SEARCH: Science Education Research Journal is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly communication. The journal expects editors, reviewers, authors, and all parties involved in the publication process to adhere to recognized principles of ethical research and scholarly publishing. Editorial decisions and publication procedures are conducted with due regard for fairness, confidentiality, research integrity, and the responsible dissemination of scientific knowledge. This Ethics Statement applies to all manuscripts submitted to and published in the journal.

The journal promotes responsible research practices, transparent reporting, appropriate attribution of intellectual contributions, and the protection of research participants. Allegations of research misconduct, plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and other forms of publication malpractice will be assessed fairly and addressed through appropriate editorial procedures. Where necessary, the journal may request additional information, supporting documents, institutional clarification, or independent expert advice before determining the appropriate course of action.

The editor is responsible for deciding which submitted manuscripts should be accepted, revised, or rejected for publication. Editorial decisions must be based on the manuscript's scholarly merit, originality, methodological rigor, relevance to the journal's scope, clarity of presentation, contribution to science education and related fields, and compliance with ethical and editorial requirements. Decisions should be informed by the outcomes of peer review and the journal's editorial policies rather than by personal preferences, commercial interests, institutional affiliations, or external pressure. Editors may consult reviewers, editorial board members, or other qualified experts when additional advice is necessary. All decisions must comply with applicable legal requirements concerning copyright, defamation, plagiarism, and other relevant matters.

Editors must evaluate manuscripts objectively and without discrimination based on the authors' race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, nationality, citizenship, institutional affiliation, disability, or political philosophy. Manuscripts must be assessed according to consistent scholarly and ethical standards. Editorial independence must be protected from inappropriate influence by authors, reviewers, institutions, sponsors, advertisers, or other external parties. Any editorial relationship or personal circumstance that could compromise impartial judgment must be disclosed and managed appropriately.

Editors and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and related correspondence throughout the editorial process. Manuscript information may be disclosed only to the corresponding author, assigned reviewers, authorized editorial personnel, the publisher, and other individuals whose involvement is necessary for legitimate editorial purposes. Unpublished manuscripts, research data, and other confidential information must not be shared with unauthorized parties or used for personal, professional, or commercial advantage. Editors must also take reasonable measures to protect manuscript files and associated personal information from unauthorized access or disclosure.

Editors must disclose any financial, professional, personal, academic, or institutional relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their editorial judgment. An editor who has a conflict of interest involving a submitted manuscript must withdraw from handling that manuscript and arrange for an appropriately independent editor to oversee its evaluation. Editors must not use unpublished materials, data, arguments, or ideas contained in submitted manuscripts for their own research or benefit without the author's explicit written permission.

Editors must respond appropriately to credible allegations of publication misconduct or unethical research practices, whether identified before or after publication. Concerns may include plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated or falsified data, manipulated images, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, breaches of research-participant protection, or other serious ethical violations. Editors should assess available evidence objectively, provide relevant parties with a fair opportunity to respond, and seek institutional or independent expert advice where appropriate. Depending on the findings, the journal may reject a manuscript, request corrections, issue an expression of concern, retract a published article, or take other proportionate actions consistent with applicable publication ethics standards.

Peer reviewers play an essential role in supporting editorial decisions and improving the quality of manuscripts submitted to SEARCH: Science Education Research Journal. Reviews should assess the manuscript's originality, theoretical foundation, research design, methodological appropriateness, analytical rigor, interpretation of findings, relevance to the field, and contribution to existing knowledge. Reviewers should provide constructive, evidence-based feedback that helps authors improve their work. Recommendations should be supported by clear scholarly reasoning, and the final editorial decision remains the responsibility of the editor.

Reviewers should accept review assignments only when they possess appropriate expertise and can complete the evaluation within the requested timeframe. A reviewer who feels insufficiently qualified to evaluate a manuscript, identifies a significant limitation in their expertise, or cannot provide a timely review must notify the editor promptly and decline or withdraw from the assignment. Reviewers should not delay the editorial process unnecessarily and should communicate any circumstances that may affect the quality or timeliness of their assessment.

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, reproduce, distribute, or discuss submitted manuscripts with unauthorized individuals without the editor's prior authorization. Confidential information obtained during peer review must not be used for personal, academic, financial, or competitive advantage. Reviewers must also respect the confidentiality of editorial correspondence and any unpublished data, findings, or research ideas contained in the manuscript.

