Al-Shajarah: Publication Ethics

Al-Shajarah, a refereed international journal of ISTAC-IIUM, is committed to the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and ethical conduct in scholarly publishing. The journal adheres to global best practices, including the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and expects all authors, reviewers, and editors to uphold these standards.

1. Author Responsibilities

  • Originality: Submit work that is entirely original and unpublished.

  • Proper Attribution: Cite all sources accurately and acknowledge contributions.

  • Authorship: Only list individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions; guest or ghost authorship is prohibited.

  • Conflict of Interest: Disclose any financial, personal, or professional conflicts.

  • Data Integrity: Present results honestly, ensuring accuracy, validity, and reproducibility.

2. Editorial Responsibilities

  • Fair Evaluation: Decisions are based solely on scholarly merit, originality, and relevance.

  • Ethical Oversight: Prevent and address plagiarism, data falsification, and duplicate submissions.

  • Confidentiality: Maintain strict confidentiality of manuscripts and the review process.

  • Timely Process: Ensure efficient peer review to support timely publication.

3. Reviewer Responsibilities

  • Confidentiality: Treat manuscripts as confidential documents.

  • Objectivity: Provide impartial, constructive, and thorough evaluations.

  • Disclosure: Declare any potential conflicts of interest.

  • Professionalism: Complete reviews promptly and respectfully.

4. Misconduct and Corrections

  • Prohibited Practices: Plagiarism, data fabrication/falsification, duplicate submission/publication, and improper authorship.

  • Errata/Corrections: Minor errors will be corrected via formal notices.

  • Retractions: Significant errors or confirmed misconduct will result in retraction, accompanied by a public explanation.

  • Expressions of Concern: Issued during ongoing investigations when necessary.

5. Research Ethics

  • Comply with recognized ethical standards (e.g., Declaration of Helsinki) for human or animal research.

  • Obtain appropriate institutional ethical approval.

  • Document informed consent where applicable.

6. Open Access and Copyright

  • Open Access: Al-Shajarah provides unrestricted access to published research.

  • Copyright: Authors retain copyright under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), granting the journal the right to publish, distribute, and archive the work.

7. Reporting Misconduct

  • Report suspected research or publication misconduct to the Editorial Office.

  • Investigations follow COPE guidelines and may result in corrections, retractions, or notifications to authors’ institutions.

This version is:

  • Elegant and professional for a Scopus/WoS journal.

  • Readable online with clean headings and spacing.

  • Fully compliant with international publication ethics standards.