PUBLICATION ETHICS

The journal

The Mapping China Journal (MCJ) is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal published by Mapping China, a Germany-based non-profit organization. MPJ aims to publish original work by students at all levels of their degrees, including PhD students at early stages of their dissertation. MPJ’s goal is to engage students early on in the German and worldwide scholarly debate on China from a political science perspective and to foster understanding of China and its contemporary role in the world. MPJ is dedicated to uphold the highest standards of publication ethics, outlined in the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors and the COPE Conduct for Journal Publishers.

Duties of the Publisher

The publishers of the MCJ assist any work by the Editorial Board, respect the privacy and foster editorial independence. Any corrections, clarifications or retractions will be published by the publishers. While the Editorial Board is entrusted with assuring the quality, accuracy and integrity of the MCJ, the publishers and Mapping China e.V. do not accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may occur. All statements, facts, and views presented in the MCJ are the sole responsibility of the contributors.

Duties of the Editorial Board

MCJ editors commit themselves to review each manuscript based solely on intellectual and scholarly merits. They are responsible for ensuring the confidentiality of the authors and the reviewers. While editors make an effort to include extensive commentary for each rejected paper, they reserve the right to reject a manuscript without extensive commentary. The Editorial Board reserves the right to accept, reject or request submissions for all submissions made to the MCJ. All research papers are sent to at least two experts in the relevant field, while all essays are reviewed by at least one expert in the relevant field. Further information on the quality control policy can be found under Submission Guidelines.

Duties of the Authors

When submitting a manuscript, authors attest that their manuscript has not been previously published or has been accepted for publication elsewhere. Additionally, MCJ does not accept simultaneous submissions of the same manuscript to two or more journals or manuscripts that are based on previously published content or has been published in another language. With submissions, authors attest that the manuscript is entirely their own and that all sources are referenced as outlined in Submission Guidelines. Authors commit to publish their work with MCJ if accepted and to work with MCJ editorial staff in a timely manner to ensure publication. To ensure the confidentiality of the double blind peer review process, authors must take care to delete any personal information from their manuscripts.

Duties of Reviewers

With agreeing to review a manuscript, reviewers commit to regarding any information in the manuscript as confidential, privileged information. Reviewers are asked to judge a manuscript based on MCJ criteria which are detailed in the Submission Guidelines. If the reviewers are not able to meet the agreed-upon deadline, they must notify MCJ staff.