Publication ethics
IJMES · Journal information and author resources
Editors
assess submissions on scholarly merit, relevance, and integrity. Preserve confidentiality and avoid using unpublished work for personal advantage. Recuse from decisions involving conflicts and delegate to an independent editor. Record reasons for decisions and distinguish commercial considerations from editorial judgment.
Authors
report methods and findings accurately, retain supporting records, acknowledge limitations, and cite relevant prior work. All authors should approve submission and remain accountable for their contributions. Disclose funding, competing interests, and substantive use of automated tools.
Reviewers
accept assignments only within appropriate expertise and capacity. Keep manuscripts confidential, disclose conflicts before review, and provide respectful, specific, evidence-based feedback. Do not appropriate unpublished ideas or contact authors outside the approved process.
Plagiarism
unattributed copying of words, ideas, images, or results is unacceptable. Concerns should be examined with supporting evidence, an opportunity for author response, and a proportionate documented decision. Similarity scores alone do not establish misconduct.
Duplicate publication
disclose related manuscripts, preprints, and prior dissemination. Do not submit substantially identical work to multiple journals simultaneously. Clearly identify and justify any permitted secondary publication with appropriate attribution.
Fabrication and falsification
do not invent data or manipulate records, images, or analyses in ways that misrepresent the research. Editors may request underlying evidence and seek institutional clarification where substantial concerns remain unresolved.
Conflicts of interest
authors, reviewers, and editors should disclose financial, professional, or personal relationships that could influence judgment. Relevant disclosures should accompany publication, and conflicted decision-makers should recuse themselves.
Authorship
authorship should reflect meaningful scholarly contribution and responsibility. Acknowledge other support. Agree author order before submission. Changes require explanations and written agreement from affected authors; unresolved disputes may be referred to institutions.
Corrections
correct errors transparently when they affect interpretation or the publication record. Link a dated notice to the original article, describe the change, and preserve version history. Minor editorial changes should not conceal substantive amendments.
Retractions
serious unreliability, redundant publication, or major ethical problems may require retraction after fair investigation. Notices should identify the article and reasons, remain accessible, and link to the original record. An expression of concern may be appropriate while an investigation is unresolved.
Complaints and appeals
submit a reasoned complaint or appeal with the manuscript identifier and supporting evidence to the verified editorial contact when available. An uninvolved editor should evaluate the concern and communicate a documented outcome. Official contact details, response times, and escalation arrangements will be announced.
Duplicate submission
Authors should not submit substantially identical manuscripts to multiple journals simultaneously. Disclose any overlap and provide an explanation when requested.
Data integrity
Authors should preserve underlying research records, accurately describe exclusions and transformations, and explain access limitations. Data concerns should be assessed using evidence and a documented opportunity to respond.