PUBLICATION ETHICS

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The International Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation (IJAIDI) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency, academic quality, and ethical conduct in scholarly publishing. The journal adopts internationally recognized principles of publication ethics and expects all parties involved in the publication process—including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher to comply with these principles.

This statement applies to all manuscripts submitted to, reviewed by, or published in the journal.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must ensure that their submitted manuscripts represent original scholarly work and have not been published previously or submitted simultaneously to another journal. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time is considered unethical publishing practice.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy, reliability, and integrity of all data, analyses, results, figures, tables, references, software, algorithms, and other materials included in their manuscripts.

Authors must:

  • Present their research honestly, accurately, and objectively.
  • Provide sufficient methodological details to enable verification or replication of the study where appropriate.
  • Properly acknowledge and cite all sources, ideas, data, software, datasets, and previously published materials used in the research.
  • Obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted content when required.
  • Avoid plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, data manipulation, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, and misleading reporting.
  • Retain the original research data and provide it to the journal when reasonably requested for editorial or ethical review.
  • Disclose all sources of financial and institutional support.
  • Declare any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.
  • Identify all relevant ethical approvals, permissions, and informed-consent procedures where applicable.
  • promptly inform the journal if a significant error or inaccuracy is discovered in a submitted or published article.

2. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the conception or design of the study; the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the preparation and critical revision of the manuscript.

All listed authors must:

  • Approve the final version of the manuscript.
  • Agree to its submission and publication.
  • Accept responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the work.
  • Be able to identify their individual contributions to the study.

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged appropriately. Guest, honorary, gift, and ghost authorship are not permitted.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all eligible contributors are included, that no inappropriate authors are listed, and that all authors have approved the submitted version. Requests to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission must be supported by a clear explanation and written agreement from all authors.

Recognized authorship standards emphasize substantial intellectual contribution, approval of the final manuscript, accountability, and responsibility for the work. (ICMJE)

3. Originality and Plagiarism

All manuscripts must be original and must appropriately acknowledge the work and words of others. Plagiarism includes copying text, ideas, images, data, results, or other intellectual content without proper attribution.

The journal may screen submissions using similarity-detection software. A similarity report is used as an editorial assessment tool and is not treated as the sole evidence of plagiarism. Editors evaluate the nature, source, context, and extent of any textual overlap.

Manuscripts involving plagiarism, substantial unattributed overlap, fabricated references, duplicate publication, or inappropriate reuse of previously published material may be rejected. If such misconduct is identified after publication, the journal may issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, depending on the seriousness of the case.

4. Data Integrity, Fabrication, and Falsification

Authors must not fabricate, falsify, selectively omit, or improperly manipulate research data, images, experimental results, statistical analyses, or computational outputs.

Any modification of figures, images, or datasets must not distort or misrepresent the original information. Editors may request original data files, source code, analysis outputs, image files, or other supporting documentation when necessary to verify the integrity of the research.

Where applicable, authors are encouraged to deposit data, code, models, and supplementary materials in appropriate repositories, subject to ethical, legal, privacy, security, and confidentiality requirements.

5. Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Technologies

Artificial intelligence tools, large language models, chatbots, and other AI-assisted technologies cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility or accountability for scholarly work.

Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, validity, integrity, and appropriate citation of all content included in their manuscripts, regardless of whether AI-assisted technologies were used.

Authors must disclose any substantive use of AI-assisted technologies in preparing the manuscript, analysing data, generating code, producing images, developing models, or interpreting findings. The disclosure should identify the tool and explain how it was used.

AI-generated or AI-modified images, datasets, references, code, or results must not be presented as authentic research material without verification and transparent disclosure. Authors must carefully verify AI-generated references and factual claims, as such tools may produce inaccurate, incomplete, biased, or fabricated information.

Routine tools used solely for spelling, grammar, formatting, or language improvement generally do not require detailed disclosure, provided that they do not generate or alter the scientific content.

Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential manuscripts or unpublished research data to external AI systems when doing so could compromise confidentiality, intellectual property, privacy, or data protection.

6. Multiple, Duplicate, and Redundant Publication

Authors must not publish or submit substantially the same research to more than one journal. Manuscripts that substantially overlap with previously published or concurrently submitted work must clearly disclose and cite the related material.

Secondary publication may be considered only in exceptional circumstances when it is justified, transparent, legally permitted, approved by the relevant editors, and clearly identified for readers.

Simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal is not permitted. (ICMJE)

7. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, academic, personal, intellectual, or other relationships that could influence—or reasonably be perceived to influence—the research, review process, or editorial decision.

Authors must disclose:

  • Research funding and sponsorship.
  • Employment, consultancy, or advisory relationships.
  • Ownership of stocks, patents, or intellectual property.
  • Personal or professional relationships relevant to the work.
  • Any other competing interest that could affect the interpretation of the research.

The existence of a conflict of interest does not necessarily prevent publication, but it must be disclosed transparently. Transparent disclosure helps preserve public confidence in the scientific and editorial process. (ICMJE)

8. Research Involving Humans, Animals, or Sensitive Data

Research involving human participants, personal information, medical records, or identifiable data must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international ethical standards.

Authors must state whether approval was obtained from an appropriate institutional ethics committee or review board and provide the approval number where applicable. Informed consent must be obtained from participants when required.

Identifying information must not be published unless it is essential to the research and the participant has provided explicit consent for publication.

Research involving animals must comply with relevant institutional and national standards for animal welfare. Authors must provide details of the ethical approval and the measures taken to minimize harm.

Research involving sensitive, confidential, biometric, surveillance, cybersecurity, or personal data must include appropriate safeguards relating to privacy, informed consent, lawful data processing, anonymization, storage, access, and security.

9. Ethical Responsibilities in Artificial Intelligence Research

Research involving artificial intelligence, machine learning, automated decision-making, digital platforms, or algorithmic systems must be reported transparently and responsibly.

Authors should address, where relevant:

  • The provenance, quality, representativeness, and legal use of datasets.
  • Potential bias, discrimination, or unfair outcomes.
  • Privacy, security, and data-protection risks.
  • Model limitations and uncertainty.
  • Transparency, explainability, and reproducibility.
  • Human oversight and accountability.
  • Potential social, legal, environmental, or ethical consequences.
  • Risks of misuse, manipulation, or harmful deployment.

Claims concerning the accuracy, effectiveness, intelligence, fairness, or real-world applicability of an AI system must be supported by adequate evidence and must not be exaggerated.

10. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for evaluating manuscripts fairly, independently, confidentially, and solely on the basis of scholarly merit, originality, methodological quality, relevance to the journal’s scope, and ethical compliance.

Editorial decisions must not be influenced by the authors’ nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, institutional affiliation, political beliefs, disability, or other personal characteristics unrelated to the scientific quality of the work.

Editors must:

  • Protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.
  • Select qualified and impartial reviewers.
  • Manage conflicts of interest appropriately.
  • Avoid using unpublished information for personal advantage.
  • Investigate credible allegations of misconduct.
  • Maintain the integrity and independence of editorial decisions.
  • Ensure that commercial, institutional, or personal interests do not influence publication decisions.
  • Provide authors with appropriate reasons for editorial decisions.
  • Take appropriate action when ethical concerns arise before or after publication.

Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest. Such manuscripts should be assigned to another qualified editor.

11. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Peer reviewers play an essential role in supporting editorial decisions and improving the quality of manuscripts. Reviews must be objective, constructive, respectful, evidence-based, and completed within the agreed period.

Reviewers must:

  • Treat manuscripts and related materials as confidential.
  • Disclose any conflict of interest before accepting a review.
  • Decline assignments outside their expertise or capacity.
  • Avoid personal criticism, hostile language, or discriminatory comments.
  • Identify relevant published work that has not been cited.
  • Inform the editor of suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data manipulation, or other ethical concerns.
  • Refrain from using unpublished information for personal research or advantage.
  • Avoid requesting citations to their own work unless those references are genuinely relevant and scientifically necessary.
  • Not contact authors directly concerning the manuscript without editorial permission.

Reviewer identities must remain confidential when the journal applies an anonymous peer-review model.

12. Confidentiality

All manuscripts, reviews, editorial correspondence, data, supplementary files, and unpublished information must be treated as confidential.

Editors and reviewers must not disclose manuscript content to unauthorized persons or use unpublished information for personal, academic, institutional, or commercial benefit.

Confidential materials must be stored and handled securely throughout the editorial and peer-review process.

13. Citation Practices

Authors must cite sources accurately, fairly, and only when they are relevant to the research. References must not be fabricated or included solely to increase citation counts.

Editors and reviewers must not pressure authors to add unnecessary citations to the journal, the editor’s work, or the reviewer’s work. Requests for additional citations must be based exclusively on scholarly relevance.

Citation manipulation, coercive citation, citation cartels, and excessive self-citation are considered unethical practices.

14. Peer-Review Integrity

The journal applies a rigorous peer-review process to assess the originality, scientific quality, methodological soundness, relevance, and ethical compliance of submitted manuscripts.

Editors must take reasonable measures to prevent:

  • Fraudulent reviewer identities.
  • Fabricated peer-review reports.
  • Reviewer impersonation.
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
  • Manipulation of the reviewer-suggestion process.
  • Unauthorized interference with editorial decisions.

The final decision to accept, revise, or reject a manuscript rests with the authorized editor and must be based on the manuscript’s academic merit and the journal’s policies.

15. Complaints and Appeals

Authors may appeal an editorial decision by submitting a clear and evidence-based explanation to the journal. Appeals must address the scientific or procedural grounds for reconsideration and should not merely express disagreement with the decision.

Complaints concerning editorial conduct, peer review, conflicts of interest, discrimination, procedural irregularities, or publication ethics will be examined objectively and confidentially.

An appeal does not guarantee that the original decision will be changed. The outcome of the formal appeal process will ordinarily be considered final.

16. Handling Allegations of Misconduct

The journal takes all credible allegations of research or publication misconduct seriously, whether they concern submitted manuscripts or published articles.

Potential misconduct may include:

  • Plagiarism.
  • Data fabrication or falsification.
  • Image or statistical manipulation.
  • Duplicate or redundant publication.
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
  • Unethical research practices.
  • Citation manipulation.
  • Authorship disputes or inappropriate authorship.
  • Manipulation of peer review.
  • Misrepresentation of affiliations, qualifications, funding, or ethical approval.

The journal will examine allegations fairly, confidentially, and without unnecessary delay. Authors may be asked to provide explanations, original data, ethical approvals, or other supporting documentation.

When appropriate, the journal may contact the authors’ institutions, research-integrity offices, funding bodies, ethics committees, or other relevant organizations. Decisions will be based on the available evidence and the seriousness of the matter.

17. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

The journal is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

A correction may be published when an error affects part of an article but does not invalidate its main findings. A retraction may be issued when findings are unreliable because of serious error or misconduct, when plagiarism or duplicate publication is established, or when the research was conducted unethically.

An expression of concern may be published when serious questions have been raised but the available evidence is inconclusive or an investigation has not yet been completed.

Corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern will be clearly identified, linked to the original article, and accompanied by an explanation of the reason for the action. Retracted articles will ordinarily remain accessible as part of the scholarly record but will be prominently marked as retracted.

18. Post-Publication Discussion

The journal welcomes responsible scholarly discussion concerning published articles. Readers may submit evidence-based comments, concerns, or requests for clarification to the editorial office.

When a concern is substantiated, the journal may request a response from the authors or take corrective action. Criticism must be expressed professionally and supported by relevant evidence.

19. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are made independently and must not be influenced by advertising, sponsorship, institutional pressure, financial considerations, personal relationships, or the payment of publication fees.

Payment of an article-processing charge, where applicable, does not guarantee acceptance or influence the peer-review or editorial decision-making process.

The publisher supports the editorial independence of the journal and the authority of editors to make decisions based on academic and ethical considerations.

20. Publisher’s Responsibilities

Scientific Events Gate – Malaysia, as the publisher of IJAIDI, is committed to safeguarding editorial independence, supporting ethical publication practices, maintaining the journal’s digital infrastructure, and preserving the integrity of the scholarly record.

The publisher will cooperate with editors in addressing allegations of misconduct and will not interfere with editorial decisions based on academic merit.

21. Policy Enforcement

Failure to comply with this publication ethics statement may result in one or more of the following actions:

  • Rejection of the manuscript.
  • Suspension of editorial processing.
  • Withdrawal of an accepted manuscript.
  • Publication of a correction or expression of concern.
  • Retraction of a published article.
  • Notification of the authors’ institutions, employers, ethics committees, or funding bodies.
  • Temporary or permanent restrictions on future submissions.
  • Other actions considered appropriate to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

The journal reserves the right to update this policy in response to developments in international publication standards, research ethics, artificial intelligence, and scholarly communication.