October 18, 2024

Historical Inquiry is an esteemed peer-reviewed academic journal hosted by the Department of History, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. The journal aims to promote the development of historical study and to offer innovative perspectives on all sub-specialties of history, including social, cultural, political, economic, and intellectual. Since its first issue in 1974, Historical Inquiry has published the highest-quality scholarship on Chinese and Taiwanese histories. To uphold our estimable academia, Historical Inquiry is committed to promoting rigorous ethical practices for all the parties involved in the publication of each issue. The following statement outlines the essential general responsibilities of authors, editors, reviewers, and journal/publisher staff members. Unlisted areas of concern can be addressed by referring and adhering to the Best Practice Guidelines advocated by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, website: https://publicationethics.org/).

Modus Operandi
Historical Inquiry is a semi-annual, non-profit, peer-reviewed academic journal with free open online access. The publication of the journal is subsidized by the National Taiwan University, and the editorial board functions sans financial compensation. For each issue, both the physical and digital formats are published simultaneously (in June and December). Online access is provided by the National Taiwan University Journal Database (http://ejournal.press.ntu.edu.tw/index.php).

Publisher
The publisher is responsible for publishing open access and print editions of the journal and ensuring the publication process is properly conducted in accordance with relevant intellectual property and copyright regulations.

Editors
The editorial board and staff (henceforth the editorial team) are responsible for a fair and confidential double-blind peer review process for eligible manuscript submissions.
Publication decisions will be solely based on the academic merits of the manuscript according to the peer review results with no preference towards or prejudice against the gender, sexuality, religiosity, ideology, ethnicity or nationality of the author. The editorial team should observe the confidentiality concerning the contents of submitted manuscripts, and members should fully disclose any conflict of interest and excuse their involvement in pertinent cases. Plagiarism in submissions will not be tolerated and the editorial team will actively verify the integrity of each submission. Should misconduct be detected or reported before or after publication, the editorial team would investigate and act accordingly, this includes, imposing an embargo or rejecting future submission from author(s) identified with plagiarism or other misconduct, as well as reporting verified misconducts to the proper authorities to pursue legal actions.

Reviewers
The reviewers are responsible for providing an objective and critical academic assessment of the manuscript submission in order to inform the editorial team’s publication decisions. The content of the manuscript must be treated with confidentiality and any conflicts of interest should be announced in advance. Where possible, a reviewer should assess the potential merits and issues of the manuscript as well as identify relevant published work not referenced by the author, especially the ones that substantially overlap the content of the manuscript. Reviews are expected to be completed in the allotted time-frame, and should refrain from personal criticisms.

Authors
The responsibility of the author(s) is to submit an original work without plagiarism that has not been published or is not being considered for publication elsewhere for the entirety of the review and publishing process. Authors should be fully aware of the applicable copyright laws and academic conventions for their manuscript submissions. Authors should ensure the manuscript follows the submission guidelines of Historical Inquiry, as any deviation or breach of the guidelines might result in the submission being returned or rejected. Proper citation and references in the Chicago-style is expected in the manuscript, and failure to acknowledge substantial sources could be construed as plagiarism. Authors are also expected to disclose conflict of interest at the time of submission, this includes funding bodies and/or personal/professional relations with members of the editorial team. Authorship is limited to individuals with significant contributions to the research and/or composition of the manuscript, and fraudulent claims will not be tolerated. Manuscripts with multiple authors must be approved by all co-authors prior to submission, and the same applies to each revision and finalized draft. Authors are responsible for providing timely revisions as well as corresponding cordially to the editorial team. In case of significant errors or inaccuracies being discovered during or after the publication process, it is the responsibility of the author to promptly notify the editorial team. In addition to securing legal permissions to reproduce any diagrams, illustrations and/or extracts prior to publication, authors are also responsible for any reproduction or permission fees incurred in their article. Authors are not charged with any publication fees and are compensated with two complementary copies of the issue in which their article is published and twenty complimentary offprints of the said article.

