Ethical Guidelines

Ethical Compliance and Editorial Responsibility

All submissions to Ingegneria Sismica must align with the journal’s ethical framework, which is rooted in the core practices defined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Our policies are designed to uphold integrity in publishing and provide guidance for handling concerns such as conflicts of interest, questions of authorship and contribution, allegations of misconduct, duplication and plagiarism, and the safeguarding of the peer review process.

The editorial boards of Ingegneria Sismica operate with full autonomy. Editorial decisions are made independently, without influence from the publisher. However, if legal or ethical violations are identified at any stage of the process, including post-acceptance, the journal reserves the right to reevaluate decisions, which may result in the withdrawal of a manuscript.

Manuscript Screening and Policy Adherence

All manuscripts submitted to Ingegneria Sismica undergo thorough ethical screening. This includes both automated detection systems and manual review by the journal’s editorial office. Tools are used to flag potential issues—such as plagiarism, data inconsistencies, or improper authorship—which are then reviewed by editorial staff or academic editors for confirmation. Any flagged concerns are addressed in collaboration with qualified editorial personnel to determine the appropriate course of action.

Statement on Publishing Ethics

Ingegneria Sismica is fully committed to COPE’s guidelines and ethical standards. We strive to maintain a rigorous peer review process that supports the dissemination of sound, original, and ethically responsible research. Should ethical concerns arise, we are obligated to investigate impartially and take corrective measures when necessary to protect the scholarly record and uphold research integrity.

Authors are required to comply with Ingegneria Sismica’s ethical policies and submission standards, as outlined on our website. Manuscripts that fall short of these standards will not proceed in the review process.

Guiding Ethical Principles

• Early Intervention: Our systems and staff work to detect possible ethical issues early, including during peer review and initial submission screening.

• Impartiality: All decisions are made without bias, based solely on the content and merit of the manuscript.

• Transparency: Relevant parties are notified of concerns where appropriate, and authors or reviewers are given the opportunity to respond.

• Standardization: Ethical investigations are conducted using a consistent process that aligns with COPE’s flowcharts and best practices.

Author Responsibilities and Ethical Conduct

At Ingegneria Sismica, we expect all authors to uphold the highest standards of research integrity and ethical authorship. By submitting a manuscript to our journal, authors affirm that their work complies with established norms in academic publishing and with our editorial policies.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to Ingegneria Sismica must:

• Report their work truthfully: Results should be presented honestly, with a clear and balanced discussion of their significance. Any limitations or uncertainties must also be disclosed.

• Respect authorship criteria: Only those who have made meaningful contributions should be listed as authors. Contributions must be explicitly described.

• Disclose potential conflicts of interest: Any financial or personal relationships that could be viewed as influencing the research should be declared upon submission.

• Provide replicable research: Authors must describe their methodology and data thoroughly enough to allow independent replication. Raw data should be openly accessible unless ethical or legal constraints prevent this.

• Avoid dual submission: Manuscripts under review with Ingegneria Sismica must not be submitted elsewhere.

• Submit original work: All submitted research must be novel and unpublished. Translated works must comply with journal policy.

• Respect copyright and permissions: Proper authorization must be obtained for reused materials such as figures, tables, or extended quotations.

• Correct the record: Authors must promptly inform the editorial team if substantial errors are identified in their published work.

These expectations apply across disciplines, and authors should also be aware of any additional field-specific ethical guidelines.

Authorship Criteria

Ingegneria Sismica adheres to the authorship principles set by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), which require that authors meet all of the following conditions:

1. Contributed significantly to the design, execution, or interpretation of the research;

2. Participated in drafting or critically revising the manuscript;

3. Reviewed and approved the final version;

4. Accepted responsibility for all aspects of the work.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet all four criteria should be named in the acknowledgments section.

While authorship conventions can differ between disciplines, the foundational requirement remains the same: meaningful intellectual input and full accountability for the published content.

Author Changes and Deceased Contributors

Changes to authorship during peer review must be agreed upon by all listed (and formerly listed) authors. A signed authorship amendment form and a justification for the change are required. Once a manuscript is accepted, any alteration to authorship is permitted only under exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the editorial office.

If an author passes away before publication, the corresponding author should notify the editorial team. The deceased author’s contributions must be confirmed, and a note acknowledging the contributor will appear in the publication.

