Editorial Independence
All editors-in-chief, associate editors and reviewers of Brieflands journals are entirely independent of the publisher, and free to make decisions without interference from the owners of their journals or from the publisher. We work to the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers, stated by COPE, which sets the standard we hold ourselves to from submission through to publication.
Principles of Editorial Independence in Brieflands:
- Editors-in-chief are members of academic universities, and their payments are independent of their journal activities. They will not be paid for their journal activities and are free to choose this extra duty. Therefore, they are entirely independent of their role in the Journal.
- Because of the EIC's independence from Brieflands (as the publisher), the decision-making process of a journal is entirely separate from our commercial interests.
- Brieflands pays its editors no salary and no fee for their journal work. Any concern or complaint about an editor is reported to the journal owner without restriction or filtering by the publisher.
- The publisher may encourage editors to strengthen the quality of their editorial work, but it takes no part in decisions on individual manuscripts.
Which items must be declared in Conflict of Interest by the editorial Boards?
These items must be declared on the Editorial Board page as a public journal page for each staff editor in the Journal.
Paid Salary:
Monetary or in-kind compensation for self or household member from an organization that may in any way gain or lose financially or in any other way from the publication of papers in Brieflands:
- Reimbursement for attending a conference or symposium, Accommodation, and travel, or Fees for speaking
- Fees for organizing education
- Funds for research or a member of staff
- Fees for consulting
- Stocks or shares
- Other competing interests
Editorial Responsibilities
Where the Secondary Ethics Committee finds that an Editor-in-Chief has committed misconduct, Brieflands replaces that Editor-in-Chief. Read more.
Declare Conflict of Interest:
The journal website declares any financial, personal, or other relationships of EIC that might constitute a conflict of interest with the role of EIC.
Peer Review Process:
The Editor-in-Chief ensures that every accepted article has been assessed in line with the journal’s stated peer review policy. Research articles and other full-length submissions require at least three expert reviewers. Short article types, such as editorials and letters to the editor, may be assessed by the editor alone.
Final decision on a manuscript:
The final decision to accept or reject a manuscript rests with the journal’s Editor-in-Chief.
Prohibit any CoI in the Peer Review Process:
Neither the EIC nor the editorial board makes decisions regarding manuscripts about which they may have a conflict of interest. In such instances, a senior member of the Editorial Board assumes responsibility for overseeing peer review and making decisions regarding acceptance or rejection.
Editorial Authorship:
The Editor-in-Chief undertakes to publish as little of their own work as possible in their own journal.
Respect Human, and Animal Rights in all Publications:
The EIC is satisfied that all research on live humans or live animals accepted for publication in the Journal is ethical and complies with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. Research should comply with the authors' national and Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements for ethics approval and informed consent. In countries with no local or national IRBs or established regulations, the EIC uses the standards set out in the Declaration of Helsinki to decide whether there are any ethical concerns about the conduct of the research that would preclude publication. Any study that violates the Declaration of Helsinki should be highlighted to the authors' institution, regardless of whether or not local IRB approval was obtained.
Respect Ethics in all Publications:
The EIC is satisfied that all research on human or animal tissue that is accepted for publication in the Journal complies with national legislation and local Institutional Review Board requirements on the use of such tissue for research, with particular regard to consent for the use of human tissue. In the absence of national regulations, the EICs use their discretion when deciding whether any ethical concerns about the research may preclude publication.
Time Considerations and Decreasing Authors' Waiting Time:
The EIC is responsible for decreasing the review process's duration and acceptance or rejection time. Correspondence should be handled promptly and respectfully, and an efficient and thorough peer review should be carried out.
Ethics in Publications:
The EIC complies with the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) statement on geopolitical intrusion on editorial decisions. Besides, EIC should practice ethics in the Journal based on the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Because the publisher is a Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) member, the EIC should follow COPE guidelines and flowcharts when dealing with publication and research ethics issues such as author disputes and misconduct. The EIC may seek advice from Brieflands on following COPE guidelines under challenging situations, but the final course of action should usually be decided and executed by the EIC. Brieflands ensures that publication ethics are adhered to in compliance with COPE standards.
Approach to Appeals:
The EIC has a written complaints procedure for the Journal to cover appeals against decisions and complaints about journal processes. The complaints against the EIC will be referred to an ombudsman in the first instance but may be referred to COPE if necessary.