Publication Ethics and Conflict of Interest

Journal of Engineering Research and Applied Sciences (JERAS) — Responsibilities of Editors, Reviewers, and Authors

JERAS is committed to upholding the highest standards of ethics, integrity, and objectivity in scientific publishing. This policy outlines the core ethical responsibilities of authors, peer reviewers, and the editorial board:

1. Duties and Responsibilities of Authors

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their work is entirely original. Copying or paraphrasing ideas or results of others without appropriate attribution is strictly prohibited.
  • Multiple or Redundant Publication: Research papers describing essentially the same research must not be submitted to more than one journal concurrently.
  • Authorship and Contributions: Authorship should be limited to those who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study. All significant contributors must be listed as co-authors.
  • Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships with individuals or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work.
  • Data Integrity and Reporting Errors: Sources of financial support for the project must be disclosed. If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must notify the journal editor immediately to retract or correct the article.

2. Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers

  • Contribution to Decisions: Peer review assists the editors in making editorial decisions and, through editorial communications with authors, helps improve the quality of the paper.
  • Confidentiality: Any research papers received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others without permission from the editors.
  • Objectivity: Reviews must be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
  • Disclosure and Conflicting Interests: Reviewers must decline the review of research papers in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors or institutions.

3. Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

  • Fair Play and Editorial Independence: Editors evaluate research papers solely for their intellectual and scientific content, free from any personal bias, institutional influence, or non-scientific considerations.
  • Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must not disclose information about a submitted research paper to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and potential reviewers.
  • Investigating Misconduct: The editorial board will take responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted research paper or published paper, cooperating with authors and institutions to issue corrections or retractions where necessary.