Ethical Rules Regarding the Work of

Socio-Economic Analyses

Socio-Economic Analyses is a peer-reviewed academic journal of a scientific and educational character, which is published by the Faculty of Economics of the St. Cyril and St. Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo. Its purpose is to contribute to the scientific development in the fields of economics, management, social activities and tourism.

The Editorial Board of Socio-Economic Analyses accepts and adheres to the principles of publication ethics adopted by the international scientific community and reflected in the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)a non-profit organization whose mission is to identify the best practices in the ethics of scientific publishing and to assist editors and publishers in achieving them.

The present ethical rules are applicable to the relations between the editors of Socio-economic Analyses and the authors in the journal, as well as between the editors and the reviewers appointed to analyze papers submitted for publication. The purpose of these rules is to ensure compliance with high ethical standards accepted in both national scientific circles and the international scientific community.

The Editorial Board of Socio-Economic Analyses requires authors to provide research papers that:

• are independent research works of the authors who presented them;
• are written with respect for the scientific achievements of the authors cited;
• are submitted for publication in accordance with the citation standards adopted by the journal, which constitute an appendix to these ethical rules;
• reflect the contributions and responsibilities of each author for the conclusions in the respective paper in case of co-authorship;
• have not been published elsewhere except in foreign scientific journals and in a foreign language;
• are submitted for publication with a letter from the author stating that the manuscript meets the requirements set out in these ethical rules.

It is not allowed to assess the merits of a paper submitted for publication by a member of the Editorial Board who has not signed a declaration that he/she has no conflict of interest with the corresponding author and that he/she is not biased towards the scientific merits of the author.

The editors will not publish submissions that:

• contain attacks or disrespectful tone towards the work of other authors. Disputes should be conducted with scientific arguments and with the highest standards of respect for the authors of the criticized scientific theses;
• put forward clearly biased political positions, contrary to the principle of scientific integrity;
• deviate in both their conclusions and their tone from the fundamental values of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The Editorial Board of Socio-Economic Analyses adopted a decision to apply specific requirements for the acceptance of articles, studies and scientific communications for publication in the journal as of 1 January 2016.

Authors in Socio-Economic Analyses are responsible for the originality and the scientific contributions of their publications. When the editor finds violations of the ethical rules, or when the editor finds that the submitted paper does not meet the minimum standards for scientific contribution, the matter is referred to the Editorial Board for resolution. The publication shall be returned to the author with an indication of the violations or findings. The author has the right to object, which is discussed by the Editorial Board that issues a final decision.

In case of necessity or in case of a dispute in the Editorial Board, the editor-in-chief has the right to appoint reviewers to provide an additional opinion on the originality and scientific value of a particular publication. The editors do not provide third parties with information about rejected submissions, regardless of the reason. Each author has the right to withdraw the submitted manuscript for publication at the latest before the start of pre-press preparation.

The Editorial Board discusses all reports of violations of these ethical rules in published articles. The author concerned is invited to give a written statement. If the Editorial Board determines that a paper has been published in violation of the ethical rules, it shall issue an apology to readers in the next issue.

 These ethical rules have been agreed with the members of the Editorial Board of Socio-Economic Analyses.

Obligations of the Publisher

The publisher shall promote these guidelines to all persons involved in the preparation and publication of all scientific journals. The guidelines should be followed by editors, reviewers and authors as part of our joint efforts to provide objective and valuable information to all who are interested in reading and gaining knowledge through it.

In cases of alleged or proven scientific contradiction, fraud or plagiarism, the publisher, in close collaboration with the editors, shall take all necessary measures to clarify the situation. If necessary, this includes the immediate publication of a communication, a clarification or, in the case of the most serious offences, withdrawal of the manuscript concerned.

The publisher is committed to preserving published research information and ensuring its accessibility – by partnering with organizations and maintaining its own digital archive.

Together with the editors, the publisher takes the necessary steps to identify and prevent the publication of manuscripts containing controversial research or scholarly practices. He/she does not encourage such misconduct under any circumstances, and does not knowingly allow such misconduct to take place.

Obligations of  the Editors

The editors of Socio-Economic Analyses accept and assess manuscripts on the basis of their academic value (originality, clarity, topicality, relevance) without regard to gender, race, ethnicity, political or religious philosophy, or social or institutional affiliation. All decisions to edit or publish texts are made by the journal staff without outside influence. The editor-in-chief has the right to determine the content of the respective journal and the date of publication of the approved texts.

The editors ensure that all submitted manuscripts considered for publication are subject to peer review by at least two reviewers who are experts in the field. The decision to publish is based on the importance and value of the manuscript, the comments and recommendations of the reviewers and the compliance with the requirements and guidelines of the respective journal.

