Tsinghua University Press is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), adhering to its principles and guidelines for addressing misconduct to safeguard the integrity of research.

In cases where there is suspicion of misconduct or alleged fraud, the journal will conduct an investigation in accordance with the principles and flowcharts provided by COPE. If valid concerns arise, the author(s) will be contacted to discuss the matter. The journal and/or publisher may then implement the following measures, among others:

1) If the manuscript is still under review, it may be rejected and returned to the author.

2) If the paper has been published online, the response will vary based on the nature and severity of the violation:

A correction may be appended to the paper,

An expression of concern may be issued alongside the paper,

Or, in extreme cases, a retraction of the paper may be warranted.

Corrections

China Public Administration Review acknowledges its responsibility to correct any scientifically relevant errors in published papers that may impact their scientific interpretation. Once approved by the editorial office and Editor-in-Chief (EIC), the paper will be revised accompanied by the publication of a correction. A correction is a distinct publication that is linked to the updated paper. It serves to inform all readers that a significant change has been made, and the updated version is available on the website. Notification will be sent to all relevant indexing databases to ensure that they update their records as well.

Corrections can be submitted if:

change the authorship OR,

there are scientifically relevant errors, e.g. missing sections/tables/figures, raw data errors, replacing images, table, and figure errors OR,

add or remove an entire reference.

Retractions

Papers that threaten the integrity of the scientific record should be retracted. Food & Medicine Homology adheres to COPE’s guidelines and procedures for handling retractions.

Please be aware that retraction entails retaining the original publication on the platform with a “Retracted” watermark, and the explanation for the retraction is provided in a note linked to the watermarked paper. A paper will only be fully removed from SciOpen's website and corresponding indexing databases under rare and exceptional circumstances, such as when retaining the article online would be unlawful or pose a risk of substantial harm.

Expression of Concern

When an investigation is ongoing or the evidence is inconclusive, an Expression of Concern may be issued. Editors believe that it is essential to inform readers about potential issues within the paper to uphold journal’s transparency:

There is a suspicion of academic misconduct within the paper, yet the evidence is insufficient to determine it as such OR

The results of the study are suspected to be unreliable, but the author’s institution is unwilling to initiate an investigation OR

Conflicting interpretations exist among the authors OR

An investigation is in progress, and final conclusions may require an extended period.

Appeals and Complaints

China Public Administration Review adheres to the COPE principles regarding appeals and complaints concerning the peer-review process and editorial decisions. Authors have the right to appeal if they believe their manuscript was unfairly treated during peer review or if they consider the rejection decision to be incorrect. However, to lodge an appeal, authors must present substantial evidence or new information/data that counters the reviewers’ comments and the editors’ decisions.

Authors should submit their appeal letter to the journal’s Editorial Office, directing it to the editors, and include specific responses, evidentiary materials, or any new information/data they wish the journal to consider.

Authors must not submit their manuscript for publication elsewhere until they receive a final decision or decide to withdraw their manuscript from consideration and have informed the journal accordingly. Each appeal is assessed on its individual merits. Editors will consider only one appeal per manuscript, and the EIC’s decision on the appeal is final.

Copyright

When submitting their papers on the CNKI platform, all authors are required to complete a Copyright License Agreement. The main contents are as follows:

Paper License: If the paper is accepted for publication, the authors agree to grant the copyright license of the work to China Public Administration Review from the date of official publication. The journal does not charge submission or page fees, nor does it pay license fees or author remuneration. China Public Administration Review has the right to use parts of or the entire paper, including but not limited to the following rights: compilation, distribution, reproduction, translation, online publication, and information network dissemination worldwide; the right to license domestic and international literature retrieval systems and databases to include and use the paper; the right to allow publication and use in existing and future media, formats, and other languages; and the right to use the paper in any manner that does not violate current or future laws of the People's Republic of China.

Author's Undertaking: (1) The paper is original and is being published for the first time. There are no intellectual property disputes, no simultaneous submission to multiple journals, and no confidentiality obligations of any kind. (2) Without the written permission of China Public Administration Review, the authors undertake not to allow any third party to use the paper in any form and shall bear corresponding liability for breach of contract.

Role of the funding source

Authors are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such involvement, then this should be stated.

Articles access

Online First
The journal offers rapid publication via CNKI’s Online First service. Online First (Online Version of Record) articles are published on CNKI Online Library before inclusion in an issue. Note there may be a delay after corrections are received before the article appears online, as editors also need to review proofs.

Subscription

Articles are made available to subscribers via CNKI.

Peer review

This journal operates a double blind review process.Simultaneous submissions are not accepted. Manuscripts with contents outside the scope will not be considered for review.Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the academic quality of the paper.In addition, editors will have the option of seeking additional reviews if needed. Authors will be informed when editors decide further review is required.All publication decisions are made by the journal's editors-in-chief on the basis of the reviewers' reports. Authors of papers that are not accepted are notified promptly.All submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential documents. We expect our Board of reviewing editors and reviewers to treat manuscripts as confidential material as well.Editors and reviewers involved in the review process should disclose conflicts of interest resulting from direct competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors, and remove oneself from cases in which such conflicts preclude an objective evaluation. Privileged information or ideas that are obtained through peer review must not be used for competitive gain.Our peer review process is confidential and identities of reviewers cannot be revealed.

Duties of Authors

1) Data Access and Retention

Authors may be asked to provide research data supporting their paper for editorial review and/or to comply with the open data requirements of the journal. Authors should be prepared to provide public access to such data, if practicable, and should be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable number of years after publication. Authors may refer to the journal’s Guide for Authors for further details.

2) Originality and Acknowledgement of Sources

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 and permission has been obtained where necessary.