Authorship Disputes

Ingegneria Sismica follows the COPE framework for resolving authorship disagreements. The journal cannot arbitrate the significance of individual contributions and will refer unresolved disputes to the relevant academic institutions or governing bodies. Adjustments to the author list will be made according to their recommendations.

Use of Generative AI Tools

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), such as large language models (e.g., ChatGPT), presents both potential and challenges for scholarly work. Ingegneria Sismica has adopted the following guidance:

Use During Manuscript Preparation

• If AI tools are used for tasks such as writing assistance, data processing, visualization, or analysis, authors must explicitly disclose this in the manuscript, preferably in the Materials and Methods section.

• A recommended acknowledgment is:

  “During the preparation of this work, the authors utilized [tool name, version] for [purpose]. The authors reviewed and are fully accountable for the final content.”

• Use of AI strictly for language editing (e.g., grammar, punctuation) does not require disclosure.

Authors are fully responsible for any content generated with AI tools and must ensure it complies with the journal’s policies on plagiarism, data accuracy, and intellectual property.

Authorship and AI

AI tools cannot be listed as authors under any circumstances, as they do not meet the criteria of intellectual accountability or legal responsibility.

Research Ethics and Publication Integrity

Originality and Scholarly Conduct

Ingegneria Sismica requires that all submitted works represent the authors’ original contributions and reflect the highest standards of research integrity. Any form of plagiarism, data fabrication, or image distortion is strictly forbidden.

Plagiarism includes verbatim copying, paraphrasing without credit, or the reuse of previously published content—whether from other sources or the authors’ own prior work—without proper citation. Any borrowed text must be enclosed in quotation marks and accompanied by an accurate reference.

All submissions are subject to rigorous screening using professional plagiarism detection tools such as iThenticate. If significant overlap or ethical breaches are identified during the review process, the manuscript will be declined. Post-publication discovery of such issues will trigger formal investigations, and retraction may be issued if warranted.

Image and Data Transparency

Authors are expected to maintain and provide access to original, high-resolution images and raw datasets upon request. Images must be presented truthfully, without manipulations that alter interpretation. The following are considered unacceptable practices:

• Adding, enhancing, obscuring, or removing elements from original images;

• Assembling multiple images without clear demarcation;

• Adjusting image properties (contrast, brightness, saturation) to misrepresent findings.

Data manipulation—including selective reporting, p-hacking, and suppression of contradictory results—is not tolerated. Authors are encouraged to pre-register their methodologies and preserve data for at least five years post-publication in accessible repositories.

Human Research Ethics

Any study involving human participants, tissue, or data must comply with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval from a recognized institutional review board (IRB) is mandatory prior to commencing such research. Authors must provide:

• Name of the ethics board;

• Reference number or project code;

• Date of approval.

For studies exempt from ethics approval, authors must cite the specific regulation supporting the exemption and identify the approving authority.

Surveys, interviews, and observational research also require informed consent. Where anonymity is claimed or verbal consent is used, justification and supporting documentation must be provided.

If identifiable personal data, photographs, or recordings are used, written consent must be secured from participants or their guardians. All identifying information must be anonymized unless essential to the research context.

Vulnerable Populations and Organ/Tissue Studies

Research involving minors, marginalized communities, or organ transplants requires added ethical vigilance. Authors must confirm that organ/tissue sources were ethically obtained and unconnected to commercial or coercive practices. Additional documentation may be requested during review.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials must be registered in publicly accessible databases (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO ICTRP) prior to participant enrollment. Registration details must be disclosed in the manuscript. Reports of randomized trials must follow the CONSORT guidelines and include the appropriate checklist and flow diagram.

Animal Research

Experiments involving animals must adhere to the ethical principles of Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement (3Rs). Ethical approval is required from institutional animal care committees. Authors must describe:

• Ethical compliance and approval details;

• Animal housing and welfare conditions;

• Measures to mitigate pain and distress.

Studies lacking formal oversight must be justified ethically, with sufficient methodological transparency for peer evaluation.

We endorse the ARRIVE guidelines for animal research reporting and may request completed ARRIVE checklists before publication.

Use of Cell Lines and Plant Material

Cell line origin must be specified with citations or documentation. For novel or gifted cell lines, ethical approval and participant consent (for human-derived lines) are mandatory.

Research using plant material must comply with biodiversity conventions. For rare or wild species, voucher specimens should be deposited in herbaria and identified in the article.

