About the Journal
The International Institute for Archival Science – IIAS stems from the Centre for Technical and Professional Problems in Archives founded in 1986 on the initiative of Mr. Peter Pavel Klasinc, director general of the Pokrajinski Arhiv in Maribor and organizer of the archival meetings in Radenci concerning the former Republic of Yugoslavia but open to the participation of an increasing number of archivists coming from foreign countries such as Austria, Hungary, Italy, etc. Because of this always increasing participation of foreign professionals it was decided to found an autonomous international institute to deal with the technical and professional problems linked to archival matters, taking in special consideration the Balkan-Danube area and having the purpose to improve the quality and the professionalism in providing archival services, and taking advantage of the contributions from the more advanced countries in the field of archival science, i.e. Austria, Germany, Italy and taking also advantage of the international initiatives promoted by the International Council on Archives – ICA.
After the political events that took part during the end of the 20th century many new states reached the Centre, which in 1992 was reorganized and renamed as International Institute for Archival Science – IIAS.
During the yearly meeting in 1989 it was decided to issue a publication devoted to the problems in the field of archival science, a publication named “Atlanti” that started to be printed in 1991 and to become one year after the official paper of the International Institute for Archival Science – IIAS.
Among the most remarkable initiatives of the Institute a special mention deserves the “Glossary of regional historical terminology”, edited in 1995 in German, Italian and Slovene text; the International Course of archival technique held in 1996, in which high level students coming from many European and non-European countries took part; the meeting in 1998 dedicated to the use of informatics in the field of archives; the International Day held in 2000 in Trieste with the co-organization of the Municipality in which nearly two hundred people took part, being among them the same Mayor Illy.
Ad result of a protocol signed with Italian Ministry for Cultural Good – Department for Archives and Libraries, from October 2005 the International Institute for Archival Science – IIAS is hosted by the Italian State Archives in Trieste, and gathers at the present twenty member countries: Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Montenegro, Poland, Slovak Republic, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Ukraine.
PUBLICATION ETHICS
1 Introduction
At Alma Mater Press, the integrity of our content and publishing is a high priority. These ethics outline the practice principles that we apply to our publication ATLANTI. We hope that these guidelines will be helpful for different groups, such as authors, peer reviewers, editors, etc.
Why the guidelines were developed
ATLANTI is the international institute for archival science Trieste/Maribor (IIAS)'s official annual serial publication, published since 1991, devoted to current issues in the field of archival science. The publication Archives – Modern Archives was published annually from 1979 to 2003. There is a forum within the institute dedicated to the international archival community.
The publications on archival science are collected at the IIAS Library in Trieste, which is highly specialised, and in digital form at the website of Alma Mater Press.
We thought it essential to attempt to define best practice in the ethics of scientific publishing. These guidelines should be helpful for authors, editors, editorial board members, readers, owners of journals, and publishers. Intellectual honesty should be actively encouraged in scientific courses of study and inform publication ethics and prevent misconduct. It is with that in mind that these guidelines have been produced.
How the guidelines were developed
The guidelines were developed from a preliminary version drafted by individual members of the editorial board of publication ATLANTI, which was then submitted to extensive consultation. They address study design and ethical approval, data analysis, authorship, conflict of interests, the peer review process, redundant publication, plagiarism, duties of editors, media relations, advertising, and how to deal with misconduct.
What they aim to do
These guidelines are intended to be advisory rather than prescriptive and evolve over time. We hope that they will be disseminated widely, endorsed by editors, and refined by those who use them.
2 Ethical approval
Guidelines on preparing the article were prepared by the editorial board of the journals ATLANTI and ATLANTI +. These guidelines are publicly known and can be sent to each individual who requests them. Authors and researchers who prepare the articles for this journal must be aware of these guidelines and adhere to these regulations. The author is obligated to write the paper according to these guidelines.
Furthermore, every good research published in ATLANTI should be well justified, planned, appropriately designed and ethically approved.
3 Data Accuracy, Manipulation and Research Fraud
Data should be appropriately analysed. Fabrication and falsification of information and data are severe forms of research misconduct. If editors or reviewers are suspicious at the review process, they may ask the authors to disclose the proofs or data to confirm or alleviate the suspicion. Editors may request the data and explanations even after a few years of publication if sufficient doubt is raised.
