Publication Ethics

1. Declaration of Principles The Innsbruck OPEN Proceedings are committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards in the publication of scientific work. Our guidelines are based on the "Core Practices" of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org/membership/code-of-conduct), the "Guidelines for Good Scientific Practice" of the University of Innsbruck, and the regulations of the Austrian Agency for Research Integrity (ÖAWI).

2. Duties of the Editors

  • Fairness and Independence: Manuscripts are evaluated exclusively on their scientific merit, relevance to the conference, and originality.
  • Confidentiality: All information regarding submitted manuscripts is treated with strict confidentiality and shared only with individuals necessary for the review process.
  • Peer Review Process: The editors ensure a fair, unbiased, and timely peer review process conducted by recognized experts.

3. Duties of the Authors

  • Originality and Plagiarism: The authors guarantee that they have written the work entirely by themselves. Any direct, paraphrased, or translated incorporation of text passages, theories, data, or findings must be properly cited and attributed. Plagiarism constitutes a severe violation of good scientific practice.
  • Authorship: Authorship must be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, execution, or interpretation of the published study. Entitled authors must not be excluded. Conversely, the inclusion of persons without a substantial scientific contribution is prohibited.
  • Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): In accordance with the guidelines of the University of Innsbruck, AI tools (e.g., Large Language Models) may under no circumstances be listed as authors. The use of AI in generating text, data, tables, or figures must be transparently documented in the manuscript (name of the tool, version, purpose). The authors bear sole and full professional responsibility for all published content, including any AI-generated portions.
  • Conflicts of Interest: All financial or personal relationships that could influence the results or their interpretation must be disclosed upon submission.

4. Duties of the Reviewers

  • Objectivity: Reviews must be conducted in an objective, factual, and constructive manner. Personal or inappropriate criticism of the authors is unacceptable.
  • Confidentiality: All manuscripts are to be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shared or discussed with third parties without explicit permission.
  • Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers who have competitive, collaborative, or other close relationships with the authors (bias) must immediately notify the editorial team and withdraw from the review process.

5. Dealing with Scientific Misconduct In the event of suspected scientific misconduct (e.g., data falsification, plagiarism, manipulation of the peer review process), the editors will follow the standardized COPE flowcharts. For members of the University of Innsbruck, internal university guidelines also apply: suspected cases can be reported to the Office for Research Integrity or the Ombuds Office of the University of Innsbruck. Cross-institutional suspected cases will be forwarded to the Commission of the ÖAWI. If severe violations are proven, the journal reserves the right to retract articles or publish corrections (errata).