Publication Ethics

General Principles

Nova Geodesia is committed to high standards of research integrity, editorial independence, transparency, fairness, confidentiality, and accountability.

The journal follows internationally recognized principles and guidance relevant to scholarly publishing, including the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

All participants in the publication process — authors, reviewers, editors, Editorial Board members, and publisher representatives — are expected to act honestly, responsibly, impartially, and transparently.

The Editor-in-Chief has overall responsibility for the editorial process and makes all final decisions regarding the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts.

Section Editors or other assigned editors may coordinate manuscript evaluation, select reviewers, assess review reports, communicate with authors and reviewers, request clarifications or revisions, and submit reasoned recommendations to the Editor-in-Chief.

Reviewers provide independent expert assessments and recommendations. They do not make editorial decisions.

Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are based on:

• scientific quality and originality;
• methodological soundness;
• relevance to the journal’s scope;
• reliability of the data, analysis, and conclusions;
• compliance with ethical, legal, and editorial requirements.

Editorial decisions are independent of:

• financial or commercial interests;
• institutional influence;
• political pressure;
• personal relationships;
• nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, beliefs, or social background;
• the authors’ institutional status or academic seniority.

The publisher supports the journal administratively, technically, and financially but does not interfere with the scientific assessment of manuscripts or with editorial decisions.

Responsibilities of Editors

The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for ensuring that editorial procedures are fair, consistent, confidential, transparent, and based on recognized standards of scholarly publishing.

The Editor-in-Chief:

• oversees preliminary assessment, peer review, revision, acceptance, and publication;
• ensures that manuscripts are evaluated according to scientific and ethical criteria;
• supervises the assignment of manuscripts to appropriate editors and reviewers;
• manages conflicts of interest involving editors, reviewers, or authors;
• oversees the assessment of suspected misconduct;
• makes all final decisions regarding acceptance or rejection;
• oversees corrections, retractions, expressions of concern, and other post-publication actions;
• protects the integrity of the scholarly record.

Section Editors and other assigned editors must:

• assess manuscripts fairly and objectively;
• maintain confidentiality;
• select qualified and independent reviewers;
• declare and avoid conflicts of interest;
• report suspected misconduct;
• base recommendations on scientific and ethical considerations;
• act under the editorial oversight of the Editor-in-Chief.

Editors must not use unpublished information from submitted manuscripts for personal research, professional advantage, or the benefit of another person or institution.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and transparency of the work they submit.

Authors must:

• submit original work;
• ensure that the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal;
• report data, methods, analyses, and results honestly and accurately;
• avoid fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, and inappropriate text reuse;
• ensure that all authors meet the journal’s authorship criteria;
• obtain the approval of all authors for the submitted and final versions;
• disclose funding and conflicts of interest;
• obtain all necessary ethical approvals, permissions, licences, and informed consent;
• cite sources accurately and appropriately;
• retain original data and supporting documentation;
• cooperate with editorial enquiries, corrections, investigations, or retractions where necessary;
• inform the journal promptly if they discover a significant error in submitted or published work.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that the author list, order of authors, affiliations, declarations, and submission metadata are complete and accurate.

Originality, Plagiarism, and Duplicate Publication

All submissions must be original.

The journal does not accept:

• plagiarism;
• duplicate or redundant publication;
• unattributed reuse of text, data, tables, figures, maps, images, or ideas;
• simultaneous submission of substantially the same work to more than one journal;
• inappropriate reuse of previously published material.

Submitted manuscripts may be screened using similarity-detection software and additional editorial checks.

Similarity reports are interpreted editorially and are not used mechanically as the sole basis for a decision.

Appropriate reuse of methods or previously published material must be transparently cited and, where necessary, accompanied by permission from the copyright holder.

Serious or unexplained overlap may result in rejection, correction, retraction, or further investigation.

Data Fabrication, Falsification, and Selective Reporting

Authors must not fabricate, falsify, manipulate, selectively omit, or misrepresent data, results, images, statistical analyses, or research procedures.

Prohibited practices include:

• inventing data, observations, samples, participants, or measurements;
• altering data to obtain a desired result;
• omitting relevant findings without scientific justification;
• manipulating images in a way that changes their scientific meaning;
• presenting unsupported or misleading conclusions;
• providing false ethical approvals, permits, licences, or other documentation.

Editors may request original datasets, statistical files, raw images, approval documents, field or laboratory records, or other supporting material.

Failure to provide reasonable supporting information may result in suspension of evaluation, rejection, correction, retraction, or referral to a competent institution.

Image Integrity

Images, photographs, maps, graphs, and other visual materials must accurately represent the original data or subject.

Authors must not:

• selectively enhance, remove, obscure, duplicate, or relocate relevant features;
• combine images in a misleading manner;
• reuse the same image to represent different samples or conditions;
• alter scale, contrast, colour, or background in a way that misrepresents the data.

Where image processing affects interpretation, the procedure must be described.

The journal may request original, unprocessed image files.

Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must be limited to individuals who made substantial intellectual contributions to the work and who accept responsibility for the published content.

All authors must:

• contribute substantially to the conception, design, conduct, acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of the research;
• participate in drafting or critically revising the manuscript;
• approve the final version;
• agree to be accountable for the work.

The journal requires an Authors’ Contributions statement and encourages use of the CRediT taxonomy.

Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged rather than listed as authors.

The following practices are not permitted:

• honorary authorship;
• guest authorship;
• gift authorship;
• ghost authorship;
• omission of individuals who made substantial intellectual contributions;
• inclusion of persons who did not contribute meaningfully.

Changes in authorship after submission require a clear written explanation, the agreement of all affected authors, and editorial approval.

The journal may refuse unjustified authorship changes.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, editors, and Editorial Board members must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, the integrity of the publication process.

Conflicts may include:

• financial interests;
• personal or professional relationships;
• academic competition;
• institutional affiliations;
• professional collaborations;
• funding arrangements;
• intellectual-property rights;
• consultancy or advisory roles;
• commercial or political interests.

Authors must include a Conflict of Interests statement in the manuscript.

Reviewers must disclose relevant conflicts before accepting an invitation and must decline the review when impartiality cannot reasonably be ensured.

Editors must withdraw from handling manuscripts in which they have a relevant conflict of interest.

Failure to disclose a significant conflict may result in rejection, correction, retraction, or other appropriate action.

Funding and Sponsorship

Authors must disclose all financial, institutional, commercial, material, or logistical support related to the research.

The Funding Statement should identify, where applicable:

• the funding organization;
• the grant or project number;
• the role of the funder in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit.

Where the funder had no role in the research or publication process, this should be stated clearly.

Funding, sponsorship, donations, or institutional support do not influence editorial decisions.

Research Involving Human Participants and Personal Data

Research involving human participants, personal data, surveys, interviews, behavioural studies, medical information, or other human-related data must comply with applicable ethical principles, legislation, and institutional requirements.

Where formal approval is required, the manuscript must state:

• the name of the approving ethics committee or competent authority;
• the approval number or code;
• the date of approval, where relevant.

Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained where required.

For minors, vulnerable participants, or persons unable to provide consent independently, appropriate consent or authorization must be obtained from a parent, guardian, or legally authorized representative.

Personal data must be handled confidentially and in accordance with applicable data-protection requirements.

Identifiable information, photographs, recordings, or case details must not be published without appropriate consent.

Research Involving Animals

Research involving animals must comply with applicable animal-welfare legislation, institutional requirements, and accepted ethical standards.

The manuscript must include, where applicable:

• the name of the approving authority or ethics committee;
• the approval number or code;
• relevant information on animal welfare, housing, handling, and humane procedures;
• justification for the use of animals.

Authors must minimize animal suffering and use scientifically appropriate methods.

Research lacking required ethical approval may be rejected.

Environmental, Field, and Cultural Heritage Research

Research involving protected areas, endangered species, archaeological sites, cultural heritage, restricted geographical locations, or environmentally sensitive data must comply with relevant laws, permits, and institutional requirements.

Authors must obtain and disclose any necessary:

• collection permits;
• fieldwork authorizations;
• access permissions;
• export or import licences;
• cultural heritage approvals;
• biodiversity or conservation permits.

Precise location information may be restricted where publication could threaten protected species, sensitive habitats, archaeological resources, cultural heritage sites, or vulnerable communities.

Data Availability and Research Transparency

Authors are encouraged to make the data, code, methods, models, protocols, and other materials underlying their research available in appropriate repositories whenever legally, ethically, and technically possible.

