Journal Policies
1- Copyright Notice, 2- Plagiarism Policy, 3- Archiving Policy, 4- Self-archiving, 5- Article Correction and Retraction Policy, 6- Authorship & contributorship, 7- Data Repository, 8- Sources of income, 9- Complaints procedure
This is an Open Access journal distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
As a condition of publication in MSDS, all authors agree to the following terms of licensing/copyright ownership:
- First publication rights to original work accepted for publication is granted to Management and Sustainable Development Studies Journal, but copyright for all work published in the journal is retained by the author(s).
- Works published in Management and Sustainable Development Journal will be distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). By granting a CC BY license in their work, authors retain copyright ownership of the work, but they give explicit permission for others to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute, and/or copy the work, as long as the original source and author(s) are properly cited (i.e. a complete bibliographic citation and link to the MSDS website). No permission is required from the author(s) or the publishers for such use. According to the terms of the CC BY license, any reuse or redistribution must indicate the original CC BY license terms of the work. Exceptions to the application of the CC BY license may be granted at the editors’ discretion if reasonable extenuating circumstances exist. Such exceptions must be granted in writing by the editors of the Journal; in the absence of a written exception, the CC BY license will be applied to all published works.
- Authors may enter into separate, additional contractual agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the published version of the work, with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in Management and Sustainable Development Studies Journal.
Authors are permitted to post their work online in institutional/disciplinary repositories or on their own websites. Pre-print versions posted online should include a citation and link to the final published version in Management and Sustainable Development Studies Journal as soon as the issue is available; post-print versions (including the final publisher's PDF) should include a citation and link to the journal's website.
It will be the responsibility of the authors to secure all necessary copyright permissions for the use of third-party materials in their manuscript. Authors will be required to provide written evidence of this permission upon acceptance of their manuscript.
Plagiarism
Close adaptation of the thoughts and expressions of other authors, copying in the expression of ideas, structural similarities in the text or attributing the ideas and results of others without proper reference, or introducing it as a genuine scientific research, is considered "plagiarism" and the policy of this journal is "The fight against plagiarism". For this purpose, similarity is done through the samimnoor system
“Plagiarism” simply means:
To use someone else work without crediting them, or to present the existing idea of someone else as new and original.
All the following are considered plagiarism:
- Making someone else’s work as your own
- Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit
- Giving incorrect information about the source
- Changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit
- Copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not.
- Images and Figures: Using an image, figures and graphs in your work without receiving proper permission and providing appropriate citation is plagiarism. Authors must take written permission from the owner of the work if necessary for using any of the image, figures etc.
Similarity checks by Samim Noor system
The policy of the Quarterly Journal of Management and Sustainable Development Studies is "fighting academic plagiarism". For this purpose, matching is done through the Samim Noor system.
Policy and Action for Plagiarism
The Journals perform similarity check on each manuscript before the peer-review process and the following steps are taken based on the similarity content:
- If the manuscript is found to have less similarity, it will be returned to the author for revision. The author can resubmit the manuscript after removing all similarity and reworking on the content. After revision, more scrutiny will be done on the resubmitted manuscript to avoid any possible plagiarism and copying of any published data.
- If the similarity content is very high, the manuscript will be rejected and cannot consider for revision and publication.
In cases if plagiarism is detected at a later stage, all the actions pertaining to the offense of plagiarism will be taken. If the extent of plagiarism detected too high after publication, the paper will be removed.
Recommendation for Authors
- Always properly cite references and acknowledging ideas.
- All references must contain full bibliographic information.
- All sources cited in the text must be listed in the bibliography and vice versa.
- Wherever more than 6 consecutive words are copied, quotation marks should be used.
- Must have taken permission from other authors/publishers to reuse copyright-protected content.
- Journal of Management and Sustainable Development Studies understands the concerns of authors, readers, librarians, and others about the need for long-term preservation and access to scholarly research as the world of publishing continues to digitize. The policy of this publication directly and honestly addresses the issue of archiving, that is, long-term preservation along with access.
- The Quarterly Journal of Management and Sustainable Development Studies is committed to archiving, that is, long-term preservation and providing access to scientific research information published electronically in the Quarterly Journal of Management and Sustainable Development Studies. This policy statement specifies the extent of the journal's archival commitment and the relevant procedures for fulfilling this commitment. Journal of Management and Sustainable Development Studies will serve as an archive for all electronic information published by this journal (In-house Archiving). The content of the archive will include all the editions of this journal, with the ability to access online and publish relevant supplementary materials. The original content of the information will never change, but may be supplemented by annotations or additional information due to the occurrence of errors and the need to correct content, references and other items that undergo changes after the original publication.
- For the efficient and safe use of the online service, the Quarterly Journal of Management and Sustainable Development Studies undertakes to prepare copies from the electronic archive of the publication in order to maintain information and security. Replicas are used to enable rapid delivery of content to consumers, while security replicas are kept as backups. The Quarterly Journal of Sustainable Development and Management Studies is committed to periodic renewal of these reproductions. At least one security duplicate copy is kept in a separate location away from the editorial office of the Journal of Management and Sustainable Development Studies in Zahedan, Iran.
