Publishing Policies
Publication ethics & Responsibility
SABA is committed to upholding the integrity of the work we publish. The value of academic publishing relies on everyone involved behaving ethically. The following points are only intended to give a broad overview and are not exhaustive. We encourage our authors and editors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) website. SABA believes strongly in maintaining an accurate academic record and ascribes to COPE’s Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.
SABA is committed to:
- maintaining the editorial independence of journal editors
- supporting journal editors to run their journals ethically and transparently
- maintaining an accurate and transparent academic record, including publishing corrections and retractions when necessary
Authors
Authors should ensure that:
- their work is original and written by them
- their work has not been previously published and has been submitted only to the journal
- where material is taken from other sources (including their own published writing) the source is clearly cited and that where appropriate permission is obtained
- their work does not infringe on any rights of others, including privacy rights and intellectual property rights
- their data is true and not manipulated
- their data is their own or that they have permission to use data reproduced in their paper
- any real or apparent conflicting or competing interest is clearly stated on submission of their paper (this would include funding assistance)
- they adhere to all research ethics guidelines of their discipline, particularly where human or animal subjects are involved
- they contact the Editor to identify and correct any material errors upon discovery, whether prior or subsequent to publication of their work
- authorship of the paper is accurately represented, including ensuring that all individuals credited as authors participated in the actual authorship of the work and that all who participated are credited and have given consent for publication
Above all, authors should be transparent. For example, if an author is not sure whether her paper is original (for instance, whether it might constitute duplicate publication), she should inform the journal’s editor. If the editor decides it is appropriate to publish, the paper itself should state clearly any potential overlap.
Reviewers
Reviewers must:
- maintain the confidentiality of the review process
- immediately alert their journal editor of any real or potential competing interest that could affect the impartiality of their reviewing and decline to review where appropriate
- conduct themselves fairly and impartially
We are aware, of course, that academics will come from a particular school of thought and/or may have strong ties to a particular interest. All we ask is that reviewers strive to act fairly. If in doubt about whether a conflict exists, a reviewer should be transparent and seek the views of the journal editor.
Editors
Editors should:
- maintain and promote consistent ethical policies for their journals
- oversee and act to enforce those policies as needed in a fair and consistent manner
- ensure the confidentiality of the review process
- exercise the highest standards of personal integrity in their work as editor of the journal, recognising and planning for instances where they could have a competing interest or the appearance of a competing interest
- work with authors, reviewers, and Editorial Board members as necessary to ensure they are sufficiently advised regarding their journals’ ethics and publishing policies and that the journal’s stewardship on ethical matters is fair, unbiased, and timely
Everyone including Editorial Boards
- We should promote fairness and equality and oppose discrimination
- We should promote the transparency of and respect for the academic record
- We should respect the confidentiality of others
- We should be transparent about real or apparent competing interests
Plagiarism
Journal of ELT Studies and SABA take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.
Prior publication
If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a SABA journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication.
SABA follows the COPE Guidelines in addressing potential Redundant Publication. To avoid the need for corrective action after publication, please disclose any prior publication or distribution of your manuscript to the Editor when submitting your manuscript to the journal. It is important to ensure appropriate attribution to your prior publication of the material is included in the manuscript and that any quoted materials are identified as quotes so that readers of your article may reference the original work.
If a substantial portion of your manuscript has been previously published, your manuscript will generally not be acceptable for publication in a SABA journal. However, subject to each journal’s policy, there are certain circumstances where material that has been publicly distributed may be considered for publication. You should first review the ‘Instructions to Authors’ for the journal you are interested in submitting to (found on the journal’s website) to review that journal’s policy. You should also include a description of any prior distribution of any part of your manuscript when submitting your manuscript to the journal and within the manuscript itself.
Open Access
All articles published by SABA are made immediately available worldwide under an open access license. SABA open access journals all publish articles under Creative Commons licences. The standard licence is Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License(CC BY ).
This means:
- everyone has free and unlimited access to the full-text of all articles published in SABA journals
- everyone is free to re-use the published material if proper accreditation/citation of the original publication is given
Permissions
No special permission is required to reuse all or part of article published by SABA, including figures and tables. For articles published under an open access Creative Common CC BY license, any part of the article may be reused without permission provided that the original article is clearly cited. Reuse of an article does not imply endorsement by the authors or SABA.
Copyright and Licensing
For all articles published in SABA journals, copyright is retained by the authors. Articles are licensed under an open access Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, meaning that anyone may download and read the paper for free. In addition, the article may be reused and quoted provided that the original published version is cited. These conditions allow for maximum use and exposure of the work, while ensuring that the authors receive proper credit.
Digital Archiving
OJS LOCKSS system serves as an inter-library distributed archiving system. SABA Journals use this system with the aim of making permanent archives (for preservation and restoration).