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Editorial Integrity & Best Practices

Publication Ethics and COPE Standards

Southern Cross Academic Press is committed to responsible scholarly publishing and follows the ethical principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

COPE Core Practices
Editorial Independence
Research Integrity

Ethical Principles & COPE Alignment

COPE GuidanceHigh Standards

Southern Cross Academic Press is committed to responsible scholarly publishing and follows the ethical principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Our journals seek to uphold ethical standards throughout manuscript submission, editorial assessment, peer review, publication, and post-publication handling.

Official Resource: COPE Core Practices

Our editorial practices, reviewer evaluations, and author policies are modelled directly on the COPE Core Practices framework to safeguard unbiased and responsible dissemination.

Our Core Ethical Standards

These standards govern every stage of the publishing cycle across all Southern Cross Academic Press journals:

1
Merit-Based

Editorial independence

Editorial decisions should be based on scholarly merit, relevance, originality, and the quality of the work.

2
Confidential & Impartial

Peer-review integrity

Manuscripts should be assessed fairly, confidentially, and impartially by appropriately qualified reviewers.

3
Zero Misconduct

Research integrity

Plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, and other forms of research misconduct are not acceptable.

4
Accountability

Authorship transparency

Authorship and contributorship should be accurately represented, and disputes should be handled through appropriate procedures.

5
Full Disclosure

Conflicts of interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors should disclose relevant conflicts that may influence their work or decisions.

6
Compliance

Research ethics

Studies involving human participants, animals, or sensitive data must meet applicable ethical and legal requirements.

7
Scholarly Record

Corrections and retractions

Concerns about published research should be assessed appropriately, with corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions issued when warranted.

8
Fair Procedure

Complaints and appeals

Editorial complaints and appeals should be handled fairly, consistently, and transparently.

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Open Access PolicyPeer-Review Process

Official Resources & Related Policies

Access official frameworks, international licensing documentation, and author support guidelines.

Open Access Publishing

Publisher website and publishing information. Southern Cross Academic Press.

Southern Cross Academic Press

Creative Commons CC BY 4.0

Official licence terms, permissions, and attribution requirements.

View CC BY 4.0 licence

COPE Core Practices

Guidance on publication ethics, authorship, peer review, misconduct, and corrections.

View COPE Core Practices

Author Guidelines

Manuscript preparation, submission, and research ethics requirements.

View author guidelines