Ethical code

Aims and Scope

diid is an open access, peer-reviewed scientific design journal edited by Bologna University Press since 2021. The journal was founded in 2002.

diid –– disegno industriale industrial design is an open access and peer-reviewed scientific journal. The Journal’s Code of Conduct is inspired by the ethical rules of conduct and standards indicated by COPE (Committee on Publication ethics) in the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (available on the following web page).

Therefore, the Journal takes all possible precautions and measures against potential negligence to guarantee best practices from an ethical perspective.

This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access. The journal is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike (CC BY-NC-SA).

The ethics of publication and best practices are made explicit, shared and pursued by all the involved actors: Editors (Scientific Direction), Scientific Board, Guest Editors, Editorial Staff, Authors, Reviewers, and Publisher.

The Editors guarantee that the development of the editorial product complies with the guidelines envisaged in the SDG 2030 Agenda and the Goals of Sustainable Development as defined by the UN.

The Journal accepts papers and original submissions that the authors declare have not been published and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
The Journal accepts papers in English, whilst reviews are also accepted in Italian.

The Journal uses double-blind peer review as the primary method of selection of articles, which can be waived only in exceptional cases and giving notice of it at the time of publication. The rules relating to the review process are presented in this document.

The Journal promotes research independence, condemns plagiarism and copyright infringement, requests and promotes the publication of original contributions based on rigorous data, takes action to correct errors in published articles.

Publication frequency

The Journal publishes three issues per year.

Section Policies

This journal operates a double anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor's decision is final. Editors are not involved in decisions about papers which they have written themselves or have been written by family members or colleagues or which relate to products or services in which the editor has an interest. Any such submission is subject to all of the journal's usual procedures, with peer review handled independently of the relevant editor and their research groups.

After the submission

Articles are first reviewed internally by the respective acting editor (Editor-in-Chief or Associate Editor). If the article fulfils the submission requirements, then an anonymised version is sent to two external reviewers. The peer-review process is overseen by the acting editor, and if necessary (e.g. in case of dispute between reviewers), the acting editor consults a member of the advisory editorial board.
This journal uses double anonymised review, meaning the authors' identities are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa. To facilitate this, the Editorial Staff ensures that the submitted manuscripts are thoroughly anonymised by the Associate Editor and uploaded on the OJS system before being sent to peer review.

Reviewers are required to evaluate the article normally within 20-30 days. As soon as they provide their feedback, the acting editor produces a report enclosing the editors' and reviewers’ comments and outlining the next steps for the authors. If reviewers require minor or major revisions, then the remaining review process carries on only in collaboration with the Associate Editor, who ensures that all necessary amendments are addressed in the revised submission of the article.

Once a manuscript is accepted for publication, it is proofread by the Linguistic Editor and is copy-edited. A final proof copy is sent to the authors giving the opportunity for a final check prior to its publication. Authors are expected to return their final proof comments within 7 days.

Categories of Article Contribution

Research and Experimentation Papers (20,000-25,000 characters)

This journal focuses on the concept of design and its relevance to a diverse audience consisting of design researchers, educators, and practitioners. We encourage the submission of original, scientific, and scholarly research papers that explore various aspects of the design process or contribute to the advancement and practical application of new knowledge in this field.

The papers should be written in a way that can be easily understood and relevant to a wide range of readers from different design domains. In order to be suitable for publication in this journal, a paper should provide fresh insights or knowledge about the design process or contribute to developing new designing processes.

Prior to submitting your paper, please ensure that your topic and study align with the goals and scope of the journal.

Conversation Pieces/Interviews (15,000-25,000 characters)

A Conversation piece or interview should primarily focus on thought-provoking and engaging topics within the realm of design. It should serve as a platform for exploring innovative ideas, challenging conventional thinking, and initiating meaningful discussions within the design community. Conversation pieces can delve into emerging trends, ethical considerations, social impact, or philosophical aspects of design. These publications should aim to spark intellectual curiosity, encourage dialogue, and inspire new perspectives and approaches in the field of design.

