Publication Ethics

 

Publication Ethics

Journal of Rafidain Environment (JRE) – Publication Ethics Statement

The ethical policy of the Journal of Rafidain Environment (JRE) is based on the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and aligns with the Code of Conduct issued by the editorial board of JRE. All readers, authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to adhere to these ethical standards when engaging with the journal. The journal’s ethical policy governs the eligibility of submitted research articles for publication. For more information, please visit: http://publicationethics.org

Publisher Responsibilities

  1. JRE is committed to ensuring that editorial decisions regarding scientific research are final and unbiased.
  2. Decisions on submissions are made solely on professional merit and are not influenced by commercial interests.
  3. JRE maintains the integrity of academic and research records.
  4. Ethical oversight is conducted by the Editor-in-Chief, associate editors, editorial board members, reviewers, authors, and readers.
  5. JRE routinely checks for plagiarism and fraudulent data in submitted manuscripts.
  6. The journal is always prepared to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, or apologies when necessary.

Editor Responsibilities

  1. Editors have full authority to accept or reject manuscripts.
  2. Editors must maintain confidentiality of manuscripts under review until publication.
  3. The Editor-in-Chief makes final decisions on submissions in consultation with the editorial board and reviewers.
  4. Editors must preserve the anonymity of reviewers.
  5. Editors must disclose and avoid any conflicts of interest.
  6. Editors are responsible for maintaining academic integrity and meeting the needs of readers and authors.
  7. Editors must be willing to investigate cases of plagiarism or data manipulation and publish corrections or retractions as needed.
  8. Editors should focus solely on the intellectual content of submissions.
  9. Editors must not disclose manuscript information to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisors, and the publisher.
  10. Editors and editorial board members must not use unpublished materials from submitted manuscripts for their own research without explicit written consent from the author.

Reviewer Responsibilities

  1. Reviewers must assist the editorial board in making publication decisions.
  2. Reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential documents.
  3. Reviews should be submitted in a timely manner to support editorial decisions.
  4. Reviewers must not use information obtained during peer review for personal gain.
  5. Reviewer comments should be technically sound, professional, and objective.
  6. Reviewers must decline to review manuscripts where conflicts of interest exist.
  7. Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest and avoid them.

Author Responsibilities

  1. Manuscripts must be submitted in English or Arabic and written using correct grammar and terminology.
  2. Submissions must be original, unpublished, and not under review elsewhere.
  3. The corresponding author is responsible for securing approval from all co-authors.
  4. Authors are expected to participate in peer review by evaluating other submissions.
  5. Authors must obtain institutional approval for research conducted under an organization.
  6. Authors must allow editorial revisions to improve readability.
  7. Authors must clearly disclose financial support and the role of sponsors.
  8. The corresponding author must sign a declaration of co-author approval prior to acceptance.
  9. Under the open-access license, authors retain copyright and allow reuse, distribution, and modification with proper attribution.
  10. All authors must agree to allow the corresponding author to liaise with the editorial office.
  11. If a significant error or inaccuracy is discovered post-publication, authors must notify the Editor-in-Chief or publisher for correction or retraction.
  12. All submissions are screened for plagiarism using anti-plagiarism software. Plagiarism is a serious violation of publication ethics.
  13. Authors must ensure that all co-authors have reviewed the final submission checklist before sending it to JRE.

Transparency Principles

  1. Double-Blind Review: Manuscripts undergo confidential double-blind peer review. Authors do not know the reviewers, and reviewers do not know the authors. JRE publishes two issues annually in both print and electronic formats, covering all aspects of environmental sciences.
  2. Editorial Board: JRE has a strong editorial board composed of recognized experts in relevant fields. Full names and affiliations are listed on the journal’s website.
  3. Contact Information: Editorial contact is available via email: [email protected]
  4. Publication Fees: JRE is fully open-access. All published articles are freely available online. Authors of accepted papers must pay a publication fee of 100,000 IQD.
  5. Copyright Policy: Authors must complete a “Journal Publishing Agreement” upon acceptance.
  6. Misconduct Handling: The Editor-in-Chief takes reasonable steps to identify and prevent misconduct, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data fabrication.
  7. Conflict of Interest Disclosure: Authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest using the journal’s disclosure form.

Violations of Publication Ethics

  1. Plagiarism: Using another person’s ideas or original materials without proper citation—even if previously published by the same author—is considered plagiarism. All submissions are screened using anti-plagiarism software. CrossCheck, powered by iThenticate (Turnitin), helps editors verify originality. For searchable journal listings, visit: www.ithenticate.com/search
  2. Data Fabrication and Falsification: Fabrication involves inventing data or results. Falsification involves manipulating or omitting data.
  3. Simultaneous Submission: Submitting a manuscript to JRE while it is under review elsewhere is prohibited.
  4. Duplicate Publication: Publishing multiple papers with overlapping hypotheses, data, or conclusions without proper cross-referencing is unethical.
  5. Redundant Publication: Splitting study results into multiple papers to inflate academic records is discouraged.
  6. Improper Authorship Attribution: All listed authors must have made significant scientific contributions. Contributors such as students or lab technicians must not be excluded.
  7. Citation Manipulation: Excessive or irrelevant citations intended to boost metrics are considered misconduct.
  8. Sanctions: Documented violations may result in:
    • Immediate rejection of the manuscript
    • Rejection of all future submissions by the authors
    • A minimum 36-month ban on submissions
    • Prohibition from editorial board participation

Handling Misconduct Allegations

  1. The Editor informs the editorial board and drafts a non-legal inquiry letter to the corresponding author.
  2. If the response is unsatisfactory and serious misconduct is suspected, the case is referred to the publication committee.
  3. For minor violations, a warning letter is issued, and the author may be asked to publish an apology.
  4. Notification is sent to the corresponding author, and future submissions may be rejected.
  5. Authors may be barred from serving as reviewers or editors for JRE.
  6. In severe cases, institutions may be notified, and authors may be banned from submitting for five years.
  7. If fraud leads to retraction, a formal notice will be published and linked to the online article, marked “Retracted” with the date.