Publication Ethics

Table of Contents

Introduction

EduTransform: Multidisciplinary International Journal (EduTransform) is a peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal that publishes original research across disciplines of education, social sciences, and transformative learning practices. To ensure the integrity and credibility of scholarly publishing, this statement outlines the ethical standards and responsibilities of all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher. This policy is guided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

Publishing an article in a peer-reviewed journal is a vital part of developing a coherent and respected network of knowledge. It reflects the quality of the authors’ work and the supporting institutions. As the publisher of EduTransform, the Editorial Office takes its role of guardianship over all stages of publication seriously and recognizes its ethical and other responsibilities. The journal is committed to ensuring that commercial revenues (advertising, reprints, or sponsorship) do not influence editorial decisions.

Duties of Editors

Publication Decisions

The editor is responsible for deciding which submitted articles should be published. Decisions must be based on the validity of the research and its relevance to the journal’s scope and readership. Editors may be guided by the policies of the editorial board and constrained by legal requirements such as libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.

Fair Play

Manuscripts are evaluated solely based on academic merit and relevance, without regard to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy.

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.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s own research without the author’s consent. Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest.

Involvement in Investigations

Editors must take reasonable measures in response to ethical complaints, even if discovered years after publication, and cooperate with the publisher to correct or retract the paper if necessary.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists editors in making editorial decisions and helps authors improve their manuscripts.

Promptness

Reviewers who feel unqualified or unable to review promptly should notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.

Confidentiality

All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.

Objectivity Standards

Reviews should be conducted objectively and based solely on scholarly merit. Personal criticism of the author is unacceptable.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published works not cited by the authors and report any substantial similarity or overlap with other published works.

Conflict of Interest

Reviewers should not consider manuscripts where they have conflicts of interest due to competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with the authors or institutions.

Duties of Authors

Reporting Standards

Authors must present accurate accounts of their research and provide sufficient detail for others to replicate the study. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements are unethical.

Data Availability and Reproducibility

Authors should be prepared to provide access to raw data if requested and retain such data for a reasonable period after publication.

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that their work is original and properly cite or quote the work and/or words of others.

Multiple or Redundant Publication

Submitting the same research to more than one journal simultaneously constitutes unethical publishing behavior.

Authorship and Acknowledgement

Authorship should be limited to those who made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study. All co-authors must approve the final manuscript.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

All authors should disclose any financial or personal relationships that could influence the work.

Errors in Published Work

Authors must promptly notify the editor or publisher if a significant error or inaccuracy is discovered in their published article.

Ethical Review

If research involves human or animal subjects, authors must include evidence of approval by an appropriate ethics committee and confirm compliance with relevant ethical standards.

Allegations of Research Misconduct

Plagiarism

Plagiarism includes direct copying, paraphrasing without attribution, or using ideas and data from others without acknowledgment. All manuscripts are screened using Turnitin.

Similarity above 40%: Immediate rejection.
15–40%: Revision required.
Below 15%: Acceptable, but may need citation improvement.

Data Fabrication and Falsification

Any form of data manipulation or fabrication will result in rejection or retraction.

Duplicate Submission

Submitting the same or substantially similar manuscript to multiple journals is strictly prohibited.

Authorship Issues and Citation Manipulation

Manipulation of authorship order or excessive self-citation to inflate metrics is unethical and will be investigated.

Complaints and Appeals

Complaints related to the editorial process, review misconduct, or ethical concerns should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief of EduTransform. Complaints will be handled following COPE standards, and decisions will be made transparently and fairly.

Authors retain copyright of their articles and grant EduTransform the right of first publication under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) License, allowing others to share and adapt the work with proper attribution.

Ethical Guideline

EduTransform adheres to COPE’s principles on ethical oversight, including consent to publication, ethical conduct in research involving humans or animals, and protection of confidential data.

Plagiarism Policy

The journal applies a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism. Manuscripts detected with high similarity will be rejected immediately, and authors may be blacklisted for future submissions.

Retraction and Withdrawal Policy

Retraction

An article may be retracted if it contains unreliable findings or research misconduct, duplicates previously published work, or involves plagiarism or unethical research. The retraction process follows COPE Retraction Guidelines.

Withdrawal

Authors requesting withdrawal after submission or acceptance are required to submit a formal letter to the Editor-in-Chief. Unjustified withdrawals may result in penalties or temporary publication bans.

Discussions and Corrections after Publication

Readers are welcome to submit comments or corrections. Accepted responses will be published as Letters to the Editor or Corrigenda in subsequent issues.

Errata and Corrigenda

Erratum: Correction of publisher-introduced errors.
Corrigendum: Correction of author-identified errors after publication.
Requests for such changes must be approved by the editor.

Advertising Policy

EduTransform maintains editorial independence and does not allow advertising or sponsorship to influence editorial decisions. All advertisements must comply with ethical and legal standards.