Ethics in Publishing
Ethics in publishing is a much bigger issue than most people realize. Like most reputable publishers, we support the principles and guidelines issued by the international Committee on Publishing Ethics (COPE). Below are some of our guiding principles associated with ethical issues. These do not cover every possible ethical issue that might arise with authors or submittals. If an ethical issue arises that is not covered by the principles below, we will defer to COPE guidelines for resolution.
Note: The term “manuscript” applies to all works submitted to the PMWJ for publication, including all categories identified in What We Publish.
Guiding Principles
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- Transparency: Every manuscript submitted to the PMWJ for publication must have all authors fully identified, accompanied by author photos, bios and locations, with lead author identified if multiple authors.
- Authorship: Authors identified with a manuscript must have contributed to its creation and share responsibility for the contents or results included in the manuscript.
- Copyright: The PMWJ is an Open Source publication; authors retain copyright of manuscripts submitted for PMWJ publication, in accordance with Creative Commons License BY-NO-SA v 4.0.
- Simultaneous Submission: Manuscripts shall not have been simultaneously submitted to other publications and will not be submitted to other publications while under consideration by PMWJ editors.
- Plagiarism: All data, images, figures, text or theories by others shall be properly attributed and not presented as the author’s own work.
- Data Integrity: No data included in manuscripts is fictitious, erroneous or has been manipulated to support research assumptions or objectives.
- Citations and References: Any previous publication or presentation of ideas, data, images or contents featured in the manuscript must be properly cited and included in the list of references.
- Conflicts of Interest: Any potential conflicts of interest, if any, should be identified in an acknowledgement or disclaimer, including employment of authors, funding of research or commercial interests.
- Inoffensive Language. A manuscript should not contain defamatory, libelous or unlawful statements.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI has not been used to create content in a manuscript; Any AI or Augmented Intelligence used for research, grammar and language improvement, or editorial assistance has been identified in the Methods section of a research paper or a footnote, acknowledgement or disclaimer.
- Previous Publication: If a manuscript has been previously published or posted online and such publication has been identified to PMWJ, it may be the basis for a decision not to publish or republish the work. See also What We Publish.
- Fairness: All submissions will be reviewed with fairness and without undue prejudice related to age, sex, culture, religion, nationality or location of authors.
- Confidentiality: All manuscripts submitted to PMWJ for publication will be held in confidence by PMWJ editors prior to publication, after which authorship will be visible to all readers.
Note that many of these issues are also addressed in the PMWJ Author Agreement that authors are required to sign upon acceptance of a manuscript for PMWJ publication.
We maintain the Right to NOT Publish any manuscripts in which ethical violations are found, suspected or uncorrected
Guiding Principles Explained
Author Identification and Responsibilities
Authorship is a fundamental aspect of transparency in publishing that we take extremely seriously. No works shall be published in the PMWJ anonymously; authors must be identified for everything we publish. We feel strongly that authors who create new work, ideas or solutions should be recognized and even showcased. Lead authors should also recognize co-authors or contributors who assisted in production of a manuscript. Improper or inappropriate authorship additions, removals or changes are generally considered unethical. We also require author photos, bios and locations because an author’s education, experience, location, culture and other factors can influence the contents of creative works, which might influence the understanding or use of the information presented. For example, an author who is new to the field of project management may have good or innovative ideas but is unlikely to fully understand the variety of issues that a more experienced practitioner or researcher might. The same is true of manuscripts dealing with specific project sizes, types, industries, locations or conditions.
Attribution, Citations and References
Authors must properly and appropriately cite and reference previous publications or presentation of ideas or work featured in a manuscript submission, including a description of its contribution to, development of, the research described or subject of the article or paper. All figures and table captions should also include a credit line, acknowledgement or attribution. If a figure or table is the property of the author(s), that should also be acknowledged in the caption. For further information on preferred use of citations and reference, please visit our AUTHOR GUIDELINES.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is considered one of the most offensive and unethical mistakes by authors, sometimes committed by error or omission. Unreferenced use of the ideas of others, or the use or replication of text from other sources, without sufficient attribution is plagiarism. This includes not citing and referencing one’s own prior research, work or publications, including dissertations, conference papers and workshop presentations. Word-for-word passages copied from other documents should include quotation marks and citations to the original authors or publications. Paraphrasing or abbreviating restatements of someone else’s work without attribution is also considered plagiarism. Material should not be attributed to a source from which it has not been obtained.
