Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics, Research Misconduct and Malpractice Policy

Publisher: AJER Publishing

Website: https://ajerpublishing.info/

Applicability: All scholarly journals published by AJER Publishing

1. Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

AJER Publishing is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, research ethics, transparency, accountability, and responsible scholarly publishing. The publisher recognises that the integrity of peer-reviewed publications depends on the collective responsibility of authors, reviewers, the Chief Editor, Managing Editors, Associate Editors, Editorial Board members, and other stakeholders involved in the publication process.

The Chief Editor and Managing Editors are responsible for safeguarding the integrity of the scholarly record, overseeing ethical editorial practices, and ensuring that published research meets established academic and ethical standards.

AJER Publishing promotes the publication of original, credible, high-quality research and takes appropriate measures to prevent, identify, investigate, and address research misconduct and publication malpractice.

The publisher is committed to correcting the scholarly record whenever necessary through corrections, expressions of concern, retractions, or other appropriate editorial actions.

This policy is informed by internationally recognised publication ethics standards.

2. General Research Ethics Policy

Authors submitting manuscripts to journals published by AJER Publishing are expected to observe high ethical standards throughout the research and publication process.

Authors must:

1. Ensure that research involving human participants or animals complies with applicable ethical standards and has received the necessary institutional or regulatory approvals.

2. Obtain informed consent from research participants where required and protect their privacy, dignity, confidentiality, and welfare.

3. Provide accurate, transparent, and complete descriptions of research methods, data collection procedures, analyses, results, and conclusions.

4. Avoid plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, and other forms of research misconduct.

5. Properly acknowledge all sources and obtain permission for copyrighted material where necessary.

6. Disclose relevant financial, professional, institutional, or personal conflicts of interest.

7. Disclose research funding and the role of funding organisations where applicable.

8. Ensure that all references are authentic, accurate, complete, and verifiable.

9. Comply with the publisher's requirements concerning the responsible use and disclosure of artificial intelligence tools.

10. Promptly inform the journal of significant errors or ethical concerns discovered before or after publication.

3. Authors' Ethical Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for the originality, accuracy, integrity, and ethical compliance of their submitted manuscripts.

3.1 Originality and Submission

Submitted manuscripts must represent original scholarly work and must not have been previously published or be under consideration by another journal, except where prior dissemination is expressly permitted and appropriately disclosed.

3.2 Authorship and Contributions

Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions and accepted responsibility for the work. All qualifying contributors must be appropriately acknowledged, and authorship changes must be justified and approved by the relevant contributors.

3.3 Accuracy and Integrity

Authors must report research findings accurately and objectively. Fabricated data, falsified results, misleading interpretations, and deliberate omissions that distort research findings are prohibited.

3.4 References and Citations

Authors must cite relevant scholarly sources accurately. Fabricated references, nonexistent publications, false DOIs, misleading citations, and deliberate citation manipulation are prohibited.

3.5 Revisions and Corrections

Authors must respond constructively to peer-review comments and editorial recommendations. Where authors disagree with reviewer observations, they may provide reasoned, evidence-based explanations.

Authors must promptly notify the editorial office of errors or ethical concerns affecting their submitted or published work.

3.6 Non-Discrimination

Research submissions must uphold academic professionalism and respect human dignity. Discriminatory or derogatory claims unsupported by legitimate scholarly justification are unacceptable.

4. Reviewers' Ethical Responsibilities

Peer reviewers play a critical role in maintaining the quality, credibility, and integrity of scholarly publications.

Reviewers are required to:

1. Maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts, research data, and editorial correspondence.

2. Provide objective, constructive, evidence-based, and timely assessments.

3. Evaluate manuscripts on scholarly merit, methodological rigour, originality, relevance, and ethical compliance.

4. Identify relevant scholarly literature that authors may have overlooked.

5. Declare potential conflicts of interest and decline review assignments where impartiality may be compromised.

6. Notify editors of suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated findings, unethical research practices, or substantial similarities with other publications.

7. Refrain from using unpublished information obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage.

8. Avoid discriminatory, hostile, or personally motivated comments.

9. Refrain from requesting unnecessary citations intended to benefit the reviewer or other individuals.

10. Disclose any use of artificial intelligence tools in reviewing manuscripts and comply with the journal's confidentiality requirements.

AJER Publishing maintains a double-blind peer-review process to support independent and impartial manuscript evaluation.

