Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The International Journal of Technology, Management and Humanities (IJTMH) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and to preventing malpractice. All parties involved in the publishing process — editors, authors, peer reviewers, and the publisher — are expected to comply with these standards. IJTMH follows the guidelines set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) where applicable.

Duties of Editors

Fair and Impartial Handling

The editor-in-chief and associate editors are responsible for deciding which manuscripts submitted to IJTMH will be published. Editors shall evaluate manuscripts solely on the basis of their academic merit, originality, clarity, and relevance to the journal's scope, without regard to the authors' race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religious belief, political philosophy, institutional affiliation, or any other characteristic unrelated to scientific or scholarly quality.

Confidentiality

Editors and all editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used by the editor in their own research without the express written consent of the author.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors shall recuse themselves from making decisions on manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest arising from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the manuscript. In such cases, another member of the editorial board shall handle the manuscript.

Involvement in Decisions

When ethical concerns arise regarding a submitted or published manuscript, the editor shall take reasonably responsive measures. These measures may include the issuance of a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, in conformity with COPE guidelines.

Duties of Authors

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that their submitted work is entirely original. Any use of other authors' work or words must be appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism in all forms, including the republication of the author's own previous work without acknowledgment (self-plagiarism), constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable. IJTMH employs plagiarism detection software to screen all manuscripts. A similarity index of more than 20% (excluding references) may result in rejection.

Multiple Submission

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal. Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals concurrently is unethical and unacceptable. If a manuscript is found to have been published or submitted elsewhere, it will be immediately rejected or retracted.

Authorship

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant intellectual contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the research. All such individuals should be listed as authors. Others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section.

The corresponding author must ensure that all appropriate co-authors are included in the manuscript and that no inappropriate co-authors are included. The corresponding author must also ensure that all co-authors have approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

All authors must disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their work. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed in a Funding Statement.

Accuracy and Data Integrity

Authors are expected to present their results clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation. Authors should describe their methods clearly and unambiguously so that their findings can be confirmed by others. Raw data and datasets underlying published findings should be retained for a minimum of ten years following publication and should be made accessible to editors or reviewers upon request.

Significant Errors in Published Works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper. If the editor or publisher learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, the author is obliged to cooperate with the editor.

Research Involving Human or Animal Subjects

Research involving human participants, human-derived materials, or animals must be conducted in accordance with applicable national and international standards. Authors must confirm in their manuscript that appropriate ethical approval was obtained. Studies involving human subjects must confirm that informed consent was obtained from participants.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and, through the editorial communication with the author, may also assist the author in improving the manuscript. Peer review is an essential component of formal scholarly communication and lies at the heart of the scientific endeavour.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, discuss, or disclose a manuscript with anyone not authorised by the editor. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments and evidence.

Acknowledgment of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the submission.

Publication Malpractice and Misconduct

Retraction Policy

IJTMH may retract a published article if there is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, whether as a result of misconduct (e.g., data fabrication or falsification) or honest error; if the findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper crossreferencing, permission, or justification (i.e., duplicate publication); if the work constitutes plagiarism; or if the work reports unethical research.

Retraction notices will be published and linked to the original article. The original article will be retained online but marked as retracted.

Corrections

IJTMH will publish corrections when a small portion of an otherwise reliable publication proves to be misleading. A correction notice will clearly identify the corrected part and be linked to the original article.

Expressions of Concern

An expression of concern may be issued by the editor when there is inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct or when an investigation into alleged misconduct has not been resolved.

Note: All allegations of publication misconduct will be investigated in accordance with COPE's guidelines. IJTMH reserves the right to report confirmed cases of misconduct to the authors' institutions and/or relevant authorities.