Reportages (7,000-15,000 characters)

For reportages and case study papers, it is recommended to adhere to the guidelines outlined for research papers, exhibiting a similar level of academic rigour. However, these papers should centre on specific instances of designing, delving deeper into particular cases. Case studies must offer fresh perspectives or knowledge concerning the design process and should be grounded in relevant theories and literature, including those previously published in the journal. Multimedia and innovative publications are welcomed.

Review Papers (7,000 – 10,000 characters)

Reviews publications should primarily focus on providing critical evaluations, discussions, and insights related to the design field. Reviews can offer an assessment of existing works, such as books, articles, or design projects, providing a comprehensive analysis and offering recommendations or critiques. These publications can serve as platforms for open discussions, debates, and exchanges of ideas within the design community as well as foster dialogue, share perspectives, and address emerging trends or issues in the design field.

Article Processing Charges (APC)

The Journal has no charges for submissions or publication.

Duties of Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board

After consultation with the Scientific Committee, the Editor-in-chief, Deputy Editor-in-chief, and Guest Editors are responsible for deciding whether to publish or not the proposed articles. The Editor-in-chief shall consult with the peer-reviewers to decide.

Correctness

The Editors, Guest Editors and the Scientific Board evaluate the proposed articles for publication based on originality, congruence with the design field, scientific rigour, relationship to literature, methodology, results and conclusions, without any form of discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, the scientific, academic and political orientation of the authors.

The articles accepted by the Scientific Direction in accordance with the Guest Editors are evaluated by anonymous Reviewers through a double-blind peer review. The journal aim is to publish the best research across a wide range of scientific fields, which means it has to be highly selective. Most submissions are declined without being sent out for peer review. The first stage for a newly submitted Article is that the editorial staff consider whether to send it for peer-review.

The publication of the articles is subjected to any change required by the Authors, along with the changes required by the peer-reviewers and the final opinion of the Scientific Direction and Guest Editors.

The publication process guarantees articles being edited in open access mode on the online platform diid.it and the issues are available to the audience both in digital version and in print available on the Publisher’s website: BUP. Only in exceptional cases the full paper can be accepted, reviewed and a shorter version published in the printed form of the Journal, and the total contribution made available on the digital version.

How to raise a concern

Anyone who believes that research published in diid disegno industriale industrial design journal has not been carried out in line with these principles should raise their concerns with the journal's editorial office or email the Press at editorialstaff@diid.it.

Confidentiality

The Scientific Direction, Guest Editors and all Editorial Staff or Scientific Board members must refrain from revealing any information about the articles submitted for review before the eventual publication or the explicit rejection.

Conflict of interest and disclosure

Unpublished materials and the contents of the submissions can be used for research purposes neither by the Scientific Direction nor by the Guest Editors or members of the Board, without the author's express written consent, before the eventual publication.

Duties for Authors

The Journal accepts papers and original submissions that have not been published and are not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
The authors must respect the following ethical principles: originality and prohibition of plagiarism; absence of conflict of interest; disclosure of any research funding linked to the submitted materials; the submission of the same contribution to other journals during the evaluation phase is prohibited; the submission of already published materials to the Journal is not allowed unless authorised by the Editors or the Scientific Direction; timely reporting of errors in submitted contributions; a correct indication of sources; veracity of submitted data.

It is the Editors’ responsibility to check the frequency of content publication with the same author or co-author. Therefore, it is customary to withhold worthy contributions from recently published authors to publish them in the following year. This rule is not valid in the case of authors invited by the Editors on topics related to his expertise and well-known scientific activity.

Compliance with the Guidelines

Authors shall comply with the editorial guidelines for submitting an article to the Journal.

Sources

Authors shall always provide the correct identification of sources and contributions mentioned in the article by quoting the works that have mainly influenced the content submitted for publication. Proper accreditation of others’ scientific work shall always be guaranteed and explicit.