5. Chief Editor, Editors and Editorial Board Responsibilities

The Chief Editor, Managing Editors, Associate Editors, and Editorial Board members are responsible for ensuring that editorial processes uphold scholarly quality, fairness, independence, and ethical integrity.

Editors must:

1. Make publication decisions based on academic merit, originality, methodological soundness, relevance, and ethical compliance.

2. Ensure that research manuscripts undergo appropriate independent peer review before acceptance.

3. Maintain confidentiality throughout the editorial and peer-review processes.

4. Avoid discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity, religion, gender, institutional affiliation, or personal background.

5. Declare conflicts of interest and withdraw from decisions where impartiality may be compromised.

6. Protect unpublished manuscripts and research information from unauthorised use or disclosure.

7. Ensure that financial considerations, including article processing charges, do not improperly influence editorial decisions.

8. Investigate credible allegations of research misconduct and publication malpractice.

9. Take appropriate corrective measures where published research is found to contain serious errors or ethical violations.

10. Safeguard editorial independence and maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

Editors must not use unpublished research findings in their own work without the express written permission of the relevant authors.

6. Identification and Prevention of Research Misconduct

AJER Publishing seeks to identify potential misconduct through editorial screening, plagiarism and similarity checks, reference verification, methodological assessment, double-blind peer review, and post-publication evaluation.

Research misconduct and publication malpractice may include:

• Plagiarism: Using another person's ideas, words, data, or intellectual contributions without proper acknowledgement.

• Data Fabrication: Inventing research data, observations, results, or findings.

• Data Falsification: Manipulating or misrepresenting research materials, methods, data, or findings.

• Duplicate or Redundant Publication: Publishing substantially similar research more than once without appropriate disclosure or justification.

• Authorship Misconduct: Including undeserving authors, excluding legitimate contributors, or making unauthorised authorship changes.

• Citation Manipulation: Using fabricated references, false DOIs, misleading citations, or coercive citation practices.

• Peer-Review Manipulation: Providing false reviewer identities, submitting fraudulent reviews, or improperly influencing peer-review outcomes.

• Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest: Concealing relationships or interests that could compromise research integrity or editorial independence.

• Research Ethics Violations: Conducting research without necessary ethical approvals, informed consent, or appropriate protection of research participants.

• Misuse of Artificial Intelligence: Submitting fabricated AI-generated research content, references, data, or findings, or using AI tools contrary to the publisher's disclosure and ethical requirements.

Similarity scores and AI-detection results are considered preliminary screening indicators and are not, by themselves, conclusive evidence of misconduct. Editorial decisions are based on documented concerns, contextual evaluation, and supporting evidence.

7. Reporting Allegations of Research Misconduct

AJER Publishing encourages authors, reviewers, editors, readers, academic institutions, and other stakeholders to report suspected research misconduct or publication malpractice.

Allegations may concern manuscripts under review, accepted manuscripts, or published articles.

Reports should be submitted in writing to the relevant journal's editorial office or the publisher and should include sufficient information and supporting evidence to permit an objective preliminary assessment.

AJER Publishing considers credible allegations regardless of whether they arise before or after publication. Anonymous reports may also be considered where sufficient verifiable evidence is provided.

8. Investigation of Research Misconduct

AJER Publishing follows a fair, confidential, impartial, and evidence-based approach to investigating allegations of misconduct.

8.1 Preliminary Assessment

Upon receiving an allegation, the editorial office assesses its credibility, seriousness, and relevance to the journal's editorial responsibilities.

8.2 Independent Investigation Committee

Where further investigation is warranted, the publisher constitutes an impartial task force or investigation committee comprising individuals without conflicts of interest in the matter.

8.3 Examination of Evidence

The committee examines relevant manuscripts, research records, correspondence, supporting documentation, and other available evidence.

8.4 Right of Response

All concerned parties are provided with an appropriate opportunity to respond to allegations and present relevant explanations or evidence before conclusions are reached.

8.5 Institutional Involvement

Where allegations involve serious research misconduct, AJER Publishing may refer the matter to the authors' affiliated institutions, research ethics committees, or other competent authorities.

The publisher recognises that academic institutions are generally responsible for formal investigations into the conduct of their researchers, while journals remain responsible for editorial decisions and safeguarding the published scholarly record.

8.6 Findings and Recommendations

The investigation committee submits its findings and recommends appropriate corrective or editorial actions based on the available evidence.

