Publication Ethics Statement of Geology in China

Issued on: December 31, 2021

This statement was developed by referring to the publication codes of ethics of some internationally renowned publishing groups based on the actual condition of Geology in China (also referred to as the Journal), aiming to secure the rights and interests of the authors, readers, editors, and related project sponsors, as well as establish sound professional ethics and standardize the responsibilities of everyone participating in writing, reviewing, and publishing. It is mainly comprised of the policies and systems of publication ethics of the Journal, with the purpose of providing references for various role-players including the authors, academic groups, editors, research sponsors, and readers.

I.     Authorship and Responsibility

1.    Authorship

The authorship of the papers shall truthfully reflect the work and contribution of the signed authors. Whereas, the signed authors must:

(1)   Provide substantial contributions to the design concepts, experimental research, data collection, result analysis, etc. of the papers;

(2)   Prepare the papers or make major changes to important academic content;

(3)   Do a final check of the papers;

(4)   All signed authors are required to meet one of the above requirements and agree to take responsibility for all aspects of their research, especially with respect to integrity.

Recommendation: For those who have made contributions to the papers (including providing funds, support, management supervision, and immaterial data) but failure to meet the above requirements, it is recommended to list them in the acknowledgement of the papers.

2.    Statement of Conflicts of Interest

In order to evaluate the papers justly and fairly and secure the interests of all relevant parties to avoid conflicts of interest, the authors are obliged to:

(1)   Explain the sources of relevant projects, the sponsors, and the institutions of the authors according to the flowing specific requirements: ① Fund Project: XXX (fund name) of XXX (organization name); ② In this paper, the unpublished data of XXX (organization name) were used; ③ The institutions of the authors shall be listed just below the signatures of the authors.

(2)   Clarify the relatives, supervisors, and close collaborators of the authors in the editorial board (if any), as well as interest relations within their institutions that in any way could affect the fair and just evaluation of the papers (if any) according to flowing specific requirements: ① I, XXX (author name), assume XXX (post name) in XXX (organization name); ② The editorial board member XXX is my supervisor.

The above requirements shall be explained upon submission of the papers.

3.    Changes in Authorship

If it is necessary to add or delete some authors prior to publication of a paper, the correspondent author shall timely submit a relevant written application to the Editorial Department and obtain the consent of all authors by making them sign a consent form.

II.    Dealing with Possible Misconduct

The Journal has always upheld strict academic ethics standards and firmly eliminated all academic misconduct. In case of any academic misconduct throughout this paper publication, we will spare no efforts to assist relevant authorities with investigation. Punitive measures such as withdrawing papers and informing the authors’ institutions will be taken for the misconduct with sufficient evidence. Academic misconduct includes but not limited to the following kinds:

1.         Duplicate Publication

Three forms are mainly involved: ① Dual submission; ② Salami slicing (with more than 20% of overlap); ③ Redundant publications.

(Note: The translation in other languages marked with source of the original is not regarded as duplicate publication).

2.         Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest

The authors are obliged to disclose the parties involved in conflicts of interest that could affect the objective evaluation of the papers. This includes the interest related to economy (such as patents and stock holdings, consulting fees, and discourse fees), individuals, politics, intelligence, or religion. In case of any deliberate undisclosed conflicts of interest, measures will be taken according to applicable regulations.

3.    Fabrication/Falsification

(1)   Fabrication refers to making up data or facts.

(2)   Falsification refers to deliberately changing the data and facts in order to render them inauthentic.

Malicious alteration of data is also included in this kind of misconduct. In case of any falsification or fabrication, the Editorial Department will directly withdraw the paper and issue a warning to the authors.

4.    Plagiarism

Plagiarism refers to the authors directly publishing others’ or existing ideas, opinions, data, images, research methods, verbal expressions, etc. in their own names without citation or explanation and the authors excessively quoting published content of literature of others. In case of any plagiarism, the Editorial Department will directly withdraw the paper and issue a warning to the authors.

III.  Peer Review

1.    Peer Review Processes

(1)   All the papers shall be submitted via the online submission system (also referred to as the System) and then will be sent for strict peer-review (double-blind) by different specialties to the editorial board and experts organized by the eight deputy editors in chief. The papers must be prepared strictly in accordance with the academic norms and format requirements of the Journal. For details, please refer to the Column Setting and Instructions for Authors of Geology in China (Bimonthly) on the official website of the Journal.

