Transparency and Best Practices

Principles of Transparency and Best Practices

Summarizing the principles and synthetic presentation of the journal

At Nova Geodesia, the principle of transparency is considered a cornerstone of the journal’s editorial and scientific mission. It governs the evaluation of manuscript quality, the dissemination of research results through publication, and the consistent application of ethical standards in both research and publishing.

The editorial board is fully committed to ensuring transparency, clarity, and accountability across all editorial procedures and decision-making processes. This includes the open communication of key information regarding editorial procedures and publication practices, made accessible to the entire scientific community.

Transparency is not merely a procedural requirement, but a guiding value that reflects the editorial team’s commitment to integrity, accuracy, and fairness, from the moment a manuscript is received, through initial screening, peer review, acceptance, publication, and long-term archiving.

By upholding transparency at every stage of the publication process, Nova Geodesia seeks to provide reliable and responsible editorial services, thereby contributing to the trust and credibility that underpin scholarly communication.

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 Journal Name 

Nova Geodesia

 Website 

https://novageodesia.ro

The journal’s website is actively maintained and provides full access to content and policies.

 Editorial and Peer Review Process 

All submitted manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review by at least two independent experts. The editorial team ensures that reviews are objective, fair, and timely. Based on the reviewers’ recommendations and the journal’s editorial criteria, the Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection. Further details on the journal’s editorial workflow and the full peer‑review procedure are provided in the Procedures and Peer Review Process sections: https://novageodesia.ro/index.php/ng/procedures and https://novageodesia.ro/index.php/ng/prp. The full names, affiliations, countries, and roles of the editorial board members are listed here: https://novageodesia.ro/index.php/ng/about/editorialTeam

  •  Relevance and International Impact of Content 
    • In the editorial and peer review process, Nova Geodesia prioritizes submissions that are scientifically sound, align with the journal’s scope, and have clear potential for international relevance and impact. Articles should address topics of interest to a broad academic audience, preferably with global or cross-regional significance, and be supported by up-to-date references from internationally recognized sources. The editorial board actively encourages contributions from a geographically and disciplinarily diverse range of authors to enhance the journal’s visibility, citation potential, and influence within the global scholarly community.
    • The journal actively encourages submissions that foster disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary approaches, bridging core topics such as geodesy, land measurements, and cadastre with related or complementary fields, including cartography, GIS, environmental sciences, urban and regional planning, and agricultural land management. This diversity of perspectives aims to enhance the journal’s international relevance, foster innovation, and support a broader exchange of scientific knowledge across domains.
  •  Conflict of Interest 
    • All parties involved in the editorial process must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could affect the objectivity or integrity of the review and publication process. Such conflicts may be personal, academic, financial, or institutional. Undisclosed conflicts can lead to rejection or retraction of the manuscript. The journal applies a rigorous double-blind peer review process, described in detail at: https://novageodesia.ro/index.php/ng/prp. Editors and reviewers must recuse themselves from handling any manuscript for which a real or perceived conflict of interest exists.
  •  Grant Support and Funding Disclosure  
    • Nova Geodesia requires that all authors explicitly acknowledge any financial support, grants, or other funding sources related to the research presented in their manuscript. This includes, but is not limited to, institutional funding, competitive research grants, sponsorships, and project-based contracts. In subject areas where grant support is common or required, the funding source(s) and corresponding grant number(s) must be clearly stated in a dedicated section of the manuscript, typically under “Acknowledgements” or “Funding”. Where no specific funding was received, authors should include the statement: “This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.” This policy ensures transparency, proper credit to funding organizations, and compliance with best practices in scholarly publishing.
  •  Data Availability and Reproducibility  
    • Authors are encouraged to make underlying data, code, and materials available in trusted repositories, and to include a Data Availability Statement in the manuscript. Where sharing is restricted (e.g., privacy, legal, or third party rights), authors should clearly state the reason and the conditions under which data may be accessed.

