Publication Ethics

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Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

International Journal of Sociologies and Anthropologies Science Reviews (IJSASR)

The International Journal of Sociologies and Anthropologies Science Reviews (IJSASR) is committed to upholding high standards of publication ethics, integrity, transparency, and accountability in scholarly publishing. The journal expects all parties involved in the publication process—including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—to follow internationally accepted ethical principles and good publishing practice.

The journal adheres to the principles and Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applies relevant COPE guidance and flowcharts when handling potential cases of misconduct or ethical concern. These resources are available at:

For research involving human participants, the journal also recognizes internationally accepted ethical principles, including the World Medical Association (WMA) Declaration of Helsinki, where relevant and appropriate to the nature of the study:

This policy applies to all submissions to IJSASR and is intended to ensure clarity and transparency in relation to authorship, originality, peer review, editorial responsibility, human research ethics, conflicts of interest, complaints and appeals, corrections and retractions, and the handling of publication misconduct.

  1. Scope of the Ethics Policy

This policy applies to all submissions to IJSASR, including research articles, review articles, case studies, conceptual papers, and all other scholarly content considered for publication.

It covers ethical responsibilities related to:

  • authorship and contributorship
  • originality and avoidance of plagiarism
  • research integrity
  • peer review confidentiality and fairness
  • editorial decision-making
  • research involving human participants
  • conflicts of interest
  • complaints and appeals
  • corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions
  • publication misconduct
  1. Ethical Standards for Research Involving Human Participants

IJSASR prioritizes the safety, dignity, rights, privacy, and well-being of all research participants. Any research involving human participants must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international ethical standards.

All studies involving human participants must be reviewed and approved by an appropriate ethics committee, Institutional Review Board (IRB), or equivalent body, where such approval is required. Authors must clearly state the name of the approving body and the approval or reference number in the manuscript.

Authors are also expected to follow internationally recognized ethical principles for human-subject research, including the Declaration of Helsinki, where relevant, as well as any applicable institutional and national regulations.

2.1 General Requirements for Human Research

Authors must ensure and explicitly confirm that:

  • the study received prior approval from a recognized ethics committee, IRB, or equivalent body, where required;
  • the research was conducted in accordance with applicable laws, institutional requirements, and accepted ethical standards;
  • participation was voluntary and based on informed consent, unless a waiver was formally approved by an appropriate ethics body;
  • participants were adequately informed about the purpose, procedures, risks, and benefits of the study;
  • participants’ privacy, confidentiality, dignity, and rights were protected throughout the study and publication process;
  • personal data were securely stored and handled in accordance with applicable data protection standards;
  • any identifiable information was published only with explicit written consent.

2.2 Research Involving Vulnerable Populations

For research involving vulnerable populations—including but not limited to children, minors, school students, patients, persons with cognitive impairment, persons with disabilities, individuals in dependent or hierarchical relationships, prisoners, and economically or socially disadvantaged groups—additional ethical safeguards are required.

Authors must clearly demonstrate and describe in the manuscript that:

  • the inclusion of vulnerable participants is necessary, appropriate, and ethically justified in relation to the research objectives;
  • the level of risk has been carefully assessed and appropriate measures have been implemented to minimize potential harm;
  • recruitment procedures were designed to avoid coercion, pressure, undue influence, or exploitation, particularly in contexts involving authority relationships;
  • valid informed consent was obtained from a parent, legal guardian, or authorized representative where required;
  • participant assent was obtained from children or individuals with limited decision-making capacity, where appropriate;
  • adequate measures were taken to ensure privacy, confidentiality, dignity, welfare, and overall well-being of participants;
  • formal permission was obtained from relevant institutions (e.g., schools, universities, hospitals, or community organizations) where applicable;
  • participation was entirely voluntary, and refusal or withdrawal did not result in any penalty or negative consequences, including effects on academic standing, grades, employment, healthcare, access to services, or institutional relationships.

Particular care must be taken in studies conducted in schools, classrooms, hospitals, care settings, or other environments where participants may feel unable to decline participation freely. In such cases, authors must clearly demonstrate how voluntariness and independence of participation were ensured.

