ETHICAL GUIDELINES FOR JOURNAL PUBLICATION HERCEGOVINA

Hercegovina. Journal of Cultural Heritage and History (hereinafter referred to as: the Journal) is a scientific journal that publishes unpublished papers in the humanities, in which authors address topics related to Herzegovina, its history, culture, and tradition, as well as those that in any way relate to or have an impact on Herzegovina. The publisher is the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Mostar, Department of History, and the co-publisher is the Croatian Institute of History, Zagreb.

The Journal has both print and electronic editions.

The Journal is indexed in: Central and Eastern European Online Library (CEEOL); EBSCO, European Reference Index for the Humanities and the Social Sciences (ERIH PLUS); Portal of Scientific Journals of the Republic of Croatia (Hrčak), SCOPUS, Slavic Humanities Index (SLAVUS).

  1. Basic Principles
  • With the aim of improving the quality of the Journal, the following ethical guidelines have been established for the Editor-in-Chief, the Editorial Board, reviewers, and authors, which are in accordance with various recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) available at the link: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines.
  • The Journal continuously works on developing and adopting the highest ethical publishing standards and requires all participants to adhere to them.
  • The Journal’s policy is aligned with the International Standards for Editors and Authors, which are endorsed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The relevant guidelines are available at the link: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/endorsed-guidance/international-standards-editors-and-authors-wcri-2010.
  • The Journal does not publish previously published papers or those that have been submitted to another journal for evaluation.
  1. The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board of the Journal
  • The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board commit to adhering to the highest ethical standards in the publication of the Journal.
  • The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board should continuously and actively work on improving the quality of the Journal and apply all ethical norms to prevent any violation of academic principles.
  • With the aim of improving the quality of the Journal, the Editor-in-Chief should seek feedback from authors, reviewers, members of the Editorial Board, the scientific advisory board, and readers.
  • The Editor-in-Chief must be impartial when evaluating the content of submitted papers and sending them out for peer review.
  • The Journal’s Editorial Board strives to secure as many international reviews as possible in order to avoid conflicts of interest.
  • The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board are obliged to ensure the fair conduct of the peer review process by selecting competent reviewers who, in addition to holding the necessary scientific qualifications, are also proficient in the language in which the article is written.
  • The Editor-in-Chief and the members of the Editorial Board will treat every author equally and ensure a fair and impartial peer review process.
  • The Editor-in-Chief may reject a paper without peer review if they consider that it does not match the scope of the Journal, is of poor quality, has not been written in accordance with the Journal’s guidelines, or if the author does not adhere to ethical norms.
  • The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board guarantee the author the confidentiality of all data related to their paper.
  • The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board guarantee reviewers the confidentiality of their identity, even after the publication of the paper.
  • The Editor-in-Chief and the Executive Editor communicate with authors, reviewers, and members of the Editorial Board during the peer review process and the final categorisation of the paper.
  • If the Editor-in-Chief is the author of an article, or if there is any connection between them and the author of an article or the research whose findings are being published in the Journal, the Editor-in-Chief will recuse themselves from considering the article, and the entire peer review process will be managed by the other members of the Editorial Board.
  • If a member of the Editorial Board publishes a paper in the Journal, or if there is any form of collaboration with a particular author, the Editor-in-Chief will exclude them from the editorial process due to a conflict of interest, and impartial peer reviews will be ensured.
  • The final categorisation of the paper is proposed by the Editor-in-Chief and approved by a majority vote at the Editorial Board meeting.
  • Members of the Editorial Board are obliged to actively participate in the development and promotion of the Journal, assist in identifying competent reviewers and recruiting prominent authors to publish their papers in the Journal, and actively attend Editorial Board meetings.
  • The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board are obliged to inform authors in a timely manner of the results of the peer review process and the scheduled publication date of the Journal.
  • In the event of a potential appeal regarding the peer review process, the Editor-in-Chief will convene an Editorial Board meeting to discuss the matter.
  • The Journal’s Editorial Board may use Turnitin to check the originality of submitted papers.
  1. The Scientific Advisory Board
  • Members of the Scientific Advisory Board assist in the development and promotion of the Journal.
  • Members of the Scientific Advisory Board encourage prominent scientists to publish their papers in the Journal.
  • Members of the Scientific Advisory Board may participate in the peer review process or suggest competent reviewers.
  1. Reviewers
  • The Journal’s Editorial Board recommends that all reviewers read the Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers by the Committee on Publication Ethics, available at: COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers. Version 2 September 2017 https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.9
  • Initially, only the paper abstract is sent to reviewers. Upon their agreement, the full article and the review form, in which they enter their comments and evaluation, are provided.
  • Reviewers are obliged to submit the completed and signed review form no later than one month after receiving the paper. In exceptional circumstances, a reviewer may request an extension to the deadline for submitting the review; if they are unable to complete the review within the recommended timeframe, they are obliged to inform the Journal’s Editorial Board in a timely manner, after which an alternative reviewer will be selected.
