The Publication Ethics Code of Democrazia e Diritti Sociali is inspired by the principles of Core Practices developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
It is necessary that all those involved in the publication process of the journal know and share the following Publication Ethics Code.

EDITORIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Editors may make an overarching decision to reject or accept a manuscript
The Editors’ decisions to accept or reject a manuscript for publication should be based on the importance, originality, clarity, and relevance of the paper. Editors should process manuscripts submitted in a timely manner.
Editors should ensure that appropriate reviewers are selected for submissions.

Editors should have no conflicts of interest
Editors should have no potential conflicts of interest with regard to the manuscript.
Should editors disclose any potential conflict of interest, they should avoid handling the manuscript, which should be assigned to another qualified person.

Editors should promote the publishing of correction or retraction notice in the presence of errors
Editors should correct errors if detected prior to publication or publish correction notices if they are detected subsequently.

Editors should at all times protect the anonymity of reviewers
Editors and members of the editorial staff should not reveal the identity of reviewers prior to or following publication of the manuscript.

Guidelines for retracting manuscripts
Editors should consider retracting a publication if: a) the manuscript contains plagiarized and/or fraudulent data and information; b) the results have been published elsewhere without proper citation, permission or justification.

Maintaining integrity of the published manuscripts
Editors should be responsible for the integrity of all manuscripts published in the journal. Editors should ensure appropriate procedures and rules are in place to make certain the results they publish are of high quality.

REVIEWERS’ RESPONSABILITIES

Evaluation should be objective
Reviewers should contribute to the decision-making process, and assist in improving the quality of the published paper by reviewing the manuscript objectively, in a timely manner.
Editors may also choose to amend reviewer comments to ensure that courtesy and respect are maintained.

Reviewers should have no conflicts of interest
Reviewers should be aware of any potential conflicts of interest and alert the editor to these. A reviewer who feels inadequate to judge the manuscript should return the manuscript promptly without review and inform the editor of any potential conflict of interest.

Reviewers should perform thorough scientific review
Reviewers should point out any constructive suggestions for revision of the manuscript, considering the quality and significance of the experimental work, the completeness of the description of material and methods, and the logical interpretation of the results.
Furthermore, reviewers should point out any relevant published and as yet uncited work, and any unethical behavior of the Authors (plagiarism, fraudulent data, dual publication, etc.).

Reviewed manuscripts should be treated confidentially
Reviewers should maintain the confidentiality of any information supplied by the editor or Author.

AUTHORS’ RESPONSIBILITIES

All listed Authors should have significantly contributed to the research
All individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the manuscript should be included on the list of Authors; all people listed as Authors should have made an independent material contribution to the manuscript.
The Corresponding Author should obtain prior approval from all listed Authors for the submission, review and publication of all versions of the manuscript.

All data reported should be true and authentic
Data and information presented in the manuscript should be original. Authors should maintain accurate records of data associated with their manuscript, and supply or provide access to these on reasonable request.

All Authors are obliged to provide corrections or retractions of mistakes
Authors should notify promptly the journal editor if a significant error in their publication is identified.
When a published paper contains a significant error or inaccuracy, Authors should cooperate promptly with the editor to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies or to retract the paper, if deemed necessary.

PUBLICATION AND AUTHORSHIP

List of references
All materials and information derived from other sources should be properly cited in the manuscript and included in the list of references. Copyrighted materials (e.g. tables or figures) should only be reproduced once appropriate permission has been granted, and due acknowledgement should be provided.

Plagiarism and fraudulent data
Data and information presented in the manuscript should be original. Data should not be fabricated, falsified or plagiarized.

Dual submission and publication
Authors should confirm that the submitted manuscript has not been published elsewhere and should not be under review or consideration of publication by other journals.