All manuscripts submitted for publication in the PMWJ are subject to a plagiarism check using publicly available plagiarism checking tools. Manuscripts found to contain high plagiarism scores are returned to authors for correction, along with a copy of the plagiarism report generated for the submitted manuscript. We retain the right to NOT PUBLISH manuscripts with high plagiarism scores.
Data Integrity
No information or data in a manuscript should be erroneous or manipulated, including images. The sources of all data, numbers, figures, charts and tables must be accurate, sources identified where appropriate and included in the list of references. Data, figures, charts, tables and other exhibits must be true to their sources, without manipulation of distortion. Images and figures should not be enhanced, changed or modified without explanation; adjustment to the brightness, contrast or color balance are generally acceptable, as long as they do not eliminate, misrepresent or obscure any pertinent information in the original. Sources of all data in tables, charts and figures should be cited in the associated captions. Authors should retain unprocessed raw data and original figures and images. Data integrity lies at the heart of all research; accurate data is necessary to ensure integrity of the entire manuscript.
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest are anything that could be perceived to exert an undue influence on, or undermine, the impartial and objective handling and review of a submission, or the presentation and value of a publication, and may be financial, professional, contractual or personal in nature. Conflicts of interest include a financial or personal interest in the outcomes of research described in a manuscript, as well as undisclosed financial support for the research or publication. Practical guidelines are to declare any information that might embarrass you if it became publicly known after publication, or information which might make a reasonable reader feel misled or deceived when revealed later.
Simultaneous Publication
Few publishers appreciate spending time and resources on reviewing a manuscript only to have it accepted by another publication at the same time. We are no exception. We try to complete the review of all manuscripts in as short a time as possible. For manuscripts subject to a peer review, the review cycle may take several weeks. For all other works, acceptance for publication usually only takes a few days. After submitting a manuscript to the PMWJ for publication, authors should not submit it to another publication until a decision is reached by the PMWJ managing editor. Most publishers consider simultaneous submission to multiple publications to be unethical.
Inclusive Language
According to Wikipedia: “Inclusive language is a language style that seeks to avoid expressions that its proponents perceive as expressing or implying ideas that are sexist, racist, or otherwise biased, prejudiced, or insulting to particular group(s) of people; and instead uses language intended by its proponents to avoid offense and fulfill the ideals of egalitarianism, social inclusion and equity. Its aim is bias-free communication, that attempts to be equally inclusive of people of all ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, religious affiliations, abilities, and ages by communicating in a way that makes no assumptions about the receiver of such communication.”[1] This seems pretty clear to us. Authors should please use inclusive language to avoid perceptions of bias and prejudicial orientations.
Non-Commercial Content
Manuscripts should not promote or advertise commercial products or services, or defame organizations, products or services. Critiques or reviews of products and services may be actable but must be constructive and not malicious. Authors of research or manuscripts that name companies, organizations or people should obtain written proof of consent from those named. All authors of works where a company, individual or organization is named or identifiable should inform the person, company or organization and to seek consent to public.
Use of AI in Manuscripts
Any use of AI tools, including Large Language Models (LLMs) or Chat GPT type tools, for the creation, development or generation of a manuscript submitted to the PMWJ for publication must be identified clearly and transparently. Such acknowledgement and/or explanation should be included in the “Methods” section of a research paper, or in a footnote, acknowledgement or disclaimer in any other work published in the PMWJ. Authors should describe the content created or modified with the use of AI, along with the name and version of the AI tool or tools used. Standard tools used to improve spelling, grammar, translations or language need not be mentioned or included, unless such usage was extensive.
In accordance with COPE guidelines, LLMs cannot be credited with authorship as they are incapable of producing a research design without human direction and cannot be accountable for the integrity, originality or validity of the manuscript. Copyrighting any part of a submission using generative AI or LLM tools is not permissible. Generating or reporting of research results using Gen AI or LLM tools is also not permissible as authors must be responsible for the creation and interpretation of their work and accountable for its accuracy, integrity and validity. Images created through use of AI tools are also not permitted.
Editing of manuscripts prior to submission using AI tools in order to improve language and readability is permitted, although authors should be conscious of potential bias, fabrication, inaccuracies and plagiarism when using such tools.
Note that an AI checking tool or service will be used by PMWJ editors to identify potential AI content in all manuscripts submitted, with high levels flagged to authors for correction.
Confidentiality
All manuscripts and associated information, including author information and correspondence, will be held in strict confidence by PMWJ editors and reviewers. No manuscript or author data or information will be shared with others outside of PM World, until publication of the work in the PMWJ. At that point, only the published manuscript and associated author information, approved by the author(s), will be made public.
In the event of queries or need for clarification, please contact Editor@pmworldjournal.com.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inclusive_language
