective editorial actions.

6. Funding Disclosure

Authors must transparently disclose all sources of funding related to the submitted research.

When applicable, authors should identify:

Funding organizations.
Research projects.
Grants or financial support received.
Grant numbers.
The role of funders in study design, execution, analysis, interpretation, or publication decisions.

If no external funding was received, this should be explicitly stated.

7. Data Availability, Transparency, and Reproducibility

Sapiens Scientific Evolution supports the principles of Open Science and promotes transparency and reproducibility in scientific research.

Authors are encouraged, whenever ethically, legally, and technically feasible, to share:

Research datasets.
Study protocols.
Analytical code.
Research instruments.
Supplementary materials.

Authors must provide a Data Availability Statement indicating:

Whether data are available.
Where data can be accessed.
Conditions of access when restrictions apply.
Reasons for unavailability when applicable.

Where data sharing is limited due to ethical, legal, privacy, confidentiality, or intellectual property considerations, appropriate justification must be provided.

The journal may request access to underlying data during the editorial process when necessary to verify the integrity of reported findings.

8. Confidentiality

All submitted manuscripts and related communications are treated as strictly confidential documents.

Editors, reviewers, editorial board members, and editorial staff shall not:

Disclose confidential information.
Use unpublished information for personal or third-party benefit.
Share manuscript content with unauthorized individuals.

Confidentiality obligations remain in effect before, during, and after the editorial process.

9. Ethical Responsibilities

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are expected to:

Ensure the originality and integrity of their research.
Present accurate, verifiable, and complete information.
Comply with applicable ethical standards.
Disclose conflicts of interest and funding sources.
Obtain permissions for copyrighted materials.
Cooperate in post-publication corrections or investigations.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to:

Provide objective, impartial, and constructive evaluations.
Maintain manuscript confidentiality.
Disclose conflicts of interest.
Report potential ethical concerns.
Respect agreed review deadlines.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are expected to:

Ensure fair, transparent, and unbiased editorial decisions.
Preserve editorial independence.
Maintain confidentiality.
Properly manage conflicts of interest.
Protect the integrity of the scholarly record.
Apply internationally recognized ethical standards.

10. Complaints and Appeals

The journal provides mechanisms for submitting complaints, appeals, and communications regarding editorial decisions, publication practices, or alleged scientific misconduct.

All cases will be handled confidentially, objectively, and impartially in accordance with COPE recommendations.

Appeals must be supported by substantive scientific or procedural arguments and will be independently reviewed by the editorial team.

11. Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

When significant errors, ethical concerns, methodological deficiencies, or evidence of scientific misconduct are identified, the journal may implement corrective actions in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Editorial actions may include:

Corrections.
Errata.
Expressions of concern.
Retractions.
Article withdrawal in exceptional circumstances.

Any post-publication amendments will remain clearly identified and linked to the original publication record to preserve transparency and the integrity of the scholarly record.

12. Post-Publication Responsibilities

Authors have an ongoing obligation to notify the journal of any significant errors, omissions, or inaccuracies identified after publication.

The journal may initiate investigations when well-founded concerns are raised by readers, reviewers, institutions, funding agencies, or other stakeholders.

When necessary, academic institutions, ethics committees, or funding organizations may be notified as part of ethical investigation procedures.

Final Statement

Sapiens Scientific Evolution reaffirms its commitment to scientific integrity, editorial independence, transparency, research reproducibility, and internationally recognized standards of scholarly publishing.

The journal promotes a culture of responsible, ethical, and verifiable research aimed at advancing scientific knowledge and preserving a trustworthy scholarly record of international relevance.

All editorial decisions are based exclusively on academic merit, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, and the manuscript’s relevance to the journal’s mission, scope, and interdisciplinary focus on sustainable transformations, socioecological systems, territorial development, governance, resilience, and innovation for sustainable development.