(2)   Each paper will be processed for 1 ~ 3 months on average. The authors can query the review progress and results of the paper on the official website of the Journal.

(3)   Review of papers is free of charge. Publication fee will be charged only for the accepted papers according to the applicable regulations of China. The authors will be paid remuneration and presented two sample publications by the Editorial Department once their papers are published.

Other specifications of the review process:

(1)   Once the papers are successfully submitted, the System will automatically send a receipt notice to the authors via email;

(2)   The opinions on the revision will be sent to the authors via email. The authors shall submit the revised version through the System. Revision specification is recommended to be attached.

(3)   External reviewers may require a second review for some papers in need of revision, and the Editorial Department will organize peer review again according to the revision of authors.

2.    Responsibility of Reviewers

(1)   Guarantee the confidentiality of papers during review of the papers. The details of the papers shall not be disclosed to anyone without prior permission of the authors.

(2)   Disclose all existing conflicts of interest (if any) when replying to review invitation and submitting review opinions. The reviewers shall refuse a review invitation in case it is impossible for them to provide unbiased review opinions. The main potential conflicts of interest for the reviewers are as follows: the reviewers have recently collaborated in research with the authors, the reviewers and the authors work in the same institution, direct competition exists between the reviewers and the authors, personal conflicts or close personal relationships or intimate association take place between the reviewers and the authors, or the reviewers are involved in economic interests related to the papers.

(3)   Destroy the paper and related supporting materials once the review is finished.

(4)   Accept review invitation only when they are competent at the field of the papers and reasonable review time is provided.

(5)   Shall not entrust the paper review to others without prior permission of the Editorial Department.

(6)   Shall not be affected by the source of the papers or the signature of the authors.

(7)   Shall not demand that the authors cite the papers of the reviewers or the ones with interest related to the reviewers, unless there are strong academic and theoretical bases.

(8)   Eliminate poor-quality, tardy, insulting, or unconstructive review opinions.

3.    Requirements & Standards of Review

Preparation guidelines and corresponding detailed review requirements of the Journal have been provided for different types of papers in order to guarantee the academic quality of the Journal. For details, please refer to the Column Setting and Instructions for Authors of Geology in China (Bimonthly) on the official website of the Journal (http://geochina.cgs.gov.cn).

IV.   Complaints Mechanisms

The authors are allowed to make complaints in case they have obtained sufficient information or evidence (such as providing other facts, corrections, or additional materials, or filing complaints against the conflicts of interest or unfair peer review). The authors are welcome to lodge reasonable appeals when they have sufficient evidence. The decisions made by the Editorial Department will be the final ones. Repeated complaints or the ones without facts as evidence will be rejected.

V.    Correction Notice

In case of any errors found in previously published papers, especially those that could affect the interpretation of certain data or content (excluding major errors in main views or conclusion), no matter what reasons causing the errors (by authors or editors), a correction notice will be timely published in the following manner:

(1)   Once such errors are found, a correction notice will be timely published in text of the latest issue of the Journal and listed in the contents of the latest issue.

(2)   A notice of correction consists of the original text clearly quoted, the reasons for the errors, and the corrected edition.

(3)   The papers will be updated to correct editions on the website and database platform of the Journal.

(4)   “Correction Notice” will be used as the title to be clearly distinguished from a withdrawal notice due to academic misconduct.

The authors and the readers are also welcome to timely contact the Editorial Department for errors found in the papers or rational concern of legitimacy of the papers.

VI.  Withdrawal Notice

In case of any papers published involving legal restrictions such as legal infringements and slander or proved academic misconduct (see "II. Dealing with Possible Misconduct" for specific definition), a withdrawal notice will be timely in the following manner:

(1)   Once academic misconduct or legal restrictions are found in the papers, a withdrawal notice of the paper will be timely published in text of the latest issue of the Journal and listed in the contents of the latest issue.

(2)   A notice of withdrawal consists of the original text clearly quoted and withdrawal reasons. Detailed evidence will be made public in the online edition of the Journal.

(3)   The papers will be timely withdrawn from the website and database platform of the Journal.

(4)   “Withdrawal Notice” will be used as the title.