Journal of Mechatronics, Automation and Identification Technology (JMAIT) strictly follow guidelines from Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), an organization that provides advice and resources on all aspects of publication ethics and research and publication misconduct. Anyone who believes that research published by JMAIT has not been carried out in line with these principles should raise their concerns with the relevant editor, or email jmait@uns.ac.rs.

A selection of key points is included below, but you should always refer to the guidelines from Committee on Publication Ethics  for full details. Please click  HERE to download the JMAIT Statement on Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice in one document.

Open access policy
JMAIT provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

Editorial policy
JMAIT  primarily publishes reviews and original scientific papers covering from all branches of Mechatronics, Automation, Identification technology and related scientific fields (Electric/Electronics engineering, Mechanical engineering, Industrial engineering, Process engineering,  …).
JMAIT is an Open Access journal. Contributions to journal shall be submitted in English  which is closely defined with Instruction for manuscript preparation.
JMAIT is issued four times a year. Special issues can be two times a year.

Reporting standards
A submitted manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to permit reviewers and, subsequently, readers to verify the claims presented in it. The deliberate presentation of false claims is a violation of ethical standards.
Authors are exclusively responsible for the contents of their submissions and must make sure that they have permission from all involved parties to make the data public.
Authors wishing to include figures, tables or other materials that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright holder(s). Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.

Authorship
Authors must make sure that all only contributors who have significantly contributed to the submission are listed as authors and, conversely, that all contributors who have significantly contributed to the submission are listed as authors. If persons other than authors were involved in important aspects of the research project and the preparation of the manuscript, their contribution should be acknowledged in a Acknowledgements section.
Authors are required to properly cite sources that have significantly influenced their research and their manuscript. Information received in a private conversation or correspondence with third parties, in reviewing project applications, manuscripts and similar materials, must not be used without the express written consent of the information source.

Plagiarism
Plagiarism, where someone assumes another’s ideas, words, or other creative expression as one’s own, is a clear violation of scientific ethics. Plagiarism may also involve a violation of copyright law, punishable by legal action. Plagiarism includes the following:

– Word for word, or almost word for word copying, or purposely paraphrasing portions of another author’s work without clearly indicating the source or marking the copied fragment (for example, using quotation marks);
– Copying equations, figures or tables from someone else’s paper without properly citing the source and/or without permission from the original author or the copyright holder.

Please note that all submissions are thoroughly checked for plagiarism.

Any paper which shows obvious signs of plagiarism will be automatically rejected and authors will be temporarily forbidden to publish in the journal.
In case plagiarism is discovered in a paper that has already been published by the journal, it will be retracted in accordance with the procedure described below under Retraction policy, and authors will be temporarily forbidden to publish in the journal.

Conflict of interest

Authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might have influenced the presented results or their interpretation.

Fundamental errors in published works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her 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.
By submitting a manuscript the authors agree to abide by the JMAIT Editorial policies.

Procedures for dealing with unethical behavior
Anyone may inform the editors and/or Editorial Board at any time of suspected unethical behavior or any type of misconduct by giving the necessary information/evidence to start an investigation.

Investigation

– Editor-in-chief will consult with the Editorial board on decisions regarding the initiation of an investigation.
– During an investigation, any evidence should be treated as strictly confidential and only made available to those strictly involved in investigating.
– The accused will always be given the chance to respond to any charges made against them.
– If it is judged at the end of the investigation that misconduct has occurred, then it will be classified as either minor or serious.

Minor misconduct

Minor misconduct will be dealt directly with those involved without involving any other parties, e.g.:

– Communicating to authors/reviewers whenever a minor issue involving misunderstanding or misapplication of academic standards has occurred.
– A warning letter to an author or reviewer regarding fairly minor misconduct.

Major misconduct

The Editor-in-chief, in consultation with the Editorial board, and, when appropriate, further consultation with a small group of experts should make any decision regarding the course of action to be taken using the evidence available. The possible outcomes are as follows (these can be used separately or jointly):

– Publication of a formal announcement or editorial describing the misconduct.
– Informing the author’s (or reviewer’s) head of department or employer of any misconduct by means of a formal letter.
– The formal, announced retraction of publications from the journal in accordance with the Retraction policy (see below).
– A ban on submissions from an individual for a defined period.
– Referring a case to a professional organization or legal authority for further investigation and action.

