It is essential that all who are involved in producing the journal conduct themselves as authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers in accord with the highest level of professional ethics and standards.
By submitting a manuscript to this journal, each author implicitly confirms that it meets the highest ethical standards. A detailed statement of what this journal expects is available here.
For Authors:
The authors should ensure that their work is entirely original works, and if the work has been used, it has been appropriately acknowledged.
Review articles should also be objective, comprehensive and accurate. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and it is unacceptable.
Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and it is unacceptable.
The corresponding author should ensure that there is a full consensus of all co-authors in approving the final version of the article and its submission for publication.
For Editors:
Editors must not use unpublished information in the editor's research without the express written consent of the author.
Editors should take reasonable responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper.
For Reviewers:
Manuscripts for review must be treated as confidential documents.
Reviewers who feel unqualified to review the articles should notify the editor and excuse themselves from the review process.
Reviewers should not accept peer review when they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative or other relationships with authors, companies, or institutions connected to the articles.
Note: Our publication ethics and publication malpractice statement is mainly based on Elsevier recommendations and COPE's Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors
Authorship
Authorship should be based on the following four criteria:
1) Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the manuscript; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the manuscript;
2) Drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
3) Final approval of the version to be published;
4) Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the manuscript in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the manuscript are appropriately investigated and resolved.
JGGS needs all authors to provide affiliation information. The primary affiliation for each author should be the institution where the majority of their work was done. If an author has subsequently moved, the current address may additionally be stated. Addresses will not be updated or changed after the publication of the manuscript.
JGGS includes only one corresponding author per manuscript. Any further contribution details (e.g., equal contribution) must be included in the contributors or acknowledgment sections at the end of the manuscript.
Authors are strongly advised to ensure the correct author group, the corresponding author, and the order of authors at submission. Changes of authorship by adding or deleting authors, and/or changes in corresponding author, and/or changes in the sequence of authors are not accepted after acceptance of a manuscript.
Contributorship
JGGS lists contributors in two ways. Firstly, we publish a list of authors' names at the beginning of the manuscript and, secondly, we list contributors (some of whom may not be included as authors) at the end of the paper, giving details of who did what in planning, conducting, and reporting the work. This is a place to include contributions (e.g., data providers), giving their names and specific roles. We encourage authors to fully acknowledge the contribution to their research where appropriate.
Appeals and Complaints Policy and Process
The below procedure applies to appeals to editorial decisions, complaints about the failure of processes such as long delays in handling papers and complaints about publication ethics.
1) Complaint about scientific content, e.g., an appeal against rejection
The Editor-in-Chief or Handling Editor considers the authors’ argument, and the reviewer reports and decides whether
- The decision to reject should stand;
- Another independent opinion is required;
- The appeal should be considered.
The complainant is informed of the decision with an explanation if appropriate. Decisions on appeals are final and new submissions take priority over appeals.
2) Complaint about processes, e.g., time taken to review
The Editor-in-Chief together with the Handling Editor (where appropriate) will investigate the matter. The complainant will be given appropriate feedback. Feedback is provided to relevant stakeholders to improve processes and procedures.
3) Complaint about publication ethics, e.g., researcher's author's, or reviewer's conduct.
The Editor-in-Chief or Handling Editor follows COPE’s guidelines. The Editor-in-Chief or Handling Editor decides on a course of action and provides feedback to the complainant. If the complainant remains dissatisfied with the handling of their complaint, he or she can submit the complaint to the COPE.
Competing Interests
JGGS requests authors to disclose interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication.
1) Funding: Research grants from funding agencies (please give the research funder and the grant number). And this information needs to be disclosed upon submission of the manuscript in the peer review system.
2) Affiliation: Recent (while engaged in the research project), present or anticipated employment by any organization that may gain or lose financially through the publication of this manuscript. This includes multiple affiliations (if applicable).
3) Other support: Data provider, language polisher, etc. should be disclosed in the manuscript.
Funding.
JGGS provides the following template statement that may be used:
1)The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
2) The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this manuscript.
3) All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial interest or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.
4) The authors have no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this manuscript.
Data Sharing and Reproducibility
JGGS encourages authors, where possible and applicable, to deposit data that support the findings of their research in a public repository. Authors and editors who do not have a preferred repository should consult JGGS’s list of repositories and research data policy.
General repositories - for all types of research data - such as figshare and Dryad may also be used.
Datasets that are assigned digital object identifiers (DOIs) by a data repository may be cited in the reference list. Data citations should include the minimum information recommended by DataCite: authors, title, publisher (repository name), identifier.
JGGS uses double-blind peer review, so if authors are providing reviewers with access to the manuscript-related data (for example via a repository link, supplementary information or data on request), it is strongly suggested that the authorship in the data is also blinded. Some data repositories can assist with this and/or will create a link to mask the authorship of the data.
And by the guidelines of the China Association for Science and Technology(CAST), JGGS, in the future, will also submit the data to CAST’s data-sharing platform, Science Data Bank at https://cast.scidb.cn/en.
Ethical Oversight
JGGS focuses on the СОРE definition, of ethical oversight, namely “Ethical oversight should include, but is not limited to, policies on consent to publication, publication on vulnerable populations, ethical conduct of research using animals, ethical conduct of research using human subjects, handling confidential data and of business/marketing practices”. Based on this definition, the editorial members work under the issue of observing ethical principles.
And JGGS will be bound to consider the appeals from the Ethics and Oversight Committee for professional and scientific activity concerning the non-observance of the ethical principles by our authors. We are also ready to consider other appeals in case they are not anonymous and substantiated.
Intellectual Property
JGGS requires authors to make their article open access under one of the Creative Commons Licenses in order to meet the terms of open-access publication and ensure the widest possible dissemination. The Creative Commons website explains how these licenses work.
