Publication Ethics Statement



The statement on ethical standards and malpractice in publishing below as declared by editorial team of the “MACHINE SCIENCE” journal was developed based on the guidelines of the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE), available on the website www.publicationethics.org

The mission of the AzTU – Azerbaijan Technical University is to share the knowledge. Part of the mission is publication of innovative achievements in the Materials Science, Mechanic, Machine design, Mechanical engineering technology, Economics and management (in mechanical engineering) and Automation and ICT in the scientific journal “MACHINE SCIENCE”. All academic papers in the periodical are reviewed.

The editorial staff of the “MACHINE SCIENCE” journal will disclose and condemn all incidents of infringement on publication ethics by parties involved in the publication process: authors, editors and reviewers.

Publication of articles
The decision on sending the article for review is made by Editor-in-Chief, Editorial Board or Executive Editor. After decision that the submitted manuscript can be sent for review (on finding that it meets the formal requirements as well), it is sent to two independent reviewers (single blind review). The decision on publication of the article is made after analysis of the results presented by the author/s/ and after verification of the article's originality by the editorial staff with plagiarism detection software. In controversial cases, e.g. on receiving two extremely different reviews – one positive and the other negative, the editorial team may appoint a third reviewer or seek the opinion of an Executive Editor who is an expert in a specific field. When two negative article reviews are received or plagiarism is found, infringement on copyrights or defamation, the editorial board will withdraw the publication from printing.

Principle of fair play
The Editor-in-Chief, Editorial Board or Executive Editor and reviewers are obliged to maintain objectivity when accepting the article for printing. Sex, race, sexual orientation, religious denomination, nationality and political views of the authors of papers submitted for publication have no influence on the manuscript's assessment.

OBLIGATIONS OF AUTHORS

Requirements for article submission
When submitting their work for the “MACHINE SCIENCE” journal, the authors have to attach a declaration that they do not infringe on the copyrights of other people. When several authors have worked on the publication, they should also specify the percentage share of particular individuals in creation of the work as well as indicate correspondence author. When submitting previously published graphic elements (drawings, charts, etc.) to the editorial board, the authors of the manuscript must also submit a consent of the graphic element owner/editor to use them again. This particularly concerns the photos and graphics found in the internet. The guidelines for preparation of the work and its submission for publication are available on the website.

Originality
The authors can present for publication only their own original works, otherwise the work will not be accepted for printing or it will be withdrawn (demonstration of unethical conduct of the authors after the work has been published). All forms of plagiarism are unacceptable – including appropriation of somebody else's work, phrases, data, theoretical concepts or conclusions of other authors, or self-plagiarism – which comprises repeat publication of excerpts of own, previously published works as new work. Simultaneous submission of the manuscript to more than one periodical is recognized as unethical and reprehensible conduct. The works or words of other authors need to be used as a quotation. Authors should also specify all conceptual inspirations, including publications which contributed to origination of the work. As an exception, reprinting or translation of already published article is possible, and such a publication must be suitably marked and needs a consent for copyright.

Authorship of the manuscript
Only those individuals who made a real contribution to the origination of the publication may be named its authors. At the end of the article, the authors can insert the names of the people who participated in the tests which served as the basis for the publication (but who did not take part in its preparation).

Quoting the sources
The authors should provide the sources of presented data and make references in the text in respect of all essential findings.

Scientific deception
The authors are obliged to present the results of their work in a transparent, reliable and honest way – submitted works may only contain the data, statistical analysis and the results which were recognized as accurate. Deliberate publication of untrue or unverified results is unethical and unacceptable.

Disclosing a conflict of interests
The authors must disclose to handling editors any potential conflict of interests which may have an impact on the results contained in the manuscript or may influence their interpretation. The authors should also ensure there are no proprietary claims related to the content and photos inserted in the manuscript which might adversely affect its publication.

Publication errors
If the authors spot an error in the article after its publication, they should immediately notify the handling editors of the fact so that they can make corrections or withdraw the text.

Disclosing a conflict of interests
Editors and reviewers may not use the information contained in the submitted article for the purpose of their own research without prior explicit consent of its author. If a conflict of interests is found resulting from competition, cooperation or other relationships with any of the authors or institutions associated with the article, the responsibilities of the chief editor (the decision related to publication) are taken over by the Executive Editor of the “MACHINE SCIENCE” journal. The handling editors are obliged to disclose any potential conflict of interests and publish such information after the work has been published, whenever such a conflict is found to occur. When necessary, other actions will be taken as well, such as publication of revoke (retraction) or disclaimer.

Judicial remedy
If the author wishes to appeal against the decision on non-publication of the article, the final decision must be made by the Editor-in-Chief or Executive Editor. The Editor-in-Chief / Executive Editor, after consulting the Editorial Board and reviewers who assessed the work, may change the initial decision on non-publication of the article.

Retraction of the article
In case the work is published and then an essential error is found in it or substantial parts of it are considered to be invalid, the work will be withdrawn from printing and the reason will be given (e.g. cheating, error, plagiarism, the so-called double publications). Retraction of the article will take place also when in the article already published, confident information is found obtained by the author from a third person and used in the work without the person's consent. The decision on retraction of the article is made by the Editor-in-Chief or Executive Editor after consulting the Editorial Board of the “MACHINE SCIENCE” journal and the reviewers who assessed the work in question.

OBLIGATIONS OF REVIEWERS

The essential duty of the reviewer is objective assessment of the text. All comments, assessments and suggestions should be clear and supported by appropriate arguments. All criticism and remarks made for personal reasons are unacceptable. The decision concerning the publication is affected only by factual content of the submitted material and thematic conformity with the profile of the “MACHINE SCIENCE” journal. In the review process, only the following criteria are considered: originality of the work and its scientific character, consistency of submitted manuscript with thematic scope of the periodical, correctness of the calculations and terminology used, appropriate verification of hypotheses and justification of conclusions.

Confidentiality
The reviewers are obliged to maintain confidentiality with regard to all unpublished works and materials related to them.

Objectivity
The reviewers must undertake to make all efforts to reliably and objectively assess the academic value of the work. If the reviewer decides that they do not have sufficient competence to assess the article, they should notify the handling editors of the fact and resign from reviewing the manuscript. It is the reviewer's duty to give the authors clear, constructive and detailed remarks by means of the editorial staff, also in the case of works which in their opinion are not suitable for printing. It is reprehensible to limit oneself to informing the authors only of the conclusions of the review, and in particular not to inform them of essential objections or accusations, also in positive reviews.

Meeting deadlines for reviews
The reviewer should carefully assess how much time they need to make the review by a fixed date, and in case of doubt, abandon the review. The editorial staff expects the review within four weeks from accepting the task by the reviewer.

Disclosing a conflict of interests
The reviewer cannot be in close personal or professional relationship with the author of the manuscript. When such a situation occurs, the reviewer is obliged to abandon the review of such a manuscript and immediately notify the handling editors of the fact and to refuse running the review.

Originality
If, in the course of the review or verification of the manuscript, considerable similarity is discovered to other people's articles or infringement on their intellectual property right is found, it is the duty of the reviewer to notify the handling editors of the fact. Having familiarized himself with details of the said infringement, the Editor-in-Chief or Executive Editor will make the final decision concerning publication of the article.

Quoting the sources
The reviewer should point out to the authors all themes and publications which are vital in their opinion but which were not covered or quoted in the article.