Publications Ethics and Malpractice
The International Journal of Behavioral Social and Movement Sciences (IJOBSMS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity. All parties involved in the publication process—authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—must adhere to the ethical behavior standards outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The journal operates on a double–blind peer-reviewed model, and all persons involved are expected to follow these ethical procedures. Malpractice is strongly discouraged and will lead to severe consequences.
1. Conflicts of Interest Policy
To ensure the integrity and impartiality of the publication process, all authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, professional, or personal conflicts of interest that could be construed as influencing their work. Editors will recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where a conflict exists. Reviewers should decline to review manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest. All financial and institutional support for the research must be fully disclosed in the manuscript.
2. Duties of Editors
Editors are responsible for evaluating manuscripts solely on their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors. They are responsible for making fair and independent decisions and maintaining the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts and related information. Editors must not use unpublished materials or ideas from a submitted manuscript for their own research without the express written consent of the authors. All manuscripts are initially screened by our licensed plagiarism software (Plagiarism Checker X) and are subject to peer review.
3. Duties of Reviewers
Reviewers assist the editor-in-chief and editorial board in making informed decisions about manuscripts. They are expected to evaluate manuscripts objectively and without personal criticism of the authors. Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest and bring to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge. Reviews should be conducted in a timely manner to facilitate the publishing process.
4. Duties of Authors
Authors must ensure that their work is entirely original and free of plagiarism. Submitting the same research to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical behavior and is unacceptable. Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given through appropriate citations.
4.1. Data Integrity and Reporting Standards
Authors of original research reports must present an accurate and unmanipulated account of the work performed. Deliberately inaccurate or fraudulent statements, including **data fabrication** (making up data) and **data falsification** (manipulating data), are considered severe unethical behavior. The journal reserves the right to request raw data in connection with a manuscript for editorial review and verification of authenticity. Such data should be retained for a reasonable time after publication. All studies involving human or animal subjects must have ethical clearance and be conducted with informed consent, and this should be stated in the manuscript.
4.2. Authorship of the Paper
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an acknowledgments section. The corresponding author must ensure that all appropriate co-authors have approved the final version of the paper before submission.
5. Plagiarism and Duplicate Publication Policy
IJOBSMS strictly follows a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism and duplicate submissions. All manuscripts are checked through licensed plagiarism detection software. If plagiarism is found, the manuscript will be rejected immediately, and the author may be banned from future submissions. An author should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal.
6. Corrections, Retractions, and Errata
When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is their obligation to promptly notify the journal's editors and cooperate to correct or retract the paper. The journal will issue a correction for minor errors that do not affect the integrity of the article. For cases of severe misconduct, data falsification, or significant errors that invalidate the research, the journal will issue a formal retraction notice that will be permanently linked to the original article.
7. Handling Complaints and Appeals
All complaints and appeals related to the editorial process will be addressed following COPE's flowcharts and best practice guidelines. Authors may contact the journal office at drmsnathial@gmail.com for ethical concerns or disputes. An author who believes their manuscript was rejected due to an unfair decision or bias may appeal by sending a detailed email to the editor-in-chief, who will review the case with the editorial board.
By submitting to IJOBSMS, all authors affirm that they have read and agree to the above ethics policy.
