Humanities Bulletin is committed to meeting and upholding ethical behavior standards at all stages of the publication process. We strictly follow the guidelines and Core Practices set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We expect all parties involved—authors, editors, and reviewers—to adhere to these high standards of academic integrity, ensuring the prevention of plagiarism, redundant publication, and data fabrication.

1. Duties of Editors

• Publication Decisions: The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for deciding which of the submitted articles should be published. Decisions are based strictly on the paper’s academic merit, relevance to the journal’s scope, and the reports of independent peer reviewers.

• Fair Play and Objectivity: Manuscripts are evaluated solely on their intellectual and scholarly content, without regard to the author’s race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy.

• Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, assigned reviewers, potential reviewers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

• Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s own research without the explicit written consent of the author.

2. Duties of Reviewers

• Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists the editors in making editorial decisions and helps authors improve the quality of their manuscripts through constructive criticism.

• Promptness: Any selected reviewer who feels unqualified to evaluate the research reported in a manuscript, or knows that its prompt review will be impossible, must notify the editor immediately and decline the invitation.

• Confidentiality: Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the Editor-in-Chief.

• Standards of Objectivity & Conflicts of Interest: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers must declare any potential conflicts of interest (financial, institutional, collaborative, or other relationships) and decline to review if such conflicts exist.

3. Duties of Authors

• Reporting Standards & Originality: Authors of original research must present an accurate account of the work performed and an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data must be represented accurately in the paper.

• Plagiarism and Redundant Publication: Plagiarism in all its forms—including passing off another's paper as the author's own, copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another's paper without attribution, or claiming results from research conducted by others—constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is strictly unacceptable. Authors should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal.

   

• Authorship of the Paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All co-authors must have approved the final version of the paper and agreed to its submission.

• Disclosure and Fundamental Errors: Authors must disclose any financial or substantive conflicts of interest that might influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, it is their obligation to promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate to retract or correct the paper.

4. Plagiarism Policy & Screening

• Pre-screening: All submitted manuscripts undergo rigorous plagiarism screening prior to being sent for peer review.

• Handling Misconduct: Manuscripts found to contain plagiarized text, fabricated data, or falsified results will be immediately rejected. If plagiarism or academic misconduct is discovered after publication, the journal will initiate an investigation in accordance with COPE guidelines and may issue a formal correction or retraction.

5. Conflicts of Interest & Ethical Oversights

• Declaration: All authors, reviewers, and editors must declare any competing interests that could be perceived as biasing the research or editorial process.

• Ethical Approval: Studies involving human subjects or biological data must include a statement confirming that ethical approval was obtained from an appropriate institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee, along with confirmation of informed consent from participants.