Editorial Policies

Aims and Scope

The sheer volume of international scientific publications on China and the growing number of journals can sometimes be difficult to navigate. But it so happened that in Russia in recent years there have been no specialized scientific journals specifically on China, although Sinology topics are, of course, actively covered in comprehensive journals on Oriental studies, history and philology, and international relations. And popular journals and articles, even those written by quite professional authors, cannot replace a strictly scientific study of China.

The presented journal is built around several fundamental principles, which the editors are going to strictly adhere to in the future. First of all, each issue of the journal is built around the main scientific theme of the issue, which can be devoted not only to a specific problem, but also to a particular scientific school, methodology, and discussion points. In this regard, each issue has its own editor-in-chief, which makes it possible to provide a platform for sinologists of various views and directions related to a single problem. Thanks to this, each issue can be considered as a relatively complete collective monograph, the parts of which are interconnected thematically and logically, and gives an idea not just about a narrow topic, but about a whole scientific direction. But this does not mean at all that the authors do not argue among themselves, do not offer alternative points of view - a correct scientific discussion is not only welcome, but is also the most important part of the editorial policy.

Another key editorial principle is that the journal provides a platform for both established and often outstanding scientists, and the young generation of researchers working under the guidance of "masters" in their field, who, we hope, will one day become a worthy face of Russian and international sinology. Of course, the articles of the journal undergo, as is customary, double-blind peer review, and besides this, we rely on the experience and opinion of the international editorial board.

Eastern and was represented not only by armchair scientists, but also by diplomats, travelers, translators, merchants. And the most interesting thing in the West's view of the East was precisely the differences in cultures: in language, religion, management methods, organization of everyday life. In this regard, the first sinologists were first of all "gatherers of information", and only then - analytical researchers. Gradually, however, sinology went far beyond retelling events, listing some characters and figures of economic development (although, we admit, this can still be found today). From purely narrative, it has turned into a systematic and methodologically determined branch of science and expertise. And this can be considered the design of Sinology as a professional scientific direction. And here it is precisely the clearly formulated methodology that makes it possible to double-check (and sometimes reformulate) our ideas about Chinese reality.

Sections

Reviews

Original Study Articles

Short communications

Book reviews

Interviews

Peer Review Process

Content selection

Upon receipt of the manuscript, the executive secretary of the editorial board checks the design of the manuscript.

Authors of manuscripts that do not meet our requirements will receive a template email without detailing the claims. If the manuscript will be received again without appropriate formatting (in accordance with guidelines for authors), it will be rejected.

In case of the appropriate format of a manuscript, the editorial board will make a decision on the compliance of the manuscript with the science profile of the journal.

The accepted manuscript will be sent to the reviewers.

Peer-review

All manuscripts submitted to the Editorial Board of the journal are subject to mandatory double-blind peer review (reviewer does not receive information about the authors of the manuscript, the authors of the manuscript do not receive information about the reviewers).

