The International Journal of Behavioral Social and Movement Sciences (IJOBSMS) is committed to maintaining fairness, transparency, accountability, editorial independence, and professional conduct throughout the scholarly publishing process.
The journal recognizes the right of authors, reviewers, readers, editorial board members, institutions, and other stakeholders to raise legitimate concerns regarding editorial procedures, peer review, publication ethics, published content, or the conduct of individuals involved in the publication process.
IJOBSMS seeks to address complaints and appeals objectively, confidentially, respectfully, and within the response timelines stated in this policy. Complaints and appeals are assessed on their merits and are not influenced by academic status, institutional affiliation, nationality, professional position, personal relationships, or other irrelevant considerations.
Where appropriate, the journal considers relevant guidance issued by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when addressing complaints and appeals.
External Referral: Matters falling primarily within the authority of an author's institution, employer, research ethics committee, funding organization, regulatory authority, or another external body may be referred to the appropriate organization where necessary.
Each concern will be assessed objectively and on the basis of available evidence.
Individuals who have a significant conflict of interest concerning a complaint or appeal will not be responsible for determining its outcome.
Information will be handled confidentially and disclosed only when necessary for investigation, decision-making, legal compliance, or record protection.
The journal will communicate the outcome to the relevant party and, where appropriate, explain the basis of the decision.
Complaints and appeals will not be influenced by commercial interests, personal relationships, institutional pressure, or inappropriate considerations.
Individuals may raise legitimate concerns without fear of disadvantage solely because they submitted a complaint or appeal in good faith.
A complaint concerns dissatisfaction with the journal's procedures, conduct, service, ethical handling, communication, peer-review process, or other aspects of editorial or publication management.
An appeal is a formal request to reconsider an editorial decision, normally based on a claim that significant evidence was overlooked, the manuscript was materially misunderstood, a serious procedural error occurred, or relevant new information has become available.
Submit to the Editorial Office with sufficient information. Where possible, include:
The Editor-in-Chief or designated editor conducts an assessment to determine:
Reviewed by independent qualified individuals:
An appeal may result in:
Following an appeal, the original editorial decision may be upheld, the assessment may be reopened, additional peer review may be requested, or the decision may be modified where the evidence supports a different outcome. Appeals are handled according to the response timelines stated in this policy.
Concerns regarding disrespectful language, conflict of interest, confidentiality breach, coercive citations, or identity manipulation are investigated. Reviews may be disregarded or reviewers discontinued.
Allegations regarding conflict of interest, procedural fairness, delays, or policy non-compliance. Subject editors will not investigate themselves and matters are referred to independent senior editors.
Plagiarism, fabrication, duplicate publication, authorship misconduct, or ethics concerns are handled under the Research Misconduct Policy and COPE principles.
Concerns regarding data integrity, errors, or ethical issues on published work are assessed to determine if clarification, correction, expression of concern, or retraction is needed.
Authors experiencing unreasonable delays may request status updates. The journal will review the manuscript history, identify the reasons for the delay, and inform the author of the current status and expected next steps.
Individuals who submit good-faith complaints are protected from retaliation. Present or future manuscript decisions will not be influenced.
Any decision-maker with an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest must disclose it and withdraw from the process. Independent qualified individuals will handle the matter.
Communications that are intentionally abusive, threatening, defamatory, or harassing may result in restricted correspondence after full review. This will not block legitimate criticism.
IJOBSMS follows the response timelines below for complaints and appeals. These timelines are calculated in working days, excluding weekends and applicable public holidays.
Acknowledgement of receipt of a complaint or appeal.
Initial assessment after receipt of the required information.
Target for communicating the final response or decision.
If a complaint or appeal cannot be resolved through the initial assessment, it may be escalated to an independent senior editor or another appropriate party who was not involved in the original matter.
The journal will communicate the final outcome to the relevant party with an appropriate explanation. Where an investigation remains ongoing, the journal will provide progress updates when appropriate.
This policy should be read alongside related journal policies including: