Ethics · Integrity · Responsible Research
POLITICO is committed to transparency, academic integrity, responsible research, respect for intellectual property, and fair handling of publication-related concerns. Authors and contributors are expected to follow the journal’s policies and recognised publication-ethics guidance.
Every author should declare whether any conflict of interest is involved in the research. Authors must certify that they have no financial or non-financial affiliations with, or involvement in, any organisation or entity that has an interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. If such an interest exists—including funding from an agency—the nature of the conflict should be disclosed.
Authors should include information about study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals. Where human participants are involved, informed consent must be addressed. For research involving animals, authors should provide an appropriate statement on animal welfare and relevant ethical standards, including the Helsinki Declaration where applicable.
Authors are requested to respect intellectual property rights. All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise—without prior permission from the Society for Social Empowerment, New Delhi.
Contributors are urged to follow the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines on publication ethics. Founded in 1997, COPE provides a forum and advice for editors on research and publication ethics, encouraging practical approaches and good practice. Read the detailed document here:
COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors
POLITICO journal holds that editorial Board have full authority over the entire editorial content of the journal and the timing of publication of that content. Journal owners should not interfere in the evaluation, selection, scheduling, or editing of individual articles either directly or by creating an environment that strongly influences decisions. Editors should base editorial decisions on the validity of the work and its importance to the journal’s readers, not on the commercial implications for the journal, and editors should be free to express critical but responsible views about all aspects of the subject without fear of retribution, even if these views conflict with the commercial goals of the publisher. Editorial Board has the final say in decisions about which advertisements or sponsored content, including supplements, the journal will and will not carry, and they should have final say in use of the journal brand and in overall policy regarding commercial use of journal content. Editorial board will take all reasonable steps to check the facts in journal articles , including that in news sections and social media postings, and should ensure that staff working for the journal adhere to best journalistic practices including contemporaneous note-taking and seeking a response from all parties when possible before publication.
When an article is published in its final form it is considered the “Version of Record” (VoR). The VoR establishes the expectation that that article can be relied upon as accurate, complete, and citable. POLITICO is committed to preserving the integrity and transparency of the VoR. We issue post-publication notifications to address any changes to the version of record that include: Errors or omissions that impact readability, indexing or compliance to journal policy and Errors or concerns related to the validity or integrity of the article. We discourages extensive changes, revisions and additions to the published article that impact the central theme, overall results and conclusions of the original article. POLITICO journal provides authors with an opportunity to review article proofs prior to publication with the express goal of ensuring accuracy of the content. However, in some cases corrections may be required post-publication. These may be made at the discretion of the journal , with the understanding that not all requests for post-publication changes will be permitted. Any errors of factual significance or major errors will be highlighted with the publication of a separate corrigendum (author error) or erratum (publisher error) highlighting the changes, provided the scholarly validity and integrity of the article remain intact. If the article is updated, a correction footnote will highlight the change(s) and reference the corrigendum or erratum.. All corrigenda and errata will be linked to the original article. In case of retraction a retraction notice will be issued to alert readers to major errors or breaches of scholarly integrity. An article maybe retracted if after an investigation and editorial assessment, the results or the conclusions cannot be relied upon for any reason. Authors may choose to request retraction of their own article by emailing the editor . These requests will be reviewed by the editorial board and may be declined if they are not in line journal policies, or if they have been made during a journal initiated investigation. Authors will be notified and given the opportunity to provide comments. We do not seek or require author approval for retractions and the decision to retract will be reconsidered only if new evidence comes to light.
Grievances relating to publication or publication ethics may be directed to the Editor-in-Chief. All grievances will be addressed in accordance with COPE guidelines and should be handled by the journal’s ethics committee.