Allegation of Research Misconduct
The journal is fully committed to upholding the integrity of research and scientific publications. To maintain the credibility and reliability of the scientific literature, effective mechanisms are needed to identify, investigate, and address potential research misconduct in accordance with the workflow recommended by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).
Research misconduct includes fabrication (inventing data, results, or research observations), falsification (manipulating materials, methods, data, or research results), plagiarism, duplicate publication, authorship violations, citation manipulation, manipulation of peer review, and violations of research subject ethics.
Handling Procedures
- The editor evaluates the validity of the complaint and potential conflicts of interest.
- The allegation is communicated to the corresponding author for an official clarification on behalf of the entire author team.
- The editor may seek expert or reviewer input. If no violation is proven, a clarification or minor correction may be published.
- The relevant institution is expected to conduct an independent investigation if necessary.
- Based on the final outcome, the journal may publish a correction, an “Expression of Concern,” or a retraction.
- The journal follows the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in handling allegations of research ethics violations.
