Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement

The International Journal of Research, Exploration & Knowledge (IJREK) is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity and publication ethics. Our publishing policies are modeled on the Core Practices and Guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

All participants in the scholarly publishing process—including authors, editors, peer reviewers, and publisher representatives—are expected to conform to these rigorous ethical standards.

Authors submitting manuscripts to IJREK assume collective responsibility for the contents of their work. Key requirements include:

• Originality: Authors must guarantee that the manuscript is entirely original and that any verbatim text or conceptual frameworks from other authors are properly cited and attributed.
• Accuracy of Data: Authors must present an accurate account of the experimental work performed and provide an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data must be reported truthfully.
• Concurrent Submission: Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is strictly prohibited.
• Access and Retention: Authors may be asked to provide raw experimental data in connection with a paper for editorial review and should be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

The editors of IJREK have complete editorial independence regarding decisions on which submitted manuscripts will be published. Responsibilities include:

• Fair Evaluation: Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on their academic merit (novelty, validity, clarity, and relevance) without regard to author race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or institutional affiliation.
• Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, and the publisher.
• Recusal & Conflicts: Editors must recuse themselves from handling submissions in which they have a competing interest, personal relationship, or financial interest with any of the authors or institutions involved.

Peer reviewers play an essential role in validating scholarly work. Referees are expected to:

• Contribution to Decisions: Provide objective, balanced, and constructive scientific critiques to assist the handling Editor in making informed editorial determinations.
• Promptness: Notify the editorial office promptly and decline the review invitation if they feel unqualified or cannot provide an evaluation within the agreed timeframe.
• Confidentiality: Treat any manuscripts received for review as privileged and confidential documents. Manuscripts must not be shown to, discussed with, or utilized by third parties.
• AI Tool Prohibition: Referees are strictly prohibited from uploading unpublished manuscripts or review prompts into public or external generative AI tools to safeguard author confidentiality.

Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes severe scholarly malpractice:

• Verbatim Plagiarism: Copying text directly from another source without quotation marks and citation.
• Paraphrasing Without Attribution: Restating substantial conceptual frameworks or ideas from prior authors without explicit source attribution.
• Self-Plagiarism & Salami Slicing: Re-using substantial portions of the author's own previously published work without disclosure or breaking down a single comprehensive study into multiple thin publications.

All submissions are screened using automated similarity detection software upon receipt. Manuscripts exhibiting significant unattributed overlap are rejected immediately.

Data fabrication (creating fictitious datasets) and data falsification (manipulating experimental data, omitting outliers dishonestly, or altering findings) represent critical research violations.

No specific feature within an image or figure may be selectively enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced. Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable only if applied uniformly to the entire image and do not misrepresent the original scientific data.

Authorship credit must be grounded in substantial intellectual contributions. IJREK adheres strictly to the four ICMJE criteria:

1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; AND
2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to accuracy or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Gift authorship (listing individuals who did not contribute), ghost authorship (concealing contributors), and guest authorship are strictly prohibited.

All authors, reviewers, and editors must declare any financial, commercial, institutional, or personal affiliations that could be construed as influencing their objectivity.

Authors must include an explicit Conflict of Interest Statement in their manuscript. If no conflicts exist, authors must explicitly state: “The authors declare that they have no competing financial or personal interests that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.”

IJREK takes all allegations of ethical misconduct, plagiarism, data fabrication, or authorship dispute seriously. The journal follows COPE Flowcharts to investigate formal allegations:

• The Editor-in-Chief reviews the evidence and requests formal clarification from the corresponding author.
• If satisfactory explanation is not provided, an independent inquiry committee is convened.
• The author's institution or funding agency may be formally notified if misconduct is corroborated.
• Misconduct substantiated prior to publication leads to immediate rejection; post-publication findings result in formal correction or retraction.

The journal is committed to maintaining the integrity of the academic record:

• Erratum / Corrigendum: Published to correct minor typographical or inadvertent errors that do not compromise the scientific findings of the paper.
• Expression of Concern: Published when substantial doubts exist regarding the validity of a paper while an official investigation is ongoing.
• Retraction: Issued when findings are proven unreliable due to misconduct (fabrication, falsification) or major honest scientific error, adhering to COPE Retraction Guidelines.