Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Qubahan Techno Journal (QTJ) is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, research integrity, transparency, and editorial independence. Authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher are expected to follow responsible scholarly publishing practices.

1. Originality and Plagiarism

Submitted manuscripts must be original and must not contain plagiarism, inappropriate text reuse, fabricated content, or unattributed material. All submissions may be screened using similarity-detection software. Similarity reports are evaluated by the editorial team in context rather than solely by a numerical threshold.

2. Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Manuscripts must not be simultaneously submitted to another journal or substantially duplicate previously published work. Authors must disclose related manuscripts, conference versions, preprints, or previous publications when relevant.

3. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the work and who accept responsibility for the published article.

All authors must approve the final manuscript and agree to its submission. Requests for changes in authorship after submission or publication must be justified and approved according to the journal’s editorial procedures.

4. Research Data, Fabrication, and Falsification

Fabrication, falsification, selective manipulation, or intentional misrepresentation of research data, images, results, or methods is prohibited.

Authors should retain the underlying research data and provide supporting information when reasonably requested by the editors for verification or investigation.

5. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose financial, institutional, professional, personal, or other relationships that could reasonably influence the research, peer-review process, or editorial decision.

Editors with a conflict of interest must recuse themselves from handling the manuscript.

6. Funding Disclosure

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support and identify the role, if any, of the funder in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit the work.

7. Human Participants

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical standards and institutional or national requirements.

Where required, manuscripts must state the name of the approving ethics committee or institutional review board and provide the approval or reference number.

Informed consent must be obtained where applicable, particularly where identifiable personal information is published.

8. Vulnerable Populations

Research involving children, persons with impaired decision-making capacity, refugees, prisoners, or other vulnerable groups must receive appropriate ethical oversight and additional protections consistent with applicable regulations and accepted research standards.

9. Animal Research

Research involving animals must comply with relevant institutional, national, and international standards for animal welfare and research ethics. Appropriate ethical approval must be reported in the manuscript where required.

10. Confidentiality

Editors and reviewers must treat submitted manuscripts and associated correspondence as confidential.

Unpublished information, data, or ideas obtained through peer review must not be used for personal advantage or disclosed without authorization.

11. Peer-Review Integrity

QTJ operates a double-anonymous peer-review process. Manuscripts that pass initial editorial screening are evaluated by at least two independent external reviewers.

Reviewers must provide objective, evidence-based evaluations, maintain confidentiality, and disclose conflicts of interest.

Editorial decisions must be based on academic quality, originality, methodological rigor, relevance to the journal’s scope, and reviewer assessments.

12. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are made independently of the commercial interests of the publisher.

Manuscripts submitted by editors, editorial-board members, journal staff, publishers, owners, or their close collaborators must be handled by an independent editor who has no conflict of interest.

The conflicted individual must not participate in reviewer selection, peer-review discussions, or the final editorial decision.

13. Complaints and Appeals

Authors and other parties may submit a reasoned complaint or appeal concerning editorial procedures or decisions.

Appeals are considered by an editor who was not directly responsible for the original decision whenever possible. The journal will review complaints objectively and communicate the outcome to the relevant parties.

14. Allegations of Research or Publication Misconduct

QTJ takes allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously, whether raised before or after publication.

Where credible concerns arise, the journal may request explanations, supporting documentation, raw data, or assistance from the authors’ institutions or other appropriate bodies.

Investigations will be conducted fairly and confidentially, with editorial actions based on the available evidence.

15. Corrections

When an article contains an error that does not invalidate its principal findings, QTJ may publish a formal correction or corrigendum.

Corrections will be clearly identified, linked to the original article, and describe the nature of the change.

16. Retractions

An article may be retracted when its findings are unreliable because of major error or misconduct, plagiarism, duplicate publication, unethical research, fabricated or falsified data, or other serious integrity concerns.

Retraction notices will remain publicly accessible and linked to the original article, and the reason for the retraction will be clearly stated.

17. Expressions of Concern

QTJ may publish an Expression of Concern when serious questions have been raised about a published article but sufficient evidence is not yet available to determine whether correction or retraction is appropriate.

18. Post-Publication Discussion

QTJ welcomes legitimate scholarly discussion and concerns regarding published work.

Concerns regarding errors, research integrity, ethical compliance, or other matters may be submitted to the editorial office for assessment and appropriate action.

19. Citation and Reference Integrity

Authors must ensure that references are accurate, relevant, and genuinely support the statements for which they are cited.

Citation manipulation, excessive self-citation intended to influence metrics, fabricated references, or coercive citation practices are not permitted.

20. Intellectual Property and Copyright

Authors must ensure that submitted material does not violate copyright, licensing, confidentiality, or other intellectual-property rights.

Any third-party material requiring permission must be appropriately credited and supported by the necessary authorization.

21. Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies

The use of artificial intelligence or machine-learning methods as part of legitimate scientific research is permitted when transparently described.

Generative AI systems cannot be listed as authors. Material use of GenAI in manuscript preparation must comply with QTJ’s dedicated Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy.

Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, references, conclusions, and integrity of their manuscripts.

22. Editorial Actions and Record Integrity

QTJ is committed to preserving the integrity of the scholarly record.

Where problems are identified after publication, the journal may issue corrections, retractions, expressions of concern, or other appropriate notices depending on the nature and seriousness of the issue.

Published records should not be silently altered when a substantive correction or formal notice is required.

23. Responsibilities of the Publisher

The publisher supports editorial independence and does not interfere with academic decisions.

The publisher works with the editorial team to maintain transparent policies, preserve published content, address ethical concerns, and protect the integrity of the scholarly record.