Publication Ethics and Policy

The Journal of Fundamental and Applied Research is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, research integrity, and transparency to safeguard the scholarly record. This policy outlines the ethical responsibilities and expectations of all parties involved in the publication process — authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher — in accordance with international best practices, particularly the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). 

Responsibilities of the Publisher

As the publisher of the Journal of Fundamental and Applied Research, the publisher ensures:

• Editorial Independence: All editorial decisions are made independently by the editorial team, free from commercial, financial, or political influence.
• Resource Support: Provision of the infrastructure, technical tools, and policy frameworks necessary for the smooth operation of the journal.
• Ethical Oversight: Transparent handling of suspected misconduct, corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern in collaboration with the editors.
• Archiving and Preservation: Reliable archiving of published content to ensure long-term accessibility.

Responsibilities of the Editors

The Editor-in-Chief and editorial team are responsible for:

• Editorial Decisions: Ensuring fair, unbiased decisions based solely on academic merit, originality, relevance, and clarity, independent of authors’ gender, ethnicity, nationality, institutional affiliation, or political beliefs.
• Peer Review Management: Overseeing a rigorous and confidential peer review process conducted by qualified experts.
• Confidentiality: Safeguarding the confidentiality of manuscripts and all related communications.
• Conflict of Interest Disclosure: Declaring and managing any personal, financial, or institutional conflicts of interest, and recusing themselves from decisions where such conflicts exist.
• Ethical Enforcement: Ensuring corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern are issued when ethical breaches, errors, or misconduct are identified.
• Misconduct Handling: Investigating allegations of research or publication misconduct in accordance with COPE procedures.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play a vital role in maintaining the integrity of published research. They are expected to:

• Provide objective, fair, and constructive evaluations of submitted manuscripts.
• Complete reviews within the agreed timeline or promptly inform editors of any delays.
• Maintain strict confidentiality — manuscripts, data, and findings must not be shared or used for personal advantage.
• Declare any potential conflicts of interest and decline reviews where impartiality may be compromised.
• Identify relevant uncited literature, detect potential plagiarism, or flag redundant publications.
• Uphold professional conduct and communicate respectfully with authors through the editorial office.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must adhere to the highest ethical standards:

• Submit only original, unpublished work not under consideration elsewhere.
• Provide accurate, complete, and transparent accounts of research methods, data, and findings.
• Ensure sufficient detail and documentation to allow replication or follow-up research.
• Properly acknowledge all sources, collaborators, and funding.
• Avoid plagiarism, redundant publication, and data fabrication or falsification.
• Disclose any financial, institutional, or personal conflicts of interest.
• Comply with ethical standards when research involves human or animal subjects, including:
• Obtaining institutional ethics approval.
• Securing informed consent from participants.
• Ensuring participant anonymity, confidentiality, and data protection.
• Following international guidelines such as the Declaration of Helsinki.

Authors must also promptly notify the editorial office if they identify significant errors or inaccuracies post-publication so that corrections or retractions can be issued.

Competing Interests Policy

All participants in the publication process — authors, reviewers, and editors — must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could influence research outcomes or editorial decisions. This includes:

• Financial relationships: Grants, consulting fees, stock ownership, or other remunerations.
• Personal or academic relationships: Collaborations, prior co-authorships, or other affiliations.
• Institutional or competitive interests: Affiliations that may influence impartiality.

Editors with conflicts must recuse themselves from handling affected manuscripts, and reviewers must decline assignments where impartiality may be compromised.

Correction, Retraction, and Expressions of Concern

The journal is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record. Following COPE guidelines, the journal may take the following actions:

• Correction (Erratum): For minor errors that do not affect the study’s findings.
• Retraction: For major errors, ethical breaches, or confirmed misconduct (e.g., data fabrication, plagiarism).
• Expression of Concern: Issued when an investigation is ongoing but there is reason to alert the community to potential issues.

All corrections and retractions are linked to the original article for transparency.

Ethical Guidelines and External Standards

The Journal of Fundamental and Applied Research aligns its editorial practices with:

• COPE Core Practices and Guidelines – https://publicationethics.org
• ARRIVE Guidelines – for research involving animals