A Data Availability Statement should be included where relevant.

Where data cannot be shared, authors should explain the reason, such as:

• privacy or confidentiality;
• ethical restrictions;
• legal or contractual limitations;
• third-party ownership;
• protection of sensitive species or locations;
• national security;
• cultural heritage protection.

The journal may request supporting data or documentation during editorial evaluation or when assessing ethical concerns.

Citation and Reference Ethics

Authors must cite sources accurately, fairly, and appropriately.

References should be relevant to the research question, methodology, interpretation, and scientific context.

Authors must not:

• cite sources they have not consulted;
• misrepresent the content of a cited work;
• add irrelevant references solely to increase citation counts;
• engage in citation cartels;
• comply with unjustified requests for excessive citation;
• use references that do not support the statements for which they are cited.

Reviewers and editors must not request citations primarily to increase citations to their own work, the journal, or associated individuals.

Self-citation is acceptable when scientifically necessary and relevant, but excessive or inappropriate self-citation should be avoided.

Peer-Review Integrity and Confidentiality

The journal operates a double-blind peer-review process for Research Articles, Review Articles, and Notes.

Reviewers must:

• maintain confidentiality;
• assess manuscripts objectively;
• disclose conflicts of interest;
• avoid personal criticism;
• provide clear and constructive comments;
• refrain from using unpublished information;
• report suspected misconduct;
• avoid unauthorized use of generative AI tools.

Reviewers submit recommendations through the options available in the Open Journal Systems platform. These recommendations are advisory.

The journal does not permit:

• fabricated reviewer identities;
• false reviewer contact details;
• review reports written by authors or third parties on behalf of reviewers;
• manipulation of reviewer selection;
• improper attempts to influence editorial decisions;
• coercive citation requests;
• disclosure of confidential manuscript information.

The Editor-in-Chief makes all final decisions regarding the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts.

Manuscripts, supplementary files, review reports, editorial correspondence, ethical documentation, and other materials submitted to the journal are confidential.

Editors and reviewers must not disclose or use confidential information for personal, academic, commercial, or institutional advantage.

Use of Generative AI

The journal maintains a dedicated policy regarding the use of artificial intelligence and generative AI tools.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

Authors remain fully responsible for all submitted content, including accuracy, originality, references, data, images, analyses, interpretations, and conclusions.

Substantive use of generative AI must be disclosed where required by the journal.

AI tools must not be used to fabricate data, references, images, results, or scientific claims.

Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential manuscripts, supplementary files, review reports, or editorial correspondence to unauthorized external AI platforms.

Editorial decisions must remain based on human scholarly judgment.

Further information is available in the Use of Generative AI policy.

Research Misconduct and Ethical Allegations

The journal takes credible allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously.

Potential misconduct includes:

• plagiarism;
• fabrication or falsification;
• image manipulation;
• duplicate or redundant publication;
• unethical research;
• inappropriate authorship;
• undisclosed conflicts of interest;
• fabricated reviewer identities;
• peer-review manipulation;
• citation manipulation;
• false ethical approval;
• misuse of generative AI;
• other serious breaches of research integrity.

Concerns may be raised by authors, reviewers, editors, readers, institutions, funders, or other interested parties.

The Editor-in-Chief, or an independent editor where necessary, conducts an initial confidential assessment.

The journal may request explanations, raw data, original images, ethical approval documents, permits, authorship statements, funding information, institutional records, or other relevant evidence.

All parties are given a reasonable opportunity to respond.

Where an institutional investigation is required, the journal may refer the matter to the authors’ institution, funder, ethics committee, or another competent authority.

The journal does not conduct institutional investigations but may rely on the findings of competent institutions or authorities.

Actions in Cases of Misconduct

Depending on the seriousness and stage of the case, the journal may:

• request clarification or correction;
• suspend the review process;
• reject the manuscript;
• withdraw an acceptance decision;
• publish a correction;
• issue an expression of concern;
• retract the article;
• notify the authors’ institution or funder;
• restrict future submissions or editorial participation;
• take other measures consistent with publication ethics and due process.

Decisions are based on the available evidence, the seriousness of the concern, and the need to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Corrections

A correction may be published when an error affects the accuracy, clarity, attribution, or interpretation of an article but does not invalidate its principal findings.

