Ethics & Integrity Policy
We publish truthfully, steward data responsibly, and correct the record when the truth requires it.
Our Principles
The core ethical standards that guide our entire publication process.
Integrity
Research must be honest, accurate and original.
Fairness
Decisions are based on scholarly merit alone.
Transparency
Funding, conflicts, methods, and data must be disclosed.
Accountability
Misconduct is investigated and remedied by documented procedures.
Respect
The rights of research subjects and their privacy are protected.
Scope & Applicability
This policy applies to all content submitted to and published by UAR Publisher, and to all people involved in our editorial process: authors, co-authors, corresponding authors, reviewers, editors (guest & permanent), editorial staff, contractors and volunteers.
Key Responsibilities
Reviewer Responsibilities
- Maintain confidentiality of manuscripts and not use unpublished data for personal advantage.
- Declare any conflicts of interest and decline review if conflicted.
- Provide timely, objective, constructive reports focusing on scientific quality, ethics and reproducibility.
- Use the journal’s review form and be professional in tone.
- Respect requests to remain anonymous or to have identity disclosed only with consent.
Editor & Staff Responsibilities
- Manage submissions impartially and protect editorial independence from commercial or political influence.
- Assign reviewers with appropriate expertise and no conflicts.
- Recuse themselves from decisions where they have a conflict and appoint an alternate editor.
- Keep records of decisions, reviewer identities, conflict declarations and communications.
- Ensure that peer review and editorial policies are publicly available and followed.
- Act on allegations of misconduct promptly and fairly.
Author Responsibilities
- Originality & novelty: Submit original work not under consideration elsewhere. Do not fragment data into multiple minimal publishable units (salami slicing) without justification.
- Accurate reporting: Present methods and results clearly and honestly. Do not fabricate, falsify, or selectively report data.
- Authorship & contributions: List only those who meet authorship criteria. Provide a CRediT contribution statement for each author. All authors must approve the final version and agree to submission.
- Conflicts of interest: Disclose financial and non-financial interests that could influence interpretation. Publish COI statements on article pages.
- Ethics approvals & consent: For human subjects, provide IRB/ethics committee name, approval number and date, and confirm informed consent. For clinical trials, provide registry number and date. For animal research, provide institutional approvals.
- Data & reproducibility: Provide a Data Availability Statement. Deposit data and code where possible in trusted repositories and provide persistent identifiers (DOIs). Describe methods and software sufficiently to enable replication.
- Permissions: Obtain and supply permissions for all reused copyrighted material.
- Preprints: Disclose any preprint/posting and supply the DOI/URL. Preprints are permitted; they do not count as prior publication.
- Plagiarism: Ensure manuscripts are original; properly quote and cite prior work, including the author’s own.
- Responsible communication: Cooperate in post-publication investigations and promptly correct errors.
Misconduct Definitions
A non-exhaustive list of actions that constitute academic misconduct.
Fabrication
Making up data or results and recording or reporting them.
Falsification
Manipulating research materials, equipment, processes, images or data such that the research is not accurately represented.
Plagiarism
Presenting others’ ideas, words, or data without proper attribution.
Duplicate / redundant publication
Submitting or publishing substantially the same work in multiple venues without disclosure.
Image manipulation
Altering images in a way that misleads (beyond acceptable adjustments which must be declared).
Unethical authorship practices
Ghost authorship, guest authorship, improper exclusion of contributors.
Citation manipulation
Deliberate self-citation rings or coercive citation practices to distort metrics.
Failure to disclose COI, funding, or prior related work.
Investigation & Reporting
Our procedure for handling and investigating concerns of misconduct.
How to Report a Concern
If you suspect misconduct, report it confidentially to: support@uarpublisher.com . Please provide the following information:
Subject: Misconduct concern — [Manuscript ID or Article Title]
Reporter name (optional):
Contact email (optional):
Role (author / reviewer / reader / other):
Suspected issue (fabrication / falsification / plagiarism / other):
Detailed description:
Attachments / links:
Desired confidentiality: (Yes / No)
Investigation Procedure
1
Initial Assessment
We acknowledge receipt within 0-2 business days and assess the complaint for plausibility.
2
Formal Investigation
We gather evidence, request explanations, and may consult independent experts. This process typically takes 0-4 days.
3
Interim Measures
If integrity is at risk, we may issue an Expression of Concern or temporarily withdraw the manuscript.
4
Outcome & Resolution
Possible outcomes include correction, retraction, or author sanctions, with the outcome published publicly.
Confidentiality & whistleblower protection
- We keep reports and identities confidential to the extent legally possible.
- We do not tolerate retaliation; whistleblowers reporting in good faith will not be penalised.
- Where legal disclosure is required, we will inform the reporter before releasing identifying information.
Record keeping & retention
Editorial decisions, reviewer reports, conflict declarations, and misconduct records are retained for a minimum of 7 years and longer where required by law or funder policy.
Ethics is not merely rule-making — it is the patient work of keeping the scholarly record honest. We commit to transparent, timely and fair handling of concerns, and to publishing corrections when needed. Do good work, document it clearly, and we will protect its place in the record.