Focus and Scope

Inter Faculty is an online, transdisciplinary journal, specifically established to provide a forum for new fields of research concerning civilization, society and the environment. It is a forum for reflection and discussion from a transdisciplinary perspective, a forum for promoting exchange of knowledge in human studies and social sciences across the academic community.

To this end, Inter Faculty publishes new and original research from both established and emerging scholars. It welcomes contributions and reviews in all areas of the human and social sciences.

The language of the journal is essentially English, but contributions in other languages, dependent on relevance to the research discussion, will be taken into consideration.

Inter Faculty is sponsored and published by the Institute for Comparative Research in Human and Social Sciences of the University of Tsukuba (Japan).

Peer Review Process

Research articles and discussions are subject to a strict, double-blind peer review process. All other entries are subject to initial editorial screening and open peer review.

Independent reviewers, according to the required area of expertise, will determine suitability for publication and make recommendations for eventual changes.

In general, the review process requires eight to ten weeks.

Please note, in order to ensure an appropriate review of research articles and discussions, the author’s name and affiliation should not appear anywhere on the manuscript. Please refer to Guidelines for Authors for details.

Publication Frequency

The journal is published once a year.

Open Access Policy

Inter Faculty provides immediate, open access to the full text of articles at no cost to either authors or readers; this on the principle that, in the present context where it is vital researchers reach beyond the boundaries of their given discipline, making research freely available engages a greater exchange of knowledge.

Publication Ethics

Inter Faculty aims to publish new and original research over a wide range of subjects concerning the different aspects of human studies and social sciences. It further aims to promote a forum for reflection and discussion from an essentially transdisciplinary perspective, thereby contributing to a research environment which reaches beyond the boundaries of a single discipline, engaging a greater exchange of knowledge.

To this end, the journal fully subscribes to the statement of Researchers’ Ethics laid down by the University of Tsukuba, and recognises its social responsibility in respect to the Dignity of Knowledge.

Moreover, it is expressly stated here that fabrication, falsification or plagiarism in any form whatsoever is in violation of generally accepted standards of scholarly research and will not be accepted.

In accordance with University of Tsukuba publication practice, all manuscripts submitted to Inter Faculty are screened by iThenticate.

For the full statement on Researchers’ Ethics set out by the University of Tsukuba, please see: <http://www.tsukuba.ac.jp/research/pdf/panf_kenkyuusya_rinri_eng.pdf>

Furthermore, the journal adheres to a code of publication ethics closely based on the standards and guidelines developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The ethic statements are given below.

For the full text of the standards and guidelines developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), please see: <http://publicationethics.org/>

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

At both the editorial board and the publisher of Inter Faculty we take the duties of guardianship over all stages of publishing extremely seriously and recognize our ethical and other responsibilities. We are committed to ensuring that advertising, reprint or other commercial revenue has no impact or influence on editorial decisions. Furthermore, where this is useful or necessary, we will assist in communications with other journals and/or publishers.

Below is an outline of the respective duties of authors, editors and the editorial board, and reviewers.

Duties of authors

Reporting standards: authors of reports of original research should 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 paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behaviour and are unacceptable.

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, if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

Originality and plagiarism: the authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism takes many forms, from ‘passing off’ another’s paper as the author’s own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another’s paper without proper attribution, to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.

Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication: an author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable. In general, an author should not submit for consideration in another journal a previously published paper. Publication of some kinds of articles in more than one journal is sometimes justifiable, provided certain conditions are met. If the authors and editors of the journals agree to the secondary publication, the secondary publication will reflect the same data and interpretation as the primary document. The primary reference will be cited in the secondary publication.

Acknowledgement of sources: proper acknowledgment of the work of others must 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.

Authorship of the paper: authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the  research  project,  they should  be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Hazards and human subjects: if the work involves the use of human subjects, the author 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) has 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.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest: all authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed. Examples of potential conflicts of interest which should be disclosed include: employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed at the earliest stage possible.

Fundamental errors in published works: when an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and co-operate with the editor to retract or correct the paper. If the editor or the publisher learns 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.

Duties of the editor and editorial board

Publication decisions: the editor is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The decision will be governed by the validity of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers. The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal’s editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may consult with the editorial board and the independent reviewers in making this decision.

Fair play: the editor will evaluate manuscripts solely for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Confidentiality: the editor, as every member of the editorial staff, will not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest: unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript are not permitted to be used in an editor’s own research without the express written consent of the author. Editors should recuse themselves from reviewing or considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or (possibly) institutions connected to the papers. Moreover, it is expressly stated that editors, or any member of the editorial board, should recuse themselves from the entire review process when submitting an own manuscript for publication. Editors should require all contributors to disclose relevant competing interests and publish corrections if competing interests are revealed after publication. If needed, other appropriate action should be taken, such as the publication of a retraction or expression of concern.

Involvement and co-operation in investigations: the editor should take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper. Such measures generally include contacting the author of the manuscript or paper and giving due consideration of the respective complaint or claims made, but may also include further communications to the relevant institution and research bodies, and if the complaint is upheld, the publication of a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other note, as may be relevant. Every reported act of unethical publishing behaviour must be looked into, even when discovered years after publication.

Duties of reviewers

Contribution to editorial decisions: peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper.

Promptness: any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.

Confidentiality: any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of objectivity: reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgment of sources: reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement  that  an  observation,  derivation,  or  argument has  been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and conflict of interest: unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should recuse themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or (possibly) institutions connected to the papers.

Archiving

Inter Faculty in its entirety is permanently archived in Tulips-R.

Dissemination and Indexing

The journal is registered with the ERIH Plus-NSD index, and publication of new issues is announced by EurekAlert and AlphaGalileo. The journal guidelines conform to Google Scholar format for indexing and cross-reference search. However, we are making efforts to disseminate the journal content as widely as possible and to this end are currently applying for listing with SCOPUS and DOAJ.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party except as required by law. An individual may access, modify or delete their personal data at any time.

Sponsorship

Inter Faculty is sponsored and published by the Institute for Comparative Research in Human and Social Sciences of the University of Tsukuba (Japan).

Visual design: sole color design Co. Ltd.