Ethical Guidelines
Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement
The Zeitschrift für Theologie und Philosophie (ZTP) aims to promote theological and philosophical research through systematic studies, and publishes outstanding research papers and book reviews in German and English. In doing so, it is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards, which are listed below.
Duties of Editors
The editors of ZTP decide which of the research papers submitted to the journal should be published. In evaluating the submitted manuscripts, only scientific criteria should be applied.
The editors may desk reject manuscripts that do not correspond to scientific standards or to the aim of ZTP. The same holds if manuscripts violate legal norms with regard to plagiarism, ghostwriting, or authorship.
The editors evaluate the submitted papers on the basis of two double-blind reviews which they have commissioned beforehand. The recommendation of the two reviews is binding for the editors, provided that the reviews’ quality is beyond question. If one of the two reviews is negative, i.e. it votes for “rejection”, then the editors must obtain a further, third review, the verdict of which is decisive for the acceptance or rejection of the paper.
The editors should ensure that the mutual anonymity of authors and reviewers is always guaranteed.
Editors should avoid any conflict of interest.
If a manuscript is rejected, the editors are not allowed to use passages from it for other purposes without the written consent of the authors.
The editors must not disclose any information about submitted texts to third parties, except for reviewers, proofreaders and typesetters, and the journal manager, and only insofar as this is necessary for the publication process.
Duties of Reviewers
The reviews are the basis on which the editors decide whether a submitted manuscripts is accepted for publication or rejected. They are also sent to the authors to help them improve their texts.
Reviewers should let the editors know as soon as possible after they are requested whether they can undertake the review and complete it within the specified time frame.
Requested reviewers should decline to review a manuscript if they have any conflicts of interest, or if the authors are not anonymous to them.
Reviews should be written objectively, and criticism should be formulated in a constructive, understandable, and comprehensible way. The reviewers should point to relevant literature that has not been cited. Moreover, they should report suspected plagiarism and copyright infringement to the editors.
Reviewers must treat the texts confidentially and must not use the ideas or arguments presented in them for their own purposes.
Duties of Authors
As authors qualify only persons who made a substantial contribution to the article.
Authors should submit only original texts that they themselves have written. In submitting a manuscript to the ZTP, they thereby commit to not submitting it to any other journal while the ZTP’s review process is underway.
Authors should indicate the sources and literature they have used to develop their arguments. Any plagiarism will result in the immediate rejection of the submitted paper.
Authors should disclose any sources of financial support they have received in writing the manuscript.
Authors are obligated to make revisions according to the recommendations by the reviewers and editors in due time.
This journal’s Author Guidelines contain further information.
Post-publication corrections and retractions
Post-publication corrections: Minor changes regarding spelling will be made in the online version of the journal.
If an author is found to have made an error in a published article, a Corrigendum will be used.
If the journal is found to have made an error in a published article, an Erratum will be used.
Corrigenda and Errata will be inserted in the online version of the article and a note will be added to the printed journal.
Retractions: Retractions are reserved for articles which contain substantial plagiarism or unethical research. Such articles will be removed from the online version of the journal with a notice that clearly states the reasons for retraction. The same will be communicated in the printed version of the journal.