Code of Ethics and Good Practices

Publication Ethics

Elektron is committed to ensuring scientific integrity and upholding the highest standards of ethical behavior at all stages of the editorial process. The journal strictly follows the guidelines and actions recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The following responsibilities and expectations are detailed for authors, reviewers, and editors.

Responsibilities of Authors

  1. Data Integrity: Maintain accurate records of data associated with the submitted manuscript and provide access to them upon a reasonable request from the Editorial Board.

  2. Originality and Exclusivity: Guarantee that the manuscript is original and is not being simultaneously evaluated by any other publication. Any overlapping content must be rigorously cited.

  3. Citations and Acknowledgments: Properly acknowledge and cite all sources used. It is the authors' responsibility to obtain the necessary permissions to reproduce any copyrighted material.

  4. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest: Explicitly report any financial, institutional, or personal interests that could unduly influence the publication process.

  5. Notification of Errors: Promptly notify the editorial team if a significant error is identified in a published or under-review article, cooperating in the issuance of errata or retractions if necessary.

  6. Responsible Authorship: Ensure that all signatories have significantly contributed to the work, reviewed the final version, and accept responsibility for the reported results. All sources of funding must be declared.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

  1. Confidentiality: Treat assigned manuscripts as strictly confidential documents. Any consultation with colleagues regarding the material requires prior authorization from the editor in charge.

  2. Impartiality and Objectivity: Provide technical and respectful reports within the established deadlines.

  3. Conflict of Interest Management: Notify the editor and decline the review if any conflicts of interest exist, including close collaborative or competitive relationships with the authors.

  4. Intellectual Integrity: Do not use information or data contained in manuscripts under review for personal benefit.

  5. Reporting Irregularities: Inform the editor of any suspicion of plagiarism, data fabrication, result manipulation, or unusual text recycling (self-plagiarism).

Responsibilities of Editors

  1. Scientific Quality Enhancement: Contribute to objective decision-making and guide authors to improve the technical quality of their work.

  2. Confidentiality and Transparency: Safeguard the identity of reviewers and maintain the confidentiality of information provided by authors.

  3. Neutrality: Act impartially without bias regarding gender, orientation, origin, or institutional affiliation.

  4. Handling Complaints: Formally investigate any report of unethical conduct, granting authors the right to reply.

Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism Detection

Elektron uses advanced similarity detection tools. In cases of suspected plagiarism, the journal follows COPE procedures, which may include requesting formal clarification from the author or contacting the author's home institution for a formal investigation. Text recycling (self-plagiarism) is not accepted, except in cases where previous research is expanded or part of a thesis, provided it is properly disclosed and cited.