The ethical policy of Qalaai Zanist Scientific Journal (QZSJ) is based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines and complies with the QZSJ Editorial Board's codes of conduct. Readers, authors, reviewers, and editors should adhere to these ethical policies when working with QZSJ. Additionally, the ethical policy of QZSJ governs the selection of submitted research papers and articles for publication. For more information on publishing ethics and guidelines, please visit http://publicationethics.org.
QZSJ commits to:
Ensuring that editorial decisions on manuscript submissions are final.
Making decisions on manuscript submissions based solely on professional judgment, without influence from commercial interests.
Maintaining the integrity of academic and research records.
Monitoring ethical practices among the Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editors, Editorial Board Members, Reviewers, Authors, and Readers.
Checking submitted manuscripts for plagiarism and fraudulent data.
Publishing corrections, clarifications, and retractions as needed.
Editors have full authority to accept or reject a manuscript.
Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts under review.
The Editor-in-Chief makes publication decisions in consultation with other editors and reviewers.
Editors must preserve the anonymity of reviewers.
Editors must disclose and avoid conflicts of interest.
Editors should uphold academic integrity and strive to meet the needs of both readers and authors.
Editors must investigate plagiarism and fraudulent data and publish corrections or retractions when necessary.
Editors must focus solely on the intellectual content of submissions.
Editors must not disclose information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher.
Unpublished material in a submitted paper cannot be used by editors or editorial board members for personal research without the author’s explicit written consent.
Reviewers must assist editors in making publication decisions.
Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts under review.
Reviewers must provide timely and objective feedback to aid editorial decisions.
Reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential and must not use any information obtained through peer review for personal advantage.
Reviewers’ comments should be professional, technical, and objective.
Reviewers must disclose and avoid conflicts of interest.
Manuscripts must be written in English, following proper grammar and terminology.
Manuscripts must not have been published elsewhere or be under consideration by another journal.
The corresponding author must ensure all co-authors approve the submission.
Authors must participate in the peer-review process when requested.
Authors must secure institutional approval before submission if required.
Authors permit editing for readability.
Authors must disclose financial support sources.
Authors must notify the journal of any errors in their published work and cooperate in corrections or retractions.
All submitted manuscripts are subject to plagiarism screening. Plagiarism is a serious ethical violation.
Authors must read and comply with the journal’s submission guidelines.
Peer Review Process: QZSJ is a double-blind peer-reviewed journal. Details of the peer-review process are available on the journal’s website.
Governing Body: QZSJ has a distinguished editorial board of subject matter experts. Editor names and affiliations are listed on the journal’s website.
Contact Information: Editorial office contact details are available on the journal’s website.
Open Access and Fees: QZSJ provides full open access to its content free of charge, with no article processing charges (APC).
Research Misconduct: The Editor-in-Chief takes steps to prevent publication of papers involving misconduct, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data fabrication.
Journal Website: QZSJ ensures high ethical and professional standards on its website.
Conflicts of Interest: Authors must declare any conflicts of interest through the journal’s Conflict of Interest Disclosure form.
Publishing Schedule: The journal’s periodicity is clearly stated on the website.
Archiving: QZSJ has a clear electronic backup and preservation plan for journal content.
Plagiarism: The use of someone else’s ideas or content without proper citation is strictly prohibited. All manuscripts are checked using plagiarism detection software.
Data Fabrication and Falsification: Misrepresenting research data is a serious violation.
Simultaneous Submission: Submitting a manuscript to QZSJ while it is under review elsewhere is prohibited.
Duplicate Publication: Republishing the same research without proper cross-referencing is unethical.
Redundant Publications: Splitting study outcomes into multiple papers without justification is discouraged.
Improper Author Attribution: All contributors must be properly credited.
Citation Manipulation: Excessive citations intended to artificially boost citation counts are prohibited.
If ethical violations occur, QZSJ may impose the following sanctions:
Immediate rejection of the infringing manuscript.
Rejection of other manuscripts submitted by any of the authors.
A minimum 36-month submission ban for all authors of the infringing manuscript.
Prohibition from serving on the journal’s editorial board.
Upon confirming an ethical violation, QZSJ follows a structured approach:
The Editor informs the Editorial Office and requests an explanation from the corresponding author.
If the explanation is unsatisfactory, the matter is referred to the Publication Committee.
If the violation is severe, the committee may ban future submissions from the author(s).
In cases of minor infractions, a reprimand letter is issued, and corrections or apologies may be required.
The corresponding author is notified of any editorial decisions regarding their work.
Authors found guilty of serious fraud may have their work retracted, and a retraction notice will be published.
In extreme cases, institutions may be notified, and the authors may face a five-year submission ban.