Publication Ethics

1. Introduction

SHIFRA, published by Peninsula Press, is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, aligned with the COPE Core Practices, the WAME Recommendations, and the principles of the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI).

This ethics policy applies to all participants in the publication process—authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members—and is designed to ensure transparency, accountability, and integrity.

The journal enforces responsible research practices, peer review ethics, authorship clarity, and editorial independence. Ethical issues—including plagiarism, duplicate publication, conflicts of interest, authorship disputes, and AI misuse—are addressed through a clear and documented process based on COPE guidelines. Supporting forms, such as authorship change requests and COI declarations, are available in the footer.

By submitting to SHIFRA, authors acknowledge and commit to complying with this ethical framework.

2. Roles & Responsibilities

2.1 Authors

• Submit only original work not under review elsewhere.
• Properly cite all sources; avoid plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and data fabrication.
• Clearly disclose:
  • All co-author contributions (check CRediT taxonomy for more information)
  • Funding sources (see Financial Disclosure Form in footer)
  • Conflicts of interest (see Conflict of Interest Form for Authors in footer)
• Ensure ethical approval for studies involving humans or animals and include informed consent where applicable.
• Respond promptly to reviewer/editor feedback.
• Disclose any use of AI in text generation, data analysis, or image production. AI tools must not be credited as authors, per COPE and WAME guidance.
• Requests for withdrawal or authorship changes must be submitted via the designated forms (see Withdrawal and Authorship Change Forms in footer).

2.2 Editors

• Make independent decisions based solely on academic merit.
• Uphold transparency and confidentiality throughout the editorial process.
• Prevent and address:
  • Plagiarism and duplicate submissions
  • Citation manipulation
  • Guest or ghost authorship
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest (see Conflict of Interest Form for Editors in footer)
• Apply correction and retraction procedures when needed.
• Respond to complaints through documented, fair processes.

2.3 Reviewers

• Evaluate manuscripts objectively, based on originality, methodology, and ethical integrity.
• Maintain confidentiality and declare any conflicts of interest (see Conflict of Interest Form for Reviewers in footer).
• Avoid inappropriate self-citation or bias.
• Alert editors to ethical concerns (e.g., plagiarism, image manipulation) and relevant missing references.
• Follow the journal’s peer review policy, respecting deadlines and standards.

2.4 Editorial Board

• Support the Editor-in-Chief in policy development, ethics oversight, and journal promotion.
• Contribute to maintaining high-quality peer review and expanding the reviewer pool.
• Help resolve disputes or complaints when escalated.

3. Peer Review and Plagiarism Policy

SHIFRA follows a single-blind peer review process, ensuring impartiality and constructive feedback. Manuscripts are first screened by editors for adherence to the journal’s scope, formatting, and ethical compliance.

All submissions are checked for plagiarism using Turnitin, with a strict similarity threshold of <20% (excluding references). Manuscripts exceeding this threshold are returned to authors for revision or rejected outright in severe cases.

Review process includes:

• Reviewer selection based on subject expertise and verified absence of conflicts of interest (see Conflict of Interest Form for Reviewers in footer).
• Evaluation criteria: originality, clarity, methodological soundness, ethical compliance, and contribution to the field.
• Timeline: Reviewers are given up to 4 weeks, with optional extensions upon request. Authors are allowed up to 2 weeks to submit revisions.
• AI disclosure: Reviewers are encouraged to flag any suspected or undisclosed use of AI tools in manuscript preparation, as guided by COPE and WAME.

Plagiarism Handling:

• If plagiarism is identified prior to publication, the manuscript will be returned for revision or rejected, depending on the severity.
• If plagiarism is identified after publication, a formal correction or retraction notice will be issued according to COPE Retraction Guidelines, and the incident may be escalated to the author(s)’ institution.
• Authors are expected to ensure originality and transparency throughout submission. Significant ethical breaches may result in institutional notification and publication retraction.

All peer review correspondence and document management are carried out solely via the journal’s secure ScholarOne system, provided by Clarivate.

4. AI and Authorship Transparency

SHIFRA adheres to the principles outlined by COPE and WAME regarding the ethical use of artificial intelligence in scholarly publishing.

• Authors must disclose any use of AI tools in:
  • Text generation (e.g., ChatGPT or other LLMs),
  • Image or figure creation,
  • Data analysis, modeling, or processing.
• AI tools must not be listed as authors, as they cannot take responsibility for the work, manage conflicts of interest, or sign copyright agreements.
• Responsibility for all content rests solely with human authors, who are fully accountable for accuracy, integrity, and ethical compliance.
• Author contributions must be transparently reported using the CRediT Taxonomy (e.g., conceptualization, methodology, writing—review & editing). Authors may be asked to complete the Authorship Contribution and Change Request Form where applicable (see footer).

Failure to disclose AI involvement or misrepresent authorship may lead to rejection, correction, or retraction, following COPE Guidelines.

5. Correction, Retraction, and Complaints

SHIFRA adheres to COPE Retraction Guidelines and complaints procedures to maintain publication integrity.

Corrections are issued for minor errors that do not alter the scientific conclusions.

Retractions may be issued in cases of:

• Proven plagiarism or data fabrication
• Duplicate publication
• Major methodological flaws
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest
• Ethical violations involving human or animal subjects

All corrections and retraction notices will be:

• Clearly labeled
• Linked to the original article
• Freely and permanently accessible

Complaints regarding editorial decisions, ethical violations, or the conduct of authors, reviewers, or editors should be submitted via the appropriate email addresses listed in the footer.

Depending on the nature of the issue, complainants may be requested to complete the relevant form(s) listed in the footer (e.g., Withdrawal Request Form, Complaint Form, Conflict of Interest Disclosure).

All complaints will be investigated confidentially, in a timely and fair manner, with actions recorded in accordance with COPE’s Complaints Handling Guidelines.

6. Open Access & Copyright

SHIFRA is an open-access journal. All articles are published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0): https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

SHIFRA Ethics Forms

SHIFRA provides standardized forms to support a transparent and consistent editorial process. These forms facilitate the ethical handling of authorship changes, withdrawals, financial disclosures, and conflict of interest declarations.