The editors take the interests of authors and readers into account when working to improve a publication or make adjustments.

The editors and the editorial team will not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the people directly involved in the evaluation and publication process – the respective author, reviewers or publisher.

The editors and the members of the Editorial Board will not use or provide third parties with unpublished manuscript information without the written consent of the authors. The information obtained as a result of the processing of the manuscript is considered confidential and will not be used for personal gain. The editors declare that they will not participate in the process of reviewing manuscripts that may give rise to a conflict of interest – including, but not only on a competitive, partner basis or other relationship with an author or related institution. In this case, the editor concerned will ask another member of the Editorial Board to assume responsibility for the manuscript.

Editors will respond to any violations, regardless of whether they refer to a published or unpublished article. If necessary, they will take the necessary response measures – correction, withdrawal, publication of a clarification or other appropriate action.

Obligations of the Reviewers

All manuscripts received for review are confidential documents and should be treated as such. They should not be shown to or discussed with persons not authorized by the editor-in-chief (in exceptional and specific circumstances). This rule also applies to invited reviewers who decline the invitation to review the manuscript.

Any invited reviewer who feels unqualified to review the manuscript, or is unable to do so within the specified time frame, must immediately notify the editors and decline the invitation in order to allow for the selection of another reviewer.

Any invited reviewer who has a conflict of interest due to a competing relationship or relationship with any of the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the manuscript, must declare their conflict of interest to the editors immediately in order to allow for the selection of another reviewer.

Peer review is an essential element of formal scientific communication and a cornerstone of the scientific enterprise. Peer review assists editors in making editorial decisions. Through editors’ communication with authors, it can help authors improve their manuscripts.

Reviews should be conducted objectively, and conclusions should be clearly stated with supporting arguments so that authors can use them to improve the manuscript. Personal criticism of authors is unacceptable.

Reviewers should identify and notify the editors of texts that are used but not cited by the authors, as well as of any significant similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and any other manuscript of which they have information.

The unpublished material described in the submitted manuscript should not be used by the reviewers for research purposes without the express written consent of the authors. Privileged information or ideas obtained in the conduct of peer review must remain confidential and they must not be used for personal purposes by the reviewers. This also applies to reviewers who decline an invitation to review a manuscript.

Obligations of the Authors

All submitted manuscripts must be original research work that has not been published or submitted for review in other journals. Submitting a manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously is considered unethical and unacceptable behaviour.

Only individuals with significant contributions to the conception, acquisition of data, analysis, interpretation of the study, drafting of the manuscript, critical appraisal of its intellectual content, or participants in the drafting of the final version of the text and its submission for publication should be included as authors, as they must be able to assume public responsibility for the content of the text.

Authors must ensure that they have written and submitted fully original manuscripts and that they have adequately acknowledged any sources used and/or citations to other authors. Plagiarism in all its forms is considered unethical and unacceptable behaviour. Authors should also report any conflicts of interest (including financial) that might influence the results or their interpretation in the manuscript.

Authors must provide accurate information about the work presented and the results, as well as an objective justification of their significance. The manuscript should contain sufficient details and references to allow others to use the methodology and results. Fraudulent or deliberately inaccurate statements constitute unethical behaviour and are unacceptable.

Authors are required to participate in the peer review process and respond promptly to queries from editors regarding primary data, clarification of text, or copyright. Authors should respond promptly to reviewers’ comments, and should revise and resubmit their manuscript after considering the comments and guidance provided.

If authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their own text, it is their responsibility to notify the editors or the publisher immediately and to work with them to correct or, if necessary, retract the article. If a third party reports that the published text contains a significant error or inaccuracy, it is the authors’ responsibility to immediately correct or retract the manuscript or provide the editors with evidence of the correctness of the text.

Authors may be asked to submit the primary data from their study for editorial review along with the manuscript. They must be prepared to make these data publicly available.

Authors should ensure that other scientists and researchers have access to these data after publication of the article – subject to copyright and ownership of the primary data.

Copyright

No one may use or reproduce another person's  work in any way without the express permission of the creator or their representative. This applies to any reproduction of a work, whether found in print or online.

Copyright Assignment

Authors publishing in the journal assign non-exclusive rights to the publisher as the journal is open access. The advantages of open access for authors include free access for all users worldwide, copyright preservation, increased visibility and readership, as well as rapid publication. The author is allowed to distribute his/her work on other platforms, but is restricted from simultaneous publication with another publisher for a period of one year, especially if it is a new publication. Socio-Economic Analyses is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND.