Research Ethics

COPE defines ethical considerations to be:

“Ethical oversight should include, but is not limited to, policies on consent to publication, publication on vulnerable populations, ethical conduct of research using animals, ethical conduct of research using human subjects, handling confidential data and ethical business/marketing practices” (https://publicationethics.org/oversight)

Therefore, all articles published in SEI must have been conducted according to guidelines ensuring ethically conducted research.

Research involving humans

Prior to starting the study, ethical approval must have been obtained by the researcher(s) from an appropriate ethics committee to confirm the study meets guidelines for research on humans. For SEI:

• Statement(s) concerning the voluntary participation and informed consent of all participants must be included in the Methodology section of the article. SEI is aware that different countries have a minimum age for participants to be able to provide informed consent, for participants under the age of 18 this needs to be made explicitly clear what the guidelines are for participants included in the study.
• A statement to confirm Ethics has been obtained by an appropriate ethics committee must be included within the manuscript after the Conclusion and before References, which must provide details of the name of the ethics committee and reference/permit number where available. This will be removed for blind review purposes but is a required addition before publication.

SEI does acknowledge that some studies may be conducted as non-interventional studies with minimal intrusiveness (e.g. surveys that do not require any personal details). In such studies, ethical approval may not be required. SEI also understands that a study may have been granted an exemption by an ethics committee. For both of these cases, the author(s) will still be required to include an Ethics statement in the Methodology section indicating that ethics was not required and provide the reason(s). Similarly, the article will still require and Ethics statement after the Conclusion and before the References that includes the name of the ethics committee which provided this exemption and the reasons why ethics was not required.

Author(s) should adhere to non-stigmatizing and non-discriminatory language when describing different groups, such as: Race, Ethnicity, Age, Ability, Religion, Gender, and Sexual orientation. If participants need to be described by a particular grouping, this must to be explained withing the article.

Consent to Publish

As part of the ethical considerations, author(s) need to ensure that part of the Informed Consent provided by all participants includes their understanding that research material obtained may lead to publication. Participants must be aware of how this material will be altered for possible publication while not distorting the scholarly meaning, such as: Anonymised data, Pseudonyms, etc.

Author(s) should obtain written informed consent, however, if only verbal informed consent was obtained, author(s) will need to include a full explanation for why as part of the Ethics Statement to be included after the Conclusion and before the References

Consent to publish identifiable information

SEI acknowledges that in some cases, articles may include identifiable information such as: Photographs, Illustrations, Images, etc. If there is any identifiable information included, this may be noted as part of the informed consent provided by participants. Please be aware that for participants under the legal age (as determined by your country or appropriate ethics committee) or anyone who is not able to provide their own informed consent this will require informed consent from their parental or legal guardian. In the event a participant has passed away this may be provided by their legal aged next of kin.

In the case of publishing identifiable information, the consent to publish should note that the article was shared with the individual or all identifiable participants so that they are able to provide informed consent. For those participants underaged or unable to provide their own informed consent, the parent or legal guardian must be provided with this material before publication to provide their informed consent.

Author(s) must include as part of the Ethics statement after the Conclusions and before the References, a Consent to Publish Identifiable Information has been obtained and who granted this consent to publish. If necessary, author(s) must be prepared to provide copies of signed consent forms to the Editor.

Research involving animals, plants, and heritage sites

SEI publishes on a wide range of science related issues and topics as it seeks to support the teaching of science across all years (Early Childhood Education through Tertiary Study) and subject areas (e.g., Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Socioscientific Issues, etc.). As such, some articles may include animals, plants, or heritage sites.

• A statement to confirm Ethics has been obtained by an appropriate Animal Ethics committee must be included within the manuscript after the Conclusion and before References, which must provide details of the name of the ethics committee and reference/permit number where available. This will be removed for blind review purposes but is a required addition before publication.
• A statement to confirm Ethics has been obtained for Research Using Plants (either cultivated or wild) by the appropriate institutional, national, or international ethics committee must be included within the manuscript after the Conclusion and before References, which must provide details of the name of the ethics committee and reference/permit number where available. This will be removed for blind review purposes but is a required addition before publication.
• A statement to confirm any necessary Permits for Access to any heritage sites has been obtained by an appropriate governing organisation must be included within the manuscript after the Conclusion and before References, which must provide details of the name of the appropriate governing organisation which has provided authorisation to access the heritage site.

Biosafety, biosecurity, and emerging biotechnology

SEI journal will only consider research which has been carried out in compliance with institutional biosafety and biosecurity policies, which in turn should be informed by national or international recommendations.

• A statement to confirm Ethics has been obtained by the appropriate institutional, national, or international ethics committee must be included within the manuscript after the Conclusion and before References, which must provide details of the name of the ethics committee and reference/permit number where available. This will be removed for blind review purposes but is a required addition before publication.