Journal Code of Ethics

The Russell Sage Foundation takes seriously the responsibility of RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences to reflect the highest in publication ethics. Our journal editors are expected to abide by the following codes of ethics. ‡

 

The Russell Sage Foundation

  • Will establish in its publications agreements clear descriptions of its own and the journal editor’s duties and responsibilities, as well as those of any other entity affected by the agreement.
  • Will provide reviewers with guidelines for evaluating articles and will strive to protect peer reviewers’ identities from the editors and authors. Should any research involve unidentified subjects, efforts to protect their identity will be a priority.
  • Will protect the copyright and intellectual property rights of its authors and contributors.
  • Will protect the right of free speech.

General duties and responsibilities of Editors

  • Editors are responsible for everything published in their journals.
    • They will endeavor to:
      • meet the needs of readers and authors;
      • improve the journal;
      • maintain the quality of the material they publish;
      • champion freedom of expression;
      • maintain the integrity of the academic record;
      • preclude business needs from compromising intellectual standards;
      • always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed.
    • Editors should take all reasonable steps to ensure the quality of the material they publish.
    • Editors should provide authors with clear submissions guidelines.
    • Editors should not reverse decisions to accept submissions unless serious problems are identified with the submission.
    • Editors’ decisions to accept or reject a paper for publication are made in conjunction with the Russell Sage Foundation. The decision is based on the feedback from a minimum of two outside reviewers whose identities are blinded from the editors and the authors, and the editors’ sense of an article’s importance, originality, and clarity, and the manuscript’s relevance to the journal. The final decision about inclusion in the journal is a decision of the Russell Sage Foundation.
    • Editors should ensure that material submitted to their journal remains confidential while under review.

‡ This ethics statement was adapted from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE: http://publicationethics.org/), and Penn State Press with permission. COPE is a forum for editors and publishers of peer-reviewed journals to discuss all aspects of publication ethics. It also advises editors on how to handle cases of research and publication misconduct. Neither COPE nor Penn State Press were involved in the drafting of this statement.

 

RSF Policy on the Use of AI

The Russell Sage Foundation does not consider the use of artificial intelligence (AI) generated text to meet the standard of authorship. Fair use of AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, large language models, machine learning, or similar technologies) includes the checking of spelling, grammar, and citations. Authors are considered the sole creators of their work. As such, authors are responsible for the content of their manuscripts, including any portions produced by AI tools. Authors are liable for any ethical breaches that may result from the use of AI. We ask all authors to provide a written disclosure that describes the use of AI in the preparation of their manuscript.