1. Review of manuscripts is carried out by members of the Editorial Board and the Editorial Council, as well as by invited reviewers — leading experts in the relevant field. The decision on the choice of a reviewer for the examination of the article is made by the editor-in-chief, Deputy editor-in-chief, Executive Secretary. The review Period is 4 weeks, but at the request of the reviewer it can be extended.
2. Each reviewer has the right to refuse the review in case of a clear conflict of interest affecting the perception and interpretation of the manuscript. Following the review of the manuscript, the reviewer gives recommendations on the future of the manuscript (each decision of the reviewer must be justified):
   — to accept the manuscript for publication in the present form;
   — to accept the manuscript for publication after correcting the shortcomings noted by the reviewer;
   — to reject the manuscript;
   — to submit the manuscript to the journal of another profile.
3. The editorial Board of the journal sends the text of reviews to the author. If there are recommendations for revision of the manuscript, the editorial Board proposes to take them into account when preparing a new version of the manuscript.
4. In case of disagreement with any recommendations (comments) in the response letter to the reviewers, the authors need to clearly argue the reason for the refusal to make the appropriate corrections (additions).
5. Revision of the article should not take more than two months from the date of sending an electronic message to the authors about the need to make changes. The manuscript modified by the author will be re-sent for review.
6. The authors make out the answers to the reviewers in separate files and upload them to the site as additional ones on the "summary" tab at the User page. In the case of absence of such a file, further work with the manuscript is suspended, and the authors are notified accordingly.
7. In case of refusal of the authors to finalize the materials, they must notify the editorial Board in writing of their refusal to publish the article. If the authors do not return the revised version after three months from the date of sending the review, the editorial Board removes it from the account even in the absence of information from the authors with the refusal to finalize the article. In such situations, the authors will be notified of the withdrawal of the manuscript from registration in connection with the expiration of the period allotted for revision.
8. The editorial Board conducts no more than three rounds of review for each manuscript. If after double revision of the manuscript the reviewers or the editorial Board still have significant comments, the editorial Board rejects the manuscript and removes it from registration. In this case, the authors are notified accordingly.
9. If the author and reviewers have any unsolvable contradictions regarding the manuscript, the editorial Board has the right to send the manuscript for additional review.
10. The decision to refuse to publish the manuscript is made at a meeting of the editorial Board in accordance with the recommendations of the reviewers. The message about refusal in the publication goes to the author by e-mail, in the letter reviews and the bases for refusal in the publication are given. The manuscript, not recommended by the decision of the editorial Board for publication, is not accepted for re-consideration.
11. The presence of a positive review is not a sufficient basis for the publication of the article. The final decision on the publication is made by the editorial Board. In conflict situations, the decision is made by the editor-in-chief.
12. After the editorial Board of the journal decides on the admission of the manuscript for publication, the editorial Board informs the author and indicates the date of publication.
13. Originals of reviews are kept in the editorial office for at least 5 years.
14. Reviews of manuscripts are not published in the public domain and are used only in the internal document circulation of the editorial Board, as well as in communication with the authors.

Publication Frequency

• Quarterly, 4 issues per year
• Continuously Ahead-of-Print (Online First)

The "Online First" service allows the accepted articles to be published online in a preliminary PDF format available for download.
Readers will access the article earlier on our site in the "Articles in press" section. At the same time, authors will gain the opportunity for their work to be cited with DOI (Digital Object Identifier), registered in the Crossref database, before the inclusion in a final print and online journal issue.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

The Publisher grants usage rights to others using an open license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International) allowing for immediate free access to the work and permitting any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose.

Archiving

The journal uses the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) to digitally preserve all the published articles. The PKP PN is a part of LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) program offers decentralized and distributed preservation, seamless perpetual access, and preservation of the authentic original version of the content.

The journal makes archives in Portico for compliance with the MEDLINE preservation requirement for electronic journals. Portico is a community-supported preservation archive that safeguards access to e-journals, e-books, and digital collections.

Also, the journal makes full-text archives on the Russian Science Electronic Library (http://elibrary.ru/) platform.

Author Self-Archiving

The journal is compliant with Platinum Open Access mode for articles distribution that includes Open Self-Archiving policy.

Indexation

• eLibrary.ru
• Google Scholar
• Ulrich's Periodicals Directory
• Dimension
• CrossRef
• Worldcat

Publication Ethics

The Ethics policy of "China: society and culture" is based on recomendations from international commettees:

• Committee on Publication Ethics
• The office of Research Integrity
• Council of Science Editors
• European Association of Science Editors
• The International Committee of MEDICAL JOURNAL EDITORS 
• The WORLD ASSOCIATION OF MEDICAL EDITORS

Reporting standarts

The 'China: society and culture' editorial team ask authors of reports of original research to present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the article. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Review and professional publication articles should also be accurate and objective, and editorial opinion works should be clearly identified as such.

Data Access and Retention

Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data (consistent with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases), if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

Authorship clarified

The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before the work is submitted.

