Publication Ethics and Research Integrity

SAER Journal · Editorial Policies

SAER Journal is committed to the principles of honesty, transparency, accountability, impartiality, and research integrity in scholarly publishing.

All manuscripts submitted to, evaluated by, and published in the journal are expected to comply with applicable ethical standards, relevant regulations, and internationally recognized principles of scholarly publishing.

Policy No. SAER-POL-PE-03 · Version 1.0 · Effective 2026 · Last Updated 14 September 2026 · Responsible Body SAER Journal Editorial Board

1. General Ethical Principles

Authors, editors, reviewers, and other individuals involved in the publication process are responsible for acting in accordance with the principles of scientific integrity, confidentiality, impartiality, disclosure of conflicts of interest, and protection of research participants' rights.

SAER Journal does not accept plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate or redundant publication, inappropriate authorship, violations of ethics-approval requirements, or other practices that compromise research integrity.

2. Research Ethics and Ethics Committee Approval

Authors are responsible for complying with applicable national and institutional ethical requirements in studies involving human participants, personal data, vulnerable groups, or other research processes requiring ethics committee review.

For studies requiring ethics committee approval, the name of the committee, date of approval, and decision or application number must be stated in the manuscript. The editor may request the ethics approval document, permission letter, or other relevant documentation where necessary.

Where authors state that ethics committee approval was not required, the editor may request a justification or explanation depending on the nature of the research.

3. Informed Consent and Participant Rights

In research requiring informed consent, appropriate consent must be obtained from participants or, where necessary, from their legal representatives. Information, images, or other materials that may reveal participants' privacy or identity may be used only where scientifically necessary and where appropriate permissions have been obtained.

Voluntariness, privacy, confidentiality, non-discrimination, and protection of participants' rights are regarded as fundamental principles in research.

4. Research Misconduct

SAER Journal may regard fabrication of data or findings, misleading alteration of data or research records, use of another person's ideas or expressions without appropriate attribution, and other conduct that undermines the reliability of the scholarly record as research misconduct.

Where there is a reasonable suspicion of research or publication misconduct, the editor may request an explanation or supporting documentation from the authors. Where necessary, the matter may be referred to the relevant institution, ethics committee, or other competent authority for review.

5. Plagiarism and Use of Sources

Authors must not use another person's ideas, data, wording, tables, figures, or other materials without appropriate attribution. Appropriate citation and transparency must also be maintained when reusing material from the authors' previously published work.

Similarity reports are not used as the sole basis for determining an ethical violation. Similarities are reviewed editorially by considering context, citation practices, the type of manuscript, and the nature of the material concerned.

6. Duplicate and Simultaneous Submission

A manuscript must not be submitted simultaneously to more than one journal for evaluation. Where work containing substantially the same data, analysis, or text has been published previously, this must be disclosed clearly and the related publications must be cited appropriately.

7. Authorship and Contribution

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made a meaningful scholarly contribution to the work and who are able to take responsibility for the published content. Contributions that do not meet the threshold for authorship should be acknowledged appropriately in an acknowledgements or contributorship statement.

Gift authorship, ghost authorship, and listing an individual as an author without that person's knowledge or approval are not accepted. Requests for changes in authorship may be subject to editorial review.

8. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members must disclose financial, academic, institutional, personal, or other relationships that may influence, or may reasonably appear to influence, evaluation or publication decisions.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not by itself require rejection of a manuscript; what is essential is transparent disclosure of the relationship and preservation of the independence of editorial decision-making.

9. Funding and Support

Institutions and organizations providing financial or in-kind support for the conduct of the research, data collection, analysis, writing, or publication must be disclosed clearly. Where a funder has had a role in study design, data analysis, writing, or the decision to publish, that role must be reported transparently.

10. Data Integrity and Research Records

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the data underlying published findings. Where necessary for scientific or ethical evaluation, the editor may request anonymized data, analysis outputs, research protocols, or other supporting documentation.

Data sharing must be conducted with due regard to participant confidentiality, personal-data protection, ethics committee conditions, legal obligations, and the rights of third parties.

11. Editorial Responsibility and Independence

Publication decisions are based on the scientific quality, originality, ethical compliance, and alignment of the work with the journal's aims and scope rather than on the author's institutional affiliation, nationality, personal characteristics, political views, or other opinions.

Editors withdraw from the evaluation and decision-making process for manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest. Such manuscripts are handled through an independent editorial process.

12. Assessment of Alleged Ethical Breaches

SAER Journal evaluates allegations of ethical breaches, as far as possible, in accordance with the principles of confidentiality, impartiality, and fairness. Explanations or documentation may be requested from the relevant parties, and available information is assessed adequately before a decision is reached.

Where allegations of research misconduct fall within the remit of institutions or competent authorities, the journal may request review by the appropriate institutional or legal body rather than conducting an investigation beyond its own authority.

13. Post-Publication Ethical Issues

If an error, ethical breach, or another issue that may affect the reliability of the scholarly record is identified in a published work, the journal may undertake the necessary assessment and apply an appropriate post-publication action, including a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or another suitable measure.

14. Complaints and Appeals

Authors and other relevant parties may submit a reasoned complaint or appeal concerning the editorial process or ethical assessments. Where possible, appeals may be reconsidered independently of the person who made the initial decision.

15. International Standards

SAER Journal takes into account internationally accepted good-practice and transparency principles in publication ethics and research integrity. The journal's policies may be updated as necessary in response to developments in scholarly publishing and research ethics.