Code of Conduct

Sustainable Mediterranean Construction is a peer-reviewed scientific journal inspired by the ethical code of publications developed by COPE Committee on publication ethics: Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

It is necessary that all parties involved - authors, directors, editors and referees - know and share the following ethical requirements. Contribution to the journal transfers all rights to the same, and the acceptance of as hereinafter provided.

Duties of Director and Editors

Decisions about publishing
Sustainable Mediterranean Construction adopts the scientific evaluation system of the articles that are submitted, internationally known as peer-reviewing. Each text is assigned to read two referees anonymously (double blind peer-review). Responsible of the refereeing process are the direction, in consultation with the Editorial Board. The referees are identified according to criteria of competence and high qualification in the field. Direction and Editors of Sustainable Construction Mediterranean are responsible for the final decision on the publication of the proposed articles.

Correctness
Direction and Editorial Board evaluate the articles submitted for publication according to their content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic origin, nationality, political orientation of the authors, nor of their academic affiliation, encourage responsible behavior and discourage bad behavior.

Privacy and data retention
Direction and Editorial Board undertake not to disclose information about the items proposed to other people besides the author, the referees and the editor.
The editorial staff keeps in a confidential database the results of the peer review processes, both accepted and not for the publication.

Conflict of interest and transparency
Direction and Editorial Board undertake not to use in their research the content of an article submitted for publication without express written consent.
All the contributions presented for publication are subjected to the same blind assessment procedure.

Quality
Direction and Editorial Board shall monitor the peer-review process in order to introduce possible improvements. They also reserve the right to ask to a third referee in the event of a conflict between two opinions, and if the decision of whether to publish the essay can not be resolved internally. The collaboration with a referee will be permanently discontinued if they are not met, in one or more times, the timeframe specified by the evaluation procedure.

Errors in published articles
Direction and Editorial Board are always willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies if needed.

Duties of referees

Contribution to the editorial decision
Peer review is a procedure that helps the editors to take decisions on the proposed articles and can help the author to improve their contribution.

Respect of time
The referee who does not feel appropriate to the proposed task or who can not be up to the reading on the appointed time is required to promptly notify the Editorial Coordinator.

Discretion
Each text, assigned for reading to the referees anonymously must be considered as confidential. Therefore, these texts should not be discussed with other people without the express permission of the editors

Objectivity
The peer review should be conducted objectively. Each personal judgment on author is inappropriate. Referees are required to give adequate reasons for their judgments in a standardized form provided to them by editors.

Knowledge of sources
The referee should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Each statement, observation, derivation, or subject previously reported should be accompanied by a quotation. A referee must also draw the attention of the Director for any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript in question and any other published paper of which has personal knowledge.

Conflict of interest and dissemination
Confidential information or information obtained during the peer-review process are to be considered confidential and can not be used for personal purposes. If the referee identifies authorship of the essay submitted for its evaluation and that there are conflicts of interest arising out of previous collaborative relationships must not accept the assessment; the same applies in case there is a competitive situation. The names of the referees will appear published on Sustainable Mediterranean Construction.
If the referee asks amendments to the text as a condition of its publication, and the Direction deems appropriate, will check its adoption by the author - to the extent that the author decides to accept them - before giving the final consent to the publication.

Duties of the authors

Originality and plagiarism
The authors are required to submit for consideration for publication unpublished and original contributions in all their parts and to have mentioned all the texts used.

Multiple publications, repetitive and/or competitors
The author undertakes not to publish articles that describe the same results of a research in more than a magazine. Simultaneously to propose the same text in more than a magazine is an ethically incorrect behavior.

Acknowledgment of sources
The proper recognition of the work of others must always be given. Authors should quote publications that have been influential in determining the nature of their work.

Authorship of the work
The author who sends the text to the evaluation must ensure that all those who have made significant contributions to the conception, implementation and revision of the research should appear as co-authors, and should give their approval to final version of the article and the publication of Sustainable Mediterranean Construction.
If other people have participated significantly at some stages of the research their contribution must be explicitly recognized.

Conflict of interest and dissemination
In presenting its contribution to Sustainable Mediterranean Construction, the authors implicitly admit that there are no conflicts of interest that may have influenced the results obtained, or the proposed interpretations. Authors must also indicate any eventual research funding sources and / or of the project thanks to which it was possible to the article.

Errors in published articles
When an author identifies in an article an error or inaccuracy relevant, it shall promptly inform the direction of the magazine, providing all the information needed to report the obligatory corrections.