2.3 Required Ethics Statement in Manuscripts

All manuscripts reporting research involving human participants must include a clear and complete Ethics Statement. Where applicable, this statement should include:

  • the full name of the approving ethics committee or IRB;
  • the approval/reference number;
  • confirmation that informed consent was obtained from participants;
  • confirmation of parental or guardian consent for minors, where applicable;
  • confirmation of participant assent, where applicable;
  • confirmation that personal data were anonymized or handled confidentially;
  • confirmation that publication of identifying material was specifically authorized, if used.

Example Ethics Statement:
This study was approved by [full name of ethics committee/institution] under approval no. [number]. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to participation. For participants under the age of legal consent, written permission was obtained from a parent or legal guardian, and assent was obtained from the participating child where appropriate. All data were anonymized and handled confidentially.

2.4 Studies Not Requiring Formal Ethics Review

If authors believe that formal ethics review was not required under applicable institutional or national regulations, they must provide a clear explanation at submission and in the manuscript where appropriate. The editorial office may request supporting documentation and reserves the right to determine whether ethics review should have been obtained.

A claim that ethics approval was “not required” does not automatically exempt the study from editorial scrutiny.

2.5 Sensitive Data, Images, and Identifiable Information

Authors must exercise particular care when manuscripts include photographs, audio, video, interviews, transcripts, school-based observations, wearable-device data, medical details, digital tracking data, case descriptions, or any information that could directly or indirectly identify an individual.

Such material may be published only when:

  • publication is ethically justified;
  • publication is legally permitted;
  • explicit written consent has been obtained where required;
  • appropriate anonymization or redaction has been applied where possible.

Editors may request redaction, anonymization, additional documentation, or written publication consent before a manuscript can proceed.

  1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for the integrity, accuracy, and originality of their work.

3.1 Originality and Exclusive Submission

Authors must submit original work that has not been previously published and is not under consideration elsewhere, except where clearly disclosed and permitted. Duplicate submission, redundant publication, plagiarism, text recycling without proper attribution, data fabrication, data falsification, citation manipulation, and misleading reporting are unacceptable.

The journal may use plagiarism-detection tools as part of editorial screening.

3.2 Authorship

All listed authors must have made substantial scholarly contributions to the work, approved the submitted and final versions, and agreed to the order of authorship. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript and that no qualified contributor has been omitted or inappropriately included.

3.3 Accuracy and Research Integrity

Authors must present an accurate account of the work performed and its significance. Data, methods, findings, and interpretations must not be fabricated, manipulated, selectively omitted in a misleading manner, or otherwise distorted. Authors should retain research records and provide clarifications or supporting documentation if requested by the editors.

3.4 Citations, Acknowledgments, and Funding

Authors must appropriately acknowledge the work of others and provide accurate citations and references. All sources of financial or institutional support must be disclosed. Contributions that do not meet authorship criteria should be properly acknowledged.

3.5 Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, academic, advisory, collaborative, or personal relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research, analysis, interpretation, or publication decision.

3.6 Human Research and Participant Protection

For studies involving human participants, authors must include a complete ethics statement in the manuscript and provide ethics documentation, consent documentation, or institutional permissions if requested by the editorial office. Manuscripts lacking sufficient ethics transparency may be returned for clarification, rejected before review, or rejected after editorial assessment.

3.7 Corrections After Publication

If authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in a published article, they must promptly inform the editor and cooperate in issuing a correction, corrigendum, expression of concern, or retraction if necessary.

  1. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for maintaining a fair, transparent, and ethical editorial process.

4.1 Editorial Independence and Fair Decision-Making

Editors evaluate submissions on the basis of scholarly merit, originality, relevance, methodological soundness, clarity, and alignment with the journal’s aims and scope. Editorial decisions must not be influenced by the authors’ race, nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, political beliefs, or other non-scholarly factors.

4.2 Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must treat submitted manuscripts as confidential documents and must not disclose information about a submission to anyone outside the editorial process, except where necessary to investigate misconduct or as required by law or ethical procedure.

4.3 Preliminary Editorial Screening

Editors may conduct an initial screening before peer review to assess completeness, format, originality, plagiarism concerns, ethical compliance, disclosures, and suitability for the journal. Submissions may be returned to authors for clarification or rejected before review if ethical statements, approvals, or disclosures are incomplete.

4.4 Conflicts of Interest

Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts when they have conflicts of interest arising from personal, professional, institutional, collaborative, or financial relationships with the authors or the research.

