The editorial policy of the Interdisciplinary Cultural and Humanities Review is founded on internationally recognised standards for scholarly publishing. The board follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance and the Publishing Ethics Resource Kit (Elsevier). In practice, this entails safeguarding confidentiality, preventing conflicts of interest, respecting intellectual property, and maintaining professionalism throughout all editorial procedures.
 

The Editor-in-Chief, or a delegated deputy, makes final determinations on submitted manuscripts. Decisions are based on the academic merit of the work, the referees’ recommendations, and adherence to the journal’s policies on plagiarism, copyright, and libel. Personal interests are excluded from the evaluation process.

Editors may not use unpublished material for personal research. They must also respond appropriately to ethical complaints concerning manuscripts or published papers and take corrective action when necessary.
 

All submissions are treated as confidential. Information about manuscripts is disclosed only to authors, referees, consultants, or the publisher where appropriate.
 

Editors, referees, and consultants must declare any conflict of interest and withdraw from the process if necessary. Use of unpublished materials without written consent from the authors is prohibited. The board considers all claims of ethical breaches and, when appropriate, informs readers about the resolution.
 

The journal supports transparency in research whilst respecting authors’ rights and ethical standards. Access to underlying data is possible only upon formal request to the editorial office and requires the explicit consent of the author(s). Where permission is granted, confidentiality agreements and assurances of ethical use may apply. Authors are under no obligation to share data if restricted by legal, ethical, or personal considerations.
 

The journal welcomes constructive dialogue following publication. Articles are assigned DOIs and may be discussed on PubPeer. Contributions must remain professional and focused on the content. Credible concerns raised on such platforms will be investigated in accordance with the journal’s ethics and retraction policies.
 

Studies involving human participants require prior approval from a relevant ethics committee (IRB or equivalent). Authors must confirm informed consent, voluntary participation, anonymity, and non-discrimination. Where ethics approval is not required, an exemption or reference to applicable legislation must be provided.

Authors are encouraged to reference international frameworks such as the American Sociological Association Code of Ethics (1997), the ICC/ESOMAR International Code, or the European Commission Guidance on Ethics and Data Protection (2021).
 

All named authors must approve the final manuscript, agree to its submission, and accept responsibility for its content. Authorship requires substantive contributions to conception, data collection or analysis, drafting, or critical revision. Contributors not meeting authorship criteria should be acknowledged rather than listed.

Submission signifies that the work has not been published elsewhere, is not under consideration, and has institutional approval where required.
 

The journal requires transparent disclosure of all funding sources, whether public, private, or institutional. In the absence of support, authors must state “None”. The journal does not accept advertising in any form, thereby preserving editorial independence.
 

Generative AI systems (e.g. ChatGPT, Gemini, Bing AI) cannot be considered authors. Their use is permissible solely for improving language or structure, and any such involvement must be declared. Authors remain fully responsible for all content.

If AI tools are employed, authors must specify the tool, version, prompts, and date of use. AI involvement in data analysis or visualisation must be documented in the Methods section, but AI-generated images or graphical abstracts are not permitted unless part of the research methodology.

Editors and referees must also disclose AI use during manuscript handling. Uploading manuscripts to third-party AI systems without author consent breaches confidentiality. The editorial board may employ detection tools to preserve integrity and credibility of published research.