Our Ethics of Publication

Scientific integrity and fairness are the very heart of our business.

In handling a submitted manuscript or when dealing with the persons involved in the publishing process, we respects disctinct ethical standards. These follow the COPE guidelines (Committee on Publication Ethics).

All manuscripts will be examined before publication. We verify their compliance with scientific and ethical standards as well as the quality of their content. Part of this is a check for plagiarism, f.e. by using software such as PlagScan or PlagAware.
 

Obligations of the Publisher

DECISION TO PUBLISH A MANUSCRIPT

When it comes to deciding whether a manuscript will be accepted or not, many people are involved: the publisher's editing team, the editors of the relevant publication series and—if applicable—their scientific advisory board as well as other experts. The criteria for the evaluation of a manuscript are:

• Compliance with the publisher's program policy,

• Authenticity of the manuscript,

• Compliance with scientific integrity and fairness,

• Favorable reviews,

• No infringement of copyright laws.

The publisher will come to a decision by objectively assessing the manuscript along these criteria. They will do this independantly of the author's provenance, sex, age, sexual orientation, religion, ethnical affiliation, etc.
 

SCIENTIFIC INTEGRITY AND FAIRNESS

In case of a suspected breach of scientific integrity, the publisher will take all necessary steps to clarify the situation.

The publisher will reveal every violation of scientific integrity and fairness in all submitted manuscripts. They will—if applicable—contact the relevant institution, resort to legal measures and rectify the manuscript in question or refuse its publication, expecially in case of ghostwriting, guest authorship or plagiarism.

Should any breach be revealed after publication, the publisher will decide on how to proceed dealing with the book in question. The publisher respects the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
 

CONFIDENTIALITY

All submitted manuscript as well as the personal data of every person involved in the publishing process will be treated as confidential and with diligence in respect to data protection and copyright laws. The publisher's Privacy Policy applies.

Data which might serve to identify the author will be removed from the manuscript before it is passed on to the reviewer for examination. The same applies for the reviewer's data which will be removed before passing on their review.

Every person involved in the publishing process with access to a submitted manuscript and to personal data has to treat these as confidential and with adequate care. They have to protect them from being accessed by third parties. Also, they must not forward any information regarding a manuscript or its content to a third party nor use it for their own purpose.
 

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Every person involved in the publishing process must reveal and/or rule out a possible conflict of interest before the decision regarding the acceptal or refusal of a manuscript.

Should a conflict of interest become known after publication of a book, the publisher will decide how to proceed.
 

COLLABORATION WITH AUTHORS

The publisher undertakes to advise authors and editors during all stages in a professional manner. All steps of the publishing process will be diligently communicated. Rectifications in the manuscript are mutually coordinated.

Should mistakes become known after publication of a book, the publisher is obligated to rectify them and/or to publish errata or a rectification.
 

Obligations of the Author

AUTHORSHIP

Authors and editors will unequivocally state the authorship of a manuscript. They will name all persons who significantly contributed to the submitted manuscript. Possible contributions of other persons to the manuscript must be stated therein.

The author will procure the consent of all co-authors—if applicable—to a submission of the manuscript to Frank & Timme. They will do the same for issuing of the printing approval.
 

AUTHENTICITY AND PRIORITY OF PUBLICATION

Authors and editors guarantee the authenticity of the submitted manuscript.

Should a manuscript already have been published elsewhere or in another language without clearly stating this, it will be excluded from publication.

A manuscript which has been accepted for publication at Frank & Timme must not published—neither entirely nor in parts—by another publisher.
 

INTEGRITY AND HONESTY

Authors and editors undertake to respect the principle of scientific integrity, honesty and fairness. This is especially valid when working with citations.

Authors will write their manuscripts based on the relevant contemporary research literature and will make mention of this in their work. Every part of the text which is not the intellectual property of the author must be marked with a bibliographical entry.

Should oral or written communication be quoted, it is presupposed that the printing permission of the originator has been obtained.
 

RECTIFICATIONS

Authors are to follow the publisher's recommendations and comments. This is also valid for corrections to the manuscripts, f.e. if these were suggested by the reviewer. Authors are to correct their work and examine the galleys in the term agreed.

Should an author discover a mistake in an already published book, they will inform the publisher of this. The latter will rectify the mistake and decide on the way of making this known.
 

FINANCING / CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Authors and editors will inform the publisher, should a possible conflict of interest exist. This might f.e. result from research funded by a third party.
 

Obligations of the Reviewer

Reviewers undertake to inform the publisher immediately if

• The manuscript in question causes a conflict of interest,

• They are able to identify the author,

• They cannot review the manuscript due to a lack of time or competence, or

• They suspect a violation of scientific integrity.

The manuscript entrusted to them for examination will be treated by the reviewer as confidential. They will adhere to secrecy toward third parties. They will also respect the copyright laws the manuscript is subject to as well as any data protection aspects.

Reviewers undertake to examine the texts entrusted to them in an objective an factual manner. They will use the review form provided by the publisher. Mistakes and necessary rectifications must bei unequivocally stated in this form.

If you have questions, do not hesitate to ask us.

Astrid Matthes
Phone: +49 (0)30 8866 7912
E-Mail: a.matthes@frank-timme.de