Publication Ethics Statement

Applicable to All Scholarnex Journals

• International Journal of Innovation and Strategic Business Management (IJISBM)
• Journal of Applied AI and Smart Technologies (JAAST)

Scholarnex journals is firmly committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and professionalism in scholarly publishing. Our ethical framework is guided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations, and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) Principles. All authors, reviewers, editors, and affiliated institutions are expected to adhere to the policies below.

Responsibilities of Authors

• Originality & Integrity – Submissions must be entirely original, free of plagiarism, data fabrication, image manipulation, or redundant (duplicate) publication.

• Authorship Criteria – Authorship is limited to those who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the work; “guest” or “gift” authorship is prohibited. All contributors must approve the final manuscript and accept responsibility for the content.

• Research Ethics – Studies involving human participants or animals must include a statement of ethical approval and informed consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki or relevant animal-care guidelines.

• Data Transparency – Authors should retain raw data for at least five years and provide it upon reasonable request. When possible, data should be deposited in a trusted repository with an open-access link cited in the manuscript.

• Conflict of Interest Disclosure – All financial or non-financial interests that could influence the work must be declared in a dedicated “Conflicts of Interest” section.

• Funding Acknowledgement – All sources of financial support must be disclosed.

• Clinical Trial Registration – Clinical trials must be registered in a publicly accessible registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov) prior to patient enrollment.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

• Impartiality & Confidentiality – Manuscripts received for review are confidential documents and may not be shared or used for personal advantage. Reviews must be objective, constructive, and completed within the agreed timeframe.

• Competence & Disclosure – Reviewers should accept invitations only when they possess adequate subject expertise and must disclose any potential conflicts of interest to the editor.

• Ethical Vigilance – Suspected misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, unethical research) must be reported privately to the handling editor.

Responsibilities of Editors

• Fair Decision-Making – Editorial decisions are based solely on scholarly merit, originality, and relevance, without regard to race, gender, citizenship, or institutional affiliation.

• Confidentiality – Editors and editorial staff must not disclose information about a manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, or publisher.

• Conflict Management – Editors must recuse themselves from handling a manuscript when a conflict of interest exists and appoint an impartial colleague to oversee the process.

• Correction & Retraction – When errors, ethical breaches, or unreliable findings are confirmed, editors will publish a Correction, Retraction, or Expression of Concern, following COPE flow-charts.

Publisher Responsibilities (Scholarnex)

• Ethical Oversight – Scholarnex journals provides editors with resources, training, and support to ensure adherence to COPE Core Practices.

• Digital Preservation – All articles receive a Crossref DOI and are archived to guarantee long-term accessibility.

• Open-Access Commitment – Content is published under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC 4.0) to support free global dissemination.

• Misconduct Investigation – Allegations of fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism are investigated in cooperation with authors’ institutions. Sanctions may include manuscript rejection, publication retraction, and notification of funding agencies.

Post-Publication Issues

• Corrections – Minor errors that do not affect the validity of the work will be rectified via an erratum.

• Retractions – Articles with major errors or misconduct (e.g., fabricated data) will be retracted, with a transparent notice linked to the original record.

• Expressions of Concern – If an investigation is ongoing, an interim notice may be published to alert readers.

Appeals & Complaints

Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a detailed justification to ethics@scholarnex.org within 30 days of notification. Complaints about publication misconduct are handled in accordance with the COPE complaints procedure.

Contact

For questions about Scholarnex journal’s publication ethics, please contact:

Scholarnex Ethics Office
Email: ethics@scholarnex.org
Website: https://www.scholarnex.org/publication-ethics

Scholarnex journals is dedicated to fostering a trustworthy academic environment that advances knowledge while respecting the principles of honesty, transparency, and accountability.