Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The International Journal of Economic Practices and Theories (IJEPT) is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in all stages of the publishing process. Our Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement reflects the principles of transparency, academic integrity, and professional conduct as recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

This statement outlines the ethical behavior expected of all parties involved in the act of publishing—the author, the editor-in-chief, the editorial board, the peer reviewers, and the publisher.

1. Duties of Authors

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their manuscripts are entirely original. Proper citation and quotation are required when referencing the work or words of others. All submissions are screened for plagiarism.

  • Multiple Submissions: Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently. Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

  • Authorship of the Paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study. All contributors should be acknowledged appropriately.

  • Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or other conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript.

  • Data Access and Retention: Authors should provide access to raw data if requested and retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

  • Reporting Standards: Authors of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed and an objective discussion of its significance.

2. Duties of Editors

  • Fair Play: Manuscripts are evaluated based on their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

  • Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, and the publisher.

  • Publication Decisions: The editor is responsible for deciding which of the submitted articles should be published. The decision will be based on the manuscript’s quality, originality, and relevance to the journal’s scope.

  • Handling Unethical Behavior: Editors are responsible for responding to ethical concerns or allegations of misconduct in submitted or published papers. They will follow COPE’s guidelines for investigations and retractions if necessary.

3. Duties of Reviewers

  • Confidentiality: All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.

  • Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively, and observations should be expressed clearly with supporting arguments. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate.

  • Acknowledgement of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any similarity or overlap between the manuscript and other published papers should be reported.

  • Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must not review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors.

4. Publisher’s Responsibilities

  • Editorial Independence: The publisher ensures that editorial decisions are not influenced by commercial interests or advertising.

  • Ethical Oversight: The publisher supports the editorial team in handling ethical issues and responding to allegations of misconduct with transparency and fairness.

  • Digital Preservation: The journal ensures the long-term availability and preservation of its published content through digital archiving systems.

5. Misconduct and Retractions

In cases of proven misconduct, such as plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate submission, or authorship manipulation, IJEPT will take corrective action, which may include:

  • Rejection of the manuscript

  • Retraction of the published article

  • Publication of a correction or retraction notice

  • Notification of the author’s institution or funding agency

  • Temporary or permanent ban on future submissions

6. Plagiarism Policy

All submitted manuscripts are checked using plagiarism detection software. Submissions with significant similarity to previously published content without proper citation will be rejected outright. Authors may be asked to revise or provide clarification in minor cases.