Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
Merit Research Journals is committed to following best practices
on ethical matters, including plagiarism. The following duties
listed for Editors, Authors, and Reviewers are based on the
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for Journal Editors.
DUTIES OF EDITORS
1. Article Review: Editors must be certain that each manuscript received is initially evaluated for originality, making use of appropriate software (iThenticate) to do so and relevance to the Journal's stated mission. After passing these process, the manuscript is forwarded to at least two reviewers for double-blind peer review. Each reviewer will provide comments and a recommendation to accept, reject, or modify the manuscript. The review period is within three weeks.
2. Publication Decisions: It is mandatory that editors ensure all submitted manuscripts being considered for publication undergo peer-review by at least two reviewers who are knowledgeable in the field. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for deciding which of the manuscripts submitted to the journal will be published, based on the accuracy of the research, its importance to researchers and readers of the journal. The Editor-in-Chief perhaps have discussions with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.
3. Fair Play: The editors must ensure that each manuscript received by Merit Research Journal is reviewed for its intellectual content without regard to sex, gender, race, religion, citizenship, etc. of the authors.
4. Confidentiality: The editors must ensure that information regarding manuscripts submitted by authors and the identity of the peer reviewers are kept undisclosed.
5. Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: The editors of Merit Research Journals will not use unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript for his or her own research without written consent of the author.
DUTIES OF AUTHORS
1. Reporting Standards: The account of any original research done by authors should be presented as well as an objective discussion of its significance. The manuscript should contain sufficient details and references to permit others to reproduce the research. Authors should follow the submission guidelines of the journal.
2. Originality and Plagiarism: The authors should ensure that they have prepared entirely original work, and if the authors have used the work of others, they have to appropriately cite or quote it. Plagiarism takes many forms, from copying another author’s work as the author’s own, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of other works without attribution, to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical and unacceptable publishing behavior. If the editor determines it to have inadvertently taken place in an article submitted for publication, the author must comprehensively revise any area(s) in question with a failure to do so resulting in rejection of the article.
3. Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publications: A manuscript should not be submitted by author(s) to more than one journal at thesame time. It is also expected that the author will not publish redundant manuscripts or manuscripts describing same research in more than one journal. The Journal's online submission form requires authors to affirm that the article has neither been published elsewhere in any language fully or partly, nor is currently under review for publication elsewhere.
4. Acknowledgement of Sources: Authors should acknowledge all sources of data used in the research and cite publications that have been influential in research work.
5. Authorship: Authorship should be credited to those who have made a significant contribution to conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. Others who have made significant contribution must be listed as co-authors. Authors also ensure that all the authors have seen and agreed to the submitted version of the manuscript and their inclusion of names as co-authors.
6. Data Access and Retention: Authors should be prepared to provide raw data related to their manuscript if requested for editorial review and must retain such data.
7. Disclosure of Financial Support: Sources of financial support for research and writing, if any, must be clearly disclosed.
8. Fundamental Errors in Published Works: If the author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in the submitted manuscript, then the error or inaccuracy must be reported to the editor immediately for correction.
DUTIES OF REVIEWERS
1. Confidentiality: Information regarding manuscripts submitted by authors should be kept confidential and be treated as privileged information.
2. Conflict of Interest: If the reviewer is able to identify the author of the manuscript and determines that the integrity of the double-blind review process is therefore compromised, the reviewer must inform the editor of this situation and decline the invitation to serve as a reviewer.
3. Acknowledgement of Sources: Manuscript reviewers must ensure that authors have acknowledged all sources of data used in the research. Any kind of similarity or overlap between the manuscripts under consideration or with any other published paper of which reviewer has personal knowledge must be immediately brought to the editors' notice.
4. Standards of Objectivity: Review of submitted manuscripts must be done objectively and the reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
5. Promptness: In the event that a reviewer feels it is not possible for him/her to complete review of manuscript within stipulated time then this information must be communicated to the editor so that the manuscript can be sent to another reviewer.
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