Poster and Slides Policies

We welcome submissions that offer fresh insights, whether they emerge from traditional studies, innovative research designs, or novel analytical techniques. This includes exploratory studies, large-scale analyses, theory-driven inquiries, and methodological innovations. Recognizing the importance of robust and reproducible results, we particularly encourage the submission of replication studies, especially those that follow the registered report format.

We acknowledge the importance of all research outcomes, including single findings, null results, and negative findings. Such contributions are essential for a balanced scientific inquiry and are welcomed with equal enthusiasm.

Any manipulation of images should be disclosed. Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable if they are applied to the entire image and do not obscure, eliminate, or misrepresent any information present in the original, including the background. Manipulations for other purposes, such as highlighting a particular feature in the image, must be explicitly noted in the figure legend.

Authors are required to confirm that all relevant ethics or institutional review board approvals for their research have been obtained. Details of this approval should be provided in the poster or slide, at minimum providing the project identification code, the date of approval, and the name of the ethics committee or institutional review board.

For any content that may potentially reveal a participant's identity, authors must secure written informed consent for publication. The process of acquiring this consent must be detailed in a statement during submission and included in the Consent section of the poster or slide. If no consent for publication was required (e.g., the data has been anonymized), then this should be clearly stated and a note should be added confirming that such alterations have not distorted scientific meaning.

A statement confirming that any competing interests have been disclosed must be provided upon submission. Posters and slides must also feature a designated section titled 'Competing Interests'. This section should detail any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest. In the absence of any conflicts, authors must explicitly state, 'The authors declare no competing interests'.

Commenters are also required to declare any competing interests.

Individuals suspecting misconduct in a preprint posted on SOCIOS are encouraged to report their concerns via email to socios-content@uni-koeln.de, providing comprehensive evidence to facilitate an investigation.  

If a case of suspected research or publication misconduct is brought to our attention, we will follow COPE's recommendations, typically beginning with a request for clarification from the corresponding author.

The gravity and nature of the violation will dictate whether a Correction is published or if a full retraction of the preprint is necessary. SOCIOS reserves the right to remove a preprint from online access should there be compelling reasons to do so. Any action of correction, retraction, or removal will be accompanied by a clear rationale.

For more information, refer to the relevant guidelines and policies on Retractions, Corrections, and Removals.

• Clear evidence that the findings are unreliable due to misconduct (e.g., data fabrication, manipulation) or honest error (e.g., miscalculation, experimental error).
• The findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission, or justification (i.e., cases of redundant publication).
• It constitutes plagiarism.
• It reports unethical research.

• linked to the retracted preprint and clearly labeled as a  CORRECTION;
• assigned its own DOI that directs to the most recent version; the original retracted version and the retraction notice will be preserved as part of the historical record.