Studies in Corpus Linguistics is published by MARS Publishers.

Ethical Guidelines

SiCL adheres to the highest standards of ethical behavior in academic publishing. Our ethical guidelines, inspired by global best practices, are mandatory for all participants in the publication process, including authors, reviewers, and editors. Non-compliance may result in sanctions, including the suspension or revocation of publishing privileges.

For Authors

Reporting Standards
  • Authors must ensure their research reports and data are described with sufficient detail and appropriate references to allow others to replicate the work.
  • Making fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitutes unethical behavior and is unacceptable.
Originality and Plagiarism
  • Plagiarism in any form is unethical and unacceptable. This includes verbatim copying, paraphrasing without attribution, and presenting another’s work as one’s own.
  • Material quoted verbatim must be placed within quotation marks and appropriately cited.
  • Manuscripts found to have a similarity index exceeding 19% will be rejected or considered for conditional acceptance at the discretion of the Editorial Board.
Declaration
  • Authors must declare that their manuscript contains original work not submitted or published elsewhere.
  • For co-authored papers, all authors must agree on the order of authorship and collectively affirm their contribution to the work.
Multiple, Redundant, and Concurrent Publication
  • Authors should not submit manuscripts describing essentially the same research to more than one journal or publication.
  • Concurrent submission of the same manuscript to multiple journals is unethical and not allowed.
Acknowledgment of Sources
  • Proper acknowledgment of the work of others is required. This includes recognizing the contributions of individuals, organizations, and institutions that assisted in the research or provided financial support.
Authorship Credit
  • Authorship should be limited to those who have made significant contributions to the study's conceptualization, methodology, data analysis, and writing.
  • The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final manuscript and agreed to its submission.
Privacy of Participants
  • Authors must respect the privacy of participants involved in their research.
  • Explicit and informed consent must be obtained when revealing the identities of participants in the study.
Data Access and Retention
  • Authors should provide the raw data supporting their findings to the Editor if questions arise during the review process regarding the accuracy or validity of the research.
  • Authors must describe how images and other visual data were generated, ensuring they are free from manipulation.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
  • Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the research or its interpretation, including financial, personal, or professional affiliations.
  • All sources of financial support for the research must be disclosed.
Manuscript Acceptance and Rejection
  • Authors may inquire about the status of their manuscript during the review process.
  • In case of required revisions, authors must provide a clear explanation of all corrections made.
  • Authors have the right to appeal a rejection decision by contacting the Editor.

For Reviewers

Reviewer Responsibilities
  • Reviewers should inform the Editor if they lack the necessary expertise to conduct a review or if they are unable to review the manuscript promptly.
  • Reviewers are expected to act promptly and submit their review reports on time.
Standards of Objectivity
  • Reviews should be conducted objectively, without personal biases, and should adhere to high academic, scholarly, and scientific standards.
  • Reviewers must base their decisions solely on the quality of the research and should not be influenced by personal, financial, or conflicting interests.
  • Reviewers must not use unpublished material from submitted manuscripts without the Editor’s permission and must declare any potential conflicts of interest.
Confidentiality
  • Reviewers should treat manuscripts as confidential documents and must not discuss their content with others without the Editor’s authorization.
Ethical Considerations
  • If a reviewer suspects that the manuscript is similar to another work, they should inform the Editor and provide relevant references.
  • If a reviewer suspects untrue results or unethical treatment of research participants, they should report this to the Editor.
  • Any instances of suspected plagiarism or ethical misconduct should be reported to the Editor.
Originality and Structure
  • Reviewers should assess whether the manuscript contributes to existing knowledge and if the research questions align with the journal’s objectives.
  • Reviewers should evaluate the manuscript’s layout and format and suggest improvements if necessary.
  • Any serious issues related to language or expression should be noted.
  • Reviewers should ensure that the data presented is original and accurately represented in tables and figures.
  • The methodology and statistical analyses should be thoroughly reviewed.
  • The relationship between data, findings, and discussion should be carefully evaluated.
  • Reviewers should check whether the manuscript adheres to the journal’s submission guidelines and is free from typographical errors.
Review Report
  • Reviewers should provide their observations in the comments section, complete the review form, and offer a brief summary in the first section of the report.
  • Personal comments about the authors should be avoided; final remarks should be courteous and constructive.
  • Reviewers should clearly highlight deficiencies in the manuscript and detail these in their report.
  • Reviewers should explicitly indicate their recommendations regarding the manuscript: ‘Reject,’ ‘Accept without revision,’ or ‘Need Revision,’ providing justifications for their decision.
  • Reviewers should be prepared to confirm revisions if the Editor requests it.
  • The final decision regarding the publication of a manuscript rests solely with the Editor.

For Editors

Editor’s Responsibilities
  • Editors are responsible for maintaining the journal’s quality by publishing high-caliber papers.
  • Editors should promote freedom of expression within the boundaries of cultural, constitutional, and legal frameworks.
Good Practices
  • Editors should encourage innovative ideas and suggestions for improving the journal.
  • The blind peer review process should be applied sincerely and rigorously.
  • Editors should enforce anti-plagiarism policies and practices without succumbing to external pressures.
Fair Play and Impartiality
  • Editors must ensure that all research papers are evaluated impartially, without discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, or religious belief.
Confidentiality
  • Editors must ensure the confidentiality of authors and reviewers during the peer review process.
  • Editors are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of research participants.
  • Manuscript content must be kept confidential prior to publication.
Editing and Formatting Guidelines
  • Editors should provide clear guidelines for preparing and formatting manuscripts, accessible on the journal’s webpage.
The Review Process
  • The review process involves initial scrutiny followed by a double-blind peer review.
  • Reviewers should be provided with guidelines and a proforma for the review.
  • Editors should share reviewers’ comments with authors and incorporate suggested corrections as necessary.
  • Complex cases should be referred to the Advisory Committee for further consideration.
Dealing with Misconduct
  • Editors should encourage reviewers to comment on ethical issues and possible misconduct in submissions.
  • Plagiarism must be verified using tools like Turnitin or similar software.
  • Editors are responsible for publishing corrigenda and for removing or retracting plagiarized articles.
Transparency
  • Editors should adhere to the policy of limiting each issue to one paper per Principal Investigator and one paper per Editorial Board Member.
  • Editors must strictly enforce authorship and co-authorship policies.
Conflict of Interest
  • Editors and reviewers should not handle papers from authors or institutions with which they have conflicts of interest.
Disclosure
  • Editors must not use unpublished information or data from submitted research papers without the authors’ permission.
Publication Decisions
  • Only research papers relevant to the journal’s scope will be published after a thorough review.
  • Acceptance or rejection decisions should be based on the manuscript’s academic merit and standards.
  • Editors should provide justifications for rejection decisions and communicate them promptly to authors.
Procedure for Appeal
  • SiCL has established a mechanism for authors to appeal decisions related to manuscript rejections, publications causing harm, or infringements of ethical boundaries.