Publication Ethics & Editorial Policy

Editorial Policy describes guidelines in the publication process of our journal. Specifically, Academic Journals adopts and strive to adhere to the following standards and requirements

The International Journal of Academic Research (IJAR) is committed to fostering the meaningful exchange of information to help create an environment for constructive criticism and free exchange of ideas. As publisher of the Journal the IJAR expects authors to adhere to the highest standards of integrity in research and the communication of research results and findings.

SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPT

Authors should read the “Instruction for Authors” on the journal’s page before making a submission. Manuscript should be prepared according to the style and specifications of the journal’s policy.

Authors listed on the manuscript should have met the requirements for Authorship specified above. Where possible, specify the contribution of each of the authors. All authors should approve the final version of the manuscript prior to submission. Once a manuscript is submitted, it is therefore assumed that all authors have read and given their approval for the submission of the manuscript. Contact information of all authors should be stated on the manuscript. Surname/Other names, affiliation, emails, and phone/fax numbers. Declaration of conflicts of Interest should be stated in the manuscript.

Authors should disclose all financial/relevant interest that may have influenced the development of the manuscript. Reviewers should disclose any conflict of interest and if necessary, decline the review of any manuscript they perceive to have a conflict of interest. Editors should also decline from considering any manuscript that may have conflict of interest. Such manuscripts will be re-assigned to other editors.

CONFIDENTIALITY

A submitted manuscript is a confidential material. IJAR will not disclose submitted manuscript to anyone except individuals who partake in the processing and preparation of the manuscript for publication (if accepted). These individuals include editorial staff, corresponding authors, potential reviewers, actual reviewers, and editors. However, in suspected cases of misconduct, a manuscript may be revealed to members of IJAR ethics committee and institutions/organizations that may require it for the resolution of the misconduct.

PEER REVIEW

The review process is an important aspect of the publication process of an article. It helps an editor in making decision on an article and also enables the author to improve the manuscript. IJAR operates a double blind review process. Author(s) identity is removed from the manuscript and shielded from the reviewers during the review process. The reviewer is left with only the manuscript without any information that might enable him/her uncovers the identity of the author(s). Information removed includes the author(s) name, address/affiliation, country, phone/fax and email. Any information in the Acknowledgement and declaration of conflict of Interest that may lead to the uncovering of the identity of the author is also removed from the manuscript prior to sending it to reviewers.

Manuscripts are assigned to members of the editorial board of the journal or other qualified reviewers. The review process is done using the Manuscript Management System. Reviewers make one of the following recommendations:

• Accept as is
• Requires Minor Corrections
• Requires Moderate Revision
• Requires Major Revision
• Submit To Another Publication Such As
• Reject on grounds of (Please be specific)
• Only an editor has the authority to “Accept” or “Reject” a manuscript. If a manuscript is “Accepted”, an Acceptance Certificate is issued to the author(s) and the manuscripts are processed for publication.
• If a manuscript is rejected, the authors are informed of the decision and no further processing is done on the manuscript.
• If a manuscript requires improvement, it is sent to the author(s) with the editor’s recommendation for further revision. The editor makes a final decision on the revised to “Accept” or “Reject” the manuscript.

Article Retraction: In the event that ethical misconduct (e.g. misrepresentation/falsification of data, pervasive errors, plagiarism, multiple submission, etc.) is determined to have occurred in a manuscript published in IJAR journal, the IJAR reserves the right to issue a public retraction of the manuscript in question. The retraction will come in the form of a note published in a subsequent issue of the journal. The article’s citation will be labeled as “Retracted” in all databases and the electronic version of the manuscript file will be clearly marked as “Retracted.”

IJAR do not hold any responsibility about the views, opinion and work of author(s) presented in the article published in IJEMR

ADDITIONAL SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS DURING THE REVIEW PROCESS

In addition to the above, during the course of the review process the editor may request additional materials—including data—if they are seen as essential for judging the merits of the research. Data and other requested materials would be viewed confidentially by the review team. The editor must be notified in advance if such requests could not be met due to proprietary or other restrictions.

Concurrent Reviews: IJAR policy prohibits an article under review at IJAR journal from being concurrently reviewed at another journal without prior discussion with and written permission from the involved IJAR journal editor.

PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The IJAR is committed to the protection of intellectual property. When supplementary materials are requested during the review period, they will be subject to the IJAR double-blind peer-review process in order to maintain author anonymity. Reviewer team members will not use ideas from or show another person the manuscript or supplementary materials they have been asked to review without the explicit permission of the manuscript's author, obtained through the journal editor. Advice regarding specific, limited aspects of the manuscript may be sought from colleagues with specific expertise, provided the author’s identity and intellectual property remain secure.

Plagiarism: The respective Editor, along with the Editorial Board and non–Editorial Board reviewers, will serve to detect instances of plagiarism. When an Editor suspects plagiarism (or is informed by a reviewer who suspects plagiarism), he/she will make a judgment whether the claim has any merit. If the Editor determines that there has been potential misconduct, he/she will inform to the chief and provide a detailed account of the possible violation or misconduct.

FALSIFICATION OF DATA/MISREPORTING OF DATA

The IJAR expects all submissions to include data that are honestly and accurately reported according to the accepted best practices of scholarly publishing. In instances in which falsified or misreported data are suspected, the procedures outlined below will be followed.

In any instance of suspected misconduct, the IJAR pledges to carry out the process of detection, investigation, and penalty with fairness and confidentiality during the internal inquiry. The Chief Editor will determine whether further investigation is required.

In order to conduct a full and fair investigation, authors may be required to provide materials that go above and beyond the aforementioned. If a paper uses proprietary data covered by a non-disclosure agreement signed by the author(s), and the author(s) are not able to meet the data requirements, the committee chair may ask for specific (appropriately redacted) details of the agreement that prevent the authors from providing the required materials. The committee may choose to provide an exemption. If the committee chooses not to waive the requirements, the author(s) will have the option of withdrawing the paper from the journal review process. However, in such cases, the committee chair may determine to continue the investigation and levy a penalty if misconduct is suspected. All information provided will be used solely for the purpose of conducting the investigation. All information will remain private and will not be distributed beyond the investigating committee. All materials will be estroyed upon the conclusion of the investigation.

Penalty: In the event that an author (or authors) is found to have engaged in some form of misconduct, he/she will be subject to a penalty, the nature and extent of which will be determined by the Ethics and advisory council. The penalty will be commensurate with the nature of the offense and will likely include a ban on submitting to any journal published by the IJAR for a period of time.