Journal of Applied Structural Equation Modeling (JASEM) is committed to the highest academic, professional, legal, and ethical standards in publishing work in this journal. To this end, we have adopted a set of guidelines, to which all submitting authors are expected to adhere, to assure the integrity and ethical publishing for authors, reviewers, and editors.
Peer-Review Process
The peer-review process consists of the following steps:
- Authors submit their manuscript via the online submission form provided on the journal’s website. Alternatively, they can send directly via email to the Managing Editor at me.jasem2017@gmail.com.
- The Managing Editor acknowledges receipt of the manuscript and assigns a manuscript ID for future correspondence.
- Two members of the editorial board determine whether the manuscript fits well with the scope of the journals. If so, the manuscript will be submitted for comment to at least 2 reviewers (subject matter experts) for comment. JASEM uses a double-blind peer review process where both reviewers and authors do not know each other. If the editorial team believes that the manuscript does not fit the scope, a rejection email will be sent to the authors within 2 weeks.
- Reviewers are usually given two weeks. However, at some point, we extend the submission deadline, if requested. Once the feedback is received, the managing editor compiles all comments. After a discussion with the main editorial team (Managing Editor and Chief Editors), the managing editor submit all comments to the authors with a decision (minor, major or reject). In case of no clear decision (for example, 1 accept, 1 reject), the Managing Editor decides to submit the paper to another (3rd) reviewer.
- Once a revision is received from the authors, the managing editor forwards the revised manuscript and compliance report to the reviewers for their feedback. The process continues until the referees are satisfied.
- Based on the recommendation of the referees, the editorial committee (Managing Editor and Chief Editors) jointly decides and informs the author(s) about the final decision. If accepted, the final manuscript version will be submitted to the production team for formatting in accordance with the guidelines.
- Production team contacts authors to check the final proof before publishing it online. The process will continue until all issues/corrections are addressed.
- The production team will then upload and publish the article and officially notify the authors.
Publication Ethics
In the submission process to JASEM, authors must comply with the following set of guidelines:
Case 1: Authorship
- Every author listed on a journal article should have made a significant contribution to the work reported (in terms of research conception or design, or acquisition of data, or the analysis and interpretation of data). As an author or co-author, you share responsibility and accountability for the content of your article. Author(s) need to avoid:
- Gift (guest) authorship: where someone is added to the list of authors who has not been involved in writing the paper.
- Ghost authorship: where someone has been involved in writing the paper but is not included in the list of authors.
Case 2: Plagiarism
- When somebody presents the work of others (data, words or theories) as if they were his/her own and without proper acknowledgement.
- When citing others’ (or your own) previous work, please ensure you have:
- Clearly marked quoted verbatim text from another source with quotation marks. Attributed and referenced the source of the quotation clearly within the text and in the Reference section.
- Obtained permission from the original publisher and rights holder when using previously published figures or tables.
Self-plagiarism.
- Self-plagiarism is the redundant reuse of your own work, usually without proper citation. It creates repetition in the academic literature and can skew meta-analyses if the same sets of data are published multiple times as “new” data.
- If you’re discussing your own previous work, make sure you cite it. JASEM uses Turnitin to screen for unoriginal material. Authors submitting to a JASEM should be aware that their paper may be submitted to Turnitin at any point during the peer-review or production process.
- Any allegations of plagiarism or self-plagiarism made to a journal will be investigated by the editor of the journal. If the allegations appear to be founded, all named authors of the paper will be contacted and an explanation of the overlapping material will be requested.
- Journal Editorial Board members may be contacted to assist in further evaluation of the paper and allegations. If the explanation is not satisfactory, the submission will be rejected, and no future submissions may be accepted (at our discretion).
Case 3: Data fabrication / falsification
It is essential that all data is accurate, and representative of your research. Data sharing is more and more prevalent, increasing the transparency of raw data. Some journals request that raw data is uploaded as a supplemental file for publication (you can check the instruction for authors to see if this is the case on the journal you are submitting to). JASEM encourages you to submit your supplemental data with your article. Cases of data fabrication/falsification will be evaluated by the editor of the journal. Authors may be contacted to provide supporting raw data where required. Journal Editorial Board members may be contacted to assist in further evaluation of the paper and allegations. If the explanation is not satisfactory, the submission will be rejected, and no future submissions may be accepted (at our discretion).
Case 4: Conflicts of interest
It is very important to be honest about any conflicts of interest, whether sources of research funding, direct or indirect financial support, supply of equipment or materials, or other support. Remember to declare it when you submit your paper. If a conflict of interest is not declared to the journal upon submission, or during review, and it affects the actual or potential interpretation of the results, the paper may be rejected or retracted.
Ethics checklist
Before you submit, make sure:
- You’ve read the journal’s instructions for authors, and checked and followed any instructions regarding data sets, ethics approval, or statements.
- All authors have been named on the paper, and the online submission form.
- All material has been referenced in the text clearly and thoroughly.
- Data has been carefully checked and any supplemental data required by the journal included.
- Any relevant interests have been declared to the journal.
- You have obtained (written) permission to reuse any figures, tables, and data sets.
- You have only submitted the paper to one journal at a time.
- You’ve notified all the co-authors that the paper has been submitted.