  • Reviews are kept in the exact format in which they were submitted by the reviewers.
  • Reviewers are obliged to protect the authorship of the article and must not use the findings presented in the paper, or allow anyone else to use them, prior to its publication.
  • Reviewers must not disclose any information regarding the submitted paper during the peer review process.
  • Reviewers should be objective, and their reviews must be scientifically sound and clearly reasoned, as well as conducted in good faith towards both the author and the Journal.
  • Reviewers may request that the article be sent back to them after the required revisions to the paper have been made.
  • Reviewers should ensure that they do not leave any trace of their identity within the document sent to the author (such as in comments or file names).
  • Reviewers are obliged to report any ethical concerns regarding the submitted article to the Editorial Board.
  • In the event of any form of conflict of interest (such as a connection to the author, the author’s research, or similar), reviewers are obliged to recuse themselves from the peer review process.
  • Detailed instructions for reviewers are available at: Hercegovina – Instructions for Reviewers.
  1. Authors
  • Authors are obliged to adhere to ethical conduct when writing papers and to guarantee the originality of their work.
  • Authors are recommended to read the guidelines available at: Author guidelines.
  • Authors may only submit papers that are being published for the first time; by submitting, they guarantee that the paper has not been published and has not been sent to another publication.
  • If a paper has been presented at a scientific conference (with the same or a similar title), the authors must state this information in a separate note.
  • Authors are obliged to cite the scientific project under which the research was conducted, the findings of which are presented in the paper.
  • Authors must submit their paper in accordance with the prescribed standards of the Journal.
  • Authors are obliged to adequately reference and cite all external sources in the paper, and they accept full scientific and ethical responsibility for their article.
  • If images, illustrations, documents, interviews, or similar materials are not their own property, the author is obliged to obtain permission for use from the copyright holder.
  • Authors of book reviews and peer reviews should be objective and present their claims with supporting arguments, avoiding bias and conflicts of interest.
  • If an author notices any errors in their paper, they are obliged to inform the Editorial Board and correct the errors or withdraw the paper.
  • The Editorial Board will not publish a paper in the Journal if serious copyright or authorship violations are identified.
  • If unethical behaviour by an author is established, the Editorial Board will act in accordance with the recommendations of the International Committee on Publication Ethics: COPE Council. COPE Flowcharts and infographics – Suspected ethical problem in a submitted manuscript – English. https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.2.19
  • Authors who submit a paper consent to its publication in the Journal, in both print and electronic formats.
  • Authors who have submitted a co-authored paper guarantee that all listed authors participated in the preparation of the paper.
  • In the case of co-authorship, authors are obliged to state the final list and order of authors prior to submitting the paper. Any potential changes are only possible before the acceptance of the paper and are subject to the approval of the Editorial Board, which will make a final decision based on the stated reasons and the written consent of all authors. For more information on this, see the author guidelines of the European Association of Science Editors available at the link: https://www.ease.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/doi.10.20316.ESE_.2018.44.e1.hr_.pdf
  1. Copyright
  • The copyright holders are the publishers and the authors.
  • Authors retain copyright over the articles published in the Journal.
  • The author grants the Journal the right of first publication in both print and electronic formats, and in any subsequent publication, they are obliged to state that the article was originally published in the Journal.
  • Papers in the Journal are published in accordance with the Creative Commons international licence CC BY-NC, which means that the content may be used provided that the author is properly credited and for non-commercial purposes (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/deed.en).
  • The Journal will support the author in the event of any infringement of their copyright.
  1. Corrections and Retractions
  • In the event of subsequent discovery of an error, regardless of the paper’s current stage, authors are obliged to immediately inform the Editor-in-Chief and cooperate in the error correction process. If the paper has already been printed, an erratum (a supplement or correction) will be published as soon as possible, or the paper will be retracted.
  • If an error is noticed in a paper after its publication, a notice will be added to the beginning of the article in the online edition and in a dedicated section at the end of the next issue of the printed Journal.
  • If it is subsequently established that the findings in a published article have been falsified, or that the ethical rules of scientific research have been breached (plagiarism, republication without permission from the relevant institutions, failure to declare a conflict of interest, or other reasons indicating the academic unacceptability of the paper), the disputed paper will be retracted. In doing so, the Journal’s Editorial Board will be guided by the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics, available at the link: COPE Council. COPE Guidelines: Retraction Guidelines. August 2025. https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.4
  • The retraction notice will be published at the beginning of the article in the online edition and in a dedicated section at the end of the next issue of the printed Journal, where detailed information regarding the reasons and the retraction decision will be provided.
  • The decision to retract an article is made by the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with the members of the Editorial Board. If deemed necessary during the Editorial Board meeting, independent reviewers will also be involved.
  • If a complaint is found to be justified, the Editor-in-Chief will notify the author and provide them with an opportunity to respond to any allegations.