Editor Code of Conduct

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General Provisions

The “Editor’s Code of Conduct” presented on this page constitutes an integral part of the RGUITS Research Policy regarding ethical conduct for all parties involved in the publication process: authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers. The standards outlined below are based on established international best practices in scientific journal and publisher policies.

The Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Education "Russian State University of Tourism and Service," as the founder and publisher of the scientific journals “Modern Problems of Service and Tourism,” “Service in Russia and Abroad,” “Service plus,” and “Bulletin of the Association of Universities of Tourism and Service” (hereinafter – Publications), assumes responsibility for overseeing all stages of editorial activity and acknowledges its ethical and other obligations associated with this process.

The provisions presented below constitute a set of requirements and powers primarily applicable to chief editors of published journals and/or their deputies or individuals performing these functions, as well as other personnel engaged in editorial duties – scientific editors, members of editorial boards and councils (including foreign members), and invited, guest, and other editors.

1. General Obligations and Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for all content published in the journals for which they serve as editor;
Editors should strive to continuously improve the journal under their editorial direction, actively promote its visibility and accessibility among authors and readers within the professional community. Editors must exert maximum effort to advance the journal’s standing among leading publications in the relevant field;
Editors are responsible for organizing workflow processes and establishing procedures that ensure the quality of published materials, adhering to the highest international standards;
Editors must protect freedom of opinion, uphold principles of scientific integrity, and prevent commercial interests from compromising intellectual and ethical standards;
Editors should promptly inform the governing bodies of the Founder about emerging issues, complexities, and opportunities in the operation of their assigned journal, and endeavor to secure necessary resources and support from the Founder;
Editors should actively support initiatives aimed at reducing unethical behavior by various participants in the publishing process, promoting author education on publication ethics;
Editors may assess the impact of their journal’s policies on the behavior of authors and reviewers and, if necessary, revise these policies to encourage responsible conduct and discourage misconduct.

2. Relationships Between Editors and the Founder of the Journals

The relationship between editors and the Founder must be firmly based on the principle of editorial independence and in accordance with the COPE Code of Conduct for Editors; The Founder and editors should establish a mechanism for resolving disputes between them;
Editors must make decisions regarding which articles to publish solely based on their quality and relevance to the journal’s scope, without interference from the Founder;
The Chief Editor and the Founder of the journal should regularly exchange information, develop a unified strategy for development and promotion of the journal, and define its policy.

3. Relationships Between Editors and Readers

Editors must ensure that all articles published in the journal undergo peer review by specialists possessing the necessary qualifications;
Editors may implement procedures that encourage authors to provide accurate, complete, and clear presentation of research findings;
Editors develop a policy of transparency regarding the editorial and publishing process;
Editors should employ systems for establishing verifiable authorship of articles and actively counter unethical practices such as ghostwriting, gift authorship, or anonymous authorship;
Editors are obligated to inform readers about measures taken to ensure objective and impartial evaluation of articles by members of the editorial board and council, university staff, and other relevant parties, ensuring they do not receive undue advantages in the decision-making process regarding article inclusion.

4. Editor-Author Relationships

Decisions by editors regarding acceptance or rejection of articles must be based on the article’s significance, originality, clarity of presentation, reliability of information, and relevance to the journal’s scope.
Editors should not overturn previously approved publication decisions unless serious issues are discovered during the preparation for publication.
The peer-review process for articles in the journal should be clearly defined, and editors must be prepared to justify any significant deviations from this established procedure. Editors should provide authors with a mechanism for appealing editorial decisions regarding their manuscripts, if necessary.
Editors must establish comprehensive requirements, instructions, and methodological guidelines for manuscripts submitted by authors. These rules should be regularly updated and improved. Editors should ensure that authors have access to recognized international guidelines and standards for manuscript preparation, peer-review processes, and promote familiarity with the journal's "Author Code of Conduct."
Editors must ensure effective selection of reviewers for manuscripts (i.e., individuals capable of providing a competent assessment and who do not have any conflicts of interest related to the work). Editors should respect authors’ requests that specific individuals not review their manuscript, provided such requests are justified and feasible.
In cases of suspected misconduct or authorship disputes, editors must follow COPE guidelines (Committee on Publication Ethics) and inform relevant parties about how these issues and concerns are addressed.
Editors determine submission deadlines and publication decision timelines.

5. Editor-Reviewer Relationships

Editors are responsible for ensuring full adherence to the "Reviewer Code of Conduct" by all experts and specialists involved in the peer review process, including the requirement to maintain confidentiality regarding reviewed materials.
Editors must require reviewers to disclose any potential conflicts of interest before agreeing to undertake a review.
Editors ensure the effective functioning of procedures protecting reviewer anonymity during the double-blind peer-review process for submitted manuscripts.
Editors may encourage reviewers to comment on ethical issues and assess the likelihood of author misconduct related to the reviewed article, evaluate the originality of the analyzed article, and draw attention to potential duplicate publications or plagiarism.
Editors must communicate all reviewer comments regarding an author’s work to the authors, unless such comments are unethical or defamatory.
Editors may publicly acknowledge reviewers' contributions to the journal and encourage organizations to recognize peer review as part of their academic process.
Editors should continuously analyze the quality of reviewer performance and take steps to ensure it is maintained at a high scientific and methodological level.
Editors develop and maintain a database of experts and reviewers, regularly updating and expanding it. They may utilize a wide range of available sources (not solely personal contacts) for this purpose, such as author suggestions and bibliographic databases.
Editors may prioritize involving reviewers in various forms of scientific collaboration with the journal’s editorial team and affiliated organizations.
Editors should discontinue collaborations with reviewers who consistently submit discourteous, delayed, or superficial reviews and follow COPE recommendations in cases of suspected reviewer misconduct.

