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Publication Ethics and Research Integrity

  • JAARD is committed to maintaining high standards of integrity in scholarly publication. Authors, reviewers and editors are expected to observe recognised principles of responsible research and publication practice.

Authors’ Responsibilities

Author's must :

  • submit original work;
  • appropriately acknowledge and cite the work of others;
  • disclose prior publication or substantial reuse of their own work;
  • ensure that the manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere;
  • ensure that all listed authors have made a meaningful contribution;
  • disclose relevant conflicts of interest;
  • identify funding and other sources of research support where applicable;
  • obtain necessary permissions for copyrighted material;
  • observe appropriate research ethics requirements; and
  • promptly inform the journal of significant errors discovered after submission or publication.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to:

  • treat manuscripts and associated information confidentially;
  • provide objective and constructive assessment;
  • avoid personal criticism of authors;
  • support recommendations with appropriate scholarly reasoning;
  • identify relevant published work that may have been overlooked;
  • alert the editor to suspected substantial overlap, plagiarism or other research-integrity concerns; and
  • decline review where a conflict of interest could compromise impartial assessment.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for:

  • safeguarding the academic quality and integrity of the journal;
  • making editorial decisions on scholarly grounds;
  • maintaining appropriate confidentiality during peer review;
  • protecting reviewer confidentiality under the journal's review model;
  • avoiding and managing conflicts of interest;
  • responding appropriately to credible allegations of misconduct;
  • issuing corrections, expressions of concern or retractions where warranted; and
  • ensuring that publication decisions are not influenced by commercial considerations.

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Plagiarism and Similarity Screening

Submissions to JAARD are screened for inappropriate textual overlap and plagiarism. Similarity reports are used as an editorial screening tool and are interpreted in context. The
presence of legitimately quoted material, references, methodological terminology or other unavoidable textual similarity does not in itself establish plagiarism. Plagiarism includes presenting another person’s words, ideas, data, images or other intellectual contribution as one’s own without appropriate acknowledgement. Cases of suspected plagiarism or redundant publication may result in rejection and, where appropriate, further action under the journal’s publication-ethics procedures.

Corrections and Retractions
JAARD may correct or retract published material where necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.
Retraction may be considered where, among other circumstances:
 findings are demonstrated to be unreliable because of misconduct or significant error;
 substantial findings have previously been published without appropriate justification or acknowledgement;
 plagiarism is established; or
 the research is found to have involved serious ethical violations.
Retractions and other post-publication actions will be handled in accordance with recognised publication-ethics principles and applicable COPE guidance.

Manuscript Withdrawal
Requests to withdraw a manuscript will be considered by the editorial office according to the stage of editorial processing and the circumstances of the request.
Authors wishing to withdraw a submission should contact the journal with an explanation. Withdrawal after acceptance or during advanced production may be subject to additional
editorial consideration.

Conflicts of Interest
Authors, reviewers and editors should disclose relationships or circumstances that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their scholarly judgement.
Where a conflict exists, appropriate steps will be taken to protect the independence of the review and decision-making process.

Privacy
Names, email addresses and other personal information supplied to JAARD will be used for the editorial and publication purposes of the journal and will not be disclosed for unrelated purposes except where required by law or necessary for legitimate publication processes.