Encounters in Translation is a Diamond Open Access, double-blind peer-reviewed journal. This document sets out our policies and procedures to safeguard research integrity in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

Authorship and contributorship

Authorship is limited to those who have all four of the following: (i) substantial contribution to conception/design, data collection, or analysis/interpretation; (ii) drafting or critical revision; (iii) final approval; and (iv) accountability for the work. Ghost, gift, or guest authorship is prohibited.

Authors are encouraged to consult the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) when describing individual contributions in the manuscript. Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be justified in writing and approved by all co-authors; editors may seek institutional verification.

Complaints & appeals

Send complaints or appeals to the following addresses:

• encounters-editors@groupes.renater.fr (editorial matters)

• encounters@groupes.renater.fr (general)

We will:

• acknowledge within two weeks;

• provide an initial assessment within four weeks; and

• issue a reasoned outcome or next-steps timeline within eight weeks.

Appeals of editorial decisions are reviewed by an editor uninvolved in the original decision and, where appropriate, an independent associate editor or external reviewer.

Allegations of misconduct

We follow COPE flowcharts for suspected misconduct, including plagiarism (and self-plagiarism), duplicate submission/publication, citation manipulation, data or image fabrication/falsification, peer-review manipulation, undisclosed competing interests, and unethical research. Steps may include: evidence gathering; author reply with specified timelines; consultation with institutions/funders; and outcomes ranging from correction to retraction or editorial note. Whistleblowers’ identities are protected to the extent legally possible. All submissions undergo plagiarism screening; image/data checks may be requested at any stage.

Conflicts of interest (COI)

Authors must declare financial and non-financial COIs (funding, employment, consultancies, ownership, personal/professional relationships). Reviewers must decline if a COI exists (financial stake, or personal relationship). Editors recuse in case of COI and have no role in decisions on their own submissions.

Data sharing & reproductibility

We encourage open data to support verification and reuse. When appropriate, authors may include a Data Availability Statement describing where supporting data/materials can be accessed (e.g., corpora, aligned texts, code, anonymized transcripts, protocols), any restrictions (IP, consent, cultural sensitivity), and access procedures if not public. Datasets should be cited with persistent identifiers where possible.

Ethical oversight

For studies involving humans (including interviews, surveys, user studies, or sensitive archives), authors must state ethics committee/IRB approval (or explain why none was required) and confirm informed consent, confidentiality/anonymization, and risk mitigation—particularly for vulnerable groups and culturally sensitive materials. When research occurs without formal IRBs (e.g., certain institutions/jurisdictions), authors must demonstrate adherence to recognized international norms.

Intellectual property & licensing

All content is published under CC BY-SA 4.0. Authors retain copyright; Encounters in Translation is the first publisher. Reuse must credit the author(s) and Encounters in Translation, include full citation and DOI, and apply the same license. Authors must secure permission for third-party materials not covered by fair use/dealing. Reviewers must keep manuscripts confidential and may not use unpublished material.

Use of artificial intelligence tools

Authors should disclose any use of AI tools during the research or writing process. This disclosure should specify which tools were used and describe their purpose within the methodology section.

A suggested disclosure format is: ‘During the preparation of this work, the author(s) utilised [AI TOOL NAME] to assist with [SPECIFIC PURPOSE, e.g., literature review, language editing, data analysis]. The author(s) subsequently reviewed and edited all AI-generated content for accuracy and appropriateness, and accept full accountability for the final published work.’

Standard policies regarding copyrights, intellectual property and plagiarism remain in effect regardless of AI involvement.

AI systems cannot be credited with authorship, as they do not meet the criteria for accountability and responsibility required of authors, and therefore should not be listed as such.

Post-publication discussion

We welcome scholarly dialogue via letters to the editor and commentaries on published articles. Proposals should be sent to encounters-editors@groupes.renater.fr within 6 months of publication and will be peer-reviewed proportionately to content. Author replies may be invited. Accepted items are linked to the target article and vice versa.

Corrections, expressions of concern & retractations

We maintain the integrity of the record in line with COPE guidance.

Corrections (Errata): for errors that do not invalidate findings.

Addenda: for important clarifications or updates.

Expressions of Concern: when serious doubts exist pending investigation.

Retractions: for unreliable findings, major misconduct, compromised review, or rights breaches.

All notices are free to read, bi-directionally linked to the article, carry clear reasons and responsible party, and trigger metadata/DOI updates and notifications to indexers as appropriate.

Safeguarding the scholarly record

Encounters in Translation ensures rigorous double-blind peer review, editorial independence, transparent policies, and ongoing monitoring of publication ethics. We do not charge submission or publication fees (Diamond OA).

Contact

General & submissions: encounters@groupes.renater.fr

Editorial matters: encounters-editors@groupes.renater.fr

Publisher: Association rencontres en traduction (Nice, France)

Last updated: 11 November 2025