The Ethical Guidelines of the Teaching English as a Second Language Quarterly (TESL)

TESL Quarterly is copyrighted by Shiraz University 

This journal follows the rules and regulations stipulated by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and complies with the highest ethical standards in accordance with ethical laws.

 

The publication of an article in a peer-reviewed journal is an essential building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. It is a direct reflection of the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the scientific method. It is therefore important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, the publisher and the journals.

TESL Quarterly adheres to the ethical guidelines below for publication and research.

Peer review process

All of the journal’s content, apart from any editorial material that is clearly marked as such, is subjected to peer review. Peer review is defined as obtaining advice on individual manuscripts from reviewers experts in the field who are not part of the journal’s editorial staff.

If the Editor-in-Chief has invited you to review a manuscript, please consider the following:

  1. Reviewing manuscripts critically but constructively and preparing detailed comments about the manuscript to help authors improve their work
  2. Reviewing multiple versions of a manuscript as necessary
  3. Providing all required information within established deadlines
  4. Making recommendations to the editor regarding the suitability of the manuscript for publication in the journal
  5. Declaring to the editor any potential conflicts of interest with respect to the authors or the content of a manuscript they are asked to review
  6. Reporting possible research misconducts
  7. Suggesting alternative reviewers in case they cannot review the manuscript for any reasons
  8. Treating the manuscript as a confidential document
  9. Not making any use of the work described in the manuscript
  10. Not communicating directly with authors, if somehow they identify the authors
  11. Not identifying themselves to authors
  12. Not passing on the assigned manuscript to another reviewer
  13. Ensuring that the manuscript is of high quality and original work
  14. Informing the editor if he/she finds the assigned manuscript is under consideration in any other publication to his/her knowledge
  15. Writing review report in English only

WHAT SHOULD BE CHECKED WHILE REVIEWING A MANUSCRIPT?

  1. Novelty
  2. Originality
  3. Scientific reliability
  4. Valuable contribution to the science
  5. Adding new aspects to the field of study
  6. Ethical aspects
  7. Structure of the article submitted and its relevance to authors’ guidelines
  8. References provided to substantiate the content
  9. Grammar, punctuation, and spelling
  10. Scientific misconduct

Authorship

Authors submitting a paper do so on the understanding that the manuscript has been read and approved by all authors and that all authors agree on the submission of the manuscript to the Journal. ALL named authors must have made an active contribution to the analysis and interpretation of the data and/or the drafting of the paper and ALL must have critically reviewed its content and have approved the final version submitted for publication. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the manuscript content. They should also sign an agreement form confirming their contribution in writing the manuscript. Papers are only considered for publication once consent is given by all contributing authors.

Conflict of interest and source of funding

Authors are required to disclose any possible conflict of interest. These include financial issues (for example patent, ownership, stock ownership, consultancies, speaker's fee). TESL Quarterly requires that sources of institutional, private, and corporate financial support for the work within the manuscript must be fully acknowledged, and any potential conflicts of interest noted. Please include this information under the separate headings of 'Source of Funding' and 'Conflict of Interest' at the end of your manuscript.

Plagiarism and copyright

Journal editors and readers have a right to expect that submitted work is the author’s own contribution that has not been plagiarized (i.e. taken from other authors without permission, if permission is required) and that copyright has not been breached (for example, if figures or tables are reproduced). The editorial office runs a plagiarism check on every submission using iThenticate. By submitting your manuscript to this journal you accept that your manuscript may be screened for plagiarism against previously published works. Individual authors and researchers can now check their work for plagiarism before submission.

Identification of and dealing with allegations of research misconduct

The publisher and the editor of the journal take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including plagiarism, under/over the citation, and data falsification/fabrication, among others at any stage even after the issuance of the 'acceptance letter'. In no case shall the journal or its editor encourage such misconduct, or knowingly allow such misconduct to take place. In the event that the journal’s publisher or editor is made aware of any allegation of research misconduct relating to a published article in the journal –the publisher or editor shall follow COPE’s guidelines (or equivalent) in dealing with allegations.