- Also, all the papers of this journal are archived in the "Iranian Scientific Journals System" which belongs to the "National Library and Archives of I.R. IRAN".
Self-archiving
Self-archiving policies for authors
Authors are permitted to post their work online in institutional/disciplinary repositories or on their own websites. Pre-print versions posted online should include a citation and link to the final published version in Journal of Management and Sustainable Development Studies as soon as the issue is available; post-print versions (including the final publisher's PDF) should include a citation and link to the journal's website.
Article Correction and Retraction Policy
All the Corrections made to a published article in the journal will be with the authorization of the editor of the journal. Editors will decide the magnitude of the corrections. Minor corrections are made directly to the original article.
Erratum
An error introduced by the publisher that affects the integrity of the version of record, the reputation of the authors, or the reputation of the journal, is termed as Erratum.
An Erratum is a statement by the authors of the original paper that briefly describes any correction(s) resulting from errors or omissions. Any effects on the conclusions of the paper should be noted. The corrected article is not removed from the online journal, but notice of erratum is given. The Erratum is made freely available to all readers and is linked to the corrected article.
Addendum
An addendum is a notification of the addition of information to an article. Addenda are published when the editors decide that the addendum is crucial to the reader’s understanding of a significant part of the published contribution. Addenda include Editorial Expression of Concern, which is an editorial statement alerting our readership to serious concerns with the published paper. An Editorial Expression of Concern is typically updated with another amendment once further information is available.
Addenda do not contradict the original publication, but if the author inadvertently omitted significant information available at the time, this material can be published as an addendum. Addenda may be peer-reviewed, according to journal policy, and are normally subject to oversight by the editors of the journal. Addenda relating to the article content are published only rarely and only when the journal editors decide that an addendum is crucial to the reader’s understanding of a significant part of the published article. All addenda are linked to the original article to which they relate.
Retraction
A Retraction is a notice that the paper should not be regarded as part of the scientific literature. Retractions are issued if there is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, this can be as a result of misconduct or honest error. Retraction takes place if:
- The findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper referencing, permission or justification.
- If the work is plagiarized
- If the work reports unethical research.
To protect the integrity of the record, the retracted article is not removed from the online journal, but notice of retraction is given, also it is made freely available to all readers, and is linked to the retracted article. Retractions can be published by the authors when they have discovered substantial scientific errors; in other cases, the Editors or Publisher may conclude that retraction is appropriate. In all cases, the retraction indicates the reason for the action and who is responsible for the decision. If a retraction is made without the unanimous agreement of the authors, that is also noted.
In rare and extreme cases involving legal infringement, the Publisher may redact or remove an article. Bibliographic information about the article will be retained to ensure the integrity of the scientific record.
Read COPE Guidelines for Retracting Articles
Corrigenda
A corrigendum is a notification of a significant error made by the authors of the article. All corrigenda are normally approved by the editors of the journal. Corrigendum or Author Correction. Notification of an important error made by the author(s) that affects the publication record or the scientific integrity of the paper, or the reputation of the authors or the journal.
Authorship
It is recommended that authorship be based on the following four criteria:
- Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
- Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
- Final approval of the version to be published; AND
- Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
In addition to being accountable for the parts of the work he or she has done, an author should be able to identify which co-authors are responsible for specific other parts of the work. In addition, authors should have confidence in the integrity of the contributions of their co-authors.
We include only one corresponding author per article. Any further contribution details (eg, equal contribution) must be included in the contributors or acknowledgment sections at the end of the article.
The MSDS requires that all those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, and all who meet the four criteria should be identified as authors. We recognize only natural persons over 18 years of age as authors. These authorship criteria are intended to reserve the status of authorship for those who deserve credit and can take responsibility for the work. The criteria are not intended for use as a means to disqualify colleagues from authorship who otherwise meet authorship criteria by denying them the opportunity to meet criteria 2 or 3. Therefore, all individuals who meet the first criterion should have the opportunity to participate in the review, drafting, and final approval of the manuscript.
The individuals who conduct the work are responsible for identifying who meets these criteria and ideally should do so when planning the work, making modifications as appropriate as the work progresses. The corresponding author takes primary responsibility for communication with the journal during the manuscript submission, peer review, and publication process, and typically ensures that all the journal’s administrative requirements, such as providing details of authorship, ethics committee approval, and gathering conflict of interest forms and statements, are properly completed, although these duties may be delegated to one or more co-authors.
When a large multi-author group has conducted the work, the group ideally should decide who will be an author before the work is started and confirm who is an author before submitting the manuscript for publication. All members of the research group named as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, including approval of the final manuscript, and they should be able to take public responsibility for the work and should have full confidence in the accuracy and integrity of the work of other group authors. They will also be expected as individuals to complete conflict-of-interest disclosure forms.
At The MSDS, we want authors to assure us that all authors included in a paper fulfill the criteria of authorship. In addition, we want assurance that there is no one else who fulfills the criteria but has not been included as an author.
When we encounter disagreements among authors, we follow guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)—see here and here.