When dealing with unethical behavior, the Editorial board will rely on the guidelines and recommendations provided by the COPE.

Retraction policy
Legal limitations of the publisher, copyright holder or author(s), infringements of professional ethical codes, such as multiple submissions, bogus claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data or any major misconduct require retraction of an article. Occasionally a retraction can be used to correct errors in submission or publication. The main reason for withdrawal or retraction is to correct the mistake while preserving the integrity of science; it is not to punish the author.

Standards for dealing with retractions have been developed by a number of library and scholarly bodies, and this practice has been adopted for article retraction by JMAIT: in the electronic version of the retraction note, a link is made to the original article. In the electronic version of the original article, a link is made to the retraction note where it is clearly stated that the article has been retracted. The original article is retained unchanged, save for a watermark on the PDF indicating on each page that it is “retracted.”

Self-archiving policy
The JMAIT allows authors to deposit Publisher’s version/PDF in an institutional repository and non-commercial subject-based repositories or to publish it on Author’s personal website (including social net­working sites, such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu, etc.) and/or departmental website, at any time after publication. Full bibliographic information (authors, article title, journal title, volume, issue, pages) about the original publication must be provided and a link must be made to the article’s DOI.

Copyright
Once the manuscript is accepted for publication, authors shall transfer the copyright to the Publisher. If the submitted manuscript is not accepted for publication by the journal, all rights shall be retained by the author(s).

Authors grant to the Publisher the following rights to the manuscript, including any sup­plemental material, and any parts, extracts or elements thereof:

– the right to reproduce and distribute the Manuscript in printed form, including print-on-demand;
– the right to produce prepublications, reprints, and special editions of the Manuscript;
– the right to translate the Manuscript into other languages;
– the right to reproduce the Manuscript using photomechanical or similar means including, but not limited to photocopy, and the right to distribute these reproductions;
– the right to reproduce and distribute the Manuscript electronically or optically on any and all data carriers or storage media – especially in machine readable/digitalized form on data carriers – and the right to reproduce and distribute the Article via these data carriers;
– the right to store the Manuscript in databases, including online databases, and the right of transmission of the Manuscript in all technical systems and modes;
– the right to make the Manuscript available to the public or to closed user groups on individual demand, for use on monitors or other readers (including e-books), and in printable form for the user, either via the internet, other online services, or via internal or external networks.

The authors and third parties who wish use the article in a way not covered by the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives 3.0 Serbia licence (CC BY NC ND) must obtain a written consent of the publisher. Contact e-mail for written consent is: jmait@uns.ac.rs.
Authors grant to the publisher the right to publish the article, to be cited as its original publisher in case of reuse, and to distribute it in all forms and media.

Disclaimer
The views expressed in the published works do not express the views of the Editor-in-chief and Editorial board. The authors take legal and moral responsibility for the ideas expressed in the articles. Publisher shall have no liability in the event of issuance of any claims for damages. The Publisher will not be held legally responsible should there be any claims for compensation.

Publisher responsibilities
Publisher will ensure that good practice is maintained to the standards outlined above.

Editors’ responsibilities:

• Editor is responsible for everything published in the JMAIT. He/she has the right to accept or reject the manuscript, or can send the same for the modification. At the same time the editor should guard the integrity of the published record by issuing corrections and retractions when needed.
• Editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone, other than the corresponding author. Submitted information and ideas must be kept confidential and cannot be used for personal advantage or gain.
• Editors should pass the final acceptance only after discussion with the other managing and coeditors and reviewers based on the compliance, originality and quality of the article.  It is the duty of editors to correct the articles if demand comes from authors. If needed, other appropriate action should be taken at the time of processing of the article.
• Editor should address and take sufficient steps about ethical complaints to the published data and/or methodologies. Further communications should be made to the corresponding authors.
• Editor is guided by the policies of the JMAIT and constrained by the laws in force.
• Editor must ensure that each manuscript is reviewed for its intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic or geographical origin, citizenship, or political orientation of the authors. To act in a balanced, objective and fair way while carrying out their expected duties.
• Editor should provide transparency and fairness in decision making. Decisions should be unbiased and independent from commercial influences based on appropriate peer review process and complete, honest reporting.
• Editor should inform peer reviewers and authors what is expected from them.
• Editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher.
• Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in the editor’s own research without the express written consent of the author.
• To handle submissions for sponsored supplements or special issues in the same way as other submissions, so that articles are considered and accepted solely on their academic merit and without commercial influence.
• To adopt and follow reasonable procedures in the event of complaints of an ethical or conflict nature, in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Society where appropriate. To give authors a reasonable opportunity to respond to any complaints. All complaints should be investigated no matter when the original publication was approved. Documentation associated with any such complaints should be retained.

