Publication Ethics

The ethical standards of Virtual Economics are aligned with internationally recognised principles of research integrity and publication ethics. The journal follows the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, developed by All European Academies (ALLEA), and the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which together provide a widely accepted framework for responsible research and good editorial practice.

The journal’s procedures for handling submissions, peer review, editorial decision-making, and ethical concerns are described in Peer Review Process, Editorial & Publication Process, For Reviewers, and Corrections, Retractions & Article Removal Policy.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to Virtual Economics are expected to adhere to principles of honesty, transparency, and research integrity in accordance with recognised international standards.

Authors must:

• conduct and report research carefully and accurately, presenting objectives, methods, analyses, and interpretations in a clear and complete manner;

• ensure that all data are genuine, have not been fabricated, falsified, or inappropriately manipulated, and are retained for verification where necessary;

• base conclusions on verifiable evidence and sound reasoning, avoiding misleading or unsupported claims;

• present their work objectively and free from undue influence of sponsors, funders, or personal interests;

• properly acknowledge the work and ideas of others through accurate citation and referencing, thereby avoiding plagiarism;

• describe research methods and data collection procedures transparently to allow understanding and, where possible, replication of the study;

• disclose all sources of funding and any potential conflicts of interest in accordance with Open Access Policy and Copyright & Licensing;

• ensure that the manuscript is original, has not been previously published, and is not under consideration elsewhere;

• take responsibility for the integrity of the entire work and cooperate with the editorial office in providing clarifications or additional information if requested.

Authors should also promptly inform the editorial office if a significant error or inaccuracy is discovered in their published work and cooperate in issuing corrections in accordance with Corrections, Retractions & Article Removal Policy.

Authorship and Publishing Practice

Submission of a manuscript to Virtual Economics implies that the work is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Authorship

Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made a substantial scholarly contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study. All listed authors must have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for its content.

All co-authors must approve the final version of the manuscript prior to submission and agree to its submission to the journal. Changes in authorship after submission (addition, removal, or reordering of authors) require written consent from all authors and approval of the editorial office in accordance with Research Transparency & Author Responsibilities Policy.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship (e.g. technical assistance, language editing, or general supervision) should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section.

Ghost authorship, guest authorship, and honorary authorship are considered unethical practices and are not permitted.

Originality and Citation

Authors must ensure that their manuscripts properly cite relevant prior work and accurately acknowledge the contributions of other researchers. Plagiarism in any form, including unattributed copying, close paraphrasing, or reuse of substantial portions of previously published material, is unacceptable.

Redundant or duplicate publication, including submission of substantially similar manuscripts to more than one journal, is considered misconduct.

Disclosure and Transparency

Authors must disclose all sources of funding and any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the research or its interpretation in accordance with Open Access Policy and Copyright & Licensing.

Authors should not suppress or selectively report results. Both positive and negative findings should be presented accurately and without misrepresentation.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all information contained in the manuscript and must cooperate with the editorial office in providing clarifications or supporting data when requested.

Communication and Public Statements

Authors should present their findings honestly when communicating with the media or the public and avoid exaggeration, misinterpretation, or unsupported claims about the results of their research.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play a central role in maintaining the scientific quality and integrity of Virtual Economics. By accepting a review invitation, reviewers confirm that they possess appropriate subject expertise and are able to provide an objective and timely assessment.

Reviewers must:

• decline review invitations if they lack relevant expertise or cannot provide an impartial evaluation;

• disclose any potential conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from the review where such conflicts exist;

• treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents;

• not share, distribute, or discuss unpublished material with third parties;

• not use data, ideas, or results obtained through peer review for personal research or professional advantage;

• provide constructive, reasoned, and unbiased comments focused on the scholarly merit of the manuscript.

Detailed reviewer obligations, procedures, and timelines are described in the For Reviewers section and the Peer Review Process.

Research Misconduct

Virtual Economics considers research misconduct to be a serious violation of publication ethics and research integrity.

Research misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

• fabrication — making up data or results and recording or reporting them;

• falsification — manipulating research materials, equipment, processes, or altering or omitting data so that the research is not accurately represented;

• plagiarism — using another person’s ideas, text, data, or results without appropriate acknowledgment;

• duplicate or redundant publication;

• citation manipulation;

• undisclosed conflicts of interest;

• breach of confidentiality by reviewers or editors.

Less severe but still unacceptable practices include inaccurate reporting of data, improper attribution, and other actions that compromise the reliability of the scholarly record.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

Allegations of misconduct are handled in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

If concerns are raised regarding a submitted or published manuscript, the editorial office will:

1. conduct an initial assessment of the allegation;

2. contact the corresponding author and request an explanation;

3. where necessary, request original data or supporting documentation;

4. consult reviewers, editors, or the authors’ institution if appropriate.