 Publisher (Ownership and Management) 

Society of Land Measurements and Cadastre from Transylvania  (SMTCT). SMTCT is a professional, scientific, non-profit, apolitical and non-governmental registered Romanian society. SMTCT ensures all the costs and needs of the journal from its own funds, represented from sources attracted by donations, sponsorships, membership fees, etc. The journal’s support aims to advance Romanian geodesy, scientific knowledge, and research, while also fostering innovation and the integration of both established experts and young professionals into this field, at national and international levels. In addition, the publication of results by researchers in the field is free of charge and free access for all readers, regardless of country, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, politics, opinions and budget.

Governing Body and Editorial Team 

Nova Geodesia is supported by a governing editorial board composed of recognized experts from both Romania and other countries, whose research areas are directly aligned with the journal’s scope. The full names, institutional affiliations, and professional roles of all editorial board members are publicly available on the journal’s website. In addition, full editorial contact information, including the name of the Editor-in-Chief and the complete address of the editorial office, is accessible at the following page: https://novageodesia.ro/index.php/ng/about/editorialTeam

As part of the journal’s strategic development, the editorial team is actively working to further diversify the composition of the Editorial Board by inviting new members from a wider range of geographical regions and disciplines relevant to the journal’s aims. This initiative reflects a commitment to improving the journal’s international profile, increasing its academic quality, and ensuring the integration of global perspectives in the editorial process. New members will be selected based on their scholarly merit, editorial experience, and potential to contribute meaningfully to the journal’s scientific and professional growth.

 Copyright and Licensing 

© The authors retain copyright of their articles. The journal allows the author(s) to hold the copyright/to retain publishing rights without restriction by Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). The articles are open access (OA), distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

 Author fees/Article Processing Charges (APCs) 

Nova Geodesia does not charge authors any fees. No article processing charges (APCs), submission charges, page charges, or colour charges apply. Publication is free of charge for authors, and all content is open access under CC BY 4.0.

Authors retain the copyright of their work and grant permission for it to be shared and reused, provided that proper citation and attribution are given.

 Process for Identification of and Dealing with Allegations of Research Misconduct 

Nova Geodesia is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity in scholarly publishing. The publisher and editors take all allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously and handle them in a fair, consistent, and transparent manner.

When a concern is raised, the Editor in Chief (or a designated editor) performs an initial assessment and, where warranted, requests explanations and supporting data from the authors. If concerns persist, the journal may contact the authors’ institution(s) or funder(s) for an independent inquiry. Outcomes may include: corrections, expressions of concern, retractions, or manuscript rejection. All cases are handled in line with COPE guidance to ensure due process and the right of reply.

Suspected cases of plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, image manipulation, duplicate publication, inappropriate authorship, undeclared conflicts of interest, and unethical research practices are investigated in accordance with the COPE guidance.

All allegations are handled promptly, ensuring due process and the right of reply for all parties involved. Depending on the outcome, actions may include issuing corrections, expressions of concern, retractions, or notifying relevant institutions or funding bodies.

Full details of the journal’s ethical standards and procedures for handling misconduct are provided in the Publication Ethics section.

  •  Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern 

    • Nova Geodesia maintains the integrity of the scholarly record by issuing post‑publication notices when needed.

      • Corrections are published when an article contains an error that does not invalidate its findings.

      • Retractions are issued when the findings are unreliable due to misconduct or honest error (e.g., fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, major analytical error), or when the work was published without the necessary ethical approvals.

      • Expressions of Concern may be issued when an investigation is ongoing or information is insufficient for a final conclusion.

  • All notices are linked bidirectionally with the original article and remain permanently available. Decisions follow COPE recommendations and are made by the Editor‑in‑Chief in consultation with the editorial board and, where appropriate, the authors’ institution(s) or funder(s)

 Publication Ethics 

Nova Geodesia upholds the highest standards of publication ethics, in full alignment with the COPE Principles of Transparency and Best Practice and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommendations.

All participants in the publication process (editors, members of the scientific board, reviewers, and authors) are expected to act with integrity, fairness, and transparency.

  • Editors are responsible for ensuring that decisions are based solely on scholarly merit, relevance to the journal’s scope, and the quality of the work, without discrimination or conflicts of interest.

  • Reviewers must provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations, maintain confidentiality, and declare any potential conflicts of interest.