The Publisher does not prescribe the kinds of contributions that warrant authorship. It is recommended that authors adhere to the guidelines for authorship that are applicable in their specific research field. In absence of specific guidelines it is recommended to adhere to the following guidelines (based on ICMJE guidelines):

All authors whose names appear on the submission:

1. made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the creation of new software used in the work AND
2. drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content AND
3. approved the version to be published AND
4. agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Anyone who contributed to the research or manuscript preparation, but is not an author, should be acknowledged with their permission.

Submissions by anyone other than one of the authors will not be considered.

Research Ethics and Patient Consent (Statement of Human and Animal Rights)

Research involving human subjects must be conducted according to the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki. If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach, and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study.

Submitted manuscripts should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, and all papers reporting animal and/or human studies must state in the methods section that the relevant Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board provided (or waived) approval. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee, in addition to the approval number.

For research articles, authors are also required to state in the methods section whether participants provided informed consent and whether the consent was written or verbal.

Information on informed consent to report individual cases or case series should be included in the manuscript text. A statement is required regarding whether written informed consent for patient information and images to be published was provided by the patient(s) or a legally authorized representative. Please do not submit the patient’s actual written informed consent with your article, as this in itself breaches the patient’s confidentiality. The Journal requests that you confirm to us, in writing, that you have obtained written informed consent but the written consent itself should be held by the authors/investigators themselves, for example in a patient’s hospital record. The confirmatory letter may be uploaded with your submission as a separate file.

Please also refer to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants.

If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript. If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the authors should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) have approved them. Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.

When reporting experiments on animals, authors have to indicate whether the institutional and national guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.

Use of inclusive language

Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Articles should make no assumptions about the beliefs or commitments of any reader, should contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to another on the grounds of race, sex, culture or any other characteristic, and should use inclusive language throughout. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias, for instance by using 'he or she', 'his/her' instead of 'he' or 'his', and by making use of job titles that are free of stereotyping (e.g. 'chairperson' instead of 'chairman' and 'flight attendant' instead of 'stewardess').

Conflicts of Interest

The journal requires that all authors disclose any potential sources of conflict of interest. Any interest or relationship, financial or otherwise that might be perceived as influencing an author's objectivity is considered a potential source of conflict of interest. These must be disclosed when directly relevant or directly related to the work that the authors describe in their manuscript. Potential sources of conflict of interest include, but are not limited to: patent or stock ownership, membership of a company board of directors, membership of an advisory board or committee for a company, and consultancy for or receipt of speaker's fees from a company. The existence of a conflict of interest does not preclude publication. If the authors have no conflict of interest to declare, they must also state this at submission. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to review this policy with all authors and collectively to disclose with the submission ALL pertinent commercial and other relationships.

Conflicts include the following:

• Financial — funding and other payments, goods and services received or expected by the authors relating to the subject of the work or from an organization with an interest in the outcome of the work;
• Affiliations — being employed by, on the advisory board for, or a member of an organization with an interest in the outcome of the work;
• Intellectual property — patents or trademarks owned by someone or their organization;
• Personal — friends, family, relationships, and other close personal connections;
• Ideology — beliefs or activism, for example, political or religious, relevant to the work;
• Academic — competitors or someone whose work is critiqued.

For more information on conflicts of interest, see the guidance from the ICMJE and WAME.

Funding and Acknowledgement of Sources

Authors should list all funding sources in the Acknowledgments section. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of their funder designation. If in doubt, please check the Open Funder Registry for the correct nomenclature: https://www.crossref.org/services/funder-registry/  

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. Information obtained in the course of confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, must not be used without the explicit written permission of the author of the work involved in these services.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism takes many forms, from passing off another paper as the author(s) own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another(s) paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. Only original works are acceptable for publication in "China: society and culture". The journal does not allow any forms of plagiarism. Authors must not use the words, figures, or ideas of others without attribution. All sources must be cited at 'China: society and culture' take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. All the submitted articles are evaluated with plagiarism-checking software (Antiplagiat). Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarized other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgment, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to:

• publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction);
• retracting the article;
• taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author’s institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies;
• or taking appropriate legal action.

