Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement
Publishers and editors of World of Media shall take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred. In no case shall a publisher or editors encourage such misconduct, or knowingly allow such misconduct to take place. In the event that a journal’s publisher or editors are made aware of any allegation of research misconduct the publisher or editor shall deal with allegations appropriately. Publishers and editors shall always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed.
The following duties outlined for editors, authors, and reviewers are based on the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors. Editors, authors, and reviewers will also adhere to the World of Media submission guideline policies.
Duties of editors
Fair play
The editors evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to the nature of the authors or the host institution including race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
Confidentiality
The editors must ensure that information regarding manuscripts submitted by the authors is kept confidential.
Disclosure and conflicts of interest
Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.
Publication decisions
The editor-in-chief is responsible for final decision which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. Each article is submitted for anonymous peer-reviewing by two reviewers, who will make a recommendation to accept, reject, or modify the manuscript. World of Media does not disclose reviewers’ identities to the authors and authors’ identities to the reviewers. When making final decision about publication, editor-in-chief must ensure the article received approval from both reviewers. In case a manuscript is recommended for publication by one reviewer and rejected by another one, the manuscript is sent to a third reviewer.
Duties of authors
Reporting standards
Authors should present an accurate account of their original research as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Manuscripts should follow the submission guidelines of the journal (see submission guideline policies). Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are not acceptable.
Originality and plagiarism
The authors must ensure that they have written entirely original work. Plagiarism in any form, including the touting of material contained in another paper (of the same authors or some other author) with cosmetic changes as a new paper; copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another’s paper (without attribution), and claiming results from research conducted by others constitute unethical publishing behavior and are unacceptable.
Multiple, redundant, or concurrent publications
The authors should not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time. It is also expected that the author will not publish redundant manuscripts or manuscripts describing the same research in more than one journal.
Acknowledgement of sources and funding
The authors should acknowledge all sources of data used in the research and cite publications that have been influential in the research work. Information on financial support should be provided by authors.
Authorship of the paper
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
Fundamental errors in published works
If at any point of time, the author(s) discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in submitted manuscript, then the error or inaccuracy must be reported to the editor.
Conflict of interest
When they submit a manuscript, whether an article or a letter, authors are responsible for recognizing and disclosing financial and other conflicts of interest that might bias their work. They should acknowledge in the manuscript all financial support for the work.
Duties of reviewers
Confidentiality
Information regarding manuscripts submitted by authors should be kept confidential and be treated as privileged information.
Acknowledgement of sources
Manuscript reviewers must ensure that authors have acknowledged all sources of data used in the research. Any kind of similarity or overlap between the manuscripts under consideration or with any other published paper of which reviewer has personal knowledge must be immediately brought to the editor's notice.
Standards of objectivity
Review of submitted manuscripts must be done objectively and the reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments. Evaluation of manuscripts must be done without regard to the nature of the authors or the host institution including race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
Promptness
In the event that a reviewer feels it is not possible for him/her to complete review of manuscript within stipulated time then this information must be communicated to the editor, so that the manuscript could be sent to another reviewer.
Contribution to editorial decisions
Peer-review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper. Peer-review is an essential component of formal scholarly communication, and lies at the heart of the scientific method.
External peer reviewers should disclose to editors any conflicts of interest that could bias their opinions of the manuscript, and they should disqualify themselves from reviewing specific manuscripts if they believe it appropriate. The editors must be made aware of reviewers’ conflicts of interest to interpret the reviews and judge for themselves whether the reviewer should be disqualified. Reviewers should not use knowledge of the work, before its publication, to further their own interests.