Ethical Responsibilities

Publication Ethics Guidelines for Authors

Journal of Materials, Energy & Sustainability 

The journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and ethical conduct in scholarly publishing. Authors submitting to the journal must follow the guidelines below to ensure responsible research and honest reporting.

1. Originality and Plagiarism

  • Submissions must be original and must not contain text, data, or figures taken from other work without proper citation.
  • The manuscript must not have been published previously, submitted elsewhere, or be under consideration by another journal.
  • The journal uses plagiarism detection software.

2. Authorship Criteria

Authorship should reflect substantial contributions to:

  • Study conception or design
  • Data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation
  • Drafting or revising the manuscript

All authors must:

  • Approve the final version
  • Agree to be accountable for their contributions
  • Be listed with correct affiliations and ORCID identifiers

3. Ethical Research Conduct

Authors must ensure:

  • Informed consent where required
  • Safe and responsible handling of hazardous materials

4. Data Integrity and Transparency

  • Data must be accurate, authentic, and free from manipulation or fabrication.
  • Images must not be altered except for clarity; adjustments must not change interpretation.
  • Authors should retain raw data and provide it upon request.
  • A Data Availability Statement is required, indicating how data can be accessed.

 

5. Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose:

  • Financial support
  • Institutional, personal, or professional relationships
  • Patents or commercial interests related to the work

If no conflicts exist, state: "The authors declare no conflicts of interest."

6. Funding Transparency

All sources of funding must be clearly identified, including:

  • Grant numbers
  • Funding agencies
  • Industrial contributions
  • Scholarships or institutional support

If no funding exists, state: "The authors declare no partial or complete funding was available to the completion of this work."

7. Duplicate or Redundant Publication

Authors must not:

  • Submit overlapping or fragmentary data
  • Republish previously published analyses
  • Submit conference papers without substantial extension and novelty

Redundant submission leads to rejection.

8. Correcting the Scholarly Record

If authors discover significant errors in their published or submitted manuscript, they must:

  • Notify the journal immediately
  • Cooperate in issuing corrections, retractions, or clarifications as needed

Failure to report known issues may result in future submission restrictions.

9. Ethical Use of AI Tools

Authors may use AI tools (e.g., language editing assistants) only for:

  • Grammar improvement
  • Formatting
  • Reference checking

AI tools must not:

  • Generate or fabricate data
  • Perform analysis
  • Write or interpret scientific content

All AI use must be disclosed in the Methods or Acknowledgments section.

10. Copyright Materials Usage

Authors must prepare the manuscript with precautions. Any copyrighted materials or data should have the license to use the copyrighted materials. It's the author's responsibility to get permission to republish such data or materials from the respective publishers.  

11. Editorial & Peer Review Integrity

Authors must not:

  • Attempt to influence reviewers
  • Suggest fake reviewers or identities
  • Contact reviewers directly
  • Post or share reviewer comments publicly