Publication Ethics & Research Integrity

Effective date: 1 September 2026

Our commitment

Runnymede Academic Press (RAP) is committed to the highest standards of integrity in scholarly publishing, and follows the Core Practices set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). This policy describes the standards we expect of authors, reviewers, and editors, and how we respond when those standards are not met. It should be read alongside RAP’s Peer Review Policy, its Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence, and its Crossmark (corrections and updates) Policy.

Authorship and contributorship

Authorship is reserved for those who have made a substantial contribution to the work and who are able to take responsibility for it. Everyone who meets RAP’s authorship criteria should be listed as an author, and everyone listed should meet them. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all named authors have agreed to the submission and to being listed.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors; accountability for a work can rest only with the people who produced it (see RAP’s Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence).

Authorship is fixed at the point of submission. Before submitting, authors must ensure that the author list and order are complete and correct, that everyone listed meets RAP's authorship criteria, and that all authors have agreed to the submission. RAP does not accept changes to authorship, either additions, removals, or reordering, after a manuscript has been submitted.

Conflicts of interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to declare any interest that could be seen to influence their work on a submission. Editorial decisions are made on the scholarly merits of the work alone. An editor who has a competing interest in a submission, for example, a personal, professional, or financial relationship with an author, takes no part in the decision on it, which is reassigned to another editor.

Peer review

Every research article is assessed through independent peer review before a decision is made. The process, including how it operates for any special issues, is described in RAP’s Peer Review Policy. Submissions are treated as confidential, and reviewers and editors are expected to act objectively and to declare any competing interest.

Research integrity and misconduct

RAP does not tolerate research or publication misconduct, including fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, image manipulation, redundant or duplicate publication, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and authorship disputes. These are judged as breaches of integrity however they arise, and whatever tools were used in producing the work.

Where RAP identifies, or receives a credible allegation of, misconduct in a submitted or published work, it follows COPE guidance. In outline, RAP will: conduct a preliminary assessment; inform the author(s) and give them a fair opportunity to respond; where appropriate, refer the matter to the author’s institution or employer; and take such action as is warranted, which may include rejection, correction, an expression of concern, or retraction. The decision to correct or retract rests with RAP and does not depend on the outcome of any institutional investigation.

Corrections, retractions, and the version of record

RAP maintains a single authoritative version of record for each article and documents any substantive post-publication change through a citable, linked notice. How corrections, expressions of concern, withdrawals, and retractions are handled is set out in RAP’s Crossmark Policy.

Complaints and appeals

Anyone may raise a complaint about the conduct of RAP, its editors, or its review process by contacting the editorial office. Authors may appeal an editorial decision on their submission; appeals are considered by an editor who was not responsible for the original decision, and the outcome of an appeal is final. Complaints are handled promptly, fairly, and in confidence so far as is possible.

Data, materials, and reproducibility

RAP encourages authors to make the data and materials underlying their findings available, and to provide access on reasonable request, except where ethical, legal, or privacy considerations prevent it. Where a funder or discipline requires data sharing, authors are responsible for complying with that requirement.

Ethical oversight

Research involving human participants, human data or tissue, or animals must have had the appropriate ethical approval and, where relevant, informed consent, and authors must state this in their manuscript. RAP may decline to publish, or may act after publication, where required approvals or consent cannot be evidenced.

Contact: editor@runnymedeacademicpress.com

Runnymede Academic Press is the trading name of Futures House Limited, registered in England and Wales (company number 15842304). Registered office: Ground floor, Centenary House, Peninsula Park, Rydon Lane, Exeter, EX2 7XE.