Code of Ethics
Table of Contents
3.§ General principles of the Code
4.§ Responsibilities of the Editorial Board
5.§ Responsibility of the editor
6.§ Responsibilities of section editors
7.§ Responsibilities of reviewers and the method of review
8.§ Responsibilities of authors
9.§ Breaches of the provisions of the Code
Preamble
Recreation is a scientific journal published quarterly in Hungarian and English, containing peer-reviewed papers and other articles on a wide range of recreational topics. The first issue of the first volume of the Journal of Recreation was published in 2011 under the title Recreation, and the 4th issue of the same volume was published under the title recreation. The journal was renamed from the first issue of the second volume, which was called recreatio.eu, to the first issue of Volume IV, which returned to the name recreation, under which it is still published.
The Journal of Recreation is also a scientific journal registered in the Hungarian Archives of Scientific Works and its ISSN is 2064-4981 for print publications and 3003-9509 for online publications MTID: 10031608.
All parties involved in the publication of articles in the journal, including authors, reviewers and the editorial board of the journal, must agree to the basic standards of conduct closely related to publication as set out in this Code of Ethics.
In developing these guidelines, we have acted in good faith and in accordance with the principles of national and international publishing practice. In addition, in determining the content of the Code, we have taken particular account of the Core Practices published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which apply to all those involved in the publication process of scientific manuscripts (including editors, column editors, reviewers, referees, manuscript authors, etc.). In addition, authors of the scientific journal recreation are expected to know and follow the Academy's Code of Ethics for Academic Publishing
1. §. Aim of the Code
(1) The aim of the Code is to establish a system of principles and ethical rules governing articles and studies published in the Journal of Recreation, in line with the national and international scientific life.
(2) The aims of the Code are providing assistance and guidance to all parties involved the process of writing articles and papers for the scientific journal recreation by setting out the ethical rules that should govern the process.
(3) The aim of the present Code of Ethics is to raise of the professional quality of the articles, studies and researches published in the journal in the field of recreation, in accordance with the objectives of the Journal of Recreation, in line with national and international standards.
(4) In addition to the above, the Code is intended to provide guidance to all parties involved in the publication of the Journal of Recreation, including the Editor, Editorial Board members, Section Editors, Reviewers, and Authors, and those involved in publication.
(5) The rules of the Code are designed in a framework of full transparency, to ensure that all parties involved and contributing to the publication of the journal have a set of basic obligations in relation to their tasks.
2.§. Scope of the Code
(1) The Code applies to all persons involved in the publication of the Journal of Recreation, including: authors, column editors, peer reviewers, members of the Editorial Board, contributors to the publication.
(2) The quarterly publication of the Journal of Recreation is an obligation of the Central-Eastern European Recreation Association, as laid down in the Articles of Association of the Association, and the Central-Eastern European Recreation Association is responsible for the enforcement of the objectives and ethical rules set out in this Code.
(3) The Author Guidelines for the Journal of Recreation shall be applied in accordance with the provisions of this Code of Ethics. The governing rules for Journal of Recreation are available on the journal's official website.
(4) The provisions of this Code of Ethics for Research Involving Human Subjects or Animals must be applied in accordance with the law in force and the provisions of the Ethical Standards for Research Involving Human Subjects or Animals of the journal.
(5) The ethical rules applicable to articles published in the Journal of Recreation must be accepted by all parties involved in the publication and must be applied continuously in their activities.
(6) Any author who submits a manuscript for publication in the Journal of Recreation acknowledges that he/she is bound by the rules of content, form and ethics applicable to the publication of the journal.
(7) By initiating the publication process, the Central-Eastern European Recreation Association accepts the provisions of this Code of Ethics as binding.
3. §. General principles of the Code
(1) Articles, research studies and interviews published in the scientific journal Recreation will be accepted with consideration of the professional requirements of recreation and related frontier fields. In evaluating submitted manuscripts, the editorial board, the editor in chief and column editors of the journal are committed to the highest scientific and professional standards. Therefore, the distinction between manuscripts is based solely on the opinion of the peer reviewers according to scientific criteria and not on the basis of the author's gender, race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, nationality or political views.
