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Publishing Ethics

Scientific honesty and the safeguarding of good scientific practice, fairness, and transparency have constituted the foundations of our editorial and publishing practices over the 40-year history of Historical Social Research. Along with this, it is important that we build and maintain a trusting and long-term relationship with our authors and guest editors. The HSR editors, guest editors, reviewers and the editorial team are committed to the following ethical standards and instructions for handling submitted manuscripts and all actors involved in the publication process, which have been formulated in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Fairness and Editorial Autonomy

Submitted contributions will be assessed for scientific worth (importance, originality, validity, clarity) and relevance in the field of application of the journal by the editors, guest editors, reviewers, and the editorial team. The ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation and identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, and institutional affiliation of the authors should not play a role in the evaluation of submitted contributions. The editors and editorial team are responsible for the time of publication.

Confidentiality

Submitted contributions and personal data will be handled carefully and sensitively in accordance with data protection and copyright laws. Editors and the editorial team will not give any information regarding submitted contributions to anyone outside of other authors and (potential) reviewers. All individuals involved with the publication process may not share or use any information regarding the manuscripts or their contents without explicit, written consent from the authors. Confidential information or ideas obtained as a result of the processing of submitted contributions should be handled confidentially and should not be used for personal benefit.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

The editors, guest editors, reviewers, and members of the editorial team should disclose any possible conflicts of interests to the editorial staff due to competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with the authors, companies, or institutions and refuse the evaluation of the submitted contributions. In this case, the editorial team will find another person to evaluate the submitted contributions.

Publication Decisions

The editors alone are responsible for deciding which contributions will be published. The criteria for selection should be based on the assessment of the contribution’s relevance for researchers and readers, and legal requirements such as observing copyright laws and the originality of the contribution.

Scientific Honesty and Scientific Misconduct

If unethical publishing behavior is suspected, the editors and editorial team will take all necessary steps to clarify the situation. In order to process any suspected wrongdoing, the editors and editorial team will orient themselves to the COPE Flowcharts.

Cooperation with Authors

The publisher is committed to professionally advising the authors and editors throughout all phases of the publication process and to reliably communicate each stage of the process. Corrections to the manuscripts will be implemented in collaboration with the authors in question.

Publishing ethics for authors can be found here.