Ethics Policy

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Policy

Journal of Integrated Sciences and Agriculture (JISA)

Purpose

The Journal of Integrated Sciences and Agriculture (JISA) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, ethical publishing, scientific transparency, and professional responsibility. As an international, multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed journal, JISA promotes credible, evidence-based, and high-quality research that contributes to the advancement of agricultural, environmental, engineering, biological, computational, social, and health sciences.

The journal recognizes that scientific progress depends upon honesty, accountability, fairness, and respect among authors, reviewers, editors, publishers, and readers. This Ethics and Malpractice Policy establish the ethical principles, responsibilities, and procedures that govern all stages of the publication process and ensures the integrity and reliability of the scholarly record.

JISA follows internationally recognized publishing ethics standards and best practices, including the principles and recommendations of the:

  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
  • International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
  • ARRIVE Guidelines for animal research
  • CONSORT Statement for clinical and experimental studies
  • Equator Network reporting standards
  • Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0)

General Ethical Principles

All participants involved in the publication process are expected to:

  • Maintain honesty, transparency, and professionalism in scholarly communication.
  • Treat all participants with dignity, fairness, respect, and academic courtesy.
  • Avoid discrimination, harassment, bullying, coercion, or abusive communication.
  • Ensure that research and publication activities comply with applicable ethical, legal, and institutional standards.
  • Promote scientific integrity, reproducibility, and responsible research practices.
  • Respect confidentiality throughout the editorial and peer-review process.
  • Support diversity, inclusion, interdisciplinary collaboration, and equitable academic participation.

JISA requires that all submitted manuscripts undergo plagiarism and similarity screening using Turnitin or equivalent plagiarism-detection software. Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 15% may be returned for revision, subjected to further ethical review, or rejected depending on the nature and extent of overlap.

Duties and Responsibilities of Authors

Authors bear primary responsibility for the originality, accuracy, integrity, and ethical conduct of the research they submit.

Originality and Exclusive Submission

Authors must submit only original work that has not been previously published and is not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere. Duplicate submission, redundant publication, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data manipulation, and fabricated research are strictly prohibited.

Proper citation and acknowledgment of previous work must always be provided.

Authorship and Contributions

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the:

  • Conceptualization or design of the study
  • Data collection, analysis, or interpretation
  • Drafting or critical revision of the manuscript
  • Final approval of the submitted version

All co-authors must approve the manuscript before submission.

Guest authorship, honorary authorship, ghost authorship, or inclusion of individuals without meaningful contribution is unethical and unacceptable.

Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.

Research Integrity and Reporting Standards

Authors must present findings accurately, objectively, and transparently. Research methods, analytical procedures, and interpretations should be described clearly to allow verification and reproducibility.

Selective reporting, intentional omission of contradictory findings, image manipulation, falsification, or fabrication of data constitute serious ethical violations.

Ethical Approval and Consent

Research involving human participants, animals, biological materials, sensitive datasets, or field experimentation must comply with institutional, national, and international ethical standards.

Authors must provide evidence of ethical approval from the relevant ethics committee or institutional review board where required.

Studies involving humans must confirm that informed consent was obtained.

Animal-based research must comply with recognized animal welfare and ethical treatment guidelines.

Data Availability and Transparency

Authors should retain research data and be prepared to provide underlying datasets, code, materials, or supplementary information when requested by editors or reviewers, subject to ethical and legal limitations.

Where applicable, authors are encouraged to use public repositories and open-data practices that support transparency and reproducibility.

Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure

Authors must disclose all financial, institutional, professional, or personal relationships that could influence the research or interpretation of findings.

All funding sources, grants, sponsorships, or institutional support must be clearly identified within the manuscript.

Corrections, Retractions, and Post-Publication Responsibility

If authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their published work, they are obligated to promptly notify the editorial office and cooperate fully in issuing corrections, clarifications, or retractions when necessary.

Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for maintaining the quality, fairness, integrity, and independence of the editorial process.

Editors shall:

  • Evaluate manuscripts solely on academic merit, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, and scientific contribution.
  • Ensuring impartial and unbiased editorial decisions without discrimination based on nationality, ethnicity, gender, institutional affiliation, religion, or political beliefs.
  • Preserve confidentiality of manuscripts and reviewer identities.
  • Avoid handling manuscripts where conflicts of interest exist.
  • Ensure that submitted manuscripts undergo plagiarism screening and ethical assessment.
  • Select qualified reviewers with relevant expertise.
  • Address allegations of misconduct, ethical violations, plagiarism, or data irregularities in accordance with COPE guidelines.
  • Take reasonable steps to ensure timely processing and communication throughout the editorial workflow.

Editorial decisions must remain independent of commercial interests, sponsors, advertisers, or institutional pressure.

Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers

Peer reviewers play a critical role in safeguarding scientific quality and scholarly credibility.

Reviewers are expected to:

  • Provide objective, constructive, evidence-based, and timely evaluations.
  • Maintain confidentiality of all manuscripts and associated materials.
  • Refrain from using unpublished information for personal, academic, or commercial advantage.
  • Identify relevant published work not cited by authors.
  • Report suspected plagiarism, duplication, unethical practices, fabricated data, or significant overlap with existing literature.
  • Disclose conflicts of interest before accepting review assignments.
  • Conduct reviews professionally and respectfully without hostile or defamatory comments.

JISA encourages reviewers to support scientific improvement through balanced and developmental feedback.

Publisher Responsibilities

The publisher of JISA is committed to:

  • Supporting editorial independence and ethical publishing practices.
  • Maintaining transparency and integrity throughout the publication process.
  • Providing technical, administrative, and ethical support to editors, reviewers, and authors.
  • Preserving the accessibility, archiving, and long-term availability of published content.
  • Promoting open-access dissemination and global knowledge sharing.
  • Addressing ethical complaints, disputes, and appeals fairly and professionally.

The publisher does not interfere in editorial decisions.

Research Misconduct and Ethical Violations

JISA takes all forms of publication misconduct seriously.

Examples of misconduct include but are not limited to:

  • Plagiarism
  • Self-plagiarism
  • Duplicate publication
  • Fabrication or falsification of data
  • Citation manipulation
  • Image manipulation
  • Authorship disputes or unethical authorship practices
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest
  • Ethical approval violations
  • Peer-review manipulation

All allegations will be investigated following COPE guidelines and established ethical procedures.

Depending on the severity of the violation, actions may include:

  • Manuscript rejection
  • Publication correction
  • Retraction or expression of concern
  • Temporary or permanent submission restrictions
  • Notification of institutions, funding agencies, or relevant authorities

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

Artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies may only be used to support language editing, grammar improvement, formatting, or technical assistance.

AI tools must not be used to:

  • Generate scientific findings or conclusions
  • Fabricate data, images, or references
  • Replace human authorship or accountability
  • Conduct unethical automated peer review

Any use of AI-assisted tools must be transparently disclosed within the manuscript.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and authenticity of all submitted content.

Open Access and Licensing Policy

JISA is an open-access journal committed to the unrestricted dissemination of scientific knowledge.

All published articles are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work and source are properly cited.

Final Statement

By submitting a manuscript to the Journal of Integrated Sciences and Agriculture (JISA), authors, reviewers, and editors agree to uphold the ethical principles and responsibilities outlined in this policy.

JISA remains committed to promoting integrity, scientific excellence, interdisciplinary collaboration, transparency, and responsible scholarship that contributes meaningfully to sustainable agriculture, environmental resilience, technological advancement, public health, and global development.