Publication Ethics

Commitment to academic integrity

The Interdisciplinary Journal of Theology is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity in academic publishing. Our editorial practice is guided by the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the leading international reference for ethics in scholarly publishing.

All parties involved in the editorial process—authors, editors, and reviewers—share the responsibility of ensuring intellectual honesty, transparency, and respect for the work of others.

Author responsibilities

Authors who submit manuscripts to the journal undertake the following commitments:

  • Originality: manuscripts must be original works. All sources used must be properly cited and referenced.
  • Proper attribution: ideas, data, and formulations drawn from other authors must be explicitly acknowledged. Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable.
  • Legitimate authorship: only those who have made a substantive intellectual contribution to the work should be listed as authors. All persons who have contributed significantly must be included.
  • Conflict of interest disclosure: authors must report any financial, institutional, or personal relationship that could influence the results or interpretation of the manuscript.
  • Exclusive submission: manuscripts must not have been previously published or be simultaneously under review by another publication.
  • Accuracy of data: authors are responsible for the accuracy of the data presented and the faithful representation of their sources.

Editorial team responsibilities

The editor and the editorial board are committed to:

  • Fair evaluation: manuscripts are evaluated solely on their academic merit, without discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, nationality, religious affiliation, or ideological position of the authors.
  • Confidentiality: information regarding submitted manuscripts is treated as confidential and is not shared with parties outside the editorial process.
  • Conflict of interest: the editor refrains from participating in the evaluation of manuscripts with respect to which a conflict of interest exists, delegating the decision to another member of the editorial team.
  • Editorial independence: publication decisions are based on the quality and academic relevance of the works, free from commercial, institutional, or any other undue influence.
  • Timely response: the editorial team is committed to maintaining reasonable timeframes at every stage of the process and to communicating decisions clearly.

Reviewer responsibilities

External reviewers participating in the peer review process undertake the following commitments:

  • Confidentiality: manuscripts received for evaluation are confidential documents. They must not be shared, discussed, or used for personal benefit.
  • Objectivity: evaluations must be constructive, well-founded, and free from personal judgments about the authors. Critical observations should be accompanied by clear arguments.
  • Timeliness: reviewers must respect agreed-upon deadlines. If unable to complete the evaluation on time, they should notify the editor as promptly as possible.
  • Conflict of interest: when a reviewer identifies a conflict of interest regarding an assigned manuscript, they must inform the editor and recuse themselves from the evaluation.

Plagiarism detection and originality

The Interdisciplinary Journal of Theology verifies the originality of submitted manuscripts using available digital tools and editorial review. If significant unattributed overlap with previously published works is detected, the manuscript will be returned to the author for clarification or rejected, depending on the severity of the case.

Retraction and corrections policy

The journal has the following mechanisms in place for addressing errors or misconduct detected after publication:

  • Erratum: when minor errors that do not affect the work's conclusions are identified, a correction notice linked to the original article will be published.
  • Retraction: in cases of proven academic misconduct (plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication), the article will be formally retracted. The retraction will be published prominently, stating the reasons, and the original article will remain accessible with a clear retraction notice.
  • Expression of concern: when there are substantiated suspicions of misconduct but the investigation has not yet concluded, the editor may publish an expression of concern linked to the article.

In all cases, decisions will be made following COPE guidelines and communicated to the parties involved.

Conflict of interest

The journal defines a conflict of interest as any situation in which a participant in the editorial process—author, editor, or reviewer—has relationships or interests that could unduly influence their judgment. All participants are responsible for disclosing any potential conflict of interest. The editorial team will assess each situation and take appropriate measures to safeguard the integrity of the process.