Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

1. Duties of Editors

• Publication Decisions: Editors are responsible for deciding whether a manuscript should be accepted, revised or rejected on the basis of originality, academic quality, relevance and compliance with journal policies.
• Initial Evaluation: All submissions are subject to preliminary editorial screening, including plagiarism and policy checks, before peer review.
• Fair Evaluation: Manuscripts are assessed solely on scholarly merit without discrimination based on gender, race, religion, nationality, institutional affiliation, political belief or geographical origin.
• Confidentiality: Editors must protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts, reviewer identities and editorial communications.
• Conflict of Interest: Editors must disclose any conflict of interest and must not use unpublished material for personal or professional advantage without written permission from the author.
• Corrections and Retractions: Editors are responsible for issuing corrections, clarifications, expressions of concern or retractions whenever necessary.
• Ethical Oversight: Suspected misconduct must be examined fairly, confidentially and in accordance with established ethical procedures.

2. Duties of Authors

• Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must submit original work and properly acknowledge all sources, ideas, data and quotations used in the manuscript.
• Exclusive Submission: A manuscript must not be simultaneously submitted to or under consideration by another journal.
• Authorship: Authorship must be limited to individuals who made a substantial contribution to the conception, design, execution, analysis or interpretation of the study.
• Data Integrity: Authors must ensure that data, results and supporting information are accurate, reliable and not fabricated or manipulated.
• Source Acknowledgement: All relevant sources must be cited accurately and completely.
• Conflict of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial, personal, institutional or professional conflict that could influence the research or its interpretation.
• Human and Animal Ethics: Research involving human participants or animals must include appropriate ethical approval, consent and compliance statements where applicable.
• Corrections: Authors must promptly inform the editor if a significant error is discovered and cooperate in issuing a correction or retraction.

3. Duties of Reviewers

• Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.
• Objectivity: Reviews must be conducted fairly, professionally and constructively without personal criticism or bias.
• Acknowledgement of Sources: Reviewers should identify important published work that has not been properly cited.
• Ethical Concerns: Suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data manipulation or other unethical practices must be reported confidentially to the editor.
• Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must disclose any conflict of interest and decline the review when impartial evaluation is not possible.
• Timeliness: Reviews should be completed within the agreed period, or the editor should be informed promptly if additional time is required.

4. Responsibilities of the Journal

• Ethical Standards: The journal upholds recognised standards of academic integrity and publication ethics.
• Transparency: Editorial, peer-review, authorship, correction and retraction policies are communicated clearly.
• Monitoring and Enforcement: Allegations of misconduct are examined seriously and appropriate action is taken where violations are established.
• Awareness: The journal promotes responsible publishing practices among authors, editors and reviewers.
• Editorial Independence: Editorial decisions are based on academic merit and are not influenced by commercial, institutional or personal considerations.

5. Misconduct and Malpractice

Plagiarism, duplicate submission, redundant publication, fabrication, falsification, image manipulation, citation manipulation, undisclosed conflicts of interest, authorship abuse and unethical use of research participants are considered serious forms of publication misconduct.

• Manuscripts involving confirmed unethical practices may be rejected, withdrawn or retracted.
• Authors may be asked to provide explanations, original data, ethical approval records or other supporting documents.
• Serious or repeated misconduct may result in restrictions on future submissions.
• Where appropriate, the author’s institution, funding agency or relevant authority may be informed.

6. Retraction and Correction Policy

• Articles may be retracted where findings are unreliable because of misconduct, major error, duplicate publication or serious ethical violation.
• Minor errors that do not invalidate the main findings may be corrected through an erratum or corrigendum.
• Retraction and correction notices will clearly identify the affected article and explain the reason for the action.
• Retracted articles will remain identifiable in the scholarly record and will be clearly marked as retracted.

7. Archiving and Access

The publisher seeks to preserve published scholarly content and maintain continued access through the journal website and suitable digital preservation or archiving arrangements. Reasonable measures are taken to protect the integrity, availability and long-term accessibility of the journal’s published record.

Note: Kalakankar International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research reserves the right to revise this policy in response to changes in recognised academic publishing standards, ethical guidance and best practices.