  • Authors must submit original work, ensure accurate citation of sources, disclose all funding sources and conflicts of interest, and comply with ethical standards for human and animal research.

Any suspected misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, image manipulation, or unethical research, will be investigated in accordance with COPE guidelines, and appropriate corrective actions will be taken.

Full details of our ethical policies, roles, and responsibilities are available in the Publication Ethics, 'Procedures', and 'Peer Review Process' sections of our website.

 Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools 

Nova Geodesia acknowledges the emergence of generative AI technologies and their growing use in academic publishing. While these tools may assist in improving clarity and language, their use must be transparent and responsible. Authors, reviewers, and editors are required to comply with the journal’s dedicated policy on the use of generative AI tools.

For detailed guidelines, please refer to our full policy: Use of Generative AI

 Publishing Schedule (Publication Frequency) 

The journal is published quarterly (four issues per volume/year), with each issue covering the following periods:

  • Issue 1: January-March
  • Issue 2: April-June
  • Issue 3: July-September
  • Issue 4: October-December

Each issue is published no later than the last day of the quarter. Manuscripts accepted after peer review are published in the Forthcoming (Online First) section as soon as the articles are finalized and technically edited. These articles can be cited using the article number (AN) and/or DOI, though the DOI will only be activated once the full issue is complete.

 Access – Open Access Journal 

Nova Geodesia is a fully open-access journal. All articles published in the journal are freely and permanently available online to readers immediately upon publication. There are no subscription fees or pay-per-view charges for accessing content.

Readers are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, or link to the full texts of the articles without financial, legal, or technical barriers, in accordance with the journal’s open-access license.

To ensure long-term availability and broad dissemination, the journal is hosted on the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform, developed by the Public Knowledge Project (PKP). OJS is a federally funded open-source software designed to improve access to scholarly research and to support best practices in journal management and digital publishing.

 Archiving 

PKP Preservation Network (PN) provides free preservation services for any OJS journal that meets a few basic criteria. LOCKSS is enabled to store and distribute journal content at participating libraries via a LOCKSS Publisher.

 Revenue Sources 

Nova Geodesia operates under a non-commercial, open-access model, and does not generate revenue through author fees, subscriptions, advertising, or reprint sales. The journal does not charge any article processing charges (APCs), submission fees, or access fees. 

Its publishing activities are supported exclusively through institutional support from the Society of Land Measurements and Cadastre from Transylvania  (SMTCT), as well as membership contributions and voluntary donations.

No revenue-related consideration influences editorial decisions. All manuscripts are evaluated solely on the basis of their scientific quality, originality, and relevance to the journal's scope.

 Advertising Policy 

Nova Geodesia does not accept or display any form of advertising, whether in print or online. The journal does not host commercial banners, sponsored content, or context-sensitive advertisements based on user behavior.

Editorial decisions are made entirely independently of any financial considerations and are never influenced by advertising or external promotional interests. All published content is free from commercial influence and is presented solely based on scholarly merit.

 Direct Marketing Statement 

Nova Geodesia conducts limited direct marketing activities solely for the purpose of informing the academic community about new issues, calls for papers, and relevant updates regarding the journal's activities.

All communication is targeted, appropriate, and respectful, and is directed only toward individuals and institutions with a clear academic or professional interest in the journal’s scope. The journal does not engage in aggressive or unsolicited mass-emailing practices.

Any promotional content or manuscript invitations are presented transparently, with accurate and truthful information about the journal, its editorial policies, and its publisher. These communications are designed to support scientific dissemination and uphold the journal’s commitment to ethical and responsible engagement with its contributors and readers.

 

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This statement confirms that Nova Geodesia adheres to the Principles of Transparency and Best Practices in Scholarly Publishing as outlined by international indexing and publishing bodies.

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Additional Resources and Related Policies

For further guidance and complete transparency regarding our editorial operations, Nova Geodesia invites readers, authors, and reviewers to consult the following policy sections available on the journal’s website:

These documents provide complementary information that reinforces the journal’s commitment to integrity, editorial rigor, and the responsible dissemination of scientific knowledge.