Spectrum of Mechanical Engineering and Operational Research (SMEOR) supports open, constructive, and evidence-based academic debate as an essential part of scholarly communication. The journal welcomes reasoned discussion, critique, and commentary concerning research published in SMEOR.
Readers, authors, and other members of the scholarly community may submit correspondence commenting on, questioning, or discussing articles published in the journal. Correspondence may address the methodology, data, analysis, interpretation, conclusions, reproducibility, or broader scholarly implications of published research.
Correspondence should be academically relevant, evidence-based, professionally expressed, and focused on the scholarly content of the work. Personal criticism, defamatory or discriminatory statements, unsupported allegations, or correspondence that does not contribute meaningfully to academic discussion will not be considered for publication.
Correspondence submitted for publication will be subject to editorial assessment and, where appropriate, may undergo independent peer review.
The decision to publish correspondence rests with the journal. Submissions will be assessed according to their scholarly relevance, evidentiary basis, clarity, professionalism, and contribution to academic discussion.
The journal may edit accepted correspondence for clarity, length, style, or legal and ethical considerations, provided that such editing does not materially alter the author's scholarly argument.
Where SMEOR considers publishing substantive correspondence concerning a published article, the author(s) of the original article will normally be given an opportunity to review the relevant comments and submit a response within a reasonable period.
Authors are not required to respond and may choose not to do so. Authors do not, however, have the right to prevent publication of legitimate scholarly criticism or commentary solely because they disagree with it or consider it unfavourable.
Where appropriate, the journal may publish the correspondence together with the authors' response so that readers can consider the relevant scholarly arguments in context.
SMEOR recognizes post-publication discussion as an important part of scholarly communication. Questions, comments, criticisms, or concerns relating to published articles may be communicated directly to the Editorial Office or discussed through appropriate independent scholarly platforms.
Discussion occurring on external platforms does not constitute formal journal correspondence or an editorial determination by SMEOR. However, the journal may consider credible and sufficiently substantiated concerns that come to its attention through public post-publication discussion.
The existence of criticism or disagreement alone does not establish that a published article contains an error or that research or publication misconduct has occurred. Any concern requiring editorial action will be assessed on the basis of the available evidence and the journal's applicable policies.
Academic disagreement concerning methods, theoretical assumptions, interpretation, analysis, or conclusions does not, by itself, constitute evidence of research or publication misconduct.
Where correspondence identifies a potentially significant factual error or inaccuracy in a published article, the matter will be considered under the journal's Accuracy policy.
Where correspondence raises a credible concern involving possible research or publication misconduct rather than ordinary scholarly disagreement, the matter will be considered under the journal's Unethical Behaviour policy.
Where post-publication discussion identifies an issue requiring formal action affecting the published scholarly record, any Correction, Expression of Concern, Retraction, or other appropriate action will be handled in accordance with the journal's Retraction and Correction Policies.
The purpose of such action is to maintain the accuracy, transparency, reliability, and integrity of the scholarly record while preserving legitimate academic debate and differences of scholarly interpretation.
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