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have influenced the reported work and that give the work appropriate context within the larger scholarly record. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source.

3)  Confidentiality

Information obtained in the course of confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, must not be used without the explicit written permission of the author of the work involved in these services.

4) 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 substantial contributions should be listed as co-authors.

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.

5) Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-Assisted Technologies in Manuscript Preparation

China Public Administration Review follows COPE’s position statement regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process. The journal’s publisher, Tsinghua University Press, is a member of STM, and China Public Administration Review also adheres to the STM publication Ethics and Practice Guidelines for Generative AI in Scholarly Communication.

Authors should not list AI or AI-assisted technologies as authors or co-authors, nor should they cite AI as an author. We will closely monitor developments in this area and adjust or refine this policy as appropriate.

Authors are required to provide a detailed description of the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in a cover letter at the time of submission. Authors must carefully review and edit any AI-generated material and take full responsibility for all submitted content that incorporates AI technologies. Furthermore, authors should declare the use of such tools or technologies in the Methods, Acknowledgements, or other relevant sections of the manuscript, including a detailed explanation of how the AI tools were specifically used.

Changes to authorship

Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission. Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should be made only before the manuscript has been accepted and only if approved by the journal editor. To request such a change, the editor must receive the following from the corresponding author: (a) the reason for the change in author list and (b) written confirmation (e-mail, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed.

Notification of Fundamental Errors

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their 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 if deemed necessary by the editor. If the editor or the publisher learn from a third party that a published work contains an error, it is the obligation of the author to cooperate with the editor, including providing evidence to the editor where requested.

Duties of Editors

1) Publication decisions

The editor is solely and independently responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published, often working in conjunction with the relevant society. The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always underwrite such decisions. The editor 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 issues such as libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers (or society officers) in making these decisions.

2) Fair play

The editorial policies of the journal should encourage transparency and complete, honest reporting, and the editor should ensure that peer reviewers and authors have a clear understanding of what is expected of them. The editor shall use the journal’s standard electronic submission system for communications.

The editor shall establish, along with the publisher, a transparent mechanism for appeal against editorial decisions.

3) Journal metrics

The editor must not attempt to influence the journal’s ranking by artificially increasing any journal metric. In particular, the editor shall not require that references to that (or any other) journal’s articles be included except for genuine scholarly reasons and authors should not be required to include references to the editor’s own articles or products and services in which the editor has an interest.

4) Confidentiality

The editor must protect the confidentiality of all material submitted to the journal and all communications with reviewers, unless otherwise agreed with the relevant authors and reviewers. In exceptional circumstances and in consultation with the publisher, the editor may share limited information with editors of other journals where deemed necessary to investigate suspected research misconduct.

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. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.

5) Declaration of Competing Interests

Any potential editorial conflicts of interest should be declared to the publisher in writing prior to the appointment of the editor, and then updated if and when new conflicts arise. The publisher may publish such declarations in the journal.

The editor must not be involved in decisions about papers which s/he has written him/herself or have been written by family members or colleagues or which relate to products or services in which the editor has an interest. Further, any such submission must be subject to all of the journal’s usual procedures, peer review must be handled independently of the relevant author/editor and their research groups, and there must be a clear statement to this effect on any such paper that is published.

6) Application of Artificial Intelligence or AI-Assisted Technologies

Manuscripts prior to publication shall be regarded as confidential documents. Reviewers and editors are prohibited from uploading the manuscripts or any portions thereof to public artificial intelligence platforms. This confidentiality obligation applies to all manuscript-related communications, including any notifications or decision letters, as such materials may contain confidential information concerning the manuscripts and/or the authors.

Duties of Reviewers

1) Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper.  Peer review is an essential component of formal scholarly communication, and lies at the heart of the scientific method.  In addition to the specific ethics-related duties described below, reviewers are asked generally to treat authors and their work as they would like to be treated themselves and to observe good reviewing etiquette.

Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and decline to participate in the review process.

2) Confidentiality

Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not share the review or information about the paper with anyone or contact the authors directly without permission from the editor.

Some editors encourage discussion with colleagues or co-reviewing exercises, but reviewers should first discuss this with the editor in order to ensure that confidentiality is observed and that participants receive suitable credit.

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.

3) Alertness to Ethical Issues

A reviewer should be alert to potential ethical issues in the paper and should bring these to the attention of the editor, including any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which the reviewer has personal knowledge. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation.

4) Standards of Objectivity & Competing Interests

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Reviewers should be aware of any personal bias they may have and take this into account when reviewing a paper. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Reviewers should consult the Editor before agreeing to review a paper where they have potential conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

5) Use of Artificial Intelligence or AI-Assisted Technologies

Manuscripts under review are confidential documents. Reviewers and editors must not upload manuscripts or any part thereof to public AI platforms. This confidentiality requirement applies to all correspondence related to the manuscript, including any notifications or decision letters, as these may contain confidential information about the manuscript and/or the authors.

Publication Fees

Authors are not required to pay any article processing fees.

Advertising Policy

All advertisements must be approved by the publisher (Tsinghua University Press), the editors, or the publishing partners of Tsinghua University Press. Tsinghua University Press reserves the right to reject or cancel any advertisement at any time.

Statements made in advertisements shall not directly or indirectly disparage other products. No misleading or exaggerated statements, nor statements contrary to verified facts, shall be included. Advertisements shall not contain indecent, obscene, or defamatory content.

Maintaining editorial independence from commercial influence is a fundamental principle in decision-making. Editorial decisions are not affected by advertisements.

Advertisements must be clearly identified as such and must be clearly distinguishable from editorial content. Tsinghua University Press will not publish advertisements in the form of editorial content.