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Ethics Statement

International Development Policy | Revue internationale de politique de développement is committed to a high standard of professional academic review and publishing. The journal’s team works closely with authors, editors, peer reviewers and publishers to uphold strict ethical rules, which all parties are required to respect.

The following ethics statement is based on the guidelines set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the statements issued by other journals hosted on OpenEdition.

1. Duties of the journal

Review process

Spontaneous submissions

Every effort is made to treat each submitted manuscript equitably and confidentially, and to conduct the review process as swiftly and efficiently as possible.

Submissions are checked for plagiarism. A submission will be rejected if this process reveals textual similarities with other published works that could be considered as plagiarism.

Any submission received that addresses topics outside the scope of the journal, demonstrates significant academic shortcomings or is not in line with the journal’s editorial policy may be rejected by the editorial team and the editorial board without being sent for peer review.

Submissions not rejected for the above reasons undergo a rigorous peer review process. Each submission is anonymised and reviewed by at least two external referees who are recognised experts in the field.

Final decisions are made based on the reviewers’ reports. Submissions may be rejected, accepted subject to minor revisions (manuscript accepted on condition that the necessary revisions are made), or accepted subject to major revisions (requires a second review and may not be accepted after resubmission). In case of significant divergence among reviewers, the editorial team makes the final decision. In all cases, the reviewers' comments are transmitted to the author(s).

Special issues or thematic issues

Manuscripts for special or thematic issues are selected by the issue’s guest editor(s) and must be relevant to a specific theme. These manuscripts undergo a specific peer review process that may include presentations at an “Author’s Workshop” prior to anonymous external review.

Non peer reviewed content

To promote critical and constructive exchanges of ideas between academics, policy makers and practitioners, the journal publishes content in various formats (policy briefs, analyses, reports, debates, interviews, etc.) that are exempt from the peer review process described above. This content is clearly identified as such.

Conflicts of interest

If any member of the editorial team or editorial board has a suspected conflict of interest resulting from a competitive or collaborative relationship, or other form of connection with any of the authors, companies, or institutions linked to a manuscript submission, the individual should disclose this information to the journal’s editorial team and withdraw entirely from the peer review process for the manuscript in question.

Objectivity

Each manuscript submission is evaluated objectively for its intellectual content, without regard to race, gender, religious belief, sexual orientation, citizenship, ethnic origin, political philosophy or institutional affiliation of its authors.

Confidentiality and data use

The peer review process is undertaken in strict confidentiality. Information and correspondence on manuscripts are not shared with third parties. Privileged information, arguments or interpretations contained in a proposed manuscript may not be used by the editorial team or editorial board members for personal gain or released before publication without the author’s or authors’ explicit consent.

Editing and translations

Each accepted manuscript is edited in close cooperation with the author(s), and final versions are approved by the author(s) before publication.

If the manuscript is recommended for translation into another language, the author(s) will be asked to give consent and to approve the final translated version.

Fundamental errors in published works

If a significant error or inaccuracy is discovered in a manuscript published in the journal, the author(s) will be promptly notified. It is the author’s obligation to correct or retract the paper, or to provide evidence to the journal editors of the correctness of the original manuscript. In case of articles under dispute, the journal can exclude the article from the website until the issues are discussed and resolved. If there is reason for concern about serious matters such as plagiarism, fabrication of research, duplicate publication or failure to disclose conflicts of interest, the editor will review and resolve the matter in consultation with the editorial board and the Graduate Institute.

2. Duties of reviewers

Recusal

Any invited referee who can identify a conflict of interest concerning a submitted manuscript and/or the work described therein, who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or who knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editors and decline the invitation to review so that alternate reviewers can be contacted.

Confidentiality and data use

The peer review process is strictly confidential. Information and/or correspondence about a manuscript are not shared parties not directly involved in the process. No new information, argument or interpretation contained within a manuscript may be used by referees before publication without the author’s or authors’ explicit consent.

Objectivity

Submissions are considered objectively and their merits are judged without regard to race, gender, religious belief, sexual orientation, citizenship, ethnic origin, or institutional affiliation of its authors. The referees respect the intellectual independence of the authors and clearly express their views on the basis of arguments.

Multiple or redundant publications

If an invited referee is aware of a published work or another submission that contains substantial similarities with the manuscript under evaluation, they should inform the journal’s editorial team as soon as possible.

References

Referees should inform the journal’s editorial team if others authors’ works are used without reference to their source(s).

3. Duties of authors

Originality and plagiarism

Authors must guarantee that they have written and are submitting entirely original works; and that if they have used the work and/or words of others, that they have been appropriately cited or quoted. Authors must also ensure that their submitted work contains no content that may be construed as libellous or as infringing in any way the copyright of another party.

Conflicts of interest

Authors must disclose any conflicts of interest that might influence their results or their interpretations presented in the submitted manuscript.

Research ethics and anonymised sources

It is the responsibility of the authors to ensure that no participants are harmed, physically or mentally, during the research that results in the article, and that personal details of any participants who have not agreed for their information to be released or where the release of personal details could endanger a participant, are fully anonymised. This applies to textual citations, images, and any supplementary audio or visual material.

Authorship and acknowledgements

Corresponding authors must ensure that all appropriate co-authors who made significant contributions to the study or its interpretation are listed as co-authors, and that no inappropriate co-authors are included. They must verify that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission for publication. All persons who made substantial contributions to the work but who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged in the “Acknowledgements” section. Source of financial support for the specific article and possible conflict of interest must be disclosed.

Defamatory comments

Authors must guarantee that submitted manuscripts do not contain any misrepresentations or any defamatory or fraudulent statements.

Multiple or redundant publications

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts have not been published elsewhere and that they are not based on published works. Authors should not submit their paper to more than one journal concurrently.

References

Authors must ensure that all references and sources are appropriately mentioned and cited.

Editing

Authors must ensure that their submitted manuscripts comply with the journal’s Guidelines for Authors. Authors authorise the editorial team to suggest adjustments to their papers, and agree to cooperate when these adjustments are submitted to them for approval.

Fundamental errors in published works

When authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their own published work, it is their obligation to promptly notify the journal’s editors and cooperate with them to either correct the paper in the form of an erratum, or to retract the paper. If the editors or publisher learn from a third party that a published work contains a significant error or inaccuracy, it is the authors’ obligation to promptly correct or retract the paper or provide evidence to the journal editors of the correctness of the paper.

Print and digital publication

Authors authorise the journal to distribute their published manuscripts in printed and/or digital form, currently via Brill-Nijhoff Publishing and/or OpenEdition Journals.

Geneva, 7 May 2020

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