6. Relations with Editorial Board and Chief Editor’s Collegium Members

Chief Editors are obligated to regularly review the composition of the editorial board. Editors, in agreement with the Publisher and within their defined competencies, may invite new members to join the editorial board and collegium of the journal. They must fully inform them about all types, forms, features, and requirements imposed by the editorial office regarding the work of reviewers, as well as promptly notify existing members of any changes in applied approaches and procedures.
Chief Editors are obligated to ensure impartial review of submitted manuscripts from editorial board and collegium members on the same level as those from external authors.
Chief Editors must clearly explain to collegium members their functions and responsibilities, which may include: performing the functions of journal representatives; supporting and promoting the journal; identifying top authors and best works; actively inviting authors to submit their articles; analyzing articles submitted to the journal; forming individual issues of the journal; accepting assignments for writing editorial articles, reviews, and commentaries on works within their area of specialization.
Chief Editors are obligated to actively participate in meetings of the editorial board, periodically consult with members of the editorial board/collegium to learn their opinions regarding the journal's work, inform them about changes in the journal’s policy, and develop future goals.

7. The Role of Editors in Ensuring Quality Processes

Editors must take all reasonable steps to ensure the quality of materials published in journals, taking into account that journals and sections within journals may have different aims and standards.
Editors may apply procedures (e.g., additional plagiarism checks, expert review) for detecting fabricated data (e.g., photographs manipulated inappropriately or incorrect citations) to all submitted articles, or only to selected ones when suspicions of violations arise.
Editors should develop the journal’s style (scientific, design, publishing, etc.) based on objective methods rather than solely on aesthetic preferences or the Publisher's preferences.

8. The Role of Editors in Protecting Personal Data of Participants in the Editorial and Publishing Process

Editors must comply with legislation regarding the preservation of confidentiality and protection of personal data, fully adhering to and implementing the "Privacy Policy." Furthermore, they must always protect the confidentiality of individual information obtained during research and other professional activities (e.g., communication between authors and editors).
Editors should be aware that in international publishing practice, it is customary to obtain written consent for publication from individuals who may recognize themselves or be recognizable in articles submitted by authors. Publication of personal information without explicit consent is possible if the public interest outweighs potential harm, obtaining consent is impossible, and a reasonable person would likely not object to the specific publication.
Editors may formulate their policy regarding the publication of personal data (e.g., data allowing identification of an individual or photographs) and clearly explain this policy to authors, requiring them to comply with it.

9. Actions of Editors in Cases of Suspected Misconduct

Editors must take certain measures when they learn or suspect misconduct by any participants in the editorial and publishing process. This obligation applies to both published and unpublished materials.
Editors should not simply reject articles when suspicions of potential misconduct arise. They have an ethical obligation to respond to such situations, which may involve informing relevant monitoring organizations and institutions.
In all cases of suspected misconduct by participants in the editorial and publishing process, editors must follow COPE guidelines.
When suspecting misconduct by article authors, editors should first request clarification from them. If no response is received or an unsatisfactory response is obtained, editors should contact their employer or relevant organization (potentially a regulatory body) to request an investigation of the issue.
Editors should take all reasonable measures to ensure proper investigation of any instance of suspected misconduct; if this cannot be achieved, they should do everything possible to resolve the problem. This may involve following the provisions of the "Retraction Policy" for withdrawing published articles about whose authors' misconduct became known after publication.

10. Actions of Editors to Ensure Intellectual Property Protection

Editors must pay close attention to issues related to intellectual property and collaborate with the Publisher when resolving potential violations of laws and agreements concerning intellectual property protection;
Editors should implement a system of plagiarism detection tools (e.g., specialized software) for manuscripts submitted for publication (either in all submissions or when suspicions arise);
Editors must, by all available means and methods, support authors whose copyright has been infringed upon or who have become victims of plagiarism;
Editors must be prepared to collaborate with the Publisher to protect copyrights and pursue infringers (e.g., through requests for article retraction/withdrawal or removal of materials from websites), regardless of whether the case involves a violation of the journal's own copyright.

11. The Role of Editors in Encouraging Discussion

Editors should encourage and be willing to consider well-founded criticism of works published in their journal;
Authors of criticized materials should have the opportunity to respond to the criticism;
The editorial board’s opinion and that of individual editors does not always need to align with the thoughts, facts, or positions expressed by authors in submitted manuscripts. However, these must not contradict established scientific norms and contain pseudoscientific or unscientific claims;
Works presenting only negative/unfavorable research results may also be published.

12. The Role of Editors in Responding to Complaints and Inquiries

Editors should respond promptly to incoming complaints and inquiries, striving to minimize the number of individuals dissatisfied with the consideration of their concerns. Editors should inform authors about the availability of a mechanism for resolving unresolved issues with the journal’s editorial board and Publisher through COPE;
In all cases of complaints and unresolved issues, editors must follow procedures outlined in COPE guidelines.

13. Conflicts of Interest Involving Editors

Editors must have procedures in place to resolve their own conflicts of interest, as well as those involving staff, authors, reviewers, and editorial board members;
Journals should have a clearly defined mechanism for submitting articles by editors, staff, and editorial board members to ensure impartial review;
Editors may publish lists of significant interests (financial, academic, or otherwise) that could influence their decisions for all editorial staff and editorial board members.

RSUTS Editorial department