Publication Ethics

The Editorial Board has adopted publication ethics and policy based on the international standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), which define the interactions among editors, reviewers, authors, and the publisher throughout the publishing process. These standards are also aligned with the Ethical Code of the Academic Publishing House of UNWE. The Editorial Board strictly adheres to principles of legitimacy, independence, objectivity, fairness, transparency, tolerance, and professional competence.

Key ethical principles and procedures

Originality and plagiarism

  • Authors must ensure that the manuscript constitutes entirely original work. All sources must be properly cited and referenced.
  • Screening: Each manuscript is screened for originality using plagiarism detection software. Manuscripts exceeding a similarity threshold of 20% are flagged for closer editorial review, as textual similarity is an indicator requiring further assessment rather than proof of misconduct in itself. Manuscripts with confirmed plagiarism will be rejected immediately without the possibility of resubmission.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • AI tools are not permitted to be listed as authors of the publication. Authors are required to explicitly disclose any use of AI tools during manuscript preparation in either the Methodology or Acknowledgements section, and must specify the manner in which these tools were utilised.

Double-blind peer review

  • The journal maintains a fair and unbiased evaluation process. Reviewer identities are concealed from authors, and author identities are concealed from reviewers, implementing a double-blind review system that persists until publication or indefinitely, as applicable.

Confidentiality

  • All manuscripts and reviews are treated with strict confidentiality.

Conflict of interest

  • All participants, including authors, reviewers, and editors, are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may be perceived as influencing the objectivity of the process.

Ethical requirements for empirical research

  • For research involving surveys, interviews, experiments, or the collection and use of personal or other sensitive information, authors are responsible for complying with applicable requirements for the protection of research participants, confidentiality, and personal data.
  • Where prior ethical approval is required because of the nature of the research, the authors' institution, the funding body, or applicable regulations, authors should obtain it before conducting the research and provide the relevant information in the manuscript.
  • Where applicable, authors should obtain informed consent from research participants for their participation and for the use of the information they provide for research purposes.
  • Information that may identify research participants should not be published without their explicit consent unless such disclosure is permitted under applicable requirements.

Corrections and retractions

  • Following publication, the journal and authors may issue corrections or addenda online, or, in exceptional circumstances, retract articles in accordance with established procedures.
  • If significant errors or confirmed misconduct, such as data fabrication or plagiarism, are identified after publication, the Editorial Board reserves the right to issue a correction (Corrigendum) or retract the article entirely, while maintaining a public record of the action.

Responsibility of parties

  • Authors guarantee the originality of their work, proper citation, and absence of conflicts of interest. Reviewers commit to fair and unbiased evaluation.
  • The editorial team reserves the right to reject submissions in cases where misconduct is identified.