Originality and plagiarism

Authors shall guarantee original scientific contributions, ensuring that the submitted article has never been published elsewhere or by others. The proposed manuscripts must not have been published as copyrighted material in other journals or volumes. Manuscripts subjected to Journal review should not be submitted to other journals for publication.

Authorship of work

The authorship of the work must be limited to those who have contributed significantly to the conception, writing and interpretation of research content.
The Corresponding Author (who interacts with the Editors) must guarantee that all Co-authors are properly included, have supervised and approved the final version of the work, and is responsible for the agreement of all authors to the journal’s open access, ethical, and if applicable, data sharing policies.
Any additional contributors to the research presented in the article may be mentioned by the Authors in a final note of the article, along with a note of thanks.
Author names will be listed in the article in the same order that authors are listed in the submission. A determination of plagiarism by the Editors will require contacting the corresponding author’s institution and possibly funding agencies. If plagiarism is determined post-publication, the journal will investigate potential courses of action, up to and including formal retraction of the article.

Retraction Statement

Journal editors will consider retraction if an article is determined to have clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct or honest error, a Notice of Retraction will be attached to all versions of the article on the diid website and related bibliographic databases. For full Retraction Guidelines, please visit the following COPE webpage: COPE Retraction Guidelines

Conflict of interest and disclosure

Authors must guarantee that no competing interest could influence the results obtained by the research or the proposed interpretation. Perceptions of conflict of interest are as important as actual conflicts of interest. Authors must declare all the financial support for their research.

Financial relationships (such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership or options, honoraria, patents, and paid expert testimony) are the most easily identifiable conflicts of interest and the most likely to undermine the credibility of the journal, the authors, and of science itself. However, conflicts can occur for other reasons, such as personal relationships or rivalries, academic competition, and intellectual beliefs. Authors should avoid entering into agreements with study sponsors, both for-profit and non-profit, that interfere with authors’ access to all the study’s data or that interfere with their ability to analyze and interpret the data and to prepare and publish manuscripts independently when and where they choose.

To report a conflict of interest, please fill out the Disclosure of Interest form and return it to the diid editorial office.

Errors in the published articles

If the Author identifies a significant error or relevant inaccuracy in the submitted article, the Author must promptly notify the Scientific Direction and the Editorial Staff, providing all the information necessary to make clarifications and corrections to the case.

In case of dispute

Anyone who finds violations of the above rules can raise the issue with the Editors of the Journal. The Editors, with the contribution of the Scientific Board, will respond to the request within 30 days. Where necessary, the Editors and the Scientific Board may avail themselves of the opinion of specially qualified external individuals. The decisions of the Editors and the Scientific Board will always be motivated. Any retraction of a publication will be accompanied by a complete and public motivation of the action taken.

Permission and Release for publication

The Author grants to diid –– disegno industrial industrial design the Journal all copyright of the contribution, which term shall include all tables, diagrams, photographs and other material supplied by the Author, which will be part of the journal including but not limited to the right to publish, republish, transmit, sell, distribute and otherwise use the Contribution and the material contained therein in electronic and print editions.
Relinquishment of usage rights applies exclusively to the Contribution and the journal hereby described.
The Author guarantees that:

• he has full power and authority to make this Agreement;
• he is the sole author and owner of all rights in the Contribution and have full power to convey the rights granted;
• the Contribution does not infringe any copyright or other rights of any party;
• the Contribution does not contain matter that is obscene, defamatory, objectionable, indecent, of a libellous or scandalous nature or that violates any party’s civil rights, rights of privacy or publicity, or other legal rights, or that is otherwise unlawful;
• if the Contribution reproduces any textual, graphic, or photographic material that is the property of any other party and for which permission is required for the Publisher to exercise any of the rights granted hereby, I have obtained written consent from all such parties covering the exercise of such rights by the Publisher.

The Author shall indemnify and keep indemnified the Publisher from and against any loss, cost, injury or damage (including any legal costs or expenses property incurred) arising as a result of a breach or alleged breach of any of the warranties contained in the Permission and Release Form.
The diid Permission and Release Form for publication may be downloaded from our site here and send along with the manuscript.