During the investigation, the manuscript review process may be suspended.

Depending on the outcome, the journal may:

• reject the manuscript;

• request corrections;

• publish an expression of concern; or

• retract the article in accordance with Corrections, Retractions & Article Removal Policy.

In cases of serious misconduct, the journal may inform the authors’ institution, employer, or funding body.

Additional Ethical Requirements

Ghost authorship, guest authorship, and honorary authorship are strictly prohibited. All listed authors must meet authorship criteria and their contributions must be accurately represented in accordance with Research Transparency & Author Responsibilities Policy.

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission or publication require a justified written explanation and written consent from all authors. Such changes are subject to editorial review.

If errors or inaccuracies are identified in a published article, authors are obliged to notify the editorial office without delay. Depending on the nature and severity of the issue, the journal may publish a correction, clarification, expression of concern, or retraction in accordance with Corrections, Retractions & Article Removal Policy.

Changes to author names after publication (e.g. legal name change) may be accommodated upon reasonable request, provided that the integrity of the scholarly record is maintained.

Data Integrity and Reporting

Authors must ensure that all data presented in submitted manuscripts are accurate, reliable, and honestly reported. Fabrication, falsification, selective reporting, or inappropriate manipulation of data are considered research misconduct.

Methods and results should be described clearly and in sufficient detail to allow readers to understand, evaluate, and, where possible, reproduce the research.

Authors are expected to retain original data and supporting materials for a reasonable period after publication and to provide them to the editorial office if requested during the review process or in the investigation of ethical concerns.

Where applicable, authors must make research data available in accordance with the journal’s Data Availability Statement requirements.

If a significant error is discovered in a published article, the authors must promptly notify the editorial office and cooperate in issuing a correction or retraction in accordance with Corrections, Retractions & Article Removal Policy.

Ethical Treatment of Research Participants and Subjects

Research involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with recognised ethical standards and applicable legal requirements. Authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained from all participants and that personal data were collected, processed, and stored in compliance with relevant data protection regulations. Where applicable, authors should state that the study was approved by an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board.

Authors must ensure the confidentiality and privacy of participants. Identifying information should not be published unless explicit written consent has been obtained.

Research involving animals must comply with recognised standards of humane treatment and relevant institutional or national guidelines. Authors should indicate that appropriate ethical approval was obtained where required.

Authors are also expected to consider the environmental impact of their research and to conduct studies in accordance with applicable environmental protection regulations.

Complaints and Appeals

Virtual Economics provides a transparent procedure for handling complaints, appeals, and ethical concerns related to submitted or published manuscripts.

Complaints may relate to editorial decisions, the peer review process, authorship disputes, alleged misconduct, or breaches of publication ethics. Complaints should be submitted to the editorial office in writing and must include sufficient information and supporting evidence.

Upon receipt of a complaint, the editorial office will:

1. acknowledge receipt of the complaint;

2. conduct a preliminary assessment;

3. request explanations from the relevant parties where necessary;

4. evaluate the evidence in an impartial manner.

Authors or other parties accused of misconduct will be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations before any decision is made.

Where appropriate, the journal may consult independent experts, members of the editorial board, or the relevant institution. Appeals against editorial decisions will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief or a delegated senior editor who was not involved in the original decision.

If ethical concerns are substantiated, actions will be taken in accordance with Research Misconduct provisions and Corrections, Retractions & Article Removal Policy. The journal follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in resolving disputes.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors of Virtual Economics are responsible for ensuring a fair, objective, and confidential evaluation of all submitted manuscripts.

Editors must assess manuscripts solely on their scholarly merit, originality, methodological soundness, and relevance to the journal’s scope, without regard to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, citizenship, institutional affiliation, or political views.

Editors and editorial staff must treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents. Information about a manuscript may be shared only with the corresponding author, reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher as necessary for the editorial process, as described in Peer Review Process.

Editors must not use unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript in their own research without the authors’ explicit written consent. Editors and reviewers are required to disclose any conflicts of interest and must recuse themselves from handling a manuscript where such conflicts exist, in accordance with Editorial Independence & Conflict of Interest Policy.

Compliance and Monitoring

Virtual Economics periodically reviews and updates its ethical policies to ensure alignment with recognised international standards and applicable legal requirements.

The editorial office monitors compliance with these standards throughout the submission, peer review, and publication process. Editors, reviewers, and authors are expected to adhere to the policies described in Publication Ethics, Peer Review Process, and Research Transparency & Author Responsibilities Policy.

The journal promotes awareness of responsible research and publication practices by providing clear guidance to authors and reviewers in the Guide for Authors and For Reviewers sections.

To prevent ghostwriting and guest or honorary authorship, all authors are required to confirm authorship responsibility, originality of the work, and licensing conditions through the Author Publishing Agreement prior to publication.