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Publication Ethics

The HKS Misinformation Review is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the integrity of the scientific record. Any cases of ethical misconduct are treated very seriously and dealt with in accordance with the COPE guidelines.

Responsibilities of the Authors

Authorship

Authorship is 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. Others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author ensures that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included in the paper and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript and have agreed to its submission for publication.

AI Authorship and Tools 

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, such as Large Language Models, do not qualify for authorship and, therefore, cannot be listed as an author. The use of AI to create content (e.g., text, figures, images, code) must be fully disclosed in the Methods or Acknowledgments section of the manuscript. Authors are responsible for the entire content of their paper, including parts created with the help of AI tools.      

Originality

In general, papers describing essentially the same research should not be published in more than one journal. Manuscripts that have been published as copyrighted material elsewhere must not be submitted. Our full Duplicate Publication Policy can be found in our Editorial Policies.

Reporting Standards

Authors are solely responsible for the content and accuracy of their articles, that is, ensuring that the research was conducted in an ethical manner and data were collected, analyzed, and interpreted accurately by employing appropriate scientific methods. Papers must contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Authors should disclose to the Editor-in-Chief any conflicts of interest at the earliest stage possible. Any conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript as well as all sources of financial support for the project (e.g., employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding) must be disclosed in the published article.  

Data Access and Retention

The HKS Misinformation Review requires, as a condition for publication, that all data necessary to replicate published results should be archived in the Harvard Dataverse repository, within IRB restrictions. Our full Data Sharing Policy can be found in our Editorial Policies.

Reporting Errors 

If authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must promptly notify the Editor-in-Chief and cooperate with the editorial team to correct or retract the article. If the editorial team learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, the authors must promptly correct or retract the article or provide evidence to the Editor-in-Chief of the correctness of the original work.

Responsibilities of the Reviewers

Peer-Review Process

Peer review is an independent assessment of papers by experts in the field. The purpose of the peer-review process is to evaluate the paper’s quality and suitability for publication. It may also serve the authors in improving the quality of their submission. Potential reviewers should withdraw from the review process if they feel unqualified to assess the contribution or cannot provide an assessment in a timely manner as defined by the editorial team. 

Confidentiality

Submitted manuscripts are confidential documents. Reviewers must not use unpublished information disclosed in a submitted manuscript for their own research purposes without the authors’ written consent. Information concerning the manuscripts must not be discussed with others without the approval of the Editor-in-Chief.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers should disclose to the editor any conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships/connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the paper.

Objectivity

Reviewers are expected to be objective in their assessments. Their comments should be clearly expressed and supported by data and/or arguments. Personal criticism of the authors is not permitted.

Responsibilities of the Editorial Team

Editorial Decisions

The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for initially accepting, rejecting, or requesting modifications to the manuscript. If the manuscript passes the initial decision to send it into peer review, the editorial team ensures a fair peer-review process. The Editorial Committee makes the final publication decision. In some instances, the Editorial Committee may require further revisions. The editorial team communicates all editorial decisions in a timely fashion. Editors, Editorial Committee members, and editorial staff are excluded from publication decisions when they are authors or have contributed to a manuscript. 

Fair Review

The editorial team ensures that each manuscript submitted to the HKS Misinformation Review is reviewed for its intellectual content without regard to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy. The decisions are based on the importance, originality, clarity, and relevance of the presented research to the journal’s scope.

Confidentiality

Information concerning a submitted manuscript is confidential and should only be revealed to the corresponding author, reviewers, editors, the Editorial Committee, and the Editorial Board, as is required or otherwise appropriate. Editors, Editorial Committee members, and editorial staff must not use unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript for their own research without the authors’ written consent. 

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Editors and Editorial Committee members will disclose any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships/connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the manuscripts. 

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