“This journal is following of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and complies with the highest ethical standards in accordance with ethical laws”.
Authors must adhere to the following ethical considerations:
- Authors must not falsify or fabricate data, sources, findings, claims, or credentials.
- Academic honesty is essential; authors should properly reference any verbatim material or data they use, regardless of its publication status or availability online.
- Per the American Educational Research Association (AERA) codes of ethics, submitted manuscripts must not display discrimination based on race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion, language, disability, health conditions, socioeconomic status, or marital, domestic, or parental status.
Authors must obtain informed consent from study participants, ensuring their privacy and anonymity are protected in the manuscripts.
General Duties and Responsibilities of Editors:
- Editors are accountable for everything published in their journals.
- Strive to meet the needs of readers and authors.
- Continuously improve the quality of their journal.
- Establish processes to ensure the quality of published material.
- Uphold freedom of expression.
- Maintain the integrity of the academic record.
- Prevent business needs from compromising intellectual and ethical standards.
- Be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when needed.
Author Ethical Considerations:
- Authors must not falsify or fabricate data, sources, findings, claims, or credentials.
- Uphold academic honesty by providing appropriate references when using verbatim materials or data.
- Submitted manuscripts must not display discrimination based on any personal or social attributes.
- Authors must ensure informed consent is obtained from participants, protecting their privacy and anonymity throughout the research.
Basic Principles for Peer Reviewers:
Peer reviewers should:
- Only agree to review manuscripts for which they have the required subject expertise and can complete in a timely manner.
- Respect the confidentiality of the review process and not disclose any manuscript details.
- Avoid using information obtained during peer review for personal or organizational advantage.
- Declare any potential conflicts of interest and seek advice if unsure.
- Ensure reviews are unbiased and constructive, avoiding derogatory personal comments.
- Recognize that peer review is reciprocal and fulfill their review responsibilities promptly.
- Acknowledge that impersonating another individual during the review process is serious misconduct.
Expectations during the Peer-Review Process
When approached to review, peer reviewers should:
- Respond promptly, especially if unable to review.
- Declare subject expertise limitations if applicable.
- Agree to review manuscripts only if they can meet the proposed timeline.
- Disclose any potential conflicts of interest.
- Adhere to journal policies on conflicts of interest.
- Re-evaluate manuscripts they have previously reviewed for other journals.
- Ensure suggestions for alternative reviewers are based on suitability.
- Decline to review if unable to provide fair and unbiased feedback.
- Refrain from reviewing manuscripts if involved in the research.
During Review
Peer reviewers should:
- Inform the journal immediately of any conflicts of interest discovered during the review.
- Notify the journal if lacking expertise in certain manuscript areas.
- Not involve others in the review without journal permission.
- Keep manuscript and review details confidential.
- Notify the journal of any ethical concerns or irregularities.
- Not contact authors directly without journal permission.
When Preparing the Report
Peer reviewers should:
- Provide objective, constructive feedback to help improve manuscripts.
- Avoid derogatory comments or unfounded accusations.
- Be specific in criticisms and reference supporting evidence.
- Be conscious of language sensitivities, particularly for non-native speakers.
- Specify essential additional investigations required to support manuscript claims.
- Ensure their comments and recommendations for editors are consistent.
Expectations Post Review
Peer reviewers should:
- Maintain confidentiality of manuscript details.
- Respond promptly to journal inquiries related to their review.
- Inform the journal of any relevant information discovered post-review.
- Review other reviewers' comments to enhance understanding of the topic.
- Accommodate journal requests to review revised submissions.
Plagiarism
Allameh Tabataba’i University (ATU), a leading institution in humanities and social sciences in Iran, upholds the highest standards for authentic scholarly works. The ATU Press enforces a zero-tolerance policy on plagiarism, rigorously analyzing submissions to ensure originality. Given the prevalence of plagiarism in scholarly work, the ATU Press employs all necessary measures to combat it.
The ATU Press follows COPE guidelines on publication ethics. Further information is available at www.publicationethics.org/resources.
ATU journals adhere to the APA Publication Manual definition of plagiarism as:
- Using ideas, words, or products without crediting the source.
- Presenting another's ideas, words, or products as one's own.
- Misrepresenting someone else's work as a new idea or product.
The ATU Press regards any uncited usage of others' work as plagiarism, including work from various sources such as published/unpublished authors, theses, speeches, and more.
All submitted articles undergo thorough plagiarism checks, addressed at all publication stages:
- If plagiarism is detected in new submissions, the journal's Review Committee will determine the nature of the infraction. Mistakes will prompt immediate notification to authors for correction. Deliberate plagiarism leads to blacklisting and notification, prohibiting future submissions for five years.
- Should a plagiarized article be published, it will be retracted, and this will be officially announced on the ATU Press website.
The ATU Press employs advanced plagiarism detection software linked to global databases, ensuring the originality and authenticity of new submissions.