Publication Ethics & Malpractice

1. Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement

JMISIP is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against publication malpractice. This statement is informed by the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Duties of Editors

• Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on their intellectual merit, without regard to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy.
• Editors and editorial staff must not disclose information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
• Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.
• Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest.

Duties of Reviewers

• Reviewers must maintain confidentiality of all manuscripts under review.
• Reviews must be conducted objectively, with clearly articulated supporting arguments.
• Reviewers should identify relevant published work not cited by the authors and flag any substantial similarity between the manuscript under review and any other published work.
• Reviewers who feel unqualified to review a manuscript, or who cannot complete a timely review, should notify the editor and recuse themselves.

Duties of Authors

• Authors must present an accurate account of the original research performed, along with an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately.
• Authors must ensure that submitted work is entirely original. Where the work or words of others have been used, this must be appropriately cited or quoted.
• Plagiarism in any form, including duplicate or redundant publication, constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
• Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the project and any conflicts of interest that might influence the results or interpretation of the manuscript.
• For research involving human subjects, animals, or sensitive data, authors must confirm that the work was carried out in accordance with relevant institutional and national ethical guidelines, and that appropriate approvals were obtained.
• All authors listed must have made a significant contribution to the research and must approve the final manuscript prior to submission.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

Allegations of research or publication misconduct will be investigated by the editorial team in line with COPE guidelines. This may include contacting the author's institution, requesting raw data, or consulting subject-matter experts. Confirmed misconduct may result in rejection, correction, or retraction of the affected work.