Journal of Inclusive and Innovative Educational Technology

Retraction & Correction Policy

Journal of Inclusive and Innovative Educational Technology is committed to maintaining transparency, integrity, accountability, and fairness in scholarly publication. This policy explains the journal’s rules regarding conflict of interest, authorship criteria, author contribution, corresponding author responsibility, changes in authorship, and the prohibition of ghost authorship and gift authorship.

1. Conflict of Interest Policy

A conflict of interest occurs when personal, financial, academic, institutional, professional, or other relationships may influence, or appear to influence, the objectivity of the research, review, editorial decision, or publication process.

All parties involved in the publication process, including authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher, must disclose any potential conflict of interest. Disclosure of conflict of interest does not automatically mean that a manuscript will be rejected. However, transparency is necessary to ensure that the editorial process is fair, objective, and trustworthy.

2. Conflict of Interest for Authors

Authors must disclose any potential conflict of interest that may affect the research process, interpretation of data, presentation of findings, or conclusions of the manuscript.

Potential conflicts of interest for authors may include:

  1. Financial support, grants, sponsorships, or research funding.
  2. Employment, consultancy, or institutional relationship related to the research topic.
  3. Personal or professional relationships that may influence the research.
  4. Academic competition or collaboration that may affect objectivity.
  5. Ownership of products, software, platforms, or learning technologies discussed in the manuscript.
  6. Any benefit that may arise from the publication of the article.

Authors must include a conflict of interest statement in the manuscript. If there is no conflict of interest, authors should state:

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article.

If there is a conflict of interest, authors must clearly explain its nature in the manuscript or in a separate declaration submitted to the editor.

3. Conflict of Interest for Reviewers

Reviewers must conduct manuscript evaluations objectively, fairly, and professionally. Reviewers must decline a review invitation if they have a conflict of interest that may affect their judgment.

Potential conflicts of interest for reviewers include:

  1. Having a personal, academic, or professional relationship with the author(s).
  2. Having recent collaboration or publication with the author(s).
  3. Working in the same institution or research group as the author(s).
  4. Having financial or institutional interests related to the manuscript.
  5. Having academic competition or personal disagreement with the author(s).
  6. Having prior knowledge of the manuscript that may compromise the double blind review process.

Reviewers must inform the editor if they suspect a conflict of interest before or during the review process. Reviewers must not use unpublished data, arguments, findings, or ideas from the manuscript for personal advantage.

4. Conflict of Interest for Editors

Editors must ensure that editorial decisions are made based on academic merit, relevance to the journal’s scope, methodological quality, originality, ethical compliance, and contribution to the field.

Editors must not handle manuscripts if they have a conflict of interest with the author(s), institution, research topic, funding source, or manuscript content.

Potential conflicts of interest for editors include:

  1. Having a personal or professional relationship with the author(s).
  2. Having recent collaboration with the author(s).
  3. Working in the same institution or research project as the author(s).
  4. Having financial or institutional interests related to the manuscript.
  5. Having academic competition or personal bias related to the manuscript.
  6. Having direct involvement in the research being submitted.

If an editor has a conflict of interest, the manuscript must be assigned to another editor who can handle the manuscript objectively and independently.

5. Authorship Criteria

Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made significant scholarly contributions to the manuscript. All listed authors must be able to take responsibility for the content of the article and approve the final version before publication.

An individual may be listed as an author if they meet the following criteria:

  1. Made a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the study, data collection, data analysis, or interpretation of findings.
  2. Participated in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
  3. Approved the final version of the manuscript before submission and publication.
  4. Agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work, including the accuracy and integrity of the research.

Individuals who only provide administrative support, technical assistance, funding, supervision, data collection assistance, language editing, or general advice without substantial intellectual contribution should not be listed as authors. They may be acknowledged in the acknowledgment section.

6. Author Contribution

Authors are encouraged to provide a clear statement of each author’s contribution to the manuscript. This contribution statement helps ensure transparency and prevents authorship disputes.

Author contributions may include:

  1. Conceptualization of the research.
  2. Research design and methodology.
  3. Data collection.
  4. Data analysis.
  5. Interpretation of findings.
  6. Drafting the manuscript.
  7. Critical revision of the manuscript.
  8. Preparation of tables, figures, instruments, or learning media.
  9. Supervision of the research process.
  10. Funding acquisition or project administration.