Reviews must be conducted objectively, fairly, and professionally. Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate. Reviewers should clearly distinguish between major methodological or conceptual weaknesses and minor issues of presentation, and should support their judgments with relevant evidence, scholarly reasoning, and specific recommendations. Reviewers should avoid discriminatory, offensive, or unnecessarily hostile language and should evaluate the manuscript according to its academic quality rather than the authors' identity, institutional reputation, or personal characteristics.

Reviewers should identify relevant published research that has not been adequately cited and recommend additional references when they are directly relevant to the manuscript's arguments or findings. Suggestions to cite the reviewer's own work must be justified by genuine scholarly relevance and must not be intended to increase personal citation counts. Reviewers should inform the editor of any substantial similarity, overlap, possible plagiarism, inconsistent findings, questionable data, or other concerns that may indicate research or publication misconduct. Such concerns should be communicated confidentially and supported by clear explanations wherever possible.

Reviewers must disclose any financial, professional, personal, collaborative, competitive, or institutional relationships that could compromise the impartiality of their assessment. A reviewer who identifies a potential or actual conflict of interest should notify the editor and decline the assignment when impartial evaluation cannot be assured. Privileged information and ideas obtained through peer review must remain confidential and must never be used for personal benefit or to gain an unfair academic or professional advantage.

Reviewers must protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts when using digital tools or artificial intelligence (AI) systems. Manuscript content, unpublished data, and confidential editorial information must not be uploaded to external AI systems or services when doing so would breach confidentiality, data protection requirements, or applicable journal policies. AI tools must not replace the reviewer's independent scholarly judgment, and reviewers remain responsible for the accuracy, fairness, and integrity of their evaluations. Any use of AI must comply with the journal's applicable policies and the confidentiality obligations of peer review.

Authors of original research must provide an accurate, transparent, and comprehensive account of their research procedures, data, analyses, and findings. Manuscripts should present results objectively and discuss their significance in relation to the research questions, theoretical framework, methodological limitations, and existing evidence. Data, tables, figures, statistical analyses, and other research outputs must be reported accurately and must not be fabricated, falsified, selectively manipulated, or presented in a misleading manner. Authors should provide sufficient methodological detail to enable appropriate scrutiny, verification, and replication where applicable. Any limitations that may affect the interpretation or generalizability of the findings should be acknowledged explicitly.

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts constitute original scholarly work and that all ideas, words, data, methods, images, and other materials obtained from external sources are appropriately acknowledged. Direct quotations must be clearly identified and accurately referenced, while paraphrased material must be properly attributed. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism that misrepresents the originality of a submission, unattributed reuse of published material, and inappropriate appropriation of other researchers' work are unacceptable. Authors must ensure that all third-party materials are used in accordance with applicable copyright and licensing requirements. The journal may use similarity-checking tools and editorial investigation to assess concerns about originality; similarity scores must be interpreted in context rather than treated as conclusive evidence of misconduct on their own.

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal. Manuscripts that substantially overlap with previously published articles or manuscripts under consideration elsewhere must be disclosed to the editor, together with relevant publications or submissions. Redundant publication, inappropriate fragmentation of research findings, and the presentation of previously published results as new findings are unacceptable. Any legitimate reuse of data, methods, or previously disseminated material must be transparently explained, appropriately cited, and justified by a distinct scholarly contribution. Exceptions involving preprints, theses, conference proceedings, or other forms of prior dissemination must be disclosed and assessed in accordance with the journal's applicable policies.

Authors must appropriately acknowledge the intellectual contributions of other researchers and cite sources that have materially informed the study's theoretical framework, research design, methods, analysis, and interpretation. All cited works must be accurately represented and included in the reference list in accordance with the journal's prescribed referencing style. Authors must not invent references, misrepresent source content, or include citations solely to manipulate citation metrics. The use of secondary sources should be clearly identified when the original source has not been consulted directly.

Authorship must reflect substantial intellectual contributions to the conception or design of the study, the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data, and the development or critical revision of the manuscript, together with approval of the final version and accountability for the integrity of the work. Individuals who meet the applicable authorship criteria should be included as authors, while those who have contributed in other meaningful ways should be acknowledged appropriately where their consent has been obtained. Gift authorship, honorary authorship, ghost authorship, and the omission of eligible contributors are unacceptable. The corresponding author is responsible for confirming that all listed authors have approved the final manuscript, agreed to its submission, and consented to the author order before submission. Changes to authorship after submission must be justified and approved by all affected authors and handled in accordance with the journal's procedures.

Authors must disclose financial and non-financial relationships that could reasonably be perceived to influence the design, conduct, analysis, interpretation, or reporting of their research. Such disclosures may include research funding, employment, consultancy, personal relationships, institutional interests, intellectual property, or other relevant commitments. All sources of financial support must be acknowledged accurately, including the role of funders in the research process where applicable. If no relevant conflicts of interest exist, authors should provide an explicit declaration to that effect.

Research involving human participants, including students, teachers, and educational communities, must comply with applicable ethical principles, institutional requirements, and relevant national regulations. Where required, authors must obtain approval from an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review board before conducting the study and report the approval details in the manuscript. Informed consent must be obtained where applicable, and additional safeguards must be implemented when research involves children, students, vulnerable populations, or unequal power relationships. Authors must protect participants' privacy, confidentiality, dignity, and welfare, including through appropriate anonymization and secure data management. Any exemption from formal ethical review should be justified in accordance with the applicable institutional and regulatory framework. The journal may request evidence of ethical approval or consent when necessary.

Authors should provide a data availability statement describing whether the data supporting the findings are publicly available, available upon reasonable request, restricted by ethical or legal requirements, or unavailable for other justified reasons. Where appropriate and ethically permissible, authors are encouraged to deposit research data, instruments, analytical materials, and other supporting resources in suitable repositories. Data sharing must respect participant confidentiality, informed consent, intellectual property rights, and applicable data protection requirements. Authors must not disclose identifiable or sensitive information without an appropriate legal and ethical basis. Any restrictions on data access should be explained transparently.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and accountability of all content submitted to the journal, including content produced or assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The use of AI tools must not result in fabricated data, invented references, misleading analyses, plagiarism, or the misrepresentation of research procedures or findings. Where required by the journal's applicable policy, authors must disclose the use of AI tools in manuscript preparation or research activities, specifying the relevant tool and its role. AI systems must not be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the work. Authors must independently verify AI-assisted content, citations, interpretations, and factual claims before submission. The use of AI must also respect confidentiality, privacy, intellectual property rights, and applicable research ethics requirements.

Authors who discover a significant error, omission, or inaccuracy in their published work must notify the editor promptly and cooperate in determining the appropriate corrective action. Depending on the nature and significance of the problem, the journal may publish a correction, issue an expression of concern, retract the article, or take another proportionate action. Retractions may be necessary when findings are unreliable because of serious errors or misconduct, or when publication violates fundamental ethical or legal requirements. Authors must cooperate with reasonable editorial inquiries concerning their published work and must not conceal evidence of material errors or research misconduct.

SEARCH: Science Education Research Journal takes allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously. Suspected misconduct may include fabrication or falsification of data, plagiarism, duplicate publication, manipulation of peer review, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, unethical research involving human participants, and misuse of confidential information. Allegations will be assessed in a fair, confidential, and proportionate manner, with due consideration of the available evidence and the opportunity for relevant parties to respond. The journal may consult independent experts, reviewers, research institutions, ethics committees, or other appropriate bodies when necessary. Editorial actions will be determined according to the seriousness of the concern, the reliability of the evidence, and applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Where misconduct is established or a serious unresolved concern affects the reliability or ethical standing of a publication, the journal may reject the manuscript, request revisions or supporting evidence, correct the published record, issue an expression of concern, retract the article, or take other appropriate action. The journal seeks to ensure that any action taken is adequately documented and communicated to relevant parties. Retraction and correction decisions are intended to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record rather than to serve as punitive measures.

SEARCH supports the responsible dissemination of scholarly knowledge through its open-access publishing policy. Articles published in the journal are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), subject to any specific rights statements applicable to individual materials. This license permits users to share and adapt licensed material for any purpose, including commercial use, provided that appropriate attribution is given, a link to the license is supplied, and changes are indicated. Copyright ownership and publication rights are governed by the journal's applicable copyright policy and publication agreement. Authors and users must respect third-party copyright, licensing restrictions, and applicable legal requirements when reproducing or adapting materials.

The full terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

This Ethics Statement is implemented by the editorial team of SEARCH: Science Education Research Journal in conjunction with the journal's peer-review procedures, author guidelines, copyright policy, and other relevant editorial policies. All participants in the publication process are expected to familiarize themselves with the applicable requirements and cooperate in maintaining ethical and professional standards. The journal may review and update this statement when necessary to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, research ethics, and applicable guidance. Any revisions should be communicated transparently through the journal's official website.