Journal of Highway and Transportation Research and Development (English Edition) (the Journal), upholds a rigorous peer-review, and we are dedicated to investigating and taking actions to maintain the integrity of the papers based on principles and guidelines of COPE for the potential ethical issues.

The Journal will conduct an investigation in accordance with the principles and flowcharts provided by COPE if there is suspicion of misconduct or alleged fraud. If valid concerns arise, the author(s) will be contacted to discuss the matter. The Journal and/or the Publisher-Tsinghua University Press would take the following measures:

1) If the manuscript is still under review, it might be rejected.

2) If the paper has been published online, the response will vary based on the nature and severity of the violation:

• A correction may be published,
• An expression of concern may be issued alongside the paper,
• Or, in extreme cases, a retraction of the paper may be warranted.

The Journal acknowledges its responsibility to correct any scientifically relevant errors in published papers that may impact their scientific interpretation. Once approved by the Editorial Office and Editors-in-Chief (EiC), there will be a mark indicating that the paper has a correction. A correction is a distinct publication that is linked to the original paper. It serves to inform all readers that a significant change has been made, and the updated version is available on the website. Notification will be sent to all relevant indexing databases to ensure that they update their records as well.

Corrections can be submitted if:

• There are scientifically relevant errors, e.g., missing sections/tables/figures, raw data errors, images, tables, and figure errors OR,
• There are any added/deleted/replaced references.

Correction must be submitted separately by the corresponding author with the approval of all co-authors. The original article title, author list, and details of the correction should be included in the new manuscript.

The findings and conclusions will be unreliable if a published paper is found with scientific or ethical issues. To correct the scientific record, the published paper should be retracted. Retractions could be requested by the author(s), readers, or the editors and they will be finally decided by the EiC. The Journal adheres to COPE’s Retraction guidelines and procedures for handling retractions.

The original publication will be retained on the platform with a “Retracted” watermark, and the explanation for the retraction is provided in a note linked to the watermarked paper. A paper will only be fully removed from journal website and indexing databases under rare and exceptional circumstances, such as when retaining the article online will be unlawful or pose a risk of substantial harm.

When an investigation is ongoing or the evidence is inconclusive, an Expression of Concern may be issued. Editors believe that it is essential to inform readers about potential issues within the paper to uphold journal’s transparency:

• There is a suspicion of academic misconduct within the paper, yet the evidence is insufficient to determine it OR,
• The results of the study are suspected to be unreliable, but the author(s)’ institution is unwilling to initiate an investigation OR,
• Conflicting interpretations exist among the authors OR,
• An investigation is in progress, and final conclusions may require an extended period.

Appeals only apply to the manuscripts that have been peer-reviewed. Authors who want to appeal concerning the peer-review process and editorial decisions should present substantial evidence or new information/data as well as point-by-point responses to the reviewers’ comments and the editors’ decisions.

Authors must not submit their manuscript elsewhere until they receive a final decision or decide to withdraw their manuscript from consideration and have informed the Journal accordingly. Each appeal is assessed on its individual merits. Editors will consider only one appeal per manuscript, and the EiC’s decision on the appeal is final.

Readers who have concerns/complaints about published papers may contact the Editorial Office while simultaneously present the details of the concerns/complaints and the evidence. Lack of evidence or complaints with personal attacks would be regarded as vexatious and will be ignored.

The Editorial Office will investigate together with EiC in accordance with the guidelines published by COPE.

Author(s) are encouraged to value the opportunity for publication and uphold the esteemed reputation of the Journal. Before submitting the findings, author(s) should carefully read and adhere to the following responsibilities:

• Author(s) should be the persons who have made substantial contributions to the work, e.g., the conception/experimental design of the research, theoretical development, prototype development, data acquisition/analysis/interpretation and who have contributed to drafting the paper or reviewing and/or revising it critically. The others who have participated in certain aspects could be listed as contributors and acknowledged in the “Acknowledgment” section. AI tool should not be listed as an author.
• For papers with multiple authors, one author should be indicated as the corresponding author. The corresponding author should ensure obtaining the consent of all co-authors prior to submitting a manuscript and ensure all co-authors’ approval of the final version before publication. Besides, the corresponding author has responsibility for communication with the Editorial Office, overseeing the publication process, and ensuring the integrity of the final document.
• Any change to the author list during editorial process should be applied ahead of final decision. An application form manually signed by all authors should be sent for the Editorial Office’s approval. Post-acceptance applications will not be considered.

The Journal only publishes original content and author(s) should ensure the originality of their works. Author(s) should not submit the same manuscript to multiple journals at the same time, and should wait for the final decision on the manuscript before submitting the research to another journal. Once the unethical publishing behavior is found, an investigation or action would be taken based on the COPE code of conducts.

Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. All submissions will be checked for plagiarism via iThenticate. The paper will be rejected once the paper is found too similar to the previous documents. If plagiarism is detected after publication, an investigation or action would be taken based on the COPE principles on plagiarism.

Reuse of text work should be appropriately cited or quoted. Authors should obtain the appropriate permission prior to publication where the research involves any third-party figures, tables, and images.

The fabrication/falsification of data or images is not allowed and will be regarded as misconduct which will lead to a retraction of the publication affected.

All contributors involved, author(s), editors and reviewers should disclose any potential conflict of interest that might inappropriately influence (bias) the results of the manuscript.

Potential conflicts of interest that should be disclosed include but are not limited to financial interests (employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, grants or funding sources) and non-financial interests (personal or professional relationships, affiliations, and personal beliefs).

Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed at the earliest stage possible. For author(s), conflicts of interest should be disclosed when the paper is submitted to the Journal, stating fully the personal, institutional, and financial interests and support which might influence the research. Reviewers/Editors assigned to a manuscript should disclose any personal, financial, or intellectual interests that would affect the fair evaluation.

A statement of conflict of interest should be published in the final version and if there are no conflict of interest to be declared, it can be stated as “The author(s) declare no conflict of interests”.

This publication follows a double-blind review process in which the names and details of the reviewers are kept confidential from the authors, and similarly, the names and details of the authors are kept confidential from the reviewers. A regular review process for each submitted manuscript consists of three stages: initial check, preliminary assessment, and peer review. 

To get more information of Peer-Review Policy, please visit Submission Guidelines-Review Process

The Journal follows the COPE position statement when it comes to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools. Tsinghua University Press is a member of STM, the Journal also follows the Ethical and Practical Guidelines released by STM Generative AI in Scholarly Communications.

AI tools can be used to help authors in formatting, language editing, correcting. AI tools should not be listed or cited as an author or co-author. AI tools cannot be used to create, alter, or manipulate original research data and images.

Author(s) should disclose the use of AI tools with sufficient details at submission in the cover letter and disclose details of how the AI tools were used within Method, Acknowledgment or other related sections.

Reviewers and editors should not upload the manuscript or any part of it to a public generative AI platform to keep the manuscript confidential before final publication.

The Journal will monitor this development and will adjust or refine this policy when appropriate.

Author(s) will have chance to double check the full content, especially the symbols, formulas, and figure legends before final publication, for these may accidentally be changed during editing. After final publication, substantial changes could only be updated by corrections.

Tsinghua University Press, the publisher, is committed to the permanent availability and preservation of the published content in the Journal, even after the Journal is ceased or transferred to another publisher.

An article processing charge (APC) of USD 1000.00 (US dollars) applies to papers accepted after peer review. we also accept payment in RMB (CNY). We are committed to ensuring that financial constraints do not impede the dissemination of valuable research. A waiver policy will be in place for authors who are unable to afford the publication fees in developing countries. We will evaluate individual waiver requests from authors who are unable to pay the APC for publishing due to insufficient research funding on a case-by-case basis.

To get information of Copyright and Permission, please visit Copyright & Permission.

All advertisements are subject to approval of the Publisher, Editors, or publishing partners of Tsinghua University Press which reserves the right to reject or cancel any advertisement at any time. 

Statements in advertisements should carry no direct or implied disparagement of another product. There should be no statements that are misleading, exaggerated, or contrary to proven facts. Advertisements may not be indecent, obscene, or defamatory.

The principle of maintaining editorial independence from commercial influence underlies decision-making. Editorial decisions are not influenced by advertising.

Advertisements must be clearly identifiable as advertisements and clearly distinguishable from editorial content. Tsinghua University Press will not publish advertisements in the form of editorial content.