Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Journal of Educational Innovation and Research (JEIR) is an international peer-reviewed journal published by DnA Horizon Press. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and taking all possible measures to prevent publication malpractice.

This statement outlines the ethical responsibilities of all parties involved in the publication process—authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—and is based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors. JEIR is dedicated to publishing original, high-quality scholarly works that contribute valuable knowledge to the global academic community. All submissions must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere. The journal follows a rigorous double-blind peer review process, involving at least two independent expert reviewers, to ensure integrity, fairness, and transparency.

Duties of Authors

· Reporting Standards: Authors must present an accurate, clear, and objective account of their research, including sufficient detail and references to allow for replication. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

· Data Access, Retention, and Reproducibility: Authors may be required to provide raw data for editorial review and should retain such data for a reasonable period after publication. Authors are strongly encouraged to deposit datasets, code, and supplementary materials in publicly accessible, trusted repositories (e.g., Zenodo, Figshare, or institutional repositories) to facilitate transparency and reproducibility.

· Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure their work is entirely original. The work and/or words of others must be appropriately cited. Any form of plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, is unacceptable. All manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using Plagiarism Checker X and Turnitin.

· Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously, or publishing substantially similar work in multiple outlets without full disclosure and justification, is unethical and unacceptable.

· Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Information obtained privately (e.g., in conversations or correspondence) may not be used without explicit permission.

· Authorship of the Paper: Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the research. All co-authors must approve the final version of the manuscript and agree to its submission.

· Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their work. All funding sources and financial support must be acknowledged.

· Ethical Approval and Informed Consent: For studies involving human or animal participants, authors must provide evidence of ethical approval from an appropriate institutional review board or ethics committee. For human studies, authors must confirm that informed consent was obtained and that participant privacy was protected.

· Figure and Data Integrity: Manipulation of images or data in a manner that could lead to misinterpretation of results is considered scientific misconduct. Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color are acceptable only if they do not obscure or eliminate any information present in the original data.

· Fundamental Errors in Published Works: If authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must promptly notify the editor and cooperate to issue corrections or retractions.

Duties of Editors

· Publication Decisions: The Editor-in-Chief, in consultation with the editorial board and reviewers, decides which manuscripts will be published based on originality, quality, and relevance to the journal’s scope.

· Fair Play and Inclusivity: Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on their academic merit, without discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, political beliefs, or institutional affiliation. JEIR is committed to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in its editorial and review processes.

· 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: Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where conflicts of interest exist and must ensure that reviewers have no competing interests.

· Transparency in Peer Review: All submitted manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review process involving at least two independent reviewers to ensure impartiality and academic rigor.

· Handling of Unethical Behavior: Editors must take appropriate action when ethical issues arise, in accordance with COPE guidelines, even if misconduct is discovered years after publication.

Duties of Reviewers

· Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Reviewers assist editors in making editorial decisions and may help authors improve their manuscripts through constructive and high-quality feedback.

· Promptness and Confidentiality: Reviewers who feel unqualified to review a manuscript or unable to meet the review deadline should promptly notify the editors. All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.

· Objectivity and Integrity: Reviews should be objective and supported by clear reasoning. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate and must be avoided.

· Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work not cited by the authors and report any substantial similarity between the manuscript under review and any other work they know of.

· Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers must decline to review manuscripts where conflicts of interest exist and must not use privileged information obtained during the review for personal gain.

Duties of the Publisher

DnA Horizon Press ensures that commercial interests do not influence editorial decisions. The publisher supports editorial independence, provides guidance on ethical issues, facilitates corrections and retractions, and ensures the long-term preservation of published content through secure digital archiving systems, such as the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN).

Malpractice Statement and Appeals

JEIR takes all forms of unethical publishing behavior seriously. In cases of suspected misconduct, the editors will follow COPE’s flowcharts and guidelines to investigate.

· Retraction: Published articles proven to involve major ethical breaches will be formally retracted, with a retraction notice linked to the original article.

· Expression of Concern: Issued when there is inconclusive evidence of misconduct pending further investigation.

· Corrections: Made when minor errors are identified that do not affect the validity of the research.

The journal has a clear procedure for handling complaints and appeals:

· Complaints: Complaints about the journal's processes or editorial conduct are acknowledged within 5 working days, investigated by the editorial office, and resolved within a reasonable timeframe.

· Appeals: Appeals against editorial decisions may be submitted in writing to the Editor-in-Chief. Appeals are reviewed by an independent editorial board member not involved in the original decision and must be based on evidence of a substantial error in the review process or a misinterpretation of the manuscript.