Publication Policies of Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society

Original Work

Only papers that have been not published elsewhere in the open literature - whether in print, electronic, or other medium - in the same form, in any language, will be accepted. Suitably revised papers printed in the proceedings of technical meetings may be submitted for consideration.

Copyright

Human Factors papers that are not in the public domain will be copyrighted in the name of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.The HFES Copyright Transfer Form (PDF : 85.8 KB)must be executed before a manuscript can be published. The form is not required until the final draft of the paper has been accepted for publication.

Work carried out on behalf of or under contract to the U.S., UK, Canadian, and Australian governments is generally considered to be in the public domain. Authorization to publish such work in Human Factors must be received when the paper is accepted. Authors of work carried out for the U.S. government may sign in Part B of the HFES Copyright Transfer Form.

Permissions

Please read the Permission to Reprint page.

Internal Clearance

Do not submit your manuscript until you have obtained any necessary clearance or authorization that your institution requires.

Ethical Guidelines

Human Factors submissions should be consistent with the ethical guidelines published in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed., 2001, Section 8.05, pp. 348-355). In addition, the following HFES guidelines should be observed:

Publications

Submitting authors generally have the obligation to report their work to the general scientific community and to give credit to those who have contributed on a professional level to that publication.

Submitting authors give credit, proportional to their contribution, to all those responsible for the formulation, experimental design, analysis, or other treatment of the material if their contribution was on a professional level. Such credit should be extended by a listing of all contributors' names in the publication. That listing can be in the form of joint authorship with the name of the most substantial contributor listed as senior author, or by a footnote or introductory statement when the contribution is minor. This Principle deals with credit for professional contributions only and in no way affects copyright ownership.

Submitting authors ensure that their work is reported factually, bearing professional responsibility for all elements of their reportage, including the accuracy of analysis, quotation from other works, and conclusions drawn. Authors maintain the highest standards of scientific experimentation and analysis.

Subject Precautions

Submitting authors have the responsibility of treating both human and animal subjects humanely and in accordance with federal, state, and local laws or regulations, as well as the generally accepted procedures within the scientific community.

Submitting authors determine, through consultation with colleagues or institutional review committees, that the exposure of human or animal research subjects to hazards, stress, divulgence of history or preferences, or tedium is commensurate with the significance of the problem being researched.

Submitting authors determine the degree of hazard present in the exposure of human or animal research subjects, avoiding any exposures to human subjects that may result in death, dismemberment, permanent dysfunction or extreme pain, and utilize the lowest levels of exposure to both human and animal subjects consistent with the phenomenon under consideration.

Submitting authors ensure the ethical treatment of human and animal research subjects by collaborators, assistants, students, and employees.

Submitting authors establish an informed consent with human research subjects when required by institutional, state, or federal codes or regulations, making explicit in plain language the terms of participation, particularly with respect to any elements of risk or stress involved, and adhere to those terms throughout the experiment. One of these terms must be that the subject has the right to terminate participation at any time without prejudice.

Submitting authors do not coerce potential human research subjects to participate as subjects, nor do they use undue monetary rewards to induce subjects to take risks they would not otherwise take.

Submitting authors preserve the confidentiality of any information obtained from human research subjects that, if divulged, may have harmful effects on those subjects.

Manuscript Formatting

Human Factors manuscripts should be prepared according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. Only manuscripts that are prepared according to these instructions will be considered for publication.

HFES Due Diligence

Though the likelihood of such action is extremely rare, HFES reserves the right at any time to review any material submitted to any HFES publication for reasons including, but not limited to, suitability, methodological soundness, ethics, or risk of legal consequences to the Society. This right extends even to material previously accepted by the editor. In such a case, the Society may refer the manuscript for review by legal counsel or other qualified individuals.

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