Code of ethics

DigItalia is an open access, peer-reviewed scientific journal. Contributions may be submitted directly by authors or upon the initiative of the Scientific and Editorial Committee. All parties involved — the Editor-in-Chief, authors, editorial staff, committees, and reviewers — acknowledge and share the principles outlined in the following code of ethics.

Duties of the Editor-in-Chief, the Editorial Board, and the Scientific Committee

• Ethics of evaluation: The Editor-in-Chief, the Editorial board, and the Scientific Committee evaluate the manuscripts submitted for publication based on their content, without any discrimination on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, origin, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or political orientation of the authors.
• Editorial decisions: The decision to publish or not to publish the submitted manuscripts rests with the Editor-in-Chief, in collaboration with the editorial board and reviewers. The Editor-in-Chief is ultimately responsible for publication decisions, which must always comply with applicable laws regarding defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.
• Confidentiality: The Editor-in-Chief and Committees undertake not to disclose information about manuscripts under consideration to anyone other than the reviewers prior to publication.
• Integrity and scientific conduct: The Editor-in-Chief, the Editorial board, the Scientific Committee, and anyone who becomes aware of the content of submitted manuscripts undertake not to use that content in their own research before publication without the written consent of the authors.
• Conflict of interest: The Editor-in-Chief, the Committees, and the reviewers commit not to assess manuscripts for which conflicts of interest exist, deriving from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any author or their affiliated institution. Should a conflict of interest arise before or after publication, the journal will promptly activate the relevant management and correction procedures in accordance with international standards (COPE), to safeguard the integrity of the scientific community.

Duties of Authors

• Authors must submit original workand explicitly acknowledge all the sources consulted in their research.
• The manuscript must not have been previously published; moreover, once under review by the journal, it cannot be submitted to other publishers.
• Authors must declare whether their contribution, or parts of it, have been previously presented in another form (conference paper, poster, etc.).
• The accurate and transparent attribution of authorship(limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study) must always be clearly stated. All who made a significant contribution must be listed as co-authors. Upon submission, the corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final version.
• Authors must explicitly declare the absence of conflicts of interestthat may have influenced the results of the research.
• When providing images to accompany the manuscript, authors must declare compliance with all copyright regulations concerning images and tables and confirm that permission has been obtained, where required.
• Should authors detect significant errors or inaccuraciesin their submitted manuscript, they have the duty to promptly inform the Editor-in-Chief or the editorial office and cooperate in retracting or correcting the paper.

Duties of Reviewers

• Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documentsand must not be shown to or discussed with others outside the editorial process.
• Reviews must be completed within the agreed timeframe. If a reviewer is unable to fulfill their assignment promptly, they must inform the editorial office and, if necessary, withdraw from the task.
• Reviews must be carried out with objectivity and impartiality. Evaluation should be based solely on scientific quality, methodology, and the contribution’s relevance, and must be expressed without personal criticism or offense toward the authors. Reviewers must present their opinions clearly and support them with relevant arguments.
• Reviewers must decline to review manuscripts when conflicts of interestexist concerning the subject matter or the authors of the manuscripts assigned.

Use of AI Tools

DigItalia recognizes the potential of artificial intelligence technologies, when used responsibly, to support the work of authors.

However, AI tools must not be used as a substitute for critical thinking, human expertise, or judgment. Such tools should always be applied under human supervision and control. Authors remain fully responsible for their work, for the use of AI tools, and for ensuring the integrity of any process in which these tools are employed, including maintaining confidentiality of any processed information.

Authors who use AI tools are encouraged to include a statement at the end of their contribution, before the final notes or bibliography, indicating which tool was used and for what purpose. The following formula is suggested:

Declaration on the use of AI tools in the preparation of the article.

In the preparation of this work, [NAME OF TOOL] was used for [PURPOSE]. Following the use of this service, the authors reviewed and revised the content as necessary and take full responsibility for the publication.

It is not necessary to declare the use of spelling or grammar checkers.

Material under peer review must be considered confidential. Reviewers are not permitted to upload manuscripts or any part thereof to generative AI tools, as this may violate authors’ confidentiality and intellectual property rights. This confidentiality requirement extends to all communications concerning the reviewed material.