Journal Policies

Authorship and Contributorship

SMIJ recognizes the importance of giving credit to those who have made substantial intellectual contributions to a manuscript. Contributors are credited as authors if they have significantly contributed to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. We require detailed information about each contributor’s role in the research for original studies. Prospective authors should follow our detailed guidelines on authorship and contributorship principles, ensuring good practice in research and publication. For more information on contributors, non-author contributors, AI assistance, changes to authorship, adding or deleting authors, authorship disputes, and ethical responsibilities, please refer to our "Authorship Principles" here.

Authorship Criteria Authorship on a manuscript submitted to the Sustainable Machine Intelligence Journal (SMIJ) should be based on the following criteria:

  1. Substantial Contributions: Authors must have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study.
  2. Drafting and Revising: Authors must have been involved in drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
  3. Final Approval: Authors must approve the final version of the manuscript before submission.
  4. Accountability: Authors must agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All authors should meet all four criteria, and individuals who meet these criteria should be listed as authors. Contributors who do not meet all four criteria but have made substantial contributions to the research may be acknowledged in the manuscript.

Contributors Contributors who do not qualify for authorship but have contributed significantly to the study can be acknowledged in the following categories:

  • Non-Author Contributors: Individuals who provided technical help, writing assistance, or general support that did not qualify for authorship.
  • AI Assistance: Any use of artificial intelligence tools or systems in the research should be clearly disclosed, specifying the nature and extent of the assistance provided.

 

Handling Complaints and Appeals

SMIJ views complaints as opportunities to improve our processes and services. We aim to address complaints promptly, courteously, and fairly. For detailed information on how to file a complaint regarding SMIJ’s editorial staff, content, processes, or policies, please see the procedure here. Complaints should be sent directly to info@sciencesforce.com and will be handled confidentially by our complaints team. If necessary, complaints can be escalated to a senior team member, an executive editor, or ultimately the editor-in-chief, whose decision is final. If dissatisfaction persists, complaints can be made to an external body. All complaints will receive formal acknowledgment within three working days, with further responses provided until resolution.

Conflicts of/Competing Interests Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial personal circumstances or interests that could be seen as having an undue influence on the presentation or interpretation of the research findings. Authors should disclose any competing interests related to the submitted work from the past three years. Interests outside this timeframe should also be reported if they could reasonably influence the work. For more details, please refer to our policy here.

Data Sharing and Reproducibility

SMIJ encourages authors to make their research data available to support the findings reported in their articles. Authors should indicate where the supporting data can be accessed, including links to publicly archived datasets. For more information, please see our data sharing policy here.

Ethical Oversight We urge our authors, reviewers, and editors to adhere to the ethical guidelines provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). SMIJ follows COPE's Principles of Transparency and Best Practices in Scholarly Publishing. For more information on ethical oversight, please visit the COPE website here and our ethical guidelines here.

Intellectual Property Upon submission of a manuscript, authors will be required to sign a copyright agreement granting SMIJ the exclusive right to publish and distribute the article in all forms and media. This agreement also allows SMIJ to enforce rights against third parties in cases of plagiarism or copyright infringement. Authors are encouraged to review and complete the Copyright Agreement and Conflict of Interest Statement, which will be attached to the submission process.

The author’s institution may also be informed, and a notice of suspected ethical transgressions may be included in the bibliographic record of the author and article.