Dual-Use Research and Sensitive Topics

Authors must disclose if their research could be misused (e.g., biological threats, weapons, surveillance). Submissions of dual-use concern will be evaluated for benefit-risk balance. The editorial team reserves the right to decline such work if risks outweigh benefits.

Sex and Gender Reporting

Ingegneria Sismica encourages the use of the SAGER guidelines. Where applicable, manuscripts should distinguish between sex (biological) and gender (sociocultural), and report sex-disaggregated data. The absence of such analysis must be justified.

Neutrality in Territorial Descriptions

We remain impartial on geopolitical boundaries. If a submission involves disputed regions, authors should follow international conventions and avoid politicized terminology. Editorial decisions will prioritize scholarly integrity and factual clarity.

Conflicts of Interest

All financial, professional, or personal relationships that could influence the research must be disclosed. These include consultancies, stock ownership, grants, patents, or affiliations. The role of funders in the research process must be clearly stated.

If no competing interests exist, authors must explicitly declare: “The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”

Intellectual Property and Licensing

Ingegneria Sismica supports open access and typically publishes under the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, with copyright retained by the authors. For any previously published content (e.g., figures or tables), appropriate reuse permission must be obtained and acknowledged.

Preprints and Translations

Preprints are welcome if they have not undergone peer review. Authors must declare preprints during submission and reference them appropriately.

Translated works may be considered if:

• All original authors are listed;

• Permission is obtained from copyright holders;

• Original publication is cited in the Acknowledgments.

Improper translations or undisclosed duplications will be rejected.

Patents and Embargoes

Authors are responsible for managing patent filings and intellectual property prior to submission. Ingegneria Sismica will not delay publication for pending patents.

Referencing Ethics and Citation Conduct in Ingegneria Sismica

Responsible Use of Sources

Authors submitting to Ingegneria Sismica must adhere to ethical citation standards. Proper acknowledgement of all external sources—including prior publications by the authors themselves—is mandatory. When using text, figures, ideas, or data originating elsewhere, the original source must be cited transparently and, when required, permission to reproduce the material must be obtained.

Self-citation must be exercised in moderation and must not be used to artificially inflate citation counts. Authors are discouraged from:

• Referencing their own or their collaborators’ work excessively;

• Including citations to content they have not thoroughly reviewed (e.g., copied from another article’s bibliography);

• Citing institutional or friendly work preferentially for strategic purposes;

• Referencing promotional material, advertisements, or non-scholarly content.

Direct quotations from any work—including the authors’ prior writing—must be enclosed in quotation marks and accompanied by an appropriate citation. This policy aligns with best practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), including their guidance on citation manipulation and scholarly transparency.

Data Sharing and Availability Policy

Commitment to Open Science

Ingegneria Sismica supports the open and ethical dissemination of research data. We urge authors to make their datasets—including experimental protocols, software code, analysis scripts, raw data, and processed datasets—available in ways that align with the FAIR principles: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.

The default expectation is that data supporting the core findings of a study be made public, citable, and accessible to the research community. If data cannot be shared due to legal, privacy, or ethical constraints, these limitations must be explicitly described in the Data Availability Statement.

When sharing is not feasible, authors must provide justification and commit to making data available upon reasonable request, especially during the peer review phase. Studies dependent on proprietary data must indicate the data source and any restrictions on access.

Data Availability Statements

Authors must include a Data Availability Statement in their manuscript, choosing one of the following formats (adapted for Ingegneria Sismica):

Data Preservation

To safeguard the long-term value of research, Ingegneria Sismica encourages authors to deposit their datasets in certified repositories and retain data on secure institutional servers for at least five years after publication. If the original repository becomes inaccessible or ceases to function, authors may be asked to reupload their data and issue a correction.

Changes in access status post-publication (e.g., withdrawal of data or introduction of access restrictions) must be reported promptly to the editorial office.

Repository Selection and Criteria

Authors should choose data repositories that:

• Provide persistent identifiers such as DOIs;

• Guarantee long-term access and archival security;

• Allow open data licenses (e.g., CC0 or CC-BY);

• Do not impose access barriers (e.g., login/paywall);

• Support confidential peer review of deposited data.

Resources such as re3data.org or fairsharing.org can assist authors in locating suitable repositories for their discipline. General-purpose institutional repositories are acceptable if they meet the above conditions.