Peer Review Process
All submissions are initially screened by the editorial team, and the eligible ones are then sent to two experts (recommended by the editorial board) in related fields for double-blind reviews. Borderline or ambiguous cases are sent to a third reviewer. All reviews are verified and assessed by the editorial board before the acceptance vote. Accepted manuscripts undergo rigorous editing prior to publication. The above process is to ensure an objective and fair peer review. As Historical Inquiry is dedicated to preserving the standards of our publications, we encourage our editors and peer reviewers to familiarize themselves with and act in accordance with COPE’s Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers. We both expect and support our reviewers and editors to raise issues concerning fraudulent or manipulated peer review and are fully committed to maintaining the confidentiality of participants in the double-blind peer review process.

Authorship and Contributorship
While other disciplines and publication formats may have different qualifications for who is listed as an author, authorship in Historical Inquiry is limited to individuals with significant contributions to the research and/or composition of the manuscript. Historical Inquiry fully advocates transparency in authorship and contributorship, and no fraudulent claims of authorship are tolerated. Contributors of major or minor concepts and other areas of importance can be listed in an acknowledgements section. Besides the abovementioned criteria, all other authorship disputes shall be resolved by complying with COPE.

Conflicts of Interest and Competing Interests
Members of the editorial team should fully disclose any conflict of interest and excuse their involvement in pertinent cases. Reviewers are expected to treat the content of the manuscript with confidentiality and any conflicts of interest or competing interest should be announced prior to conducting the review. No part of the manuscript may be appropriated for the editorial team’s or any reviewers’ personal gain in academic or other relevant fields.

Data Sharing and Reproducibility
In the event of manuscripts or publications involving experiments, digital information, or computation, the author is responsible for providing detailed records and data to verify the methodology and to ensure that the results are reproducible. Failure to provide sufficient data would result in the rejection of the manuscript or the retraction of the said publication.

Ethical Oversight
We encourage our editorial team and peer reviewers to familiarise themselves with and act in accordance with COPE’s Best Practice guidelines. All participants in the publication process are invited to raise and report any malpractice or ethical issues in the review or publication process. This can be done by emailing the journal: ntuhistin@ntu.edu.tw. Any complaints and issues will be investigated by the editorial team and reviewed jointly by the editorial board sans the parties under conflict of interest. Historical Inquiry does not make light of any ethical issues and will proceed with each case in accordance with the guidelines laid down by COPE.

Intellectual Property
Historical Inquiry acknowledges that the intellectual rights of published articles reside in the authors and will not be reprinted or republished outside of the author’s agreement without permission. The authors have to secure legal permissions to reproduce any diagrams, illustrations and/or extracts prior to publication and are also responsible for any reproduction or permission fees incurred in their article. Plagiarisms of any kind and across any media are not permitted or tolerated in Historical Inquiry. Plagiarism is grounds for rejection during the peer review process and for post-publication retraction. We welcome any readers and expect any individuals involved in the review and publication process to report any suspicions of plagiarism by emailing: ntuhistin@ntu.edu.tw or contacting any of our editors.

Complaints and Appeals
All complaints and appeals can be made by emailing ntuhistin@ntu.edu.tw. All reports will be documented and recorded, and each case will be investigated by the editorial team. The editorial will report to the editorial board, who will be responsible for the final vote and decision on each individual complaint or appeal. In the event of verified misconduct or malpractice, the following actions will be pursued accordingly:
• impose an embargo or rejecting future submission from authors identified with
plagiarism or other misconduct.
• reject manuscripts in the review process.
• retract published articles in question.
• remove any unfit personnel from the editorial team.
• prohibit reviewers from future peer review process.
• report said misconducts to the proper authorities to pursue legal actions.

Post-publication Corrections
The editorial team at Historical Inquiry is dedicated to providing verified scholarly publication that is original and accurate. Despite our best efforts, error might still exist in the final publication. Therefore, Historical Inquiry is open to retraction and corrections in line with COPE’s Retraction Guidelines. A corrigendum will be issued when an author is found to have made an error, and an erratum will be issued if an error is made by the editorial team. Articles that contain deliberate plagiarism and/or are seriously flawed can result in retractions. The editorial team will actively investigate issues of errors and plagiarism. The final decision for retractions and corrections lies in the editorial board, who will act in compliance with COPE’s guidelines. Authors or readers can email ntuhistin@ntu.edu.tw or contact any of our editors to report potential errors or plagiarisms.