1. Editorial responsibilities

Fair and independent decision-making

Editors evaluate manuscripts solely based on:

• Academic merit
• Originality
• Methodological rigor
• Relevance to journal scope
• Contribution to knowledge

Editorial decisions are made without discrimination regarding:

• Race
• Gender
• Nationality
• Religion
• Institutional affiliation
• Political beliefs

Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must:

• Maintain confidentiality of submitted manuscripts
• Not disclose manuscript details to unauthorized parties
• Protect reviewer and author identities during peer review where applicable

Conflict of interest

Editors must avoid handling manuscripts where conflicts of interest exist, including:

• Personal relationships
• Institutional conflicts
• Financial interests
• Competitive or collaborative relationships with authors

Ethical oversight

Editors reserve the right to:

• Reject unethical or plagiarized manuscripts
• Request ethical approvals and data transparency
• Investigate allegations of misconduct
• Retract or correct published articles when necessary

2. Author responsibilities

Originality and authenticity

Authors must ensure that:

• Submitted work is original
• Data and findings are authentic
• Manuscripts are not fabricated, falsified, or manipulated
• Proper citations and acknowledgments are provided

Plagiarism in any form is strictly prohibited.

Multiple submission and redundant publication

Authors must not:

• Submit the same manuscript simultaneously to multiple journals
• Publish substantially similar research in more than one journal without disclosure

Duplicate publication is considered unethical.

Authorship criteria

Authorship should be limited to individuals who made significant contributions to:

• Research conception and design
• Data collection or analysis
• Manuscript writing or revision
• Final approval of the manuscript

Guest, honorary, or ghost authorship is prohibited.

Data transparency and availability

Authors should:

• Retain research data where applicable
• Provide data upon reasonable request
• Ensure reproducibility and transparency of findings

Fabrication or manipulation of data constitutes serious misconduct.

Ethical approval and consent

Research involving:

• Human participants
• Animals
• Sensitive data

must include appropriate ethical approval and informed consent where applicable.

Authors are responsible for compliance with institutional and international ethical standards.

Use of artificial intelligence (AI)

Authors using AI-assisted tools must:

• Clearly disclose the use of AI tools in manuscript preparation
• Ensure AI-generated content is verified for accuracy and originality
• Accept full responsibility for all manuscript content

AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

Conflict of interest disclosure

Authors must disclose:

• Financial support
• Sponsorship
• Institutional relationships
• Personal interests

that could influence the research or publication process.

3. Reviewer responsibilities

Confidentiality

Reviewers must:

• Treat manuscripts as confidential documents
• Not share or use unpublished content for personal advantage

Objectivity and professionalism

Reviews should:

• Be objective and constructive
• Focus on academic quality and scientific merit
• Avoid personal criticism

Conflict of interest

Reviewers should decline review invitations if conflicts of interest exist, including:

• Personal relationships with authors
• Competitive interests
• Financial or institutional conflicts

Timeliness

Reviewers should complete reviews within the assigned timeframe and notify editors promptly if delays occur.

4. Peer review policy

Double-blind / single-blind review

ABS Research Academy journals may use:

• Double-blind peer review
• Single-blind review
• Editorial review

depending on journal policy.

Review processes are designed to ensure fairness, transparency, and academic rigor.

Review integrity

Manipulation of peer review, including fake reviewer identities or fabricated reviews, is strictly prohibited.

5. Plagiarism policy

All manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism detection software.

The following are considered unethical:

• Direct plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism
• Mosaic plagiarism
• Unattributed paraphrasing
• Data plagiarism

Manuscripts containing substantial plagiarism may be:

• Rejected immediately
• Reported to institutions
• Retracted after publication if necessary

6. Research misconduct policy

Research misconduct includes:

• Fabrication of data
• Falsification of results
• Citation manipulation
• Image manipulation
• Fake authorship
• Ethical approval fraud
• Peer review manipulation

Allegations of misconduct will be investigated seriously following COPE-inspired procedures.

7. Retraction, correction, and withdrawal policy

Retraction

Published articles may be retracted if:

• Major errors are identified
• Research misconduct is confirmed
• Ethical violations occur
• Findings become unreliable

Retraction notices will remain publicly accessible.

Corrections

Minor errors that do not invalidate findings may be corrected through:

• Errata
• Corrigenda
• Editorial notices

Withdrawal

Authors may request manuscript withdrawal before publication. However:

• Withdrawal after peer review or production may require justification
• Unethical withdrawal practices may result in restrictions on future submissions

8. Copyright and licensing

Authors generally retain copyright unless otherwise specified.

Published articles may be distributed under:

• Open-access licensing
• Creative Commons licenses
• Journal-specific copyright agreements

Authors must ensure that submitted materials do not infringe third-party copyrights.

9. Open access policy

ABS Research Academy journals may operate under open-access principles to promote:

• Global knowledge dissemination
• Accessibility of scientific research
• Academic collaboration and innovation

Specific APC and licensing policies are available on individual journal pages.

10. Archiving and preservation

The journals may preserve published content through:

• Institutional repositories
• Digital archiving systems
• DOI registration systems
• Long-term preservation services

11. Advertising and sponsorship policy

Editorial decisions are independent of:

• Advertisements
• Sponsorship
• Commercial interests

Sponsors have no influence over editorial content or peer review outcomes.

12. Complaints and appeals

Authors may submit appeals or complaints regarding:

• Editorial decisions
• Peer review concerns
• Ethical matters
• Publication procedures

All complaints will be handled fairly, transparently, and confidentially.

13. Policy on special issues

Guest editors managing special issues must:

• Follow the same ethical standards
• Maintain editorial independence
• Ensure rigorous peer review
• Avoid conflicts of interest

14. AI-generated and synthetic content policy

The journals do not permit:

• Fully AI-generated manuscripts without human intellectual contribution
• Fabricated citations
• Synthetic or manipulated research findings

Authors remain fully responsible for all submitted content.

15. Sanctions for ethical violations

Violations of publication ethics may result in:

• Manuscript rejection
• Retraction of published articles
• Temporary or permanent submission bans
• Notification to affiliated institutions
• Removal from editorial or reviewer roles

16. Commitment to ethical publishing

ABS Research Academy journals are committed to:

• Academic integrity
• Transparency and accountability
• Fair peer review
• Ethical scholarship
• Responsible innovation in publishing

We encourage all contributors to uphold the highest standards of ethical academic publishing.

Contact information

For general enquiries: Contact us · Journals