Publication Ethic

Originality and Plagiarism
Authors must submit original work that has not been previously published and is not under consideration by another journal. All sources, ideas, quotations, and materials from other works must be properly acknowledged and cited. Plagiarism, including substantial similarity or inappropriate reuse of previously published work, is not acceptable.
Reporting and Research Integrity
Authors must present their research accurately, objectively, and transparently. Research methods, results, and interpretations should be reported sufficiently to enable readers to understand and, where applicable, reproduce the study. Authors must not fabricate, falsify, or manipulate research data or findings.
Data Availability and Retention
Authors should retain relevant research data and supporting materials for a reasonable period after publication. Where appropriate and ethically permissible, authors are encouraged to make underlying data available to editors, reviewers, or readers to support verification and reproducibility.
Duplicate and Concurrent Submission
Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal. Manuscripts describing substantially the same research should not be published in multiple journals without appropriate justification and disclosure.
Authorship and Contributions
Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, conduct, analysis, or interpretation of the research. All listed authors must have approved the final manuscript and agreed to its submission. Individuals who contributed substantially but do not qualify for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged.
Acknowledgement of Sources
Authors must provide appropriate citations for all sources that have influenced the research. Information obtained privately or through confidential sources must not be used without appropriate permission.
Conflicts of Interest and Funding
Authors must disclose any financial, personal, professional, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation. All sources of financial or other substantive support for the research should also be disclosed.
Ethical Approval and Research Subjects
Research involving human participants, animals, personal data, or other potentially sensitive subjects must comply with applicable ethical standards and regulations. Where required, authors must provide information regarding ethical approval, informed consent, or other relevant permissions.
Corrections and Retractions
If authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published article, they must promptly notify the editor and cooperate in correcting the record. Where necessary, SIMJ may issue a correction, retraction, or other appropriate editorial notice.
Use of Artificial Intelligence
Authors must disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence or AI-assisted tools when such tools have been used in manuscript preparation, analysis, or other substantive aspects of the research. AI tools must not be listed as authors, and authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of the submitted work.

Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

Fair and Independent Evaluation
Editors evaluate manuscripts based on their academic quality, originality, relevance, and contribution to the field, without discrimination based on authors' race, ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, institutional affiliation, or other personal characteristics.
Confidentiality
Editors and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and disclose information only to individuals directly involved in the editorial and peer-review process.
Editorial Independence and Publication Decisions
Publication decisions must be based on the scholarly merit, originality, validity, and relevance of the manuscript. Editors should make decisions independently and consistently while considering the journal's policies and applicable legal and ethical requirements.
Peer-Review Management
Editors are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts are handled through an appropriate and transparent peer-review process. Reviewers should be selected based on their expertise and suitability for the manuscript, while potential conflicts of interest should be avoided.
Conflicts of Interest
Editors must disclose and appropriately manage any actual or potential conflict of interest involving a submitted manuscript. Editors must not use unpublished information from submitted manuscripts for their own research or personal advantage without permission.
Handling Ethical Concerns
Editors should respond appropriately to allegations of plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, authorship disputes, conflicts of interest, or other forms of research misconduct. Where necessary, editors may request clarification, corrections, or supporting documentation from authors and take appropriate editorial action.
Corrections and Retractions
Editors should ensure that significant errors or confirmed research misconduct are addressed transparently through corrections, retractions, or other appropriate notices.

Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions
Peer review assists editors in evaluating the quality, originality, validity, and relevance of manuscripts and may help authors improve their work.
Expertise and Promptness
Reviewers should accept an assignment only when they have sufficient expertise to evaluate the manuscript and can complete the review within the required timeframe. Reviewers who are unable to complete a review promptly should inform the editor.
Objectivity and Constructive Evaluation
Reviews must be conducted objectively, fairly, and constructively. Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate. Comments and recommendations should be supported by clear academic reasoning.
Confidentiality
Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, copy, distribute, or discuss manuscript content with others without permission from the editor.
Conflicts of Interest
Reviewers must disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest arising from personal, professional, institutional, competitive, or collaborative relationships with the authors, institutions, or organizations associated with the manuscript. Reviewers should decline the assignment when such conflicts could affect their impartiality.
Use of Information
Information, data, methods, ideas, or findings obtained through peer review must not be used for personal, professional, or research advantage before the work is publicly available.
Acknowledgement of Relevant Work
Reviewers should identify relevant published research that has not been cited by the authors where appropriate. They should also notify the editor of substantial similarities between the manuscript under review and other published or submitted works of which they are aware.
Research Integrity Concerns
Reviewers should inform the editor if they identify possible plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, inappropriate authorship, or other potential ethical concerns.

Editorial Handling of Misconduct

SIMJ takes allegations of publication misconduct seriously. When concerns arise, the journal may conduct an appropriate investigation and request explanations or supporting evidence from the relevant parties. Depending on the nature and severity of the issue, editorial actions may include rejection, correction, publication of an editorial notice, or retraction of a published article. Decisions will be made in accordance with principles of academic integrity and applicable publication ethics standards.