Policies

Creative Commons License: Open Access and Sharing on SETS

The SETS journal is freely available online (open access), meaning you can access all articles without any cost. The content uses a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0) to allow broad sharing. This means anyone can find, download, share, and even copy the articles. You can also include them in databases and convert them to different formats, as long as you clearly credit the authors.

While authors retain copyright of their work published on SETS, the journal encourages citation. The CC BY 4.0 license allows this open use because it permits anyone to use, share, and adapt the articles in any way, so long as the original authors are properly credited.

License: Creative Commons-Attribution (CC BY 4.0)

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

 

Publishing Fees in SETS

Although SETS is an open-access journal, there's a fee to publish articles. This fee, called an Article Processing Charge (APC), is only applied after your article is accepted for publication. There are no other charges involved, such as submission fees or extra fees for pages or color figures. The APC for SETS is $50 USD, and unfortunately, they don't offer waivers. You can pay this fee manually after your article is accepted. Importantly, the APC won't affect the editors' decision on whether to publish your work.

 

Plagiarism Policy

SETS utilizes both Turnitin and CrossCheck, powered by Turnitin, to ensure the originality of submitted works. All new manuscripts undergo initial Turnitin screening, and editorial board members may choose to initiate further similarity reports throughout the review process or even after publication. It is important to note that high similarity scores do not automatically equate to plagiarism. Reused text properly cited in the bibliography and AI-generated content contribute to the score. SETS tolerates a maximum similarity index of 15%. Plagiarism from one source must be below 5%. Additionally, the AI-specific index must remain 0%. Ultimately, interpreting the CrossCheck report and identifying potential plagiarism concerns lies with the subject expertise of the editorial team.

 

Peer review policy

SETS: Double-Blind Review with Clear Expectations

To ensure impartiality, SETS employs a double-blind peer review system with three external reviewers. You won't have any say in who reviews your work, and reviewers won't know your identity or each other's.

While SETS doesn't enforce a rigid format for review reports, they recommend a structure including:

  • Summary
  • Major issues
  • Minor issues

Reviewers who feel unqualified to review a submission are highly encouraged to apologize and decline the invitation. Reports should be thorough critiques, going beyond a few brief sentences. Confidentiality is crucial: reviewers must not share manuscripts or discuss their content with anyone outside the review process.

Finally, if a reviewer recommends rejection, they should provide clear reasons, highlight the manuscript's major weaknesses, and possibly suggest relevant published work for the authors to consider.

 

Archive policy

Digital Archiving

SETS has electronic backup and preservation of access to the content of the journal via the PKP Preservation Network (PN).

Onsite Backup: The onsite full server backups provide disaster recovery options to help protect against data loss or corruption. Onsite backups are run daily by the host and retained for 7 days by default. The backup is performed on the main hosting server hetzner, and on the substitute hosting server ovh.

Remote Backup: SETS ensures 7-day backups of the OJS database and daily backups of the cPanel for disaster recovery.

 

Advertising policy

SETS: Committed to Ad-Free Content

Sustainable Engineering and Technological Sciences (SETS) maintains a strict policy against advertising and commercial endorsements. They don't include ads in their publications, nor do they accept sponsored content. This ensures that all information presented in SETS is objective and unbiased by commercial interests. You won't find any products or services promoted as advertisements or by sponsors within SETS publications.

 

Appeals and complaints

SETS: Addressing Your Concerns

SETS takes concerns seriously. You can appeal editorial decisions, report delays in handling papers, or raise ethical concerns about a publication.

For appeals of editorial decisions, provide clear and well-supported reasons.  The editor(s) will initially assess your appeal. If valid, it may be reviewed by the editorial board or even external reviewers, leading to a new editorial decision.

Similar to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines, SETS considers complaints and allegations before and after publication. Complaints go to the editor(s) who will address them following COPE guidelines. If necessary, serious allegations might be referred for further investigation. Depending on the outcome, the published record may be updated with a correction or even a retraction, linked to the original article for transparency. In very rare cases, articles may be removed if it's in the public interest.

How to File a Complaint or Appeal:

Contact the editor(s) directly with a clear explanation of your concern. If the complaint involves the editors themselves, you can alternatively contact the publisher's editorial office.

 

Privacy Statement

At SETS Journal, we take your privacy seriously. The information you provide, such as your name and email address, is used solely for journal-related purposes. We will never share or sell your information to any third party, ensuring your data remains confidential.

This means your details will be used exclusively for:

  • Processing your article submissions or reviews
  • Sending journal updates and notifications
  • Communicating with you regarding the editorial process

We are committed to fostering a trusted and secure environment for all our authors and reviewers.

 

Journal Funding Sources

SETS: Author Fees Support Open Access

As a self-funded open-access journal, SETS publishes its content online and in print. To cover costs like administration, memberships, and printing, SETS relies solely on article processing charges (APCs) paid by authors.

Responding to Reviewers

Once you receive reviewer comments, you'll have two weeks to revise your article.  We highly recommend creating a detailed response that addresses each comment and explains any changes or additions you've made.  In your revised manuscript, any edits or new information should be clearly highlighted in bright yellow.

What to Submit After Revision

  • Your revised manuscript with all changes and additions highlighted in bright yellow.
  • A point-by-point response to the reviewers' comments, referencing the editorial decision.