Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics Statement: For all parties involved in the publishing process (authors, Editorial Board, and reviewers), it is necessary to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior. RHAPSODE LTD has developed international standards to guarantee high ethical standards for all parties. RHAPSODE LTD expects all the parties to commit to these standards.

International Standards for Authors: RHAPSODE LTD does not require all authors of a research paper to sign a letter of submission, nor does it impose an order on the list of authors. All authors who submit to RHAPSODE LTD are expected to observe the international standards for authors voluntarily. RHAPSODE LTD adheres to International Standards for Authors developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics and encourages all authors to refer to these standards.

• Authors must certify that their manuscripts are their original work. Plagiarism, Duplicate, Data Fabrication and Falsification, and Redundant Publications are forbidden.
• Authors must certify that the manuscript has not previously been published and is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere.
• If the authors have used the work and/or words of others, the authors must ensure that the work and/or words of others are appropriately cited or quoted and identify all sources used in the creation of their manuscripts.
• When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the Journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.
• Authors must notify RHAPSODE LTD of any conflicts of interest.
• Authors must ensure the confidentiality and anonymity of the participants while collecting, analyzing, and reporting data.
• For studies involving human subjects, authors must obtain approval from their institutional ethics committee and confirm that recognized standards, such as the Declaration of Helsinki (see https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/#:~:text=The%20World%20Medical%20Association%20(WMA,identifiable%20human%20material%20and%20data), have been followed to minimize harm to participants. Authors must obtain informed consent from human participants. They must also ensure the information they collect from participants does not contain any identifiable information and mitigate the risk of being able to assign data to specific individuals.
• Children participating in research have a particular right to protection. Therefore, authors must obtain parental or guardian consent before data collection. They must also gain informed consent of other vulnerable individuals, i.e., the disadvantaged, prisoners, and minorities. 
• Research ethics policies for studies involving the participation of human subjects (e.g., consent, participant anonymity, etc.) and vulnerable populations (i.e., children – parent/guardian consent) are also expected to be present on the journal website, in line with accepted standard practices in the field.
• Authors must ensure that all participants in their study have given informed consent for publication.
• According to the WMA Declaration of Helsinki – Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects, “Some groups and individuals are particularly vulnerable and may have an increased likelihood of being wronged or of incurring additional harm. All vulnerable groups and individuals should receive specifically considered protection”. (see https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/)
• Accordingly, authors must consider issues arising from working with potentially vulnerable people and must address how such risks to these participants are minimized and how they are protected from risks.

International Standards for Editorial Board: Editors and Editorial Board are required to follow the international standards for Editorial Board:

●  The editorial board must keep information pertaining to all submitted manuscripts confidential. 
●  The editorial board is responsible for making publication decisions for submitted manuscripts. 
●  The editorial board must strive to meet the needs of readers and authors. 
●  The editorial board must evaluate manuscripts only for their intellectual content. 
●  The editorial board must strive to improve RHAPSODE LTD’s quality constantly. 
●  The editorial board must maintain the integrity of the academic record. 
●  The editorial board must disclose any conflicts of interest and preclude business needs from compromising intellectual and ethical standards. 
●  The editorial board must always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when needed.

International Standards for Reviewers: Reviewers of RHAPSODE LTD are also expected to meet the international standards for reviewers when they accept review invitations.

●  Reviewers must keep information pertaining to the manuscript confidential. 
●  Reviewers must bring to the attention of the Editor Board any information that may be a reason to reject the publication of a manuscript. 
●  Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts only for their intellectual content. 
●  Reviewers must objectively evaluate the manuscripts based only on their originality, significance, and relevance to the domains of the journal. 
●  Reviewers must notify RHAPSODE LTD about any conflicts of interest.

RHAPSODE LTD does not require all authors to sign the letter of submission. The corresponding author is responsible ensure that all authors have agreed to be listed and approved for the paper submission to the journal and approved papers managing all communication between the journal and all co-authors before and after publication. All manuscripts are checked for plagiarism using the iThenticate tool by RHAPSODE LTD. Authors should strictly avoid plagiarism, including self-plagiarism. Manuscripts with over 10% overlapping from the similarity report results exceeding 10% would not be considered for publication by RHAPSODE LTD. Papers submitted to RHAPSODE LTD must be original and not be published or submitted for publication elsewhere. 

The editorial board will thoroughly check submitted manuscripts to identify and prevent possible research misconduct regarding the publication of papers with RHAPSODE LTD. According to Editor’s and reviewers’ feedback, the corresponding author is responsible for retracting or correcting articles if research misconduct is identified.
RHAPSODE LTD is a member of CrossCheck, an initiative to help editors verify the originality of submitted manuscripts.
RHAPSODE LTD refers to the ethical principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).