Example of author contribution statement:

Author Contributions:
Author 1 contributed to the conceptualization, methodology, data analysis, and manuscript writing. Author 2 contributed to data collection, literature review, and manuscript revision. Author 3 contributed to supervision, validation, and final approval of the manuscript.

All authors must agree on the order of authorship before submission.

7. Corresponding Author

The corresponding author is the author responsible for communication with the journal during the submission, peer review, revision, copyediting, proofreading, and publication process.

The corresponding author is responsible for:

  1. Ensuring that all authors meet the authorship criteria.
  2. Ensuring that all authors approve the manuscript before submission.
  3. Submitting the manuscript through OJS.
  4. Communicating with the editorial team.
  5. Responding to reviewers’ and editors’ comments.
  6. Ensuring that the revised manuscript is approved by all authors.
  7. Ensuring that author names, affiliations, emails, and author order are correct.
  8. Ensuring that conflict of interest, funding, ethical approval, and acknowledgment statements are complete and accurate.

The corresponding author does not have greater ownership of the article than other authors. All authors share responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the published work.

8. Changes in Authorship

Any change in authorship after submission must be clearly justified and approved by all authors. Changes in authorship include adding an author, removing an author, changing the order of authors, or changing the corresponding author.

Requests for authorship changes must be submitted in writing to the editorial office and must include:

  1. The manuscript title and submission ID.
  2. The type of authorship change requested.
  3. A clear reason for the change.
  4. Written approval from all existing authors.
  5. Written approval from any author being added or removed.
  6. Updated author contribution statement, if needed.

The editorial team will review the request and may ask for additional clarification or documentation. Authorship changes are not automatically accepted.

After a manuscript has been accepted or published, authorship changes are generally not permitted unless there is a valid and well-documented reason. If authorship problems are discovered after publication, the journal may issue a correction or take other appropriate action based on publication ethics principles.

9. Prohibition of Ghost Authorship

Ghost authorship occurs when an individual who made a substantial contribution to the manuscript is not listed as an author or is not properly acknowledged.

Journal of Inclusive and Innovative Educational Technology does not permit ghost authorship. Anyone who makes a significant intellectual contribution to the research or manuscript must be properly recognized as an author if they meet the authorship criteria, or acknowledged if their contribution does not meet authorship criteria.

Examples of ghost authorship include:

A person writes substantial parts of the manuscript but is not named as an author.
A researcher contributes significantly to data analysis or interpretation but is excluded from authorship.
A professional writer prepares the manuscript without disclosure.
A contributor is intentionally hidden to avoid accountability.

All contributors must be transparently identified according to their actual contribution.

10. Prohibition of Gift Authorship and Honorary Authorship

Gift authorship or honorary authorship occurs when an individual is listed as an author even though they did not make a significant intellectual contribution to the manuscript.

Journal of Inclusive and Innovative Educational Technology does not permit gift authorship, guest authorship, or honorary authorship.

Examples of gift or honorary authorship include:

  1. Listing a senior academic, supervisor, administrator, or institutional leader as an author only because of their position.
  2. Listing a person as an author to increase the chance of publication.
  3. Including a person as an author because they provided funding only.
  4. Including a person as an author because they provided general supervision but did not contribute intellectually.
  5. Including a colleague or friend as an author without substantial contribution.

All listed authors must meet the authorship criteria and must be accountable for the content of the manuscript.

11. Authorship Disputes

If an authorship dispute occurs before publication, the editorial team may suspend the review or publication process until the dispute is resolved by the authors.

The journal does not determine who should or should not be an author in disputed cases. The responsibility for resolving authorship disputes lies with the authors and, when necessary, their institution.

If an authorship dispute arises after publication, the journal may request written clarification from all authors and may issue a correction if needed.

12. Final Statement

Journal of Inclusive and Innovative Educational Technology requires transparency in conflict of interest disclosure, authorship assignment, author contribution, and corresponding author responsibility. The journal rejects all forms of unethical authorship practices, including ghost authorship, gift authorship, honorary authorship, and undisclosed conflicts of interest.

This policy is intended to protect the integrity of scholarly publication, ensure fairness among contributors, and maintain public trust in academic research.

 

Related Links/Menus

Publication Ethics

Author Guidelines