Statement of Publication Ethics and Practices

Servir Journal’s Statement on Ethics and Publication Practices

Servir Journal sets out in this document the set of rules and principles governing the process of submission, editing, peer review and publication of scientific articles. The journal is committed to the use of inclusive and non-discriminatory language with regard to gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability and other differences. In this regard, Servir Journal recommends the use of gender-neutral language, which allows for an inclusive reading of the text.

EDITORS

As part of its policy of continuous improvement,  Servir Journal adheres to high standards of ethical conduct, following the guidelines set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

 Servir Journal is guided by the principle that scientific facts and opinions must be clearly distinguished: the former are sacrosanct and the latter are free. The magazine is independent of political and economic power and of any pressure groups, and is committed to democratic, pluralist and solidarity-based values. In carrying out its work, it adheres strictly to the ethical and professional standards governing scientific activity, research and journalism, whilst upholding pluralism of opinion, without prejudice to its right to adopt its own positions.

All publications are open access; they do not generate any revenue for the journal’s managing body and, in accordance with the transparency policy, the issues are duly made available on the Portuguese Open Access Scientific Repository (RCAAP) and on the journal’s own website, ensuring appropriate visibility and publicity for the scientific and technical work produced.

The editorial team takes a firm stance against unethical publishing behaviour, carrying out its work with a high degree of responsibility. It seeks to identify any misconduct, preventing the publication of papers that contain plagiarism, manipulated citations, falsified data or the biased presentation of information. Where necessary, the editorial team will request evidence of ethical approval for the research (opinions from ethics committees) and will question the authors regarding ethical issues. Should any breach of ethical standards or other misconduct be detected,  Servir Journal will withdraw the text from publication in accordance with COPE’s retraction guidelines (COPE Guidelines for Retracting Articles).

• Responsibility: The editorial team is responsible for deciding which submitted articles meet the requirements for publication, guided by the editorial board’s policies and the applicable legal requirements regarding defamation, copyright infringement and plagiarism.

• Disclaimer: The editorial team assesses manuscripts on the basis of their intellectual content and scientific relevance, regardless of the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, nationality or political views.

• Confidentiality: The editorial team will not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisers and editors involved in the process.

• Disclosure and conflicts of interest: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and must not be used for personal gain. Editors undertake to avoid and declare any potential conflicts of interest. If an editor is listed as an author or co-author of a submitted manuscript, the process will be managed entirely by other members of the editorial team who have no conflict of interest.

REVIEWERS

The reviewers of  Servir Journal undertake to conduct their work in accordance with COPE’s Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers (COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers).

• Contribution to editorial decisions: Reviewers must assess the merit, originality and suitability of the article in accordance with the journal’s editorial guidelines. They must conduct their work on the basis of professional, scientific and academic responsibility and competence. All articles undergo a double-blind peer-review process, carried out by highly qualified reviewers in the journal’s scientific fields. Peer review assists the editors in their decision-making and, through editorial dialogue, helps authors to improve their manuscripts.

• Readiness: Any invited reviewer who believes that the article does not fall within their area of clinical or scientific expertise, or who is unable to complete the review within the stipulated timeframe, should immediately notify the editors and decline the invitation.

• Confidentiality and the use of AI: Reviewers are obliged to ensure the confidentiality of the work they are reviewing and must not disclose any details of it. If they identify any breach of ethical conduct, they must alert the editor in private.

  Reviewers must not upload a submitted article or any part of it to a public generative AI tool, as this practice breaches the authors’ confidentiality, data protection and intellectual property rights. This requirement also applies to the peer-review report, which must not be fed into AI tools (even if only for language enhancement). AI must not be used to assist in the scientific peer review of an article, as the critical thinking required falls outside the scope of this technology. The human reviewer is solely responsible for the content of their report.

• Standards of objectivity: Reviews must be conducted in a strictly objective manner and comments must be expressed clearly, based on scientific arguments that underpin them, in order to assist the authors in revising their article.

• Disclaimer: Grounded in respect for diversity, dignity and human rights, reviews must not be influenced by the authors’ background, nationality, religious or political beliefs, sex, gender identity, physical ability, socio-economic status or commercial interests. Comments should be written in a friendly and constructive manner, refraining from any hostile or offensive language.

• Disclosure and conflicts of interest: Reviewers must declare any potential conflict of interest and must decline to review a manuscript if they identify the authors, their affiliated institution, or if they find that they have a personal, professional or financial connection to the work.

AUTHORS

• Originality and plagiarism: Authors must be guided by the principle of integrity, undertaking to submit an original, unpublished article that is not currently under consideration for publication in another journal. They must ensure that the research is genuine, with no falsification of data or plagiarism.

• Use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies: Text generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), such as ChatGPT and similar large language models (LLMs), as well as any figures, images or graphics accompanying the article, may not be used without explicit authorisation and methodological justification validated by the editors. An AI programme does not meet the requirements to be listed as an author. The authors are fully responsible for the content and for any breach of publication ethics; failure to disclose the use of this technology constitutes scientific misconduct.

• Authorship and Contributions: At the time of submission, the authorship form must be completed with the authors’ full names, institutional affiliation, email address, ORCID iD and a breakdown of contributions, declaring the absence of any conflicts of interest. Servir Journal adopts the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) taxonomy to detail each author’s individual contribution to the manuscript. The corresponding author acts as the point of contact with the journal and must keep co-authors informed of all editorial decisions.

• Changes to authorship: Any change to authorship (addition, removal or reordering of names) must be formally requested during the editorial process prior to the article’s acceptance, requiring a request signed by all authors setting out the relevant justification. Requests made after acceptance may delay publication and require documentary evidence of authorship.

• Submission Guidelines: Upon submission, authors are required to check that the manuscript complies with the guidelines and to declare that:

  1.  

  2. The manuscript has been anonymised to ensure a fair double-blind peer review.

  3. This text is original; it has not been published and will not be submitted in any other language or format.

  4. It complies with the journal’s recommended citation guidelines and is free from plagiarism.

  5. Comply with ethical procedures and copyright legislation.

  6. There are no hidden conflicts of interest, and the funding received is documented.

  7. The manuscript meets the journal’s language requirements, and the authors undertake to provide translations of a high technical standard (equivalent to the English version) should this be required by the journal’s guidelines.

  8. They authorise the future indexing of the article in networks and databases in which Servir Journal is or will be included.

  9. To hold the author, as well as any other contributors, liable for any breach of the principles described above, or any other breaches that are detrimental to the Servir Journal  and the scientific community’s principles of rigour.

• Disclosure and conflicts of interest: Authors must be guided by principles of professional, scientific and academic responsibility and competence. There must be no conflicts of interest (whether personal, commercial, academic, political or financial) that could influence or bias the results or conclusions of the work. Authors are required to explicitly declare the existence or absence of any potential conflicts of interest at the time of submission and to clearly indicate, within the body of the article, all sources of funding or institutional support that have enabled the research to be carried out.

• Dignity of human beings or animals: Authors must base their work on respect for diversity, dignity and human rights (Helsinki Declaration), and the use of non-discriminatory language is mandatory. If the work involves interventions with human subjects or participants, authors must state in the manuscript that the study has been formally approved by the relevant Ethics Committee (providing the approval number or explicit mention in the methodology) and that Informed Consent has been obtained from all participants. If there are any unusual risks arising from products or equipment, these must be explicitly stated.

• Sex and gender equity in research: Servir Journal encourages authors to follow the SAGER (Sex and Gender Equity in Research) guidelines. The terms ‘sex’ (a biological attribute) and ‘gender’ (a sociocultural construct) must be used with technical and scientific rigour, clearly and unambiguously throughout the article, avoiding any incorrect conceptual overlap between them.

• Participation in the peer review process: Authors are obliged to cooperate fully with the peer review process, responding promptly to requests for clarification, evidence of ethical approval or copyright permissions. If the decision is ‘revisions required’, they must respond to the reviewers’ comments systematically (point by point) and submit the revised version within the specified deadline.

• Fundamental errors in published works: When authors identify a significant scientific error or inaccuracy in an article that has already been published, they have a duty to notify the journal’s editors immediately in order to cooperate in the publication of an Errata or, in cases of serious flaws that invalidate the research, to proceed with its Retraction. If the error is detected by third parties, the authors remain obliged to provide the necessary evidence of correction or to accept the editorial correction note.