Contributorship
The MSDS lists contributors in two ways. Firstly, we publish a list of authors' names at the beginning of the paper and, secondly, we list contributors (some of whom may not be included as authors) at the end of the paper, giving details of who did what in planning, conducting, and reporting the work. This is a good place to include contributions by assisting as research volunteers, giving their names and specific roles. We encourage authors to fully acknowledge the contribution of the public to their research where appropriate.
Alteration to authorship or contributorship
Any change in authors and/or contributors after initial submission must be approved by all authors. This applies to additions, deletions, changes of order to the authors, or contributions being attributed differently. Any alterations must be explained to the editor. The editor may contact any of the authors and/or contributors to ascertain whether they have agreed to any alteration.
Data Repository Guidance
MSDS mandates the release of datasets accompanying our Data Descriptors, but we do not ourselves host data. Instead, we ask authors to submit datasets to an appropriate public data repository. Data should be submitted to discipline-specific, community-recognized repositories where possible. Where a suitable discipline-specific resource does not exist, data should be submitted to a generalist repository.
Authors must deposit their data to a data repository as part of the manuscript submission process; manuscripts will not otherwise be sent for review. If data have not been deposited to a repository prior to manuscript submission, authors can upload their data to figshare or the Dryad Digital Repository during the submission process. Data may also be deposited to these resources temporarily if the main host repository does not support confidential peer review.
Repositories need to meet our requirements for anonymous peer review, data access, preservation, resource stability, and suitability for use by all researchers with the appropriate types of data.
Data repositories should meet all of the following requirements:
- Ensure long-term persistence and preservation of datasets in their published form (minimum of 5 years after publication).
- Provide stable persistent identifiers for submitted datasets (e.g. Datacite DOIs).
- Allow public access to data without barriers, such as logins or paywalls, unless required for sensitive human datasets requiring access registration and/or acceptance of terms such as Data Usage Agreements.
- Support open licenses (CC0 and CC-BY, or their equivalents, are required in most cases to learn more). Exceptions will only be permitted for human-derived data and should be discussed with the editorial team prior to manuscript submission.
- Provide for a confidential review of submitted datasets without the requirement for reviewers to provide identifying information, as well as embargoed data for authors during peer review if required.
Subject-specific repositories that are supported and recognized within their scientific community are strongly encouraged.
Generalist repositories
MSDS encourages authors to archive data to one of the data-type-specific repositories where possible. Where a data-type-specific repository is not available, the following generalist repositories might be suitable. Generalist repositories may also be appropriate for archiving associated analyses, or experimental-control data, supplementing the primary data in a discipline-specific repository.
The generalist repositories listed below are able to accept data from all researchers, regardless of location or funding source. If your institution has its own generalist data repository this can be used to host your data as long as the repository is able to mint DataCite DOIs, and allows data to be shared under open terms of use (for example the CC0 waiver).
figshare (100 GB free per Scientific Data manuscript)
Open Science Framework (Free of charge)
Science Data Bank (Free of charge)
Journal of Sustainable Development and Management Studies is an open-access journal published online. The cost of publishing the article from the authors as well as organizational support by the Islamic Azad University of Zahedan branch are financial resources that are used to pay the cost of web presence, pre-print preparation and staff salaries.
This procedure applies to complaints related to content, processes, or policies that are the responsibility of MSDS or our editorial staff. Complaints may provide an opportunity and a spur for improvement, and we aim to respond quickly, courteously, and constructively. The procedure outlined below aims to be fair to those making complaints and those complained about.
Defining "complaint"
The complaint must relate to content, procedures, or policies that are the responsibility of MSDS or our editorial staff. We define a complaint as:
- anything defined as a complaint by the complainant and
- anything we believe goes beyond an expression of disagreement with a decision and identifies a perceived failure of process or a severe misjudgment
Making a complaint
Complaints should be directly emailed to msds.iauzah@gmail.com, and will be dealt with confidentially.
Complaints at MSDS are coordinated by the complaints team, with individual complaints handled by the relevant member of the editorial team and the opportunity for escalation if they cannot be resolved.
- In the case that this initial response is felt to be insufficient, the complainant can request that their complaint is escalated to a more senior member of the team.
- If the complainant remains unhappy, complaints may be escalated to an executive editor and ultimately the editor-in-chief, whose decision is final.
- If a complainant remains unhappy after what the editor-in-chief considers a definitive reply, the complainant may complain to an external body.
Complaints that are not under the control of The MSDS's editorial staff will be sent to the relevant heads of departments within the Islamic Azad University Publishing Group.
Complaints, sent to the MSDS's chairman or chief executive officer, will usually be referred to the editor-in-chief.
Complaint timeframes
- All complaints will be formally acknowledged within three working days.
- If possible, a complete response will be made within two weeks. If this is not possible, an interim response will be given within two weeks. Further interim responses will be provided until the complaint is resolved.
- Where we consider a complaint to be vexatious or the result of a coordinated campaign, we reserve the right to reply outside the suggested time frames, and on some occasions, we may not respond to all complainants individually.
External bodies
If a complainant remains unhappy after a reply considered definitive by the editor-in-chief, the complainant may complain to an external body, when that body has relevant oversight.