Purpose

KUJAS is committed to ensuring the integrity of the scholarly record and to applying ethical standards across editorial decisions, peer review, and publication. Editorial decisions are made on the basis of academic merit and professional judgment.

KUJAS may publish corrections, clarifications, expressions of concern, or retractions when required to maintain the integrity of the record.

Scope of Application

• Authors, reviewers, editors, and readers must follow KUJAS ethical standards.
• Confidentiality must be preserved throughout peer review and editorial handling.
• Conflicts of interest must be disclosed and managed.

Responsibilities of the Publisher

• Support editorial independence and ensure decisions are not influenced by commercial interests.
• Maintain the integrity of the academic record and publication archive.
• Support ethical oversight across editors, reviewers, authors, and readers.
• Facilitate handling of corrections, clarifications, and retractions when necessary.
• Support screening for unethical practices (e.g., plagiarism, data manipulation) as part of editorial checks.

Responsibilities of Editors

• Make final decisions to accept or reject manuscripts based on scholarly merit and journal scope.
• Preserve confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and reviewer identities.
• Assess manuscripts fairly, without discrimination, and manage conflicts of interest.
• Investigate ethical concerns (plagiarism, fraudulent data) and take appropriate action when needed.
• Limit decisions to intellectual content and scientific quality.
• Do not use unpublished materials for personal research without the author’s explicit written consent.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

• Support editors by providing technical, professional, and objective evaluations.
• Treat manuscripts as confidential and do not use information for personal advantage.
• Declare conflicts of interest and decline review when conflicts exist.
• Provide reviews within a reasonable timeframe.

Responsibilities of Authors

• Submit manuscripts in English using clear grammar and appropriate scientific terminology.
• Submit original work that is not under consideration elsewhere.
• Ensure all coauthors approve the submission and the final version.
• Disclose funding sources and describe the role of the sponsor (if any).
• Disclose conflicts of interest when applicable.
• Cooperate with peer review and respond to editorial and reviewer comments professionally.
• Notify the journal promptly if a significant error is discovered after publication.

Fees, Access, and Schedule

• KUJAS is an open-access journal; published articles are freely available online.
• Article processing or publication fees (if applicable) are communicated by the journal.
• The publishing schedule and periodicity are clearly indicated by the journal.
• Archiving and preservation plans are publicly stated by the journal.

Misconduct Prevention

• The Editor-in-Chief takes reasonable steps to identify and prevent research misconduct.
• Potential concerns include plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication.

Journal Identity

• The journal name and abbreviation are used consistently to avoid confusion with other journals.
• Conflicts of interest are requested and assessed as part of submission and editorial handling.

Examples of Violations

• Plagiarism: Using another person’s work, ideas, or text without proper citation (including self-plagiarism).
• Data fabrication/falsification: Making up data or manipulating/omitting results.
• Simultaneous submission: Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals at the same time.
• Duplicate/redundant publication: Publishing substantially overlapping content without transparent cross-referencing.
• Improper authorship: Excluding contributors or including individuals who did not contribute materially.
• Citation manipulation: Adding irrelevant citations to inflate metrics.

Possible Sanctions

When misconduct is confirmed, KUJAS may apply sanctions proportionate to the severity of the case, which may include:

• Immediate rejection of the manuscript.
• Rejection of related manuscripts under consideration (where appropriate).
• Temporary restriction on new submissions (duration determined case-by-case).
• Removal from reviewer pools and/or editorial roles.
• Notification of author affiliations in serious cases, consistent with COPE guidance and institutional policies.

Initial Assessment

• The editor gathers relevant evidence and informs the KUJAS editorial office.
• The corresponding author is contacted and asked for an explanation in a nonjudgmental manner.
• If concerns remain, the case is referred to the appropriate committee/channel within KUJAS.

Outcomes

• For minor issues: a correction request, clarification, or editorial letter may be issued.
• For serious issues: rejection, retraction, or publication of an expression of concern may be issued.
• In confirmed fraud cases: a retraction notice may be published and linked to the article, and the online article may be marked “retracted” with the retraction date.

KUJAS reserves the right to take additional actions as necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.