DORA Policy

San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) Policy

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to align Synergy Publication (spublication.in) with the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). By endorsing DORA, Synergy Publication commits to responsible research evaluation practices that prioritize the quality and intrinsic impact of scholarly work over journal-based metrics.

Commitments

In accordance with DORA’s core recommendations for journals and publishers, Synergy Publication adheres to the following commitments across all its managed journals:

1. De-emphasize Journal-Based Metrics: We avoid using journal-based metrics (such as the Journal Impact Factor) as a surrogate measure of the quality of individual research articles or to evaluate an individual scientist’s contributions.
2. Provide Article-Level Metrics: We provide and promote article-level metrics (such as citations, downloads, and page views) to accurately reflect the reach, usage, and specific impact of individual published works.
3. Encourage Responsible Citation: We encourage authors and reviewers to practice responsible citation, prioritizing primary research literature over review articles where appropriate to ensure fair credit.
4. Open Reference Metadata: We support the open availability of citation data, working towards releasing reference list metadata publicly to support initiatives like the Initiative for Open Citations (I4OC).
5. No Arbitrary Reference Limits: We do not impose artificial limits on the number of references in research articles, allowing authors to comprehensively cite all foundational work.
6. Promote Transparency in Authorship: We encourage clear author contribution statements and the use of standardized taxonomies (such as CRediT) to transparently highlight individual contributor roles.
7. Support Open Science: We advocate for open science practices, including data sharing, code availability, and reproducibility standards to enhance research integrity.
8. Recognize Diverse Research Outputs: We recognize datasets, software, protocols, and policy contributions as valid, valuable forms of scholarly output alongside traditional articles.
9. Ensure Editorial Independence: Our peer-review and editorial decisions are based solely on the quality, methodology, and relevance of the research, completely independent of commercial or metric-driven influences.
10. Regular Assessment Updates: We actively review and upgrade our editorial practices to stay aligned with evolving international standards for responsible research evaluation.

Policy Review

This policy is periodically reviewed by the editorial board of Synergy Publication to ensure continuous compliance with DORA principles and global best practices in research assessment.