Publishing Ethics and Research Integrity Statement
For the Thieme Group, and Brazilian Journal of Oncology, the integrity of our content and publishing process is of the utmost importance. The following principles provide a set of best practices that pertain to all our journals. They are intended for a variety of stakeholders, including authors, peer reviewers, editors, societies, publishing partners, and funders.
Guided by these general ethical principles, the publisher and the journal enforce strict ethical policies governing editors, reviewers, and authors. Our peer review process operates in full compliance with the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.
Additionally, the journal aligns its editorial policies with the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), and the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA). We also endorse the Singapore Declaration on Research Integrity and the Hong Kong Principles (HKPs) regarding the assessment of researchers.
Research Integrity
Basing ourselves on the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, we support the production of scientific knowledge according to the tenets of accuracy, honesty, reproducibility, and transparency. In so doing, we expect that all research submitted to us ‘for publication has been conducted along the following four principles:
- reliability in regard to the quality of the research;
- accountability from the research idea to its publication;
- honesty and transparency in all ways the research is developed, undertaken, reported, and communicated; and
- respect for the researcher and non-researcher colleagues as well as for the objects of the research, be they human beings, animals, society, the environment, etc.
Any concern will be handled by our internal research integrity group and dealt with according to COPE principles and practice. For further queries, please contact publishingethics@thieme.de.
Editorial Process
For us, editorial independence is pivotal to the enterprise of publishing research, and we strive to protect it from competing interests and other influences. We do not discriminate against authors, editors, or peer reviewers because of race and ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religious beliefs, and disability, but actively encourage collaboration of scholars from all backgrounds.
All editorial decisions on manuscripts submitted are the responsibility of our editors, who are external academic subject experts. Editors commission and take into account independent peer review reports, in line with every journal’s peer review policy as stated in their Instructions for Authors.
Thieme will not allow any abusive behavior or correspondence towards its staff or anyone else engaging in the publishing process on our behalf. We reserve the right to take action to protect our staff as well as authors, editors, or reviewers from abuse, whether verbal, written or physical. This may include manuscript withdrawal, cancellations of contracts and other actions appropriate to the committed offense.
Appeal Procedure
The appeal procedure allows authors to respond to the editorial decisions on their manuscript at any stage. To appeal, the authors can send a rebuttal letter addressed to the editor dealing with their manuscript. The letter should explain the reason for the appeal and provide clear point-by-point detailed explanations why the authors disagree with the decision. The editor will evaluate the appeal and, if it is granted, further assessment of the manuscript may be carried out by an external reviewer. The editor will then decide on the manuscript, and this will be a final decision. An appeal will be considered at the discretion of Thieme and will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Peer Review
Peer review plays a pivotal role in maintaining the quality of our publications. To ensure this, we:
- provide the necessary resources, training, and support to make sure that the peer review process is rigorous, fair, and effective for all our publications;
- urge our editors and peer reviewers to be knowledgeable about and follow the best practices for peer review as outlined by COPE and ICMJE;
- expect those who manage the peer review process to be able to identify any signs of manipulated or fraudulent peer review and report any concerns to publishingethics@thieme.de;
- help our editors and peer reviewers with inquiring into and taking action on any instances of suspected fraudulent or manipulated peer review;
- maintain confidentiality about those involved in the peer review process if anonymity is part of the publication’s peer review process, and we expect our authors, publishing partners, and peer reviewers to respect and uphold any relevant confidentiality agreements for each journal.
Peer Review Model
All scientific journals at Thieme perform either single- or double-anonymized peer review. Some journals use Select Crowd Review. We require our journals to display their peer review model on the journal homepage.
Recommending Reviewers
Some journals ask their authors to recommend reviewers to assess their work. Proposed reviewers must have no conflict of interest in relation to the content of the paper or its authors. This includes that they may not:
- have a personal conflict or close personal relationship or association with any of the authors;
- work in the same department as any of the authors;
- be in any way dependent on any of the authors, be it financially or career related;
- stand to gain if the publication is accepted and published;
- have collaborated with the authors recently.
Transparency
We aim to abide by the COPE Principles for Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing and encourage our partners in the publishing industry to do the same.
Integrity of the Scientific Record
Every version of record published by Thieme is recorded and stored on our servers. If we must alter this record in any way, for instance if we must retract articles due to research misconduct or need to publish an erratum, we aim to maintain the integrity of the scientific record. You can find more information on how we handle such instances in the paragraph on corrections and removals of this statement.
When selling or licensing our journal products, we always do so according to the specific license attached to the item. In case of open access publications this means the product may be used in agreement with the CC-license stipulated.
Thieme’s Archival Strategy
Thieme ensures the long-term preservation and future availability of its digital journal content by cooperating with the digital archive providers CLOCKSS and Portico. The journals are digitally preserved, and the papers remain available and accessible via CLOCKSS and Portico, even if the content is no longer offered by Thieme. All published papers remain part of the scholarly record through this archival strategy.
Bias-Free Language: Ethnicity and Race
Thieme expects authors to submit manuscripts that use language free from bias when describing a population. As such, authors should use language that indicates ethnicity as opposed to race. The American Psychological Association has published guidance on Racial and Ethnic Identity that authors should follow.
Sex and Gender in Research
Thieme expects authors to use the terms sex and gender correctly as defined by the World Health Organization below:
Sex – refers to biological differences between females and males, including chromosomes, sex organs, and endogenous hormonal profiles;
Gender – refers to socially constructed and enacted roles and behaviors which occur in a historical and cultural context and vary across societies and over time.
Thieme endorses the “Sex and Gender Equity in Research – SAGER – guidelines” and expects authors to follow the guidelines.