9. Corrective Actions and Sanctions

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the findings, AJER Publishing may undertake one or more of the following actions:

1. Request clarification, supporting documentation, or manuscript corrections.

2. Suspend manuscript evaluation pending further investigation.

3. Reject manuscripts where serious ethical concerns remain unresolved.

4. Reconsider editorial decisions where procedural or ethical irregularities are established.

5. Publish corrections or expressions of concern.

6. Retract published articles where findings are unreliable or serious publication misconduct is established.

7. Notify relevant academic institutions, research funding organisations, or regulatory authorities where appropriate.

8. Implement proportionate measures to protect future editorial and peer-review processes.

Corrective actions are intended primarily to preserve the reliability and integrity of the scholarly record.

10. Corrections, Expressions of Concern and Retractions

AJER Publishing recognises its responsibility to maintain an accurate and trustworthy scholarly record.

Corrections: Corrections may be issued where errors are identified that require amendment but do not invalidate the article's principal findings.

Expressions of Concern: An expression of concern may be issued where substantial concerns exist about a published article but the available evidence is inconclusive or an investigation remains unresolved.

Retractions: Articles may be retracted where reliable evidence demonstrates that their findings are invalid, seriously compromised, or affected by significant research or publication misconduct.

Retraction notices must clearly identify the affected article, explain the reasons for retraction, and remain publicly accessible. Retracted articles ordinarily remain available with appropriate markings to preserve the historical scholarly record.

Editorial decisions concerning corrections and retractions are guided by the available evidence and internationally recognised publication ethics standards.

11. Complaints and Appeals

AJER Publishing is committed to receiving and resolving complaints fairly, transparently, confidentially, and impartially.

Complaints may concern editorial decisions, peer-review procedures, publication delays, conflicts of interest, research misconduct, unethical editorial conduct, or other publication-related matters.

Where necessary, the publisher establishes an independent task force to examine the complaint, consult the concerned parties, and recommend an impartial resolution.

Individuals dissatisfied with misconduct-related editorial decisions may submit a written appeal supported by relevant evidence.

Appeals should be considered by individuals who were not directly involved in the original decision wherever practicable.

AJER Publishing prohibits retaliation against individuals who raise legitimate concerns in good faith.

12. Conflicts of Interest and Editorial Independence

All authors, reviewers, editors, and other participants in the publication process must disclose relevant financial, professional, institutional, or personal conflicts of interest.

Editors and reviewers must withdraw from decisions or evaluations where such interests could compromise impartiality.

AJER Publishing ensures that editorial decisions are made independently of commercial interests, institutional pressure, personal relationships, or article processing charges.

13. Artificial Intelligence and Research Integrity

AJER Publishing recognises the growing use of artificial intelligence in scholarly research and academic writing.

Authors must comply with the relevant journal's AI-use policy and disclose the use of AI tools where required.

AI-assisted language editing may be permitted where consistent with journal requirements, provided that authors retain full responsibility for the originality, accuracy, authenticity, and integrity of their manuscripts.

The use of AI to fabricate references, generate fictitious data, misrepresent findings, or conceal research misconduct is prohibited.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility or accountability for scholarly work.

14. Confidentiality and Protection of Research Participants

AJER Publishing requires appropriate protection of confidential research information, unpublished manuscripts, reviewer identities, and personal information obtained during editorial and investigative processes.

Authors must ensure that research participants' rights, privacy, informed consent, and confidentiality are respected in accordance with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Confidential information obtained during peer review or misconduct investigations must not be disclosed except where necessary for legitimate editorial, institutional, or regulatory purposes.

15. Policy Implementation and Continuous Improvement

The Chief Editor, Managing Editors, Editorial Board, and publisher share responsibility for implementing and maintaining this policy.

AJER Publishing is committed to periodically reviewing its ethical publishing procedures, strengthening editorial accountability, promoting research integrity, and responding appropriately to emerging ethical challenges in scholarly communication.

The publisher seeks to align its practices with internationally recognised publication ethics standards.

16. Policy Administration and Contact

Allegations of research misconduct, ethical concerns, complaints, and appeals should be submitted to the relevant journal's editorial office or through the publisher's official communication channels.

Publisher: AJER Publishing

This policy applies to all scholarly journals published by AJER Publishing and is intended to support responsible research dissemination, ethical editorial practices, transparent misconduct investigations, and the preservation of scholarly integrity.