San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)
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Public Endorsement Statement
This policy serves as QuantumWay Journal’s public institutional endorsement of the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and our commitment to responsible research assessment (RRA).
QuantumWay Journal officially became an organizational signatory of the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) in September 2026. As a DORA signatory, we support research assessment practices that evaluate scholarly work based on scientific quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical standards, openness, and societal impact, rather than relying solely on journal-based metrics.
1. Policy Statement
QuantumWay Journal is dedicated to upholding excellence, integrity, fairness, and transparency in scholarly publishing by advancing responsible research assessment. We maintain that research should be evaluated based on scholarly quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical standards, and contribution to knowledge, rather than predominantly on journal-based metrics or institutional reputation.
QuantumWay Journal endorses the principles of DORA and supports internationally recognized best practices for responsible research assessment.
2. Purpose
This policy outlines the principles governing the evaluation, review, and publication of research submitted to QuantumWay Journal. It affirms our commitment to responsible research assessment and applies to all stages of the editorial, peer-review, and publication processes.
3. Guiding Principles
QuantumWay Journal is committed to the following principles of responsible research assessment:
- Assessing manuscripts based on their intrinsic scholarly merit, including originality, methodological rigor, ethical integrity, transparency, and contribution to knowledge.
- Ensuring that editorial decisions are independent, objective, impartial, and evidence-based, free from inappropriate influence by journal-based metrics or institutional prestige.
- Maintaining fairness, transparency, accountability, and confidentiality throughout the editorial and peer review process.
- Promoting the responsible and appropriate use of research metrics, recognizing that bibliometric indicators should complement, but never replace, expert academic judgment.
- Recognizing and valuing diverse forms of scholarly contributions, including interdisciplinary research, data, software, educational resources, and other outputs that advance knowledge and society.
- Upholding the highest standards of research integrity, openness, reproducibility, ethical publishing, and responsible scholarly communication.
- Advancing equitable, inclusive, and accessible scholarly publishing by supporting equal opportunities for researchers regardless of geographical location, institutional affiliation, career stage, or disciplinary background.
4. Responsible Research Assessment
All manuscripts submitted to QuantumWay Journal are evaluated through a fair, objective, transparent, and evidence-based** editorial and peer-review process. Editorial assessment focuses on the **intrinsic scholarly quality and contribution of each manuscript, independent of journal-based metrics or institutional reputation.
Editors and reviewers assess manuscripts using criteria such as:
- Originality, novelty, and innovation
- Scientific and scholarly significance
- Methodological quality and rigor
- Validity and reliability of findings
- Compliance with ethical standards
- Transparency and reproducibility
- Relevance to the journal’s aims and scope
- Contribution to theory, practice, policy, or society
Manuscripts are not evaluated or accepted on the basis of journal-level citation metrics, author reputation, institutional affiliation, nationality, or funding source.
5. Responsible Use of Research Metrics
In accordance with DORA principles, QuantumWay Journal does not use journal-based metrics, including the Journal Impact Factor, as a primary criterion for evaluating individual research outputs or scholarly contributions.
Such metrics shall not be used as the primary basis for:
- Editorial decisions on manuscript acceptance or rejection
- Evaluation of the quality or significance of individual research outputs
- Assessment of individual researchers, authors, reviewers, or editors
- Judging academic merit or research excellence
- Determining eligibility for publication
Editorial and peer-review decisions are based on expert academic judgment and comprehensive qualitative assessment of each manuscript.
6. Editorial Independence
QuantumWay Journal safeguards the independence and integrity of its Editors-in-Chief, Editorial Board members, and peer reviewers. Editorial decisions are made solely on the scholarly merit of submitted manuscripts and are free from undue influence from metrics, rankings, or commercial interests.
7. Commitment to Authors and Researchers
QuantumWay Journal is committed to providing:
- Fair, impartial, and unbiased manuscript evaluation
- Transparent and accountable editorial processes
- Constructive, timely, and confidential peer review
- Equal opportunity and non-discriminatory treatment for all authors
- Ethical, responsible, and high-quality scholarly publishing practices
Authors are encouraged to communicate the significance and impact of their research through the quality, originality, and scholarly contribution of their work.
8. DORA Commitment
QuantumWay Journal endorses the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and fully supports responsible research assessment.
Through this commitment, we affirm that research should be evaluated on its own merits rather than primarily on journal-based metrics such as the Journal Impact Factor. Our editorial policies, peer-review procedures, and publication decisions are guided by scholarly quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical integrity, transparency, and contribution to knowledge.
9. Scope
This policy applies to:
- QuantumWay Journal
- Editors-in-Chief and Editorial Board Members
- Guest Editors and Reviewers
- Authors and Editorial Office Staff
10. Review of Policy
This policy shall be reviewed periodically to ensure continued alignment with international developments in responsible research assessment, scholarly publishing, and publication ethics.
Official DORA Signatory Information
QuantumWay Journal is an official organizational signatory of the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).
DORA Signatory Listing: https://sfdora.org/signers/
DORA Website: https://sfdora.org/
Contact: ram {at} quantumway {dot} org
Website: https://journal.quantumway.org/