Publication Ethics

IJRSS is committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethical publishing. All individuals involved—authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers—must adhere to ethical principles throughout the entire publication process. The journal follows the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1. Duties of Authors

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must submit original work and ensure that no plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, occurs. Any form of plagiarism is strictly prohibited.

  • Multiple Submissions: Authors must not submit the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously.

  • Authorship: Only individuals who have made significant contributions to the research should be listed as authors. All co-authors must approve the final manuscript version.

  • Acknowledgment of Sources: Authors must give proper acknowledgment and credit to prior work through accurate citations and references.

  • Conflict of Interest Disclosure: Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence their research.

  • Data Access and Retention: Authors should be able to provide raw data associated with their manuscript upon reasonable request.

  • Reporting Standards: Authors must present their research findings truthfully, without fabrication, falsification, or manipulation of data.

2. Duties of Reviewers

  • Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat all manuscripts as confidential documents.

  • Objectivity: Reviews should be based solely on the academic merit of the manuscript, avoiding personal criticism of the authors.

  • Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant work that has not been cited by the authors.

  • Conflict of Interest: Reviewers should recuse themselves from reviewing manuscripts if they have a conflict of interest with the authors or institutions involved.

3. Duties of Editors

  • Fairness and Impartiality: Editorial decisions should be based only on the manuscript's academic merit, without regard to the authors' race, gender, religion, nationality, or political views.

  • Confidentiality: Editors must keep all information about a submitted manuscript confidential, sharing it only with the corresponding author, reviewers, and publisher.

  • Publication Decisions: The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for making publication decisions, based on the reviews, editorial policies, and legal requirements.

  • Handling Misconduct: Editors must take appropriate action in response to allegations of ethical violations, including plagiarism or data manipulation.

4. Publisher Responsibilities

  • Ethical Oversight: The publisher ensures that ethical standards in publishing are adhered to throughout the entire process.

  • Archiving: The publisher guarantees the digital preservation and long-term availability of all published articles.

  • Retractions and Corrections: In collaboration with the editorial team, the publisher ensures that corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern are issued when necessary.

5. Ethical Misconduct and Complaints

IJRSS takes allegations of misconduct very seriously. Suspected cases of plagiarism, authorship disputes, data falsification, or peer review manipulation will be investigated according to COPE procedures. If misconduct is confirmed, the journal will take appropriate action, including manuscript rejection, retraction, or blacklisting of individuals involved.

6. Use of COPE Guidelines

IJRSS adheres to the COPE Core Practices and utilizes COPE flowcharts to guide decision-making in cases of:

  • Authorship disputes

  • Conflicts of interest

  • Data fabrication or manipulation

  • Plagiarism

  • Retractions and corrections