4.5 Handling of Misconduct and Record Correction

Editors are responsible for responding appropriately to suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated data, unethical research, authorship disputes, peer-review manipulation, and undisclosed conflicts of interest. In such cases, editors may request clarification, reject the manuscript, publish a correction, issue an expression of concern, retract the article, or notify relevant institutions, in accordance with COPE guidance.

  1. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play an essential role in maintaining the quality, integrity, and ethical standards of the journal.

5.1 Confidentiality

Reviewers must treat manuscripts and all associated materials as confidential and must not use unpublished material for personal advantage.

5.2 Objectivity and Constructive Review

Reviews must be objective, respectful, evidence-based, and constructive. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should evaluate originality, scholarly relevance, methodological rigor, clarity, and ethical adequacy within their area of expertise.

5.3 Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must decline invitations to review if they have any conflict of interest that could impair their impartiality, including collaborative, competitive, institutional, financial, or personal relationships.

5.4 Ethical Alerting Function

Reviewers should inform the editors if they suspect plagiarism, duplicate publication, unethical human-subject research, inappropriate image or data handling, or any other serious ethical concern.

  1. Responsibilities of the Publisher

The publisher supports editorial independence, ethical publishing standards, transparency, and the correction of the scholarly record. The publisher is responsible for maintaining the journal website, ensuring the transparency of publication policies, and supporting the long-term preservation and accessibility of journal content through appropriate archiving arrangements where available.

  1. Misconduct Handling Policy

The journal follows COPE procedures when handling suspected misconduct.

7.1 Types of Misconduct

Misconduct may include, but is not limited to:

  • plagiarism or text recycling without proper attribution;
  • duplicate submission or redundant publication;
  • data fabrication or falsification;
  • misleading image or data manipulation;
  • unethical research involving human participants;
  • false or misleading statements regarding ethics approval, consent, funding, or authorship;
  • authorship disputes or improper authorship attribution;
  • undisclosed conflicts of interest;
  • peer-review manipulation.

7.2 Procedure

When a concern is raised by editors, reviewers, readers, authors, institutions, or screening tools, the journal will conduct a preliminary assessment. Editors may gather documentation, review evidence, and request a response from the author(s).

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the concern, outcomes may include:

  • clarification or correction by the authors;
  • rejection of the manuscript;
  • suspension of editorial evaluation;
  • publication of a correction;
  • publication of an expression of concern;
  • retraction of the article;
  • notification of relevant institutions or stakeholders.

If ethical concerns are identified before or after publication, the journal reserves the right to investigate the matter and take appropriate action in accordance with COPE guidance.

  1. Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, or other stakeholders may submit complaints concerning editorial process, publication ethics, reviewer conduct, or possible misconduct. Complaints should be submitted in writing to the journal’s editorial office with sufficient detail and, where possible, supporting evidence.

The journal will review complaints fairly, confidentially, and in accordance with its ethical procedures. Appeals against editorial decisions may also be considered where a clear procedural concern is identified.

  1. Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

To maintain the integrity of the scholarly record, the journal may publish:

  • Corrections / Corrigenda / Errata for errors that do not invalidate the main findings;
  • Expressions of Concern where an investigation is ongoing or evidence is inconclusive;
  • Retractions where findings are unreliable, misconduct is confirmed, or publication is seriously compromised.

Any notice of correction, concern, or retraction will be linked to the original article and will explain the reason clearly in the interest of transparency.

  1. Copyright and Publication

Authors must ensure that submitted work is not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere and does not infringe the rights of others. The journal’s copyright and licensing terms should be followed as stated on the journal website and in the author guidelines.

  1. Transparency and Open Access

IJSASR is an open-access journal committed to transparency in editorial and publication practices. The journal seeks to make publicly available and keep updated information on its aims and scope, author guidelines, peer review process, editorial responsibilities, publication ethics policy, complaints and appeals procedures, correction and retraction practices, publication schedule, editorial board information, and any publication fees or a statement that no fee is charged, where applicable.

  1. Submission Requirements

To support ethical review and editorial assessment, authors may be required to provide, where relevant:

  • ethics approval letter or certification;
  • participant information sheet and consent form template;
  • parent or guardian consent form for minors;
  • participant assent documentation, where appropriate;
  • institutional permission letters for school-, hospital-, or organization-based research;
  • conflict of interest disclosure;
  • funding statement;
  • data availability statement.
  1. External Ethical References

The journal refers to the following external ethical resources: