Ethics Policy

Publication Ethics Policy 

It is the priority of  International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction (IJCI) to clarity the need on agreed ethical standards for everyone involved in the publishing process (authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher) 

Responssibilities of Authors 

Authorship is limited to those who have made significant contributions to the design, conception, execution, or interpretation of the research. Anyone who meets these criteria should be listed as the co-author.

Privacy and confidentiality of all authors in the article must be assured and any identifying information about the autors should be anonymized. Besides, authors also are responsible for the documentation of the consent forms of all participants in the study; and these forms must be available upon request. Moreover, authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the data presented in their work. Any fabrication or manipulation of data is considered unethical and may lead to the decline or retraction of the paper.

For the research involving human or animal subjects, or vulnerable population (groups and communities at a higher risk for poor physical, psychological, or social health, such as children, minorities, disabled populations, elderly populations, homeless people, migrant workers, prisoners, residents of medically undeserved areas or socio economically disadvantaged)  authors must obtain an official approval from an authorized ethics committee or board, with special reference to the title of the committee or the board, its date and the registration number.  Besides, authors must disclose any financial, personal, or other conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their work.

Authors must cite all sources and references properly. International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction (IJCI) has a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism.  Manuscripts accepted for publication are subjected to plagiarism check through iThenticate or TURNITIN plagiarism monitoring software. Articles suspected of plagiarism will be subject to investigation and appropriate action, including retraction.

Authors must avoid submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals at the same time. Duplicate publication of the same research in different journals is not permitted unless it is explicitly acknowledged and approved by both journals.

Authors must present their findings truthfully and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation. The research design and the method should be  described clearly and comprehensively, allowing other researchers to replicate the results.

Authors must confirm that International Journal of Curriculum and Instruction (IJCI) retains all the copyrights unconditionally and indefinitely to distribute the articles upon publication in IJCI due course of Intellectual Property Law, Article 22, Act 5846; to share publicly due course of Article 23; and to hold full rights of communication related to the published article anytime, anywhere and via any means due course of Article 25 of Intellectual Property Law.

Authors are expected to make the data underlying their research available in an open and accessible repository, and the data availability statements should be included in manuscripts to promote transparency. Authors  also should retain raw data related to their research for a minimum period of e.g., 5 years, after publication and be prepared to provide it upon request for verification or reanalysis by other researchers.

Editorial Responsibilities

The editor and the co-editor (Editors from now on) are responsible for overseeing a fair, unbiased, and transparent peer review process. Manuscripts should be evaluated solely on academic merit, regardless of the author’s gender, race, nationality, or institutional affiliation. Initially, the editor check every submitted manuscript in terms of the eligibility of its scope for the scope of the journal. If it is not out of the journal scope, the editor starts the editorial process.  

Editors and the editorial board members must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and not disclose any information to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers and the publisher.

Editors and the editorial board members should recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where they have conflicts of interest, such as collaborative work with the authors or financial ties to the research.

Editors are responsible for issuing corrections, clarifications, or retractions as necessary if errors or ethical violations are found in published works.

Editors should take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper, in conjunction with the publisher. 

Responsibilities of Reviewers

For every submitted manuscript found to be eligible for the journal by the editor, an  anonymous double-blind peer review process is applied, where the identities of both the authors and the reviewers are kept  to ensure impartiality.

Reviewers are expected to be timely, constructive, and unbiased feedback to authors. They are responsible for focusing on the title, content and language quality, and originality of the study, as well as its contribution to the related field.

Reviewers are expected to disclose any conflicts of interest (personal, professional, or financial) that might influence their judgment or ability to provide an impartial review.

Reviewers, via their peer review reports, assist the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper. Any selected expert who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.

Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments, and the reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. 

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Reviewers and editors are required to declare any and all potential conflicts of interest. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Corrections, Retractions, and Misconduct Handling

Any allegations of ethical misconduct, such as plagiarism, data fabrication, or undisclosed conflicts of interest, will be investigated thoroughly by the editorial board. Articles suspected of plagiarism or any other ethical violations will be subject to retraction.

Minor errors in published articles will be corrected through an erratum or corrigendum. Significant errors may result in a retraction or expression of concern.

Articles may be retracted in case of double publication.

Adherence to International Standards

The journal follows internationally recognized ethical guidelines, such as those established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org/getting-started/what-publication-ethics), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) (https://www.wame.org/), the Declaration of Helsinki (https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki/) and other professional organizations. These guidelines inform the journal’s policies on research integrity, ethical misconduct, and best practices.