(2) With regard to the submitted manuscripts, the members of the editorial board, the editor in chief, the column editors and all persons involved in the publication of the journal are bound by confidentiality in relation to all persons not connected with the publication process of the manuscript. Persons involved in the publication of the manuscript: members of the editorial board, editor in chief, column editors, reviewers, journal manager, proofreaders, copy editors, copy editors, proofreaders, and other staff of the printing house involved in the publication process.
(3) Manuscripts published in the scientific journal recreation are published after a peer-review process, during which neither the author of the manuscript is known to the reviewers nor the reviewers know the author.
(4) Manuscripts published in the scientific journal recreation are reviewed anonymously by at least two independent anonymous reviewers, taking into account the provisions of this Code of Ethics (double-blind review process or double anonymous peer review process).
4.§ Responsibilities of the Editorial Board
(1) The editorial board of the Journal of Recreation shall be composed of recognized scientific and practical experts from the diverse and interdisciplinary fields of recreation and health promotion, who are committed to the achievement of the objectives of the Journal of Recreation on a scientific basis.
(2) The professional composition of the Editorial Board shall be adapted to the themes of the sections published in the Journal of Recreation and the diversity of recreation and health promotion.
(3) Editorial board membership is established:
3.1 In view of the dynamic development of the field of recreation and health promotion, the size of the Editorial Board is not limited.
3.2 The Editor in Chief of the Journal of Recreation or the Editor in Chief will invite the candidate in writing to become a member of the Editorial Board.
3.3 A candidate becomes a member of the Editorial Board when he or she has accepted in writing the previous point (§ 4.3.2)
(4) Membership of the Editorial Board shall cease if:
4.1. the member dies,
4.2. the member himself/herself request the termination of his/her position on the Editorial Board,
4.3. by common agreement of the parties,
4.4. At the decision of the Editor in Chief and or the Editor in Charge.
(5) The members of the Editorial Board shall perform their work on a pro bono, voluntary basis, free of charge.
(6) The composition of the editorial board, the members of the editorial board and the names of the members are available on the official website of the Journal of Recreation, https://recreationcentral.eu/szerkesztobizottsag.
(7) Through its work, the Editorial Board contributes to maintaining and improving the professional quality of the scientific journal recreation. In fulfilling its tasks, it can provide expert advice to the Editor and the editors of the individual sections. The Editorial Board can be consulted on technical issues in the context of editorial work. In all cases where there is a question or dispute, the opinion of the Editorial Committee should be sought.
(8) For topics submitted in their field, the members of the Editorial Board will also participate in the review process of submitted manuscripts at the request of the individual section editors.
(9) The Editorial Board shall be informed in writing by the Editor of the Journal by electronic mail (e-mail) of the tasks related to the Journal and shall coordinate the implementation of the tasks arising.
(10) The Editorial Board shall treat as confidential all information, ideas, concepts, and research results that have been made available to the Editorial Board after the submission of the manuscript as the content of the manuscript.
(11) If a member of the editorial board suspects research misuse or plagiarism, he/she shall report this fact to the responsible section editor. To the extent necessary to clarify the matter, the member of the editorial board may, at the written request of the columnist, assist in clarifying the plagiarism or research misconduct. In this process, an exception to the editorial board member's duty of confidentiality may be made in cases of research misuse or plagiarism. In this case, in an effort to keep the information shared to a minimum, the Editor and the Editorial Board may, in addition to informing the Editor, share limited information with third parties (editors of other journals, persons involved in the research but not included in the submitted work, etc.) as necessary to clarify the matter.
5.§ Responsibility of the Editor in Chief
(1) The Editor in Chief of the Journal of Recreation is the President of the Central-Eastern European Recreation Association. Should the President of the Central-Eastern European Recreation Association not assume this task, he may ask the President of the Society to appoint a specialist on the basis of a professional proposal from the President of the Association, subject to the approval of the Praesidium of the Association.
(2) The Editor in Chief of the scientific journal Recreation is a professional in the field of recreation and health promotion, with national and international knowledge, broad professional and scientific experience, who acknowledges the objectives of the Central-Eastern European Recreation Association and the provisions of this Code of Ethics.
(3) The Editor in Chief of the Journal of Recreation is the head of the editorial board.
