Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics Statement for the conference proceedings of PME

The International Group for the Psychology of Mathematics Education (PME) publishes its conference proceedings once a year.

In scientific publishing, it is necessary to follow ethical guidelines. Consequently, authors contributing to the Proceedings of the Conference of PME are required to adhere to the following guidelines.

The following guidelines apply to all submission types for the conference proceedings of PME:

Definition of Authorship

PME considers individuals who meet both of the following two criteria to be authors:

1. Made a significant intellectual contribution to the theoretical development, research design and/or the analysis and interpretation of data associated with the work contained in the paper.

2. Contributed to drafting the paper and/or revising it for intellectual content.

Contributors who meet both of the above criteria are expected to approve the final version of the paper as submitted to the conference organiser, including references.

Contributors who do not meet both of the above criteria may be included in the Acknowledgment section of the paper. Omitting an author who contributed to a paper or including a person who did not fulfil all of the above requirements is considered a breach of publishing ethics.

Proper Citation Practices

Authors should always cite their sources. Citation is required in several instances. Follow these guidelines:

  • Direct quotation: Place verbatim text from another source in quotation marks. Indent text for longer quotes. Include a citation to the original source.
  • Paraphrase or summary: Include a citation when restating or summarising information from another source, including ideas, processes, arguments, or conclusions.
  • Data, research results, information, graphics, or tables: Cite the original source when referring to, adapting, or reusing any information from another source.

Note that the same rules apply to the authors’ own previously published work. When in doubt, include a citation.

Inappropriate Use of Citations

Citing an irrelevant source for the purpose of artificially inflating citation metrics is considered a breach of ethics. Only cite relevant sources that legitimately contribute to one’s paper according to the criteria outlined above.

Avoid Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism

PME defines plagiarism as the use of another’s ideas, processes, results, images or words without explicitly acknowledging the original author and source. Self-plagiarism is defined as the presentation of one’s own, previously published ideas, processes, results, images, or words without explicitly acknowledging the original source.

Plagiarism and self-plagiarism in any form is unacceptable and is considered a serious breach of professional conduct, with potentially severe ethical and legal consequences. Authors are responsible for avoiding plagiarism and self-plagiarism by following proper citation practices noted above.

All papers are automatically checked for plagiarism and self-plagiarism before publication.

Report Data Accurately

Refrain from:

  • Fabrication: Inventing data or results.
  • Falsification: Manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes, or changing or omitting data or results.
  • Image manipulation: Excessive or inappropriate adjustment of an image that alters the scientific meaning of the image.

Corrections, Clarifications, Retractions, and Apologies

PME is aware that authors can make involuntary mistakes in writing their paper. PME encourages authors to timely notify the editors of the proceedings about them. In case a correction, clarification, retraction or apology is needed, the proceedings of the next conference will contain a section dedicated to this kind of text.

The following additional guidelines apply to Research Reports*:

Peer review

Research Reports (RRs) undergo a double-blind peer review process. In particular, they are blindly reviewed by at least two anonymous PME members, a final decision is then taken by the IPC on the blind version of the RR.

Original Research

When submitting your paper for publication as a RR, it must contain original research that has not been published or accepted for publication in English before and is not submitted for publication in English elsewhere while you await a peer review decision. A submission elsewhere is possible only after a final decision on the RR by PME has been taken.

PME recognizes that research often follows an evolutionary publishing process. For example, research may be published first as a conference paper with preliminary findings, and then as a journal article with fully developed research and conclusions. PME approves this process provided that:

  1. The paper undergoes standard peer review every time it is submitted to a conference or journal.
  2. The later version contains further substantial results and scientific insights compared to the earlier version.
  3. The later version cites the earlier version and clearly indicates how the two versions differ.

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* Research Reports (RRs) include also those which are part of a Colloquium (CO).

Download PME Publication Ethics PDF document here