At the International Journal of Digital Research (IJDR), we are committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. We adhere to the principles outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and other international guidelines to ensure the integrity of the research we publish. Our ethical framework applies to all parties involved in the publication process: authors, reviewers, editors, and the journal itself.

Responsibilities of Authors

1. Originality and Plagiarism:

• Authors must ensure that their work is entirely original and that any text, data, or ideas from other sources are properly cited and attributed.
• Plagiarism in any form, including self-plagiarism, is unacceptable. All submissions are screened using anti-plagiarism software.

2. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

IJDR recognizes that AI-assisted tools may be used in academic writing and research processes. The use of AI for language editing, translation, formatting assistance, or coding support is permitted. However, authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, references, data integrity, and scientific content of their manuscripts. The fabrication of references, data, results, or substantial intellectual content through AI tools constitutes academic misconduct and will result in rejection, correction, or retraction. Responsible and transparent use of AI does not negatively influence editorial decisions.

3. Data Integrity and Reproducibility:

• Authors should provide accurate and reliable data. Fabrication, falsification, or manipulation of data constitutes unethical behavior and will result in rejection or retraction of the manuscript.
• Authors are encouraged to share data, code, and materials to promote transparency and reproducibility.

4. Authorship and Contributions:

• All listed authors must have made significant contributions to the research and approved the final version of the manuscript.
• Any changes to the authorship list after submission must be justified and agreed upon by all parties.

5. Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest:

Authors must disclose any financial, personal, or professional conflicts of interest that could influence the research or its interpretation.

6. Multiple or Concurrent Submissions:

Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously is unethical and unacceptable. Authors must wait for a final decision from IJDR before submitting elsewhere.

7. Acknowledgment of Sources:

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others is required. Authors should cite all relevant publications that have influenced their research.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Confidentiality:

Reviewers must treat submitted manuscripts as confidential documents. They should not share or discuss the content with others without permission from the editor.

Objectivity and Constructiveness:

Reviews should be conducted objectively, without personal bias. Criticism should be constructive and aimed at improving the quality of the manuscript.

Timeliness:

Reviewers are expected to complete their evaluations within the agreed timeframe. If delays are anticipated, they should notify the editor promptly.

Conflict of Interest:

Reviewers should decline to review a manuscript if they have a conflict of interest that could affect their judgment.

Responsibilities of Editors

Fairness and Impartiality:

Editors evaluate manuscripts based on their academic merit, without regard to the authors’ race, gender, nationality, or institutional affiliation.

Confidentiality:

Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the authors, reviewers, and other editorial advisors.

Decision-Making:

Editors are responsible for making final decisions on submissions, guided by the reviewers’ recommendations and the journal’s policies.

Transparency and Corrections:

Editors will promptly address ethical concerns, investigate allegations of misconduct, and publish corrections, clarifications, or retractions when necessary.

Handling Ethical Issues

• Allegations of Misconduct:
  IJDR takes all allegations of research misconduct seriously. We follow COPE guidelines to investigate issues such as plagiarism, data fabrication, and authorship disputes.

Corrections, Retractions, and Withdrawals  

The International Journal of Digital Research (IJDR) is committed to preserving the integrity and transparency of the scholarly record.

• Corrections may be issued to address minor errors that do not affect the overall results or conclusions of a published article.

• Retractions may be issued when findings are unreliable or when ethical standards have been violated.

• Withdrawals may occur in exceptional cases following publication, when all authors submit a joint written request. Withdrawn articles are replaced with an official notice, and the associated DOI remains active and resolves to that notice. Withdrawals are procedural actions and do not imply research misconduct or ethical wrongdoing.

IJDR does not adjudicate disputes concerning authorship order or contribution levels. Such matters must be resolved by the authors themselves or their affiliated institutions. Editorial action is taken only upon receipt of a joint author agreement or official institutional findings.

For all corrections, retractions, and withdrawals, IJDR ensures that the DOI remains active, metadata are updated accordingly, and the transparency of the scholarly record is maintained.

Ethical Guidelines for Editorial Team Submissions

The IJDR welcomes submissions from editorial team members but ensures fairness by applying strict procedures:

1. Editorial Team Member Submits

   • The author submits normally. The Editor-in-Chief removes all author information and sends the anonymized manuscript to two reviewers (internal or external). Reviewers do not know the author’s identity. The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision based on reviews.

2. Editorial Board Member Submits

   • The same process applies: the Editor-in-Chief anonymizes the manuscript and sends it to two independent reviewers (preferably external). The Editor-in-Chief oversees the decision, and the Editorial Board member is excluded from discussions about their submission.

3. Editor-in-Chief Submits

   • The Editor-in-Chief sends their manuscript to an Editorial Board member. The Board member anonymizes it and assigns it to two reviewers (external reviewers are preferred). This role is part of the Editorial Board member’s regular duties, as they also handle submissions when the Editor-in-Chief is unavailable (e.g., illness, vacation, or other commitments). The Board member makes the final decision, not the Editor-in-Chief.

IJDR follows global ethical standards to ensure fairness and trust.

All published articles are open access and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Commitment to Integrity

IJDR is dedicated to fostering a culture of ethical research and publication. We encourage all stakeholders to report any concerns or violations of these principles to [editor@ijdr.net]. Together, we can uphold the integrity of academic research and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the digital age.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in the published texts are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial board of the journal. The authors bear full responsibility for the content and ideas presented in their contributions.