Ethics of Journal Policy
For all parties involved in the act of publishing (the author, the journal editor(s), the peer reviewer and the publisher) it is necessary to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior. The ethics statements for the Regional formation and development studies are based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and research integrity principles listed in the Klaipėda University Code of Ethical Conduct.
Peer-review policy
The journal uses double-blind peer review (neither the authors nor the reviewers know the identity of each other) to avoid bias.
Manuscripts should be submitted online at the Regional formation and development studies site by using „Make a Submission“ button.
New users will need to create an account. Once logged on to the site authors may make a submission or check the status of the manuscript.
After submission all articles are evaluated by the editorial office and may be immediately rejected if they are considered to be out of the journal's scope or otherwise unfit for consideration. Articles which passed initial evaluation will be sent out for external review. Reviewer reports with a decision from the editor will be returned to the authors as soon as possible, but please be patient as reviewing can take up to 60 days.
After review, the editor will make a decision of: reject, accept, or revise. Revisions may be major or minor. If a decision of revision is made, authors are asked to make their revisions as quickly as possible – if there are extensive delays in revising an article then it may be considered a new submission. Revised articles may be sent out for review again, depending on the level of revision requested.
Dealing with cases of suspected misconduct
In the event that a publisher or the editors suspect or are made aware of any allegation of ethical misconduct relating to both submitted manuscripts and published materials, they will carry out an investigation and pursue alleged cases. If, after investigation, the allegation is found not to be substantiated, the complainant shall be so informed. Otherwise, the Editorial Team will first seek a response from those accused. If no response is received, or the response does not deal satisfactorily with the allegations raised by the Editorial Team, the Editorial Team will make sure the allegations are further investigated either by a relevant body at the author’s institution or by a higher regulatory body.
The Editorial Team reserve the right to obtain information concerning any misconduct, to withdraw any acceptance should a case of ethical misconduct be discovered prior to publication, and to issue a retraction of the published work.