4 Ethics with Authorship
The author should take responsibility for the study. If there are more authors, they should take responsibility for a particular section of the study. All authors have to take public responsibility for the content of their papers.
Authorship is given to the authors who conducted research, study and other routine work for the paper.
Changes to authorship after approval or sometimes after publication are possible if all co-authors agree to this amendment and have individually signed the requisition sent to the journal editor.
5 Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of interest, also called competing interests, are defined as financial, personal, social, academic, financial or other interests that directly or indirectly influence the author's conduct concerning the particular manuscript. Having competing interests in a product or device under consideration is not considered unethical. However, failure to disclose such hidden interests severely jeopardizes the outcomes reported in the paper. Once revealed, it is the readers' discretion to determine the influence of the conflicts of interest on the article's conclusions.
6 Peer Review Process
All the articles submitted to the ATLANTI are peer-reviewed in double-blind form by two anonymous peer reviewers. Peer reviewers are external experts from different European countries, chosen by the editorial board to provide written opinions to improve the study and define the terminology of the articles.
The Editorial Board will inform the authors of the results of the reviewers' and editors' work on the text in due time. The Editors reserve the right to make necessary adjustments to the text according to the English language's propositions and standards.
7 Redundant publication
Redundant publication occurs when two or more papers share the same hypothesis, discussion points, data, or conclusion and do not include a complete cross-reference.
8 Plagiarism, self-plagiarism and duplicate publication
Another author's use of previously published work in one's manuscript without consent, credit, or acknowledgment and fraudulently passing it as one's work is referred to as plagiarism. Authors must remember that crediting previous authors for their work is vital in providing context to their research.
Suppose the author submits a new manuscript containing the same discussion points, hypotheses, data, and/or conclusions as a previously published manuscript. In that case, it is considered a duplicate publication and, as such, unethical. Papers translated to different languages are still considered a duplicate.
9 Simultaneous Submission
At the time of manuscript submission, authors should declare that the manuscript is original and not considered for publication by other scientific journals.
Submitting or presenting a paper for a scientific conference does not preclude authors from submitting the same article for publishing in ATLANTI.
10 Self-citation
Authors should not introduce concepts outside the current paper's scope to cite one's own work. This is perceived as unethical by most of the scientific community and looked down upon by peers.
11 Duties of editors
Information about editors in chief, editor, editorial board and other information are posted online. The Editorial Board provides direction for the journal and decides to accept or reject a paper for publication based on the paper's importance, originality, clarity, and relevance. Editors will treat all submitted papers as confidential.
Studies reporting negative results will not be excluded. Studies that challenge previously published work will be published in ATLANTI.
12 Media relations
Organizers of the IIAS conference will let authors know if the journalists may attend scientific meetings at which preliminary research findings are presented, leading to their premature publication in the mass media. Information regarding the conference and publication ATLANTI will be shared by email, official websites of Alma Mater Europaea, International Institute for Archival Science Trieste/Maribor, ICA and other social media.
13 Advertising
Papers, published in ATLANTI, are presented at the IIAS conference, which takes place once a year online or in person. ATLANTI is advertised on different platforms and social media such as LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. Past and most recent volumes of ATLANTI are published and accessible at the website Alma Mater Press.
Every year editorial board adverts call for papers at the ICA server and on official pages of Alma Mater Europaea and International Institute for Archival Science Trieste and Maribor.
14 Dealing with misconduct
The general principle confirming misconduct is the intention to cause others to regard it as accurate, which is that it is not accurate and true. The examination of misconduct must therefore focus not only on the particular act or omission but also on the researcher, author, editor, reviewer, or publisher's intention. Deception may be intentional, reckless disregard of possible consequences, or negligence. Therefore, it is implicit that "best practice" requires complete honesty with full disclosure. Codes of practice may raise awareness but can never be exhaustive.
Editors of publication ATLANTI are ethically obliged to investigate if the question of misconduct is raised and not simply reject the paper. In case of misconduct, the editor will decide what action to take.
Editors will take all allegations and suspicions of misconduct seriously. If the suspicion of misconduct occurs, the editor will notify the author. If the misconduct and other malpractices are confirmed, the editorial board will refuse the article's publication.