Duties for Reviewers

Contribution to the editorial decision

Acceptance of articles for publication is subject to a double-blind peer review. Independent, anonymous Reviewers are chosen based on their specific competence and research fields.
Reviewers help the Scientific Directions, and the Guest Editors reach a final editorial decision through the double-blind peer-review procedure. They must suggest to the Authors, through the mediation of the Journal’s Staff, corrections aiming to improve the manuscript.
Submissions received within the deadline will be subjected to the first consultation among Editors, Guest Editors and the Scientific Board; subsequently, contributions will be subjected to the revision of two anonymous reviewers (single-blind peer review) with respect to specific criteria of evaluation, such as originality, congruence with the design field, scientific rigour, relationship to literature, methodology, results and conclusions.
Once reviewers’ evaluations are submitted for each paper, Editors and Guest Editors will consider the evaluations and shall communicate the result to the author.

Reviewers’ work is voluntary and free.
Reviewers shall:

Be adequately qualified and prepared in relation to the topics addressed in the papers.

Accept to review the papers.

Guarantee that there are no conflicts of interest.

Carry out an objective and impartial review.

Ensure the confidentiality of data and information.

The list of reviewers will be published on the journal’s website.
The result of the Review is communicated to the Journal by filling in a specific form, with the addition of any comments. The evaluation result can be accepted, accepted with minor revisions, accepted with major revisions, or rejected.

Following the review process and the evaluation by the Editors and Scientific Board, some manuscripts may be rejected or published later.

Compliance with time schedule

Reviewers must promptly communicate to the Editors whether they don’t feel adequate for the mission or are not able to carry out a reading evaluation within the required timeframe.

Confidentiality

Each submission must be considered confidential; therefore, these manuscripts must not be discussed or evaluated with other persons without the explicit consent of the Editor-in-Chief.

The stringency of the peer-review

The review (peer-review) of the contents must be conducted rigorously.
Reviewers shall explicit and justify the expressed reviews adequately.
Reviewers must notify the Editor-in-Chief of any analogy and similarities with other works of the received submissions.
Reviewers hereby undertake to accurately indicate any bibliographic details regarding works on which the article is based that the author may have omitted.

Conflict of interest and disclosure

The double-blind peer review is based on the assurance of the Reviewers’ anonymity for the Author.
Reviewers are required to disclose any potential competing interests before agreeing to review a submission.
All information and guidance obtained during the peer-review process must be considered confidential and may not be used for other purposes.

Copyright Notice

The Authors grant to the Journal all copyright in and to the submitted contribution, including but not limited to the right to publish, republish, transmit, sell, distribute and otherwise use the Contribution and the material contained therein in electronic and print editions. Relinquishment of usage rights applies exclusively to the Contribution and the journal hereby described. 

All Authors must sign the permission and release form to be sent as an attachment to the submission or via email to the Editorial Staff.

Authors must acquire the exclusive rights of reproduction and distribution from the images’ rights holders, filling the Permission Form available at the submission page on platform diid.it. The same Permission Form allows the Publisher to acquire from the authors the right to reproduce all the texts in the printed version of the journal, available at the Publisher’s website (https://buponline.com/riviste/).

License for Published Contents and Open Access Policy

All Authors are aware that their works are released in open access mode on the online platform diid.it, under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike (CC BY-NC-SA).

Digital Archiving Policy

diid Journal has electronic backup and preservation of access to the content of its journals via PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN).



PKP has developed the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) to digitally preserve OJS journals. The LOCKSS program offers decentralized and distributed preservation, seamless perpetual access, and preservation of the authentic original version of the content. The PKP PN ensures that journals that are not part of any other digital preservation service (such as CLOCKSS or Portico) can be preserved for long-term access.

diid.disegno industrial industrial design Journal encourages the Authors to upload their articles in Open Access and extended form after publication in the Journal — to databases, personal, institutional and scientific disclosure websites, declaring that the contribution was published in the Journal.

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