Corrections are:

• clearly identified;
• linked to the original article;
• dated;
• accompanied by an explanation;
• permanently accessible.

Minor typographical errors that do not affect meaning may be corrected without a formal notice where appropriate and technically possible.

Substantive changes are not made silently.

Retractions

An article may be retracted when:

• the findings are unreliable because of misconduct or major error;
• data were fabricated or falsified;
• plagiarism or duplicate publication is confirmed;
• unethical research was conducted;
• required ethical approval or consent was absent;
• authorship was seriously misrepresented;
• peer review or editorial processes were manipulated;
• the article contains serious legal, privacy, ethical, or safety concerns.

Retraction notices explain the reason for the retraction and identify who initiated it.

The original article normally remains accessible and is clearly marked as retracted, except where removal is required for legal, privacy, or safety reasons.

Expressions of Concern

An expression of concern may be issued when:

• credible concerns exist regarding the reliability or integrity of an article;
• an investigation is ongoing;
• the available evidence is inconclusive;
• institutional findings are delayed;
• immediate notification of readers is considered necessary.

Expressions of concern are linked to the original article and remain available until the matter is resolved.

Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, and other interested parties may submit complaints concerning:

• editorial procedures;
• conflicts of interest;
• reviewer or editor conduct;
• ethical concerns;
• corrections or retractions;
• published content.

Authors may appeal an editorial decision when they believe that it resulted from:

• a significant factual error;
• a substantive misunderstanding;
• a procedural irregularity;
• an undisclosed conflict of interest;
• a demonstrably incorrect interpretation of relevant evidence.

Appeals must be reasoned, specific, and supported by relevant information.

Disagreement with the scientific judgment of reviewers or editors alone is not sufficient grounds for appeal.

Appeals are considered by the Editor-in-Chief.

Where the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict of interest, the appeal is assigned to an independent senior editor or suitably qualified Editorial Board member who was not involved in the original decision.

Manuscripts Submitted by Editors or Editorial Board Members

Manuscripts submitted by the Editor-in-Chief, Section Editors, other editors, Editorial Board members, or persons closely associated with the journal are subject to the same scientific and ethical standards as all other submissions.

The author-editor is excluded from the evaluation and decision-making process.

The manuscript is assigned to an independent editor who has no relevant conflict of interest.

Where the Editor-in-Chief is an author, the manuscript is handled by an independent senior editor or suitably qualified Editorial Board member. The Editor-in-Chief has no access to or involvement in the review and decision-making process for that manuscript.

Post-Publication Discussion

The journal welcomes responsible and evidence-based post-publication discussion.

Readers may contact the Editorial Office regarding:

• possible errors;
• methodological concerns;
• ethical issues;
• missing declarations;
• potential misconduct;
• requests for clarification.

Concerns must be expressed professionally and supported by relevant evidence.

The journal may request a response from the authors and may publish a correction, reply, expression of concern, or retraction where appropriate.

Copyright, Legal, and Privacy Considerations

Authors must ensure that they have the legal right to submit all material included in the manuscript.

Permission must be obtained for copyrighted figures, photographs, maps, tables, datasets, extensive text, and other protected content.

The journal may reject, correct, restrict, or remove content that creates serious concerns relating to:

• defamation;
• privacy;
• confidentiality;
• copyright infringement;
• unlawful disclosure of personal data;
• threats to vulnerable persons;
• threats to protected species, locations, or cultural heritage;
• court orders or other legal requirements.

Removal of published content is considered only in exceptional circumstances.

Where removal is necessary, an explanatory notice should remain available whenever legally possible.

Commitment to the Scholarly Record

The journal is committed to preserving an accurate, transparent, and trustworthy scholarly record.

Published content is not altered silently in ways that affect scientific meaning.

Corrections, retractions, expressions of concern, and other post-publication notices are issued transparently and remain linked to the original publication.

The Editor-in-Chief retains overall responsibility for ensuring that ethical concerns are handled fairly, confidentially, consistently, and in accordance with due process.

Related Policies

• Procedures
• Peer Review Process
• Transparency and Best Practices
• Use of Generative AI
• Author Guidelines
• Open Access Policy
• Copyright Notice
• Privacy Statement