Data Citation Requirements

All cited datasets must be formally referenced in the article’s bibliography, including:

• Datasets central to the research;

• Previously published datasets used for secondary analysis;

• Any external datasets referenced in figures, graphs, or conclusions.

Where appropriate, authors should cite both the dataset and the associated article. Data citations will be checked by editorial staff before acceptance.

Editorial Ethics and Reviewer Responsibilities

Ingegneria Sismica

At Ingegneria Sismica, we uphold the highest standards of editorial integrity. Our editorial team—including Editors-in-Chief, Editorial Board Members, Guest Editors, and Peer Reviewers—must act with transparency, objectivity, and ethical awareness in every stage of the review and decision-making process. The Editorial Office provides oversight and ensures that all actions align with international standards of publishing ethics, including those of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).

Raising Ethical Concerns

If any ethical issue comes to light—whether during review or after publication—it must be promptly reported to the Editorial Office. The matter will be investigated discreetly and thoroughly, and remedial steps will be taken where necessary.

Editorial Office Preliminary Checks

Before and during peer review, our editorial staff routinely verify:

• The presence of ethics approvals for research involving humans, animals, or cell lines.

• Proper handling of plagiarism and duplication concerns.

• Registration of clinical trials and correct referencing within the manuscript.

• General adherence to the journal’s ethics and integrity policies.

Responsibilities During Peer Review

When providing a review or making a final decision on a manuscript, the following must be considered:

• Authors must have declared all conflicts of interest.

• Results must be presented accurately and objectively.

• Sufficient methodological detail should allow for reproducibility.

• The manuscript must be within the journal’s disciplinary scope.

• Peer reviewer selection must ensure subject-area competence and impartiality.

Conflicts of Interest

We encourage openness. Any personal, financial, academic, or professional interest that might compromise—or appear to compromise—a participant’s objectivity must be disclosed immediately. Reviewers and editors are expected to recuse themselves where impartiality may be compromised, regardless of perceived influence.

Examples of Conflicts

• Personal or Collaborative Ties: Reviewers or editors must not evaluate work from colleagues, collaborators, students, supervisors, or close personal connections.

• Financial Stakes: Situations involving funding, consultancy, stock ownership, royalties, or intellectual property linked to the manuscript’s content must be avoided.

• Other Biases: Any real or perceived bias, including ideological or institutional affiliations, must be disclosed and handled with transparency.

In such cases, alternative editorial or reviewer assignments will be made to preserve the objectivity of the review process.

Confidentiality and Anonymity

All manuscript materials and reviewer communications are strictly confidential. Unless explicitly authorized, reviewers must not disclose or share manuscript content. Editors and reviewers must avoid identifying themselves in comments or file metadata.

For journals employing anonymous or double-blind review, anonymity must be preserved. If reviewers agree to public disclosure of their identities after publication, this will occur with their explicit consent and alongside the published article.

Corrections and Post-Publication Updates

To maintain accuracy in the published record, Ingegneria Sismica distinguishes between minor updates, significant corrections, and full retractions.

Types of Updates

• Direct Edits: Small, non-substantive edits to metadata or layout, approved and corrected directly on the published version.

• Minor Corrections: Non-critical changes (e.g., author affiliation, typographical errors) that do not affect the scientific interpretation.

• Major Corrections: Amendments that could affect results or interpretation. These are accompanied by a formal correction notice.

• Author Name Changes: We respect author identity. Upon request, names will be changed without issuing a correction notice and without informing co-authors.

Retractions and Expressions of Concern

When a published work is found to be deeply flawed—due to misconduct, unreliable findings, or ethical violations—a formal retraction may be issued. Retracted articles remain on our platform, watermarked and clearly marked as retracted.

Criteria for Full Removal

Complete removal from the journal archive may only occur if:

• Required by court or regulatory order.

• The content violates individual privacy or poses public risk.

• The publication itself was unlawful.

If concerns are unresolved or pending investigation, the journal may issue an Expression of Concern to alert readers while inquiries continue. This notice may be updated or replaced as new findings arise.

Maintaining Research Integrity Across Editorial Roles

All editorial decisions must be based solely on academic merit. Discrimination based on personal characteristics (such as gender, race, or beliefs) is strictly prohibited. Editors and reviewers must always strive for impartiality, transparency, and adherence to ethical conduct.