Publication Ethics

AMJEL is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record and upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. The journal follows the principles of responsible scholarly publishing reflected in the COPE/DOAJ/OASPA/WAME Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing and applies editorial procedures intended to prevent malpractice, correct the record when necessary, and ensure fair treatment of all parties involved in the publication process.

1. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, or interpretation of the study and who approve the final version of the manuscript. All listed authors must agree to submission and publication. Individuals who contributed but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.

2. Originality and Plagiarism

Submitted manuscripts must be original and must not have been published previously or be under consideration elsewhere. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, salami publication, citation manipulation, and the unattributed use of others’ ideas, words, data, or images are unacceptable.

3. Data Integrity, Reproducibility, and Research Misconduct

Authors must present accurate data and honest interpretations of their findings. Fabrication, falsification, selective reporting, image manipulation, and misleading presentation of results constitute serious misconduct. Authors may be asked to provide raw data, instruments, ethical approval documents, or other supporting materials where necessary.

4. Data Availability

Where appropriate, authors are encouraged to state whether the data supporting the findings are publicly available, available on reasonable request, or restricted for ethical, legal, or confidentiality reasons.

5. Ethical Oversight

Research involving human participants, animals, personal data, or sensitive institutional data must comply with relevant ethical and legal standards. Authors must state the ethical approval status of the study, the name of the approving body where applicable, and how informed consent or equivalent permissions were obtained.

6. Conflicts of Interest

All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, institutional, personal, or professional relationships that could influence—or appear to influence—the handling, review, interpretation, or publication of a manuscript.

7. Use of Generative AI

If generative AI or AI-assisted tools are used in manuscript preparation, translation, language polishing, figure generation, or data-related tasks, authors must disclose such use transparently. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, legality, and integrity of all submitted content. AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

8. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must:

  • submit original and accurate work;
  • acknowledge all sources appropriately;
  • ensure that authorship is accurate and agreed by all authors;
  • disclose conflicts of interest and funding sources;
  • cooperate with editorial requests for clarification, revision, or investigation;
  • promptly notify the journal if a significant error is discovered after submission or publication.

9. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must:

  • provide objective, evidence-based, and constructive evaluations;
  • treat manuscripts as confidential documents;
  • declare conflicts of interest and decline review when necessary;
  • identify relevant uncited literature and possible ethical concerns where appropriate;
  • avoid using unpublished material for personal advantage.

10. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must:

  • make decisions based on scholarly merit, ethical soundness, and relevance to the journal’s aims and scope;
  • ensure a fair, timely, and unbiased review process;
  • maintain reviewer and author confidentiality;
  • avoid conflicts of interest in editorial handling;
  • act on ethical concerns, complaints, and allegations of misconduct in a responsible and documented manner.

11. Complaints and Appeals

AMJEL provides a mechanism for authors, reviewers, and readers to submit complaints regarding editorial handling, procedural fairness, or ethical concerns. Appeals against editorial decisions must be submitted in writing and must present a substantive academic or procedural basis.

12. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

When a published article is found to contain a significant error, ethical breach, or unreliable findings, the journal may issue a correction, retraction, or expression of concern, depending on the severity and nature of the case. Such actions are taken to protect the integrity of the scholarly record rather than to punish authors.

13. Post-Publication Discussion

AMJEL welcomes reasoned and evidence-based scholarly discussion of published work. Substantive concerns raised after publication will be assessed by the editorial team and may lead to clarification, correction, or further investigation.

14. Copyright and Intellectual Property

Authors retain copyright in their work while granting the journal the right of first publication. The journal’s licensing terms, reuse permissions, and copyright arrangements are stated clearly on the journal website and in published articles.

15. Publisher’s Role

The publisher supports editorial independence, ethical oversight, platform maintenance, and long-term access to published content. Commercial considerations, sponsorship, or publication fees must not influence editorial decisions.

Argael Publisher, an imprint of CV. ARGA FARMA