Publication Ethics

Built Environment Innovation (BEI) adheres to the guidelines set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) to address all aspects of publication ethics, particularly in managing cases of research and publication misconduct. BEI embraces COPE principles to maintain high ethical standards for publishers, editors, authors, and reviewers. Clarifying publication ethics is essential to enhancing the quality of research globally. This section outlines the ethical responsibilities expected of authors, editors, and reviewers.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must adhere to the ethical guidelines established by BEI when preparing and submitting their manuscripts. Authors should be aware that unethical practices may lead to severe consequences, such as retraction of the published article or a ban from future submissions to the journal.

Accuracy and Honesty: Authors should ensure that the content of their manuscripts is accurate and free from fabrication or falsification.
Originality: Manuscripts submitted to BEI must be original works and should not have been previously published or be under consideration elsewhere. For guidelines on reproducing published material from other publishers, refer to the journal's policy.
Avoidance of Plagiarism: Manuscripts should be free of plagiarism. Authors are encouraged to maintain a similarity index of less than 20%.
Data Availability: Authors should strive to make their underlying data available. Editors or reviewers may request raw data during the evaluation process. Authors are encouraged to deposit their data in institutional or subject-specific repositories, except when the confidentiality of research subjects must be maintained.
Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest and funding sources in separate sections (see Instructions to Authors). Authors should ensure that funding sources have no role in designing the study or interpreting the results.
Corrections and Retractions: Authors must notify the editors of any errors or inaccuracies in their manuscript before publication so corrections can be made. Post-publication, authors are also responsible for reporting significant errors or inaccuracies to the Journal or Editor-in-Chief. In such cases, the journal will issue an erratum or retract the article following consultations with the Editor-in-Chief, handling editor, and reviewers.

Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must follow COPE standards in assessing and making decisions on submitted manuscripts.

Objective Evaluation: Editors should evaluate manuscripts based on their academic merit, such as novelty, originality, scientific accuracy, and readability, as well as their relevance to the scope of BEI. Editors must not discriminate based on race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, citizenship, religion, political beliefs, or institutional affiliation.
Independence: Editorial decisions should not be influenced by external policies, including those of governments or organizations outside the journal. Acceptance decisions should be based on reviewer recommendations.
Confidentiality: Editors are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and ensuring that information is not disclosed to anyone not involved in the evaluation and publication processes.
Reviewer Selection: Editors must respect authors' requests to exclude certain reviewers when there are valid reasons.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play a critical role in maintaining the quality of publications in BEI. Each manuscript undergoes a peer-review process involving at least two independent reviewers selected based on their expertise and professional experience.

Objective Review: Reviewers should provide an objective assessment of the manuscript based on scientific merit and publication standards.
Confidentiality: Manuscripts provided to reviewers for peer review should be treated as confidential documents.
Anonymity: Reviewers must adhere to the single-blind review policy of the journal and should not disclose their identities to the authors.
Constructive Feedback: Reviewers should provide detailed feedback to authors, explaining their recommendations point-by-point.
Timeliness: Reviewers are expected to submit their reports promptly and inform the handling editor if additional time is needed.
Misconduct Reporting: Reviewers should notify editors of any scientific or ethical misconduct, such as plagiarism or data manipulation, discovered in the manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors: Authors must disclose any financial relationships with organizations that sponsored their research in a separate section before the reference list. If no conflict exists, authors should state so (see Instructions to Authors for details).
Editors and Reviewers: Editors should not handle manuscripts submitted by authors from their institution, collaborators, co-authors, or competitors to avoid conflicts of interest. In such cases, a different editor will be assigned. Similarly, reviewers should refrain from evaluating manuscripts authored by individuals with whom they have a conflict of interest and should notify the handling editor immediately.

Ethical Approval Requirements

Experiments involving human or animal subjects must receive ethical clearance from the appropriate institutional review board or ethics committee before the research is conducted. Violation of this policy may be considered research misconduct.

Human Subjects: All studies involving human subjects must have ethics committee approval and comply with the ethical standards outlined in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. Informed consent must be obtained from all participants. Identifying details should be omitted to protect privacy. The journal reserves the right to reject manuscripts that do not comply with these requirements.
Animal Subjects: When reporting experiments involving animals, authors should adhere to the ARRIVE guidelines and the '3Rs' principles: Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement. Authors are encouraged to refer to international guidelines, such as the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, American Association for Laboratory Animal Science, and EU regulations on animal research.

Reproducing Published Material from Other Publishers

Authors must obtain permission to reproduce any published material (such as figures, tables, or text extracts) not in the public domain or for which they do not hold copyright. Permission should be sought from the copyright holder, usually the publisher.

Permission Required For:

Reproducing one's own previously published work if the copyright is held by another publisher.
Substantial extracts from other works.
Using tables, graphs, charts, schemes, and artworks that are unaltered or only slightly modified.
Photographs not owned by the author.

Permission Not Required For:

Reconstructing original tables with data published elsewhere (with proper citation).
Using short quotes under fair use.
Redrawing graphs, charts, schemes, and artworks significantly beyond recognition.

Authors are advised to start obtaining permissions early to avoid publication delays. Manuscripts containing unpermitted materials cannot be published in BEI.

Publication Misconduct

Publication misconduct includes data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and improper authorship:

Fabrication: Creating false data or findings.
Falsification: Manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or modifying/deleting data to mislead.
Plagiarism: Using others' ideas, research content, or results without proper acknowledgment.
Improper Authorship: Including individuals as authors who did not significantly contribute to the research or writing.

If allegations of misconduct arise, the editors will follow COPE guidelines, including a thorough investigation. If misconduct is confirmed during the review process, the manuscript will be rejected. If discovered post-publication, the article will be retracted, and an explanation will be provided. Authors found guilty of misconduct may be barred from submitting to BEI for a certain period.

Allegations will be investigated by the editorial board, considering any potential conflicts of interest. If misconduct or significant irregularities are suspected, the corresponding author must respond on behalf of all co-authors. Further review may involve additional experts. If misconduct is unlikely, clarifications or corrections may be sufficient.

Affiliated institutions are also responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct. Actions taken by the journal include issuing corrections, retracting articles, or replacing them. Through these measures, BEI upholds its commitment to the integrity and accuracy of the scientific record.