Publication Ethics
Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
Journal of Energy, Materials & Sustainability
The journal is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity, responsible research conduct, and ethical publishing. All stakeholders: authors, editors, reviewers, readers, and the publisher must adhere to the following principles to ensure transparency, accountability, and credibility.
1. Responsibilities of Authors
Authors can read details of the authors' Ethical Responsibilities' under the For Authors tab.
1.1 Originality and Plagiarism
- Manuscripts must be entirely original and must not contain plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or copied text/data without proper citation.
- The journal screens submissions using plagiarism-checking tools.
- Parallel or duplicate submissions are strictly prohibited.
Authorship should be granted only to those who:
- Contributed significantly to the study design, execution, analysis, or manuscript writing
- Reviewed and approved the final version
- Agree to take public responsibility for their portion of the work
Authors must:
- Follow institutional and international ethical guidelines
- Provide ethical approval for work involving humans, animals, or hazardous materials
- Ensure legitimate data collection and avoid manipulation or fabrication
- Provide accurate and reproducible data
- Maintain raw data and be ready to supply it upon request
- Declare where datasets are stored through a Data Availability Statement
Disclose all sources of:
- Financial support
- Competing interests (personal, academic, or commercial)
- Funding and institutional affiliations
1.6 Corrections and Retractions
If errors are found:
- Authors must inform the editor promptly
- Cooperate in issuing corrections, retractions, or other updates
Procedures related to the withdrawl of manuscripts prior to publication are governed separately under the jounal's "Withdrawl of Manuscript policy.
2. Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers are essential in ensuring scientific rigor and must:
- Provide objective, fair, constructive evaluations
- Evaluate methods, data integrity, conclusions, and ethics
- Submit reviews within the agreed timeframe
- Manuscripts under review are confidential
- Information may not be shared, stored, or used for personal benefit
Reviewers must decline if:
- They have a personal or professional relationship with authors
- They stand to benefit from the results
- They cannot provide an unbiased review
Reviewers should inform editors about:
- Suspicious data or duplication
- Ethical violations
- Uncited relevant work
- Plagiarism or data manipulation
3. Responsibilities of Editors and the Editorial Board
Editors evaluate manuscripts on:
- Scientific merit
- Relevance to journal scope
- Quality of methodology and analysis
Editorial decisions are not influenced by:
- Author nationality, institutional affiliation, race, gender, religion, or political beliefs
Editors must:
- Conduct fair and unbiased initial screening
- Assign qualified reviewers free from conflicts of interest
- Ensure timely review cycles and transparent communication
- Manuscripts must be handled confidentially
- Information cannot be shared with anyone outside the editorial process
Editors are responsible for:
- Investigating suspected misconduct
- Following COPE procedures in disputes
- Issuing corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions as needed
Editors must recuse themselves from handling papers where they have:
- Personal relationships with authors
- Competitive or collaborative connections
- Financial interests in the research
4. Responsibilities of the Publisher
The publisher commits to:
4.1 Maintaining Ethical Standards
- Upholding COPE, WOS, and Scopus guidelines
- Supporting editors in misconduct investigations
- Ensuring transparency in funding and publication processes
- Guaranteeing long-term access to published content through archiving systems
- Preserving editorial autonomy
- Preventing commercial or political influence on editorial decisions
5. Responsibilities of Readers and the Scientific Community
Readers are entitled to:
- Access accurate, well-reviewed, credible research
- Report errors, ethical concerns, or questionable content
Readers must not:
- Misuse or misrepresent published findings
- Distribute proprietary content without permission (unless an open access license allows)
6. Misconduct, Investigations, and Penalties
The journal follows COPE-compliant procedures for:
- Plagiarism
- Data fabrication or falsification
- Unethical research practices
- Conflicts of interest violations
- Duplicate publication
Possible actions include:
- Manuscript rejection
- Retraction of published articles
- Notification to author institutions or funders
- Temporary or permanent submission bans
AI tools may be used for:
- Grammar and language editing
- Formatting or reference checks
AI tools may not:
- Generate scientific content
- Fabricate data, images, or analyses
Authors must disclose any AI use transparently.
The reviewers must not rely solely on the AI or on any assumptions about the AI in their judgment and decision-making for the manuscript. The reviewers' comments are the full responsibility of the reviewers' thoughts and decision-making process.
8. Transparency and Accountability
The journal promotes:
- Open, accessible research
- Accurate documentation, citation, and data sharing
- Correction of the scholarly record when necessary
All stakeholders share responsibility for upholding ethical research and publication practices.
