Policy on Ethical Violations

At the International Journal of Contemporary Educational Research (IJCER), maintaining academic integrity, research transparency, and ethical publication standards is essential to sustaining trust within the scholarly community. IJCER enforces a zero-tolerance policy toward all forms of ethical misconduct and fully adheres to the international guidelines of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) and other global standards in scholarly publishing.
This policy outlines the definitions, preventive mechanisms, and procedures for managing potential ethical violations in a systematic and transparent manner.
Definition: Major Types of Ethical Misconduct
The following behaviors are regarded as serious ethical violations within the IJCER editorial framework:
• Plagiarism: Using words, ideas, data, or visual materials from another work without proper acknowledgment or citation.
• Fabrication: Presenting fabricated or non-existent data, observations, or results as real.
• Falsification: Manipulating or selectively altering research data or findings.
• Duplicate or Redundant Publication: Republishing identical or substantially similar content (including translations) as a new manuscript.
• Salami Publication: Dividing a single dataset or research finding into multiple smaller papers to inflate publication counts.
• Misleading Citation or Gift Authorship: Including irrelevant references, citing sources manipulatively, or listing individuals as authors who did not contribute to the work.
Preventive Practices and Author Declarations
To ensure ethical integrity and prevent unethical publishing behavior, IJCER applies the following preventive measures:
• Similarity Check: All submissions are screened through plagiarism detection software (e.g., iThenticate, Turnitin). Manuscripts with similarity levels exceeding acceptable thresholds are returned to the authors for revision and justification.
• Disclosure Requirement: Authors must clearly declare if parts of their work (data, abstracts, posters, or conference presentations) have been previously published or presented.
• Originality Statement: All authors are required to confirm that their submission is an original work, produced in compliance with ethical and academic integrity principles.
Editorial Responsibilities and Response Procedures
In cases where ethical misconduct is suspected, the editorial team follows COPE’s recommended procedures and may take the following actions:
• Suspend the ongoing review process,
• Request written clarification from the author(s),
• Issue decisions of revision, rejection, or retraction based on findings,
• Notify the author’s affiliated institution in cases of serious ethical violations.
Sanctions
Depending on the stage of detection, the following measures may be applied:
• Before Publication: The manuscript will be rejected, and if necessary, the author’s affiliated institution will be informed.
• After Publication: The article will be formally retracted, accompanied by a public statement of correction or retraction notice, and relevant authorities will be notified.
Process Principles: Transparency, Fairness, and Confidentiality
All reports and investigations of ethical misconduct are handled in accordance with COPE flowcharts, ensuring transparency, impartiality, and confidentiality. Throughout the process, communication with all parties remains documented, justified, and respectful of academic and ethical norms.
Commitment to Ethical Publishing
IJCER views the protection of ethical integrity in academic publishing not merely as a procedural obligation but as a core responsibility of scholarly communication. The journal remains committed to contributing to the advancement of knowledge through trustworthy, transparent, and ethically sound publications.

Update: 23.10.2025