Publication Ethics

The ANDD Paper Series (ANDD PS) editors and QU Press are committed to monitor the occurrence of the below ethical violations from any stakeholder involved in the publishing process including authors, reviewers and editor in order to eliminate their happening – as much as possible - and take the necessary actions to prevent them. This includes:

1. Plagiarism

   Prevention of plagiarism is essential as it provides scientific and academic integrity. All submissions to the ANDD PS are screened for plagiarism and similarities through iThenticate software. Plagiarism is not only detected and proven by plagiarism software, however, it is also related to the misuse of published articles, or the re-use of the work and/or words of others, without permission or without appropriately citing or quoting the work. Plagiarism takes several forms such as self-plagiarism where the author re-uses his own publications unethically or translation related plagiarism where the author uses foreign language research in his own study without permission or quotation.

2. Multiple or segmented publishing

   Often associated with redundant publication, the segmenting of a large study into two or more publications or the paraphrasing of a somewhat similar study for the same author are unacceptable practices and can have serious negative consequences for the integrity of the scientific publication.

3. Failure to acknowledge sources

   Includes all forms of plagiarism intentionally or unintentionally omitting to cite sources. Any statement, observation, or argument that have been previously published by the author or other works should be accompanied by the relevant citation.

4. Failure to enlist authors appropriately

   It is about omitting the contribution of specific authors or adding other authors’ names inappropriately for any undisclosed conflict of interests or other personal gains. This includes ghostwriting where the identity of an author is hidden, honorary author through the mentioning of a highly regarded author to gain impact, gift or coercive authorship because of institutional or other form of power.

   Failure to enlist the authors is the proper order is also included as well as the use of pseudonyms which is the use of a false name for the purposes of concealment of Author’s identity.

5. Failure to ensure research and institutional approvals

   Failure to ensure appropriate institutional and ethical subject approvals imposed by professional bodies or research funders. This also includes breaches of duty care and confidentiality for human subjects including failure to take prior consent, or provide information and consent to exposure to risks and dangers or safeguard against them whether physical, emotional, intellectual, or reputational of participants.

6. Falsification of facts or data

   Alteration of primary or secondary or any other data through addition, omission, or distortion intended to tailor for personal research aims or to deceptively promote or devalue or otherwise mislead others’ work.

7. Biases in all its forms

   Explicit (due to conflict of interest or any other cause) or implicit sympathy or antipathy toward a specific school of thought that results in the distortion or unfair representation of scientific or intellectual rigor that respond to ideological, political or other personal tendencies.

8. Offensive language use

   Malicious use of logical fallacies or inflammatory language practice such as use of hateful, extremist or intimidating language intended to attract readers or offense for the credibility, or reputation of others work.

9. Discrimination

   Preferential treatment toward any individual or group based on their race, gender, age, marital or parental status, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors

10. Undisclosed errors or acknowledgments

    Failure to report research errors discovered after or before publication to the publisher and/or editor shall lead to a correction or retraction, according to the nature of the complaint and case.