Ethical and Post-publication Issues

Ethical Standards

iSys – Journal of Information Systems adheres to the Brazilian Computer Society’s Code of Conduct and follows the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) Core Practices. Beyond compliance, the journal is committed to educating and supporting authors, reviewers, editors, and readers toward more rigorous, transparent, and ethical research and publishing practices.

Requests to Editors

Requests regarding ethical issues, complaints, corrections, retractions, or other matters must be made through the “Request to Editors” section in the submission system (SOL/OJS). Interested parties should submit an “Other” PDF document in plain text in the Discussion box, clearly describing the request and providing all necessary evidence or justification.

Issues Subject to Analysis

1) Allegations of Misconduct

Concerns about research or publication misconduct (pre- or post-publication), including plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate submissions, or other violations of integrity. Requests must provide evidence.

2) Authorship and Contributorship

Disputes or corrections regarding authorship or contributions. Requests for changes (e.g., name correction) must be legally grounded and aligned with ORCID requirements.

3) Complaints and Appeals

Complaints about the editorial process, reviewers, or editors. Concerns involving the Editors-in-Chief must be directed to the SBC Publisher at publicacoes@sbc.org.br with the subject “Communication regarding iSys Editorial Board”.

4) Conflicts of Interest

Requests concerning undeclared or mismanaged conflicts of interest (authors, reviewers, editors, or publisher). Submissions must explain the situation and provide evidence.

5) Intellectual Property

iSys publishes only original work under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license. Allegations of plagiarism, redundant/overlapping publication, or third-party rights violations must be reported with supporting evidence. Extended versions of conference papers must contain at least 40% new content.

6) Data and Reproducibility

Concerns related to rigor and reproducibility of research findings. iSys encourages the sharing of datasets, code, and other materials to support reproducibility.

7) Research Ethics

All submissions must indicate how ethical aspects were addressed (e.g., Ethics Review Board approval, adherence to national/international research ethics codes, LGPD compliance). Requests may concern missing approvals, privacy violations, or biases in research.

Use of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs)

iSys recognizes the growing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) (e.g., ChatGPT, Bard, Claude, Copilot) in research and writing. Their use must follow principles of transparency, accountability, and integrity:

  1. Authorship
    • AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Only humans who take intellectual responsibility for the work qualify as authors.
  2. Transparency and Disclosure
    • Any use of AI tools must be clearly disclosed in the manuscript (e.g., Methods, Acknowledgments, or a “Use of AI Tools” statement).
    • Authors must describe which tool was used, for what purpose, and how outputs were verified.
  3. Responsibility
    • Authors remain fully responsible for all AI-assisted content.
    • Generated text, images, or data must be checked for accuracy, originality, and ethical compliance.
  4. Research Integrity
    • AI use must not compromise reproducibility, transparency, or validity.
    • If AI tools are part of the study’s methodology, their role must be documented as part of the research design.
  5. Ethical Concerns
    • AI must not be used to fabricate data, citations, or references.
    • Biases or risks introduced by AI tools should be acknowledged.

Examples of acceptable disclosure statements:

  • “The authors used ChatGPT (OpenAI, version March 2025) to assist with English grammar editing. The authors reviewed and approved all suggestions.”
  • “The code in Section 4 was initially generated with GitHub Copilot and subsequently validated and adapted by the authors.”

The Editors-in-Chief highly recommend the authors to check the compliance with the Brazilian Computer Society’s Code of Conduct.

Analysis Process

  • The Editors-in-Chief analyze all requests and usually provide an initial response within 30 days.
  • Editors may request additional information to clarify or substantiate the case.
  • Authors are given the opportunity to respond and may be asked to provide original data.
  • When necessary, the Editors may designate an editorial committee of at least three members or consult external experts.
  • Third-party informants may remain anonymous, if required.

Outcomes of Analysis

Possible outcomes include:

  1. No further action – request closed with clarifications.
  2. Correction or Retraction – revisions are made and linked to the original record.
  3. Content removal – in extraordinary cases where integrity, legality, or safety is at risk.

Corrections and Retractions

iSys may publish:

  • Addendum – to provide essential supplementary information post-publication.
  • Author Correction – to rectify significant author errors.
  • Author Name Change – upon justified request, respecting privacy and identity.
  • Editorial Note – to inform readers of important issues under consideration.
  • Editorial Expression of Concern – when serious concerns are under investigation.
  • Journal Correction – to rectify errors introduced by the journal.
  • Retraction – when published work is significantly compromised. The PDF remains accessible but labeled as Retracted.

All corrections and retractions are bi-directionally linked to the original article via DOI and indexed accordingly.

Content Removal

In exceptional circumstances, content may be removed from the journal platform. This may occur when:

  • Integrity cannot be preserved through corrections/retractions.
  • The content is defamatory, infringes rights, or is unlawful.
  • A court or government order mandates removal.
  • Immediate and severe risks are posed to individuals, organizations, or society.

In such cases, bibliographic metadata (title, authors, DOI) will be retained, accompanied by a statement explaining the removal.

Principles

  • The author’s institution may be informed when ethical issues are investigated.
  • Authors bear responsibility for ensuring rights to third-party materials.
  • Because iSys charges no APC, any costs incurred for DOI or metadata corrections due to author error may be transferred to the authors.
  • The primary goal of iSys is to safeguard the integrity of the scientific record, not to assign blame. Statements will not identify individuals but may refer to public institutional reports.

Investigations may require time. During ongoing cases, iSys may issue Editorial Notes or Expressions of Concern to keep readers informed.