Australian Biblical Review Ethical Standards Statement

1. Peer review
   1. All articles submitted to Australian Biblical Review (hereafter: ABR) will be subjected to peer review by suitably qualified readers. Should the reviewers disagree in their recommendation whether to publish the article, the editor will make a final determination on the basis of the feedback received.
   2. If the editors determine that an article submission does not meet the appropriate standards of research or presentation, the editors reserve the right to reject the article or return it to be revised before sending it for peer-review.
   3. The appointment of peer reviewers will be determined on the basis of academic merit. Reviewers must be suitably qualified experts of good academic standing, who will be able to exercise reasoned and informed judgement about the significance and suitability of the article in relation to the field of biblical studies.
   4. Whenever practicable, ABR employs a ‘double blind’ peer review process, in which the identities of the author and reviewer are not revealed to one another.
   5. ABR respects the privacy of authors and reviewers. The editors will exercise due caution to ensure they protect the anonymity and personal information of all authors and reviewers.
   6. The decision whether to publish book reviews will be at the discretion of the book reviews editor. The book reviews editor may reject reviews or return them to be revised and resubmitted if they are deemed not to meet the required standards.
2. Commitment to Inclusivity and Diversity
   1. ABR is committed to inclusivity and diversity in publication practices. This includes, but is not limited to, the publication of diverse perspectives, regardless of ethnicity, age, gender, career status, or philosophical and religious commitments.
   2. In particular, ABR is committed to ensuring that research which engages with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples respects their legal rights and local laws, customs, and protocols.
   3. The editors acknowledge that unconscious bias can impact editorial processes in various ways and undertake to enact measures to ensure ABR reflects the diversity of the journal’s readership, including, but not limited to, retaining data on numbers of submissions that are received and published and aiming for diversity and overall gender parity in the selection of peer-reviewers.
3. Academic Integrity and Compliance with Australian and International Copyright Law
   1. ABR endorses the principles of responsible research conduct outlined in the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research, 2018 (the Code).
   2. In line with Section 2.3 of the Australian Research Council Research Integrity Policy (June 2019), ABR defines research misconduct as: ‘a serious breach of the Code which is also intentional or reckless or negligent.’
   3. ABR is committed to principles of honesty and transparency. At the time of submission, the author(s) must make all appropriate efforts to ensure information is presented in an unbiased and factually correct manner, and that it contains no material that is defamatory or otherwise unlawful.
   4. ABR respects the intellectual property rights of its authors. The publisher agrees that, after the article has appeared in ABR, the author may allow or cause the article to be reproduced in printed or electronic form, either as originally published in ABR or as revised, provided that prior notice of such reproduction be communicated to the Editors of ABR and that any such reproduction bear notice to the effect that the article originally appeared in such and such an issue of ABR.
   5. ABR is committed to compliance with Australian and international copyright law; however, the ultimate responsibility for copyright compliance remains that of the author(s).
   6. Where appropriate, the editors will seek written evidence that the author(s) have obtained the necessary permissions for the publication of any copyrighted material in the article, whether held by institutions or individuals, and whether previously published or not. The author(s) shall be required to supply such evidence upon request.
   7. The author(s) must ensure that all material contributions to their research, including dependence on published research, is duly acknowledged.
   8. The editors may take steps to check the originality of author(s)’s submissions, including, but not limited to the use of software to check for plagiarism. Cases of suspected misconduct shall be investigated and managed according to the guidelines published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
   9. Author(s) submitting book reviews must ensure that their reviews faithfully and accurately represent the work under review, and that they are free from undue bias and refrain from ad hominem remarks directed toward the work’s author or a third party.
4. Empirical Research and Data Management
   1. Where empirical research engages with living individuals or communities, the author(s) shall provide evidence that ethics approval has been granted by an appropriate body (e.g. the ethics committee of a university or professional organisation).
   2. The author(s) must ensure they have obtained permission from participants for the use of participants’ data in their article prior to submission. Permissions may be documented in the form of written approval or a recording of oral consent. The author(s) should be prepared to supply proof of these permissions to the editors on request.
   3. It is the author(s)’s responsibility to ensure that data is stored in compliance with the guidelines published in the Australian Research Council’s Research Data Management Policy.
5. Publication of Ancient Artefacts
   1. ABR endorses the guidelines for the treatment of antiquities enumerated in section III E of the American Schools of Oriental Research Policy on Professional Conduct (amended November 24, 2019).
6. Responsibilities
   1. It is the responsibility of the editors to ensure these ethical standards are clearly communicated to the author(s).
   2. It is the responsibility of the author(s) to ensure their manuscript complies fully with these ethical standards prior to submission.
   3. Failure to comply with the ethical standards outlined in this document will result in the author(s)’s work being declined or withdrawn from publication by the journal.

Approved by the Executive of the Fellowship for Biblical Studies, 12 August 2021.