Also you can see ORI Avoiding Plagiarism, Self-plagiarism, and Other Questionable Writing Practices: A Guide to Ethical Writing

Duplicate Submission and Redundant Publication

'China: society and culture' consider only original content, i.e. articles that have not been previously published, including in a language other than English. Articles based on content previously made public only on a preprint server, institutional repository, or in a thesis will be considered.

Manuscripts submitted to 'China: society and culture' must not be submitted elsewhere while under consideration and must be withdrawn before being submitted elsewhere. Authors whose articles are found to have been simultaneously submitted elsewhere may incur sanctions.

If authors have used their own previously published work, or work that is currently under review, as the basis for a submitted manuscript, they must cite the previous articles and indicate how their submitted manuscript differs from their previous work. Reuse of the authors’ own words outside the Methods should be attributed or quoted in the text. Reuse of the authors’ own figures or substantial amounts of wording may require permission from the copyright holder and the authors are responsible for obtaining this.

'China: society and culture' will consider extended versions of articles published at conferences provided this is declared in the cover letter, the previous version is clearly cited and discussed, there is significant new content, and any necessary permissions are obtained.

Redundant publication, the inappropriate division of study outcomes into more than one article (also known as salami slicing), may result in rejection or a request to merge submitted manuscripts, and the correction of published articles. Duplicate publication of the same, or a very similar, article may result in the retraction of the later article and the authors may incur sanctions.

Citation Manipulation

Authors whose submitted manuscripts are found to include citations whose primary purpose is to increase the number of citations to a given author’s work, or to articles published in a particular journal, may incur sanctions.

Editors and reviewers must not ask authors to include references merely to increase citations to their own or an associate’s work, to the journal, or to another journal they are associated with.

Fundamental errors in published works, Corrections and Retractions

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the authors obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

If the editor or the publisher learn from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, it is the obligation of the author to promptly retract or correct the paper or provide evidence to the editor of the correctness of the original paper.

When errors are identified in published articles, the publisher will consider what action is required and may consult the editors and the authors’ institution(s). 

Errors by the authors may be corrected by a corrigendum, and errors by the publisher — by an erratum (see more).

If there are errors that significantly affect the conclusions or there is evidence of misconduct, this may require retraction or an expression of concern following the COPE Retraction Guidelines. All authors will be asked to agree to the content of the appropriate notice. 

The journal use the CrossMark technology (by Crossref) to work with Corrections, Retractions and Editorial expressions of concern for Please, see the details on the CrossMark Policy.

Sanctions

If 'China: society and culture' becomes aware of breaches of our publication ethics policies, the following sanctions may be applied:

• Rejection of the manuscript and any other manuscripts submitted by the author(s).
• Not allowing submission for 1–3 years.
• Prohibition from acting as an editor or reviewer.

'China: society and culture' may apply additional sanctions for severe ethical violations.

Publication Fees & APC

Articles in the journal 'China: society and culture' are published free of charge for all authors.

The editorial Board does not charge the authors for placing articles in open access, reviewing, preparing the journal for publication, as well as the content of the site and electronic depositing of manuscripts.

Adverticement and reprint policy

Our advertising policy is consistent with the principles mentioned in the Recommendations on Publication Ethics Policies for Medical Journals which issued by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

http://www.wame.org/recommendations-on-publication-ethics-policie

1. The Eco-Vector’s journals generate revenue from advertising, which creates a potential conflict of interest. Editors’ decisions do not depend on the cost of advertising or producing reprints. Advertisers and sponsors have no influence over the editor’s decisions, regardless of the terms of advertising or other agreements.
2. All advertisements are subject to the approval of the Eco-Vector’s staff, which reserves the right to reject or cancel any advertisement at any time.
3. The functions of editors and advertising managers in Eco-Vector’s journals are separate.
4. In Eco-Vector’s journals professional (physician-directed) publications and web sites, the intentional placement of advertising adjacent to articles discussing the company or product that is the subject of the advertisement is prohibited. Advertising content must be distinguished from editorial and other materials so that the difference between them is obvious.
5. Eco-Vector will not publish “advertorial” content, and sponsored supplements must be clearly indicated as such. If a supplement did not undergo peer review or underwent a peer review-process different from the rest of the journal that should be explicitly stated.
6. All Eco-Vector’s journals have the right to refuse any advertisement that, in its sole discretion, is incompatible with its mission or inconsistent with the values of members, the publication/web site or the organization as a whole, and to stop accepting any advertisement previously accepted. Advertisements are subject to review by the editors and others at the Eco-Vector’s journals. In no case shall separate agreements with Eco-Vector’s journals or its subsidiaries supersede this policy.
7. Once an advertisement has been deployed online, it will be withdrawn from the journal site at any time if the Editor(s)-in-Chief or Eco-Vector’s staff request its removal.
8. Advertising for the following categories is prohibited:
   
   • Alcohol
   • Tobacco
   • Weapons, firearms, ammunition
   • Fireworks
   • Gambling and lottery
   • Pornography or related themes
   • Political and religious advertisements
   • Advertisements that claim to have a “miracle” cure or method
   • Advertisements that make unsubstantiated health claims for the products advertised
   • Advertisements directed at children
9. Advertisements may not be deceptive or misleading, and must be verifiable. Advertisements should clearly identify the advertiser and the product or service being offered. Exaggerated or extravagantly worded copy will not be allowed. Advertisements will not be accepted if they appear to be indecent or offensive in either text or artwork, or if they relate to content of a personal, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, or religious nature.
10. All advertisements are accepted and published by Eco-Vector on the warranty of the advertisement agency and advertiser that both are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter of the advertisement.
11. In consideration of publication of an advertisement, the advertiser and the advertisement agency, jointly and severally, agree to indemnify and hold harmless Eco-Vector, its officers, agents and employees against expenses (including legal fees) and losses resulting from the publication of the contents of the advertisement, including, without limitation, claims or suits for libel, violation of privacy, copyright infringement, or plagiarism.
12. Any references to Eco-Vector or its products or services in advertisements, promotional material, or merchandising by the advertiser or agency is subject to Eco-Vector’s written approval for such use.
13. While Eco-Vector’s journals welcomes and encourages information-rich advertising, advertisements, advertising icons and advertiser logos must be clearly distinguishable from editorial content and may require special labeling to distinguish them as such. All advertisements must clearly and prominently identify the advertiser by trademark or signature.
14. Reprints should be published only in the form in which they were originally published in the journal (including subsequent corrections), so there should be no additions or changes in them.
15. Publisher is not responsible for incidental or consequential damage for errors in displaying or printing an advertisement.
16. Advertisements may not imply endorsement by the Eco-Vector’s journals or its publications/web sites except as may be provided for under a separate agreement — in which case advertising must be pre-approved to ensure adherence to the letter and spirit of that separate agreement.
17. The full rules for any market research or promotion associated with an advertisement must be displayed in the advertisement or available via a prominent link.
18. The following online advertising formats are prohibited:
    
    • Pop-ups and floating advertisements.
    • Advertisements that collect personally identifiable information from visitors without their knowledge or permission.
    • Advertisements that extend across or down the page without the visitor having clicked or rolled-over the advertisement.
    • Advertisements that send visitors to another site without the visitor having clicked the advertisement.

Eco-Vector’s journals published advertising policies are not exhaustive and are subject to change at any time without notice.

We partner with third-party advertising companies to serve ads and/or collect certain information when you visit our website. These companies may use cookies or web beacons to collect non-personally identifiable information [not including your name, address, email address or telephone number] during your visit to this website to help show advertisements on other websites also likely to be of interest to you.

For contact with the Advertisement department of the Publisher, please, follow the link https://eco-vector.com/

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