Authors’ responsibilities:

• Authors must guarantee that they have written entirely original work. The work has to be clearly and honestly reported, without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation.
• Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given.
• Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.
• Authors must guarantee that the manuscript has not been published elsewhere. Usually, authors should not publish manuscripts presenting the same research in more than one JMAIT or primary publication.
• Forbidden to publish same research in more than one journal.
• To confirm/assert that the manuscript as submitted is not under consideration or accepted for publication elsewhere. Where portions of the content overlap with published or submitted content, to acknowledge and cite those sources. Additionally, to provide the editor with a copy of any submitted manuscript that might contain overlapping or closely related content.
• 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 significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.
• Authors should, also, provide all data related with their manuscript, like list of references and  financial support.
• When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the JMAIT editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper. To cooperate with the editor and publisher to publish an erratum, addendum, corrigendum notice, or to retract the paper, where this is deemed necessary. Authors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data (consistent with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases), if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.
• If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript.
• Authors are obliged to participate in peer review process.
• To maintain accurate records of data associated with their submitted manuscript, and to supply or provide access to these data, on reasonable request. Where appropriate and where allowed by employer, funding body and others who might have an interest, to deposit data in a suitable repository or storage location, for sharing and further use by others.
• To confirm that all the work in the submitted manuscript is original and to acknowledge and cite content reproduced from other sources. To obtain permission to reproduce any content from other sources.
• Authors should ensure that any studies involving human or animal subjects conform to national, local and institutional laws and requirements (e.g. WMA Declaration of Helsinki, NIH Policy on Use of Laboratory Animals, EU Directive on Use of Animals) and confirm that approval has been sought and obtained where appropriate. Authors should obtain express permission from human subjects and respect their privacy.
• To declare any potential conflicts of interest (e.g. where the author has a competing interest (real or apparent) that could be considered or viewed as exerting an undue influence on his or her duties at any stage during the publication process). Funding sources and relevant conflicts of interest should be disclosed.

Reviewer responsibilities:

• Reviews should be conducted objectively and promptly by qualified referees. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments. 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 excuse himself from the review process.
• 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.
• To contribute to the decision-making process, and to assist in improving the quality of the published paper by reviewing the manuscript objectively, in a timely manner.
• To maintain the confidentiality of any information supplied by the editor or author. To not retain or copy the manuscript.
• Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.
• Reviewer must ensure that authors have acknowledged all sources of data used in the research. Any kind of similarity between the manuscript and other published paper, must be immediately brought in to notice to the Editor Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
• Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers. To be aware of any potential conflicts of interest (financial, institutional, collaborative or other relationships between the reviewer and author) and to alert the editor to these, if necessary withdrawing their services for that manuscript.

Benefits as a reviewer
Being an reviewer of a journal is truly productive, pleasant and in fact prestigious which helps in add-on to the scientific world through the ways and guidelines given by experts in the relevant fields. Though, it is time consuming and often goes unobserved, there are some important rewards that make the editorial advisors worthwhile. You will be entitled following benefits while working with us as the reviewer member of the journal:

• You are enforced to read carefully various manuscripts in your area of importance and interest. This is the way you are routinely forced to keep yourself up-to-date while checking and suggesting the changes in manuscript.
• This work helps to add in and provides a better way to create your identity as a well known expert in your field and may lead to increased invitations to speak at conferences or demand for invited research of your specialized area.
• You will be among the contributors who will shape and decide the urgent ways as required with changing societal needs.
• Your ideas and subject inputs may help in arranging special issues as per topics of your interest and choice.
• You will come across the latest research before everyone else and gives you a position of leadership in your research community.