The Bible and Critical Theory is dedicated to following best practices on ethical matters, errors, and retractions. The prevention of publication malpractice is one of the important responsibilities of the editorial board. Any kind of unethical behavior is not acceptable, and the Editorial Board of this journal does not tolerate plagiarism in any form. Authors submitting articles to The Bible and Critical Theory affirm that manuscript contents are original.
As such, this journal follows the COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors and the Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers. The following duties outlined for editors, authors, and reviewers are based on the above codes of conduct:
Editors evaluate submitted manuscripts exclusively on the basis of their academic merit (importance, originality, study’s validity, clarity) and its relevance to the journal’s scope, without regard to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, citizenship, religious belief, political philosophy or institutional affiliation. Decisions to edit and publish are not determined by the policies of governments or any other agencies outside of the journal itself. The managing co-editors have full authority over the entire editorial content of the journal and the timing of publication of that content.
Editors, authors, and reviewers will also adhere to the BCT submission guideline policies:
Duties of Editor
Publication Decisions: Based on the review report of the Editorial Review Board, the editor has complete responsibility and authority to accept, reject or request modifications to the manuscript.
Review of Manuscripts: Each editor must ensure that each manuscript is initially evaluated by the editor for originality, making use of appropriate software to do so. Following desk review, the manuscript is forwarded for blind peer review by members of the editorial review board and/or other appropriate experts in the field who will make a recommendation to accept, reject, or modify the manuscript.
Fair Review: The editor must ensure that each manuscript submitted to the BCT is reviewed for its intellectual content without regard to sex, gender, race, religion, citizenship, etc. of the authors.
Confidentiality: The editor must ensure that information regarding manuscripts submitted by the authors is kept confidential.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: The editor of this Journal shall not use unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript for his/her own research without the written consent of the author.
Errata Information: The editor will publish errata pages or make corrections when needed.
Ethical Guidelines: The editor shall ensure that all research material they publish conforms to internationally accepted ethical guidelines.
Proof of Misconduct: The editor should not reject papers based on suspicions, they should have proof of misconduct.
Duties of Authors
Publication guidelines: Authors must follow the submission guidelines of the journal. (See submission guideline policies)
Original Work: Authors must ensure that they have written entirely original work. Authors must certify that the manuscript has not previously been published elsewhere.
Multiple Submissions: Authors must certify that the manuscript is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere.
Peer Review Process: Authors must participate in the peer review process.
Authorship of the Paper: All authors mentioned in the paper must have significantly contributed to the research.
Conflict of Interest: Authors must notify the Editors of any conflicts of interest.
Fundamental Errors: Authors are obliged to provide retractions or corrections of mistakes at any point of time if the author(s) discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in the submitted manuscript.
Duties of Reviewers
Confidentiality: Reviewers should keep all information regarding papers confidential and treat them as privileged information.
Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers must ensure that authors have acknowledged all sources of data used in the research.
Standards of Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively, with no personal criticism of the author.
Supporting Argument: Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments
Plagiarism, Fraud and Other Ethical Concerns: Reviewers should let the editor know if you suspect/find that a manuscript is a substantial copy of another work, citing the previous work in as much detail as possible.
Relevant Work: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.
Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers should not review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.
Promptness: In the event that a reviewer feels it is not possible for him/her to complete review of the manuscript within stipulated time then this information must be communicated to the editor so that the manuscript could be sent to another reviewer
The publisher is committed to the permanent availability and preservation of scholarly research and ensures accessibility by partnering with organizations and maintaining our own digital archive. This journal is an open-access journal.