(4) The Editor in Chief shall be responsible for the quarterly publication of the journal.
(5) At the beginning of January each year, the Editor in Chief shall send the journal's closing and publication dates for the current year to the members of the Editorial Board and to the column editors for the purpose of planning and scheduling the annual schedule.
(6) Papers submitted to the Journal of Recreation for publication will, upon receipt, be assigned by the Editor in Chief to the relevant section. In the case of interdisciplinary topics that may be related to the subject matter of more than one column, the Editor in Chief is entitled to seek the prior opinion of the members of the Editorial Board to decide to which section the manuscript received should be assigned.
(7) As soon as the manuscript intended for publication has been sent to the Editor in Chief by the columnists within the previously published deadline, the Editor in Chief is obliged to determine the next issue of the journal. In doing so, the Editor in Chief prepares the content of the upcoming journal, arranges for the scheduling of the manuscripts received and proofread, and prepares the table of contents for the current issue.
(8) After the current issue of the Journal of Recreation has been prepared for publication, the Editor in Chief is responsible for its publication and at the same time for carrying out all post-publication tasks, including administrative and IT tasks related to discoverability. He/she is responsible for scheduling the manuscripts received and proofread and for preparing a table of contents for the current issue.
(9) If the Editor in Chief becomes aware of any case of research misuse or plagiarism, he/she shall cooperate with the relevant section editor in clarifying the suspicion.
(10) The Editor in Chief shall have the additional duty of informing the Annual General Meeting of the Central-Eastern European Recreation Association of the operation and achievements of the journal.
(11) The Editor in Chief has the right to make personnel decisions in support of the operation of the journal. Personnel matters include: a) appointment of members of the Editorial Board, b) removal of members of the Editorial Board, c) appointment of the Editor in Charge, d) removal of the Editor in Charge, etc.
6.§. Responsibilities of Section Editors
(1) The editors of the sections of the scientific journal recreation (hereinafter referred to as "section editors") are recognized experts in their field who assist the Editorial Board with their impartial and independent work in the publication and peer review process of manuscripts submitted in the field of the section.
(2) The editor of the journal decides on the selection of the section editors.
(3) The section editors may be a member of the editorial board of the journal or an external expert on the subject.
(4) The journal does not pay fees for articles, but will issue a certificate of editorial activity on request. The Editor in Chief of the journal is authorized to issue the certificate.
(5) If more than one manuscript is received for the section concerned, the editor of the section is entitled to decide on the order of publication on the basis of professional reasons.
(6) After the editor of the Journal has checked the submitted manuscript and deemed it admissible, he/she will forward the written work to the editor of the section concerned. If the editor of the relevant section considers the submitted manuscript to be technically sound, he/she shall proceed with the review process for publication. In justified cases, however, he/she is entitled to reject the submitted submission on the basis of professional arguments.
6.1 The editor of the section shall decide on the manuscript accepted solely on the basis of its professional and intellectual content, regardless of the race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin or nationality of the author, or political affiliation.
6.2 The section editor, in conjunction with the journal's editor and editorial board, should establish a clear and transparent process for both reviewers and authors to ensure transparency in the publication of the submitted paper.
(7) It is the responsibility of the section editor to invite the selected peer reviewers to prepare the review within the deadline.
7.1 If any reviewer refuses to review for conflict of interest, professional or other reasons, he/she must immediately notify the Editor in Chief of the journal, who will appoint a new reviewer.
7.2 Since the review process of the Journal of Recreation is confidential, it is the responsibility of the section editor to protect the identity of the reviewers to the author and to protect the identity of the author to the reviewers.
(8) This Code of Ethics aims to ensure transparency for reviewers and authors. In doing so, it is the responsibility of the column editor to ensure that both reviewers and authors have a clear understanding of what is expected of them during the review process.
(9) Once the reviews have been received, it is the responsibility of the section editor to inform the author of the fact that the reviewers' opinions have been completed and to invite the author to revise the manuscript, based on the reviewers' opinions, within a deadline set by the editor.
(10) If the author of a manuscript fails to meet the deadline for revising the manuscript on the basis of the reviewers' opinions, and if more than one manuscript is awaiting publication in the section concerned, the editor of the section shall be entitled to decide which manuscript shall be given priority for publication.
