Statement of Publication Ethics

Since its establishment in 1893, the University of California Press has been committed to publishing the highest quality, peer-reviewed scholarship, and to publishing and review processes that adhere to the strictest ethical standards. Our publication guidelines conform to those set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). UC Press publishes journals that have been reviewed and approved by the Press’s Editorial Committee. The Editorial Committee is comprised of faculty from the ten campuses of the University of California and is charged with oversight of the imprint of the University of California Press.

Authorship

Authors of articles published in all UC Press journals must have contributed significantly to the research resulting in the publication of an article, and should be able to certify that they have contributed to the entire manuscript, where necessary attributing work to relevant co-authors or contributors. All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship, and all those who qualify should be listed. Each author must have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content. Articles submitted to a UC Press journal for consideration must be original works of scholarship and must not be submitted simultaneously in any form or version for publication elsewhere. Authors are expected to engage in the peer review process and to respond to and address feedback as requested by journal editors and/or peer reviewers. Authors are responsible for delivering manuscripts that cite all sources in accordance with any applicable guidelines for the journal. Authors must clear the necessary reproduction rights for any images, photos, figures, music, data, or content credited to a third party that an author wishes to use (including content found on the Internet), which fall outside of the fair use provisions described in U.S. copyright law. Authors must also have no conflicting or competing interests that would preclude them to presenting their research in an unbiased manner, and authors must disclose any and all potential conflicts of interest upon submission of their article for publication.

Editorial Responsibilities

Editors of journals published and owned by the University of California of Press are appointed by the Press. Editors appointed by the Press are subject to the approval the UC Press Editorial Committee. Editors of journals published by arrangement with other organizations such as scholarly societies, institutes, and research centers are appointed by the sponsoring organization and are not subject to the approval of the UC Press Editorial Committee. In either case, the editors of journals published by the University of California Press are tasked with maintaining editorial principles and practices that conform to the conventions in their field. The composition of the editorial team, including advisory and editorial boards and editorial office contact information is available on each journal’s web page.

Peer Review

All research articles published in UC Press journals undergo formal peer review. Other article types (e.g. editorials, commentaries, review articles) will have specific peer review policies, per journal. Editorial decisions are made following a rigorous, fair, unbiased, and timely peer review process. UC Press does not endorse one particular peer review method, but we strive to work with journal editors to ensure that the review process is fair and conforms to the conventions of the field in question. In all cases, editors of UC Press journals are required to secure peer review from at least two qualified outside peer reviewers of all original research articles published in UC Press journals.

Corrections & Additions

Amendments to published articles will be made only if they affect the integrity and accuracy of the scholarly record. Formal notifications will be published on the website of the UC Press journal in question, falling into one of three categories:

• Erratum: An error introduced by the publisher that affects the integrity of the scholarly record, the reputation of the authors, or the reputation of the journal.
• Corrigendum: An error introduced by the author(s) that affects the integrity of the scholarly record, the reputation of the authors, or the reputation of the journal.
• Retraction: Withdrawal of a published paper due to invalid results or conclusions. All authors of a paper must sign a retraction request, indicating the error and describing how it affects the paper’s conclusions. If authors are not in unanimous agreement in requesting a retraction, the pertinent Editor-in-Chief will consult Associate Editors or Editorial Board Members and, as necessary, external reviewers and apply the category of amendment that appears most appropriate, indicating dissenting authors in the text of the published amendment.