Policies and Ethics

Publication Ethics and Policies

Introduction

The Future Governance Systems (FGS) Book Series is committed to maintaining the highest standards of scholarly publishing through integrity, transparency, fairness, and accountability. The editorial policies of the series are guided by internationally recognized principles of publication ethics, including the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices, the Singapore Statement on Research Integrity, and internationally accepted standards for academic publishing.

These policies apply to all participants involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher.

1. Research Integrity

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts are:

original and unpublished;
scientifically rigorous and accurate;
based on honest and ethical research practices;
free from fabrication, falsification, and data manipulation;
appropriately cited where the work of others is used.

Any form of research misconduct is strictly prohibited.

2. Authorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, or writing of the work.

All listed authors must:

approve the final manuscript;
agree to its submission;
accept responsibility for the integrity of the publication.

Guest, honorary, or ghost authorship is unacceptable.

3. Originality and Plagiarism

Submitted manuscripts must be original.

Authors must not submit work that:

has been previously published;
is simultaneously under consideration elsewhere;
contains plagiarized or improperly attributed material.

All submissions may be screened using plagiarism-detection software before peer review.

4. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Authors may use AI-assisted tools only to improve language, grammar, or formatting.

Authors remain fully responsible for:

originality;
factual accuracy;
interpretation of findings;
citations;
ethical compliance.

Artificial intelligence systems may not be listed as authors.

5. Data Transparency

Authors should retain research data supporting their findings and provide access where appropriate, subject to ethical, legal, or confidentiality considerations.

6. Conflict of Interest

Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, or personal interests that could influence the publication process.

Where conflicts exist, appropriate measures will be taken to ensure an impartial editorial decision.

7. Ethical Approval

Research involving human participants, personal data, interviews, surveys, or sensitive information must comply with applicable ethical standards and obtain approval from an appropriate ethics committee where required.

Authors should indicate ethical approval and informed consent within the manuscript when applicable.

8. Peer Review

All eligible manuscripts undergo:

Editorial Screening
Internal Editorial Review
Double-Anonymous External Peer Review

Editorial decisions are based solely on scholarly merit, originality, methodological quality, and relevance to the scope of the series.

9. Duties of Editors

Editors are responsible for:

making fair and unbiased editorial decisions;
maintaining confidentiality;
avoiding conflicts of interest;
ensuring publication ethics are followed;
handling allegations of misconduct appropriately.

Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on academic merit without discrimination.

10. Duties of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to:

provide objective and constructive evaluations;
maintain confidentiality;
declare conflicts of interest;
identify relevant published work not cited;
report suspected ethical concerns to the editorial office.

Reviewers must not use unpublished material for personal advantage.

11. Corrections and Retractions

Where significant errors or misconduct are identified after publication, the publisher may issue:

Corrections
Expressions of Concern
Retractions
Removals (in exceptional legal circumstances)

These actions follow internationally accepted publication ethics procedures.

12. Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain copyright unless otherwise agreed.

The publisher receives a non-exclusive license to publish, distribute, and archive the work.

Open Access publications are licensed according to the selected Creative Commons license.

13. Complaints and Appeals

Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a written explanation to the Series Editor.

Complaints concerning editorial processes, ethical matters, or reviewer conduct will be investigated confidentially and fairly following COPE recommendations.

14. Publication Misconduct

The following constitute publication misconduct:

Plagiarism
Duplicate publication
Fabricated or falsified data
Image manipulation
Citation manipulation
Undisclosed conflicts of interest
Authorship manipulation
Peer-review manipulation

Confirmed misconduct may result in rejection, correction, retraction, or notification of the relevant institution.

15. Commitment to Ethical Publishing

The Future Governance Systems (FGS) Book Series is committed to promoting responsible research, editorial independence, transparency, and scholarly excellence. All participants in the publication process are expected to uphold these principles to ensure the credibility and integrity of the academic record.