(11) After the submission of the revised work on the basis of the referees’ opinions, the Editor in Chief of the column shall forward the submitted work to the person designated for this task for proofreading, copyediting and correcting.
(12) The editor of the section shall carry out the work processes referred to in the preceding paragraph (11.) within the time limit previously communicated by the editor and shall send the version of the submitted work to the editor for publication.
(13) In the performance of his/her duties, the section editor must at all times ensure the confidentiality of all material relating to his/her section and of all communications with reviewers. In his/her work, he/she must ensure that confidentiality is maintained both between the author and the editor and between the editor and the author and third parties.
13.1 Exceptions to the editor's duty of confidentiality may include cases of research misuse or plagiarism. In this case, in an effort to keep the information shared to a minimum, the Editor and the Editorial Board may, in addition to providing information to the Editor in Chief, share limited information with third parties (editors of other journals, persons involved in the research but not included in the submitted work, etc.) as necessary to clarify the matter.
13.2 The section editor may not use the contents of submitted but unpublished manuscripts in his/her own research without the express written consent of the author of the submitted work.
(14) In the case of a manuscript submitted with the participation of the Editor in Chief or the Editorial Board, the Chair of the Board shall appoint two peer reviewers to whom the manuscript shall be released, taking into account the principles set out in this Code of Ethics.
The opinions of the reviewers are binding for the Editor in Chief or the Section Editor as author in the same way as for the author of a submitted manuscript.
7.§. Responsibilities of the Referees and how to referee
(1) The Journal of Recreation publishes sections with and without a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). For DOI-identified columns, all published written work undergoes a preliminary peer-review process.
(2) Based on their peer reviews, the referees will help the head of the respective section to decide whether the submitted manuscript meets the scientific and professional standards of the Journal of Recreation.
(3) The referees are independent and anonymous. During the review process, neither the reviewers know the identity of the author nor the author knows the identity of the reviewers.
(4) The peer reviewers will conduct their evaluations impartially and objectively, based on an impartial and objective evaluation system approved by the editorial board of the Journal of Recreation. In doing so, they shall also have the opportunity, if necessary, to express their opinion clearly in writing, based solely on professional criteria and arguments.
(5) In the event of two judges giving two conflicting judgements, the Section Editors shall be entitled to invite a third judge.
(6) The referees may be members of the editorial board of the journal or external experts with knowledge of the subject.
6.1 If a person who is not a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Recreation needs to be invited to review a manuscript, he/she should indicate this request to the Editor in Chief of the journal, explaining the reason for the request.
6.2 If the Editor in CHief approves the external reviewer:
6.2.1. the Editor in Chief, together with the precise criteria specified by the Editor, will add him/her to the list of eligible peer reviewers in the publication system.
6.2.2. The Head of the Editorial Board invites the external reviewer to prepare a review, with the proviso that, if he/she undertakes to act as a reviewer, he/she will prepare a review on a case-by-case basis, after registering on the electronic platform of the scientific journal recreation, in the interface referred to.
(7) The journal does not pay for the review, but will issue a certificate of proofreading upon request. The Editor in Chief of the journal is entitled to issue the certificate.
(8) The invited referees, if the request is accepted, will prepare a peer review of the submitted written work by a date set by the Editor in Chief.
(9) Invited referees may request the Editor in Chief to excuse them from preparing a referee's report if they are unable to prepare their professional opinion within the time available or if they feel that they do not have sufficient knowledge in the field of the paper submitted for refereeing. In this case, the referees are required to report this fact to the Section Editor as soon as possible.
(10) No referee may prepare a review of a written work submitted to him/her if he/she has a relationship with the author of the submitted article, or in the case of co-authored written works, with any author, or with the author's institution, which creates a conflict of interest between the referee and the author(s) of the written work. The referee must immediately inform the editor of the section concerned of the conflict of interest.
(11) Referees must keep the content of all written work submitted to them confidential. Without the permission of the Editorial Board, the content of written work submitted to the referees may not be consulted or disclosed to third parties without access rights.
11.1 If the evaluators obtain confidential information or ideas during the evaluation process, they are obliged to treat them confidentially and may not use them for their own (professional) benefit.
11.2 The content of manuscripts available to the referees for the purpose of refereeing but not subsequently published may not be used in their own research without the express written consent of the author(s) of the manuscript submitted.
(12) Referees must take all reasonable care to ensure that written work received electronically is secure and cannot be accessed by unauthorized third parties.
8.§ Responsibilities of Authors
(1) Prospective authors of the scientific journal recreation are bound by the provisions of the journal's publication and ethics code when submitting their written work. During the publication process, they shall fully endeavor to comply with them throughout.
(2) Submitted manuscripts must be original and must accurately reflect new findings, data, approaches, and or interpretations. In addition, the submitted written work must also meet the requirements for professional discourse.
(3) Submitted manuscripts must comply with the publication requirements of the Journal of Recreation, which sets out the governing formal and content requirements. The Publication Requirements are available on the journal's official electronic website.
(4) Authors shall submit manuscripts to be published in the Journal of Recreation electronically via the following online interface, after registration on the official website of the journal: https://journal.recreationcentral.eu/recreation/index
(5) Prospective authors are required to submit their written work according to the citation and citation rules set out in the publication requirements of the Journal of Recreation. Written work submitted by authors must include any acknowledgement of sources based on the intellectual work of other authors (e.g. published or unpublished or in press written work, data, ideas, concepts, etc.) in accordance with the publication requirements.
(6) If one or more related manuscripts to the submitted manuscript are under consideration elsewhere, the author(s) of the written work must inform the Editor in Chief and provide a copy of the related work upon request.
(7) Falsification of data, results, selective disclosure of data, or theft of other authors' intellectual property is considered plagiarism. Any form of plagiarism is contrary to this Code of Ethics and is unacceptable.
(8) Authors must take care that information obtained in the course of any private correspondence (for example: private correspondence, conversations or discussions with third parties) may only be published if the party from whom the data or information is obtained has given its express written consent.
(9) The Editorial Board of the scientific journal recreation considers it unethical and unacceptable to publish a piece of writing with the same text and content in several journals at the same time.
(10) The scientific journal recreation offers the possibility to publish co-authored articles.
10.1 When indicating co-authors, authors should, however, endeavor to ensure that the names of only those persons who have made a substantial contribution to the manuscript submitted are included.
10.2 In the case of co-authors, the order of the contributing authors must be approved by all authors, as must any changes in the order of authors during the revision of the manuscript.
10.3 Changes in the order of co-authors, and the fact that all authors concerned have agreed to them, must be communicated to the section editor.
(11) The Journal of Recreation will provide the opportunity to publish any information about the source of funding for the research underlying the submitted manuscript (e.g. national government, EU or international funding, private or public foundations, universities, etc.)
9. § Breaches of the provisions of the Code
(1) The Journal of Recreation will take seriously any allegation of violation of the provisions of this code of ethics, abuse of the rules. In all such cases, it will address the alleged violations in accordance with COPE guidelines and the standards expected by the MTA.
(2) Alleged violations of this Code of Ethics must be reported to the Editor in Chief of the journal in writing as soon as they come to the attention of the responsible person (section editor, editorial board member, examiner, referee, etc.).
(3) In the case of research misconduct or plagiarism, it may be appropriate for the Editor in Chief, or the Section Editor prior to informing the Editor in Chief, to contact and share the contents of the manuscript with third party/parties who may be able to contribute meaningfully to clarifying the misconduct that has occurred. The Journal of Recreation may also seek advice from COPE if necessary.
10. §. Final provisions
(1) This Code of Ethics has been unanimously approved by the Editorial Board, the Section Editors and the Editor in Chief.
(2) This Code of Ethics may be amended by a majority vote of the Editorial Board and with the consent of the Editor, upon the recommendation of any Editorial Board member, Section Editor, or Editorial Board member.
(3) This Code of Ethics shall enter into force and be signed by the Editor in Chief on the date of its adoption.
(4) The Code of Ethics for Human and animal research of Journal of Recreation applies and will be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of this Code of Ethics.
Szeged, 01.01.2024.
Dr. habil. Peter Fritz
Editor in Chief