Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics

Science Education Research (Search) Journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all necessary measures to prevent publication malpractice. The Editorial Board is responsible for safeguarding ethical standards in all stages of the publication process. Unethical behavior is unacceptable, and plagiarism in any form will not be tolerated.

Authors submitting manuscripts confirm that their work is original, has not been published previously in any language (in whole or in part), and is not under consideration elsewhere.

Editors, authors, and reviewers are required to adhere to best practices in scholarly publishing and comply with the principles outlined in the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors.

Section A: Publication and Authorship

  1. All submitted manuscripts undergo a rigorous peer-review process by at least two independent international reviewers.
  2. The journal applies a blind peer-review system.
  3. Evaluation criteria include relevance, methodological soundness, significance, originality, clarity, and language quality.
  4. Editorial decisions include acceptance, revision, or rejection.
  5. Resubmission after revision does not guarantee acceptance.
  6. Rejected manuscripts will not be reconsidered.
  7. Acceptance is subject to legal requirements, including copyright and plagiarism regulations.
  8. Duplicate or redundant publication is strictly prohibited.

Section B: Authors’ Responsibilities

  1. Authors must ensure that their manuscripts are entirely original.
  2. Manuscripts must not have been published or submitted elsewhere.
  3. Authors must actively participate in the peer-review process.
  4. All listed authors must have made significant contributions to the research.
  5. Authors must ensure that all data presented are accurate and authentic.
  6. Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest.
  7. All sources must be appropriately acknowledged and cited.
  8. Authors are responsible for correcting significant errors discovered after publication.

Section C: Reviewers’ Responsibilities

  1. Reviewers must treat all manuscripts as confidential documents.
  2. Reviews should be objective, constructive, and free from personal bias.
  3. Reviewers must provide clear arguments supporting their evaluations.
  4. Relevant uncited work should be identified and suggested.
  5. Any substantial similarity with existing publications must be reported.
  6. Reviewers must decline reviews where conflicts of interest exist.

Section D: Editors’ Responsibilities

  1. Editors have full authority to accept or reject manuscripts.
  2. Editors are responsible for maintaining publication quality and integrity.
  3. Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly merit and relevance.
  4. Editors must ensure confidentiality throughout the review process.
  5. Editors must act promptly on ethical concerns or misconduct.
  6. Conflicts of interest must be avoided in all editorial decisions.

The journal maintains strict policies regarding corrections, retractions, and withdrawals to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

Editorial Policies

Publication Decisions: Editorial decisions are based on the manuscript’s scholarly contribution, originality, and relevance.

Fair Play: Manuscripts are evaluated without discrimination based on personal characteristics.

Confidentiality: Manuscript information must not be disclosed to unauthorized parties.

Conflict of Interest: Unpublished materials must not be used without author consent.

Data Access and Retention: Authors may be required to provide raw data and must retain data after publication.

Ethical Compliance: Authors must clearly identify any hazardous procedures or materials.

Content Integrity (Crossmark Policy)

The journal supports CrossMark to ensure document authenticity and track updates to published content.

Plagiarism Policy

The journal enforces a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism.

Definition: Plagiarism is the unauthorized use of another’s work presented as original.

Policy: All submissions must be original and properly cite all sources. Verbatim use of content must be clearly indicated.

All manuscripts are subject to similarity checking prior to peer review.

Withdrawal of Manuscripts

  • Manuscripts cannot be withdrawn without valid justification.
  • Withdrawal during review or after acceptance may result in penalties.
  • Published articles may be withdrawn for ethical violations.
  • Non-compliance may result in author blacklisting.
  • Formal withdrawal requests must be submitted in writing.

Correction Policy

  • Corrections are issued for minor errors affecting interpretation.
  • Types include erratum, corrigendum, and addendum.
  • Editorial decisions on corrections are final.

Article Removal

Articles may be removed in exceptional cases involving legal or ethical violations.

Article Replacement

Corrected versions may replace original articles where necessary.

Retraction Policy

  1. Unreliable findings due to error or misconduct.
  2. Redundant publication.
  3. Plagiarism.
  4. Unethical research practices.

Licensing Policy

Permissions:

  • Share — copy and redistribute the material.
  • Adapt — remix and build upon the material.

Terms:

  • Attribution — proper credit must be given.
  • No additional restrictions — no legal limitations may be imposed.

No warranties are provided, and additional rights may apply.