Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

At PsychTech & Health, we take research ethics seriously. Everyone involved in publishing with us—authors, editors, reviewers, and our team—is responsible for upholding high standards of integrity, transparency, and fairness.

Our policies follow the COPE Core Practices, and we expect all submissions to reflect these principles.

Editorial Board

The Editorial Board is composed by the Journal Manager and the Chief-Editor.

Journal Manager: Paulo Vieira, Hotel Management School, Switzerland (jm@psychtech-journal.com)

 Chief-Editor: Miguel Melo, INESC TEC, Portugal (eic@ psychtech-journal.com)

The full editorial team can be found here.

Editorial Principles

Impartiality and Fair Review

All submissions are evaluated on scientific merit, regardless of authors’ institutional affiliation, nationality, race, gender, or personal beliefs. A double-blind peer review process ensures fairness and transparency.

Originality and plagiarism

Authors must submit original work. All manuscripts undergo similarity checks using plagiarism detection software. Manuscripts that do not meet originality standards will be rejected.

Transparency and declaration of conflicts of interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must declare any financial or personal relationships that could influence the work. Disclosures must be included during submission.

Human Participants and Ethical Approval

Research involving human subjects must adhere to internationally recognized ethical standards (e.g., Declaration of Helsinki) and institutional guidelines. The journal requires:

  • A clear statement within the manuscript that ethical approval was obtained from a formally constituted ethics or research committee, with the committee's name and approval number if applicable.
  • A declaration that informed consent was obtained from all participants.
  • A description of measures taken to protect participant anonymity and confidentiality.
  • Special provisions should be made when involving vulnerable populations (e.g., children, elderly, and cognitively impaired individuals), including evidence of appropriate safeguarding and adapted consent procedures.

Responsible use of artificial intelligence

The journal supports the transparent and ethical use of AI tools in research and writing. Authors must disclose:

  • Where AI tools were used (e.g., data processing, manuscript drafting).
  • Which systems were used, including name, version, developer, and access method.
  • Human oversight: Confirmation that human authors reviewed and approved outputs.
  • Potential risks or limitations of using the AI tool.

Authors retain full responsibility for the content and interpretations presented in the article.

Author Responsabilities

Authors must ensure that:

  • Their submission complies with all ethical standards outlined here.
  • A formal Ethics Statement is included in the manuscript (see Submission Guidelines for templates).
  • Any data involving human participants is anonymized or securely stored in accordance with institutional or legal standards.

Research Misconduct and Corrections

The journal follows COPE guidelines in handling cases of research misconduct, including:

  • Scientific fraud
  • Duplicate publication
  • Plagiarism
  • Unethical research practices

Actions may include retractions, corrections, or expressions of concern. Editors reserve the right to consult with authors' institutions if needed.

Copyright and Licensing

Psychtech & Health Journal adopts the “Creative Commons" CC BY-NC licensing. This allows readers to share and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, provided proper attribution is given.

Open Access Statement

Psychtech & Health Journal publishes fully open-access journals, which means that all articles are available on the Internet to all users immediately upon publication.

Archiving

Psychtech & Health Journal is committed to preserving and ensuring the long-term availability of all the published works. To achieve this goal, the Journal uses LOCKSS and CLOCKSS technologies to ensure that all the content published is always available as open access, even if the content is no longer available for any unforeseen reason. Additionally, the Journal has a hosting service that provides regular backups to the platform, ensuring the safeguarding of all the materials.

Ownership and management

Psychtech & Health Journal is an independent publication created by researchers to researchers. The Journal is supported by MASSIVE Virtual Reality Laboratory and INESC TEC. The sponsors provide the technological infrastructures to ensure the Journal's online presence.

The editorial process is overseen by the Chief-Editor, a designated member of the MASSIVE Virtual Reality Laboratory Management Board (available here). The chief editor is assisted by a journal manager, who is nominated to ensure the journal's proper workflow. The editors support them in providing smoothness to the publication pipeline. The entire editorial team can be found here.

Website

The Journal’s official website is http://www.psychtech-journal.com/

Publishing schedule

PsychTech & Health is a biannual scientific publication (typically released in March and September) that aims to contribute to the development and dissemination of scientific knowledge of a theoretical and empirical nature in the areas of psychology and technology and how these can be related to the deepening of knowledge about human development and health, favouring research that presents itself with an interdisciplinary character. Typically, the biannual numbers are released in March and September.

Name of the Journal

The Journal’s official name is Psychtech & Health Journal, registered under ISSN 2184-1004.