Pan-American Journal of Mathematics adheres to the publication ethics and malpractice policies outlined by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics)’s Guidelines (http://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines), AMS (American Mathematical Society)’s Policy Statement on Ethical Guidelines (http://www.ams.org/about-us/governance/policy-statements/sec-ethics), and IMU (International Mathematical Union)’s Best Current Practices for Journals (https://www.mathunion.org/fileadmin/CEIC/bestpractice/bpfinal.pdf).
It is expected that the authors, reviewers, and editors of Pan-American Journal of Mathematics follow the best-practice guidelines on ethical behavior contained in the above-mentioned documents.
Authors’ Duties
Authors who submit a manuscript to a journal have the right to a careful, timely and unbiased peer-review overseen by the journal editors, who often seek the advice of referees. The level of detail of the review can vary greatly, but, following the principle of transparency, authors have a right to know in advance the processes by which their manuscript will be handled, and a right to be informed of the grounds for the acceptance or rejection of their manuscript, including normally being given access to any referee reports that have been sought. However, manuscripts that are deemed not to adhere to the journal’s standards or scope can be quickly returned to the authors with a brief editorial justification.
Authors must abide by high standards of research integrity and good scholarship. It is the responsibility of authors to submit a well written, mathematically correct article, if necessary, seeking advice if it is not written in their native language, to clearly describe any novel and non-trivial content, and to suitably acknowledge the contributions of others, including referees. Submission of a paper to a journal implies that it is not currently under consideration by any other journal, and that any substantial overlap with other published or submitted papers is duly acknowledged. In addition, authors should be responsive to correspondence with the journal. Multiple authors should communicate fully, speak with one voice, and accept mutual responsibility in their communications with the journal. All authors are expected to have materially contributed to the paper, and to be familiar with its contents. The ordering of authors’ names is at the discretion of the journal and/or authors, although the standard practice in most mathematical papers is to list authors alphabetically.
Reporting Standards: Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
Data Access and Retention: Authors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review and should be prepared to provide public access to such data, if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.
Originality and Plagiarism: The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.
Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication: An author should not, in general, publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.
Authorship of the Paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
Hazards and Human or Animal Subjects: If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.
Fundamental errors in published works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.
Referees’ Duties
Researchers who benefit from the literature and contribute to it as authors also have an obligation to participate in the peer-review process, in particular by serving as referees in their areas of expertise. When doing so, they have a right to anonymity, unless this is clearly waived by the referee, or by the stated policies of the journal. While no one has an obligation to referee any particular paper, the decision to do so or not should be communicated in a timely fashion. Potential referees should disclose any circumstances which might compromise their ability to provide an unbiased review.
Once a referee has agreed to serve, that referee should adhere to the agreed-upon schedule (typically including revisions) and inform the editor of unanticipated delays. Referees must act with integrity. They should familiarize themselves with the expectations of the journal and the review process and do their best to implement them in an unbiased fashion. They should respect confidentiality, neither disclosing the fact that the paper has been submitted nor that they are refereeing it, nor disclosing any non-public content to others, nor using for their own purposes results that are not publicly available. Referees wishing to seek the opinions of colleagues on the submitted article should seek permission from the journal editors. Referees are expected to base their written assessment on publicly available works.
The obligations of a referee are primarily as expert advisors to the editors of the journal; secondly, through the editors, to the mathematical public, where the obligation is the maintenance of standards in the mathematical literature; and thirdly to the authors. Although the opinion of referees on the correctness of a paper is normally sought, ultimate responsibility for correctness lies with the authors. Refereeing is also an opportunity to provide positive guidance to the author. Although a referee does not have an obligation to do this, it can be an extremely valuable contribution, particularly in the case of authors in the early stages of their career.
Editors and Editorial Boards’ Duties
Publication decisions: The editor of the Pan-American Journal of Mathematics is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always drive such decisions. The editors may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editors may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.
Fair play: An editor at any time evaluates manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
Confidentiality: The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
Disclosure and conflicts of interest: Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.
The Publisher’s Duties
The Publisher should ensure that papers are widely accessible, affordable in all parts of the world, and permanently archived in a form that can be readily located, referenced, and accessed. Accepted papers should be typeset, copyedited, and published online in a timely manner. The Publisher should establish and clearly communicate to potential authors their policies concerning copyright and authors’ web posting. The Publisher should track and publish the date of submission and publication of published papers. The Publisher should respond to and investigate allegations of plagiarism or other unethical behavior connected with the journal, publish a clear and specific retraction in confirmed cases, and protect the rights of authors by seeking appropriate redress for plagiarism and unauthorized use of their work.