Research misconduct

 Allegations of Misconduct
GIJAMS takes all allegations of potential misconduct seriously. Our journal follows the COPE guidelines for dealing with cases of suspected misconduct. In cases of suspected research or publication misconduct, it may be necessary for the Editor to contact and share manuscripts with third parties, such as the author(s)' institution(s) and ethics committee(s). We may also seek advice from COPE and discuss anonymized cases in the COPE Forum. A notice of suspected ethical violations in the peer review system may be included as part of the author's and article's bibliographic record.

Research Misconduct
All research involving humans (including human data and human material) and animals must have been carried out within an appropriate ethical framework. If there is a suspicion that research has not been conducted within an appropriate ethical framework, the Editor may reject a manuscript and inform relevant parties, such as the author's institution and ethics committee.

In cases where research misconduct has been proven or where the scientific integrity of an article is significantly compromised, the article may be retracted.

Data Falsification and Fabrication
Data falsification and fabrication are unethical practices that can undermine the credibility of research findings. Data falsification involves manipulating research data with the intention of giving a false impression, such as altering images, removing outliers, or fabricating data points. Data fabrication involves making up research findings entirely.

Any concerns about data integrity raised during or after the peer review process will be referred to the Editor, who may request the author to provide anonymized underlying study data for inspection or verification. If the original data cannot be produced, the manuscript may be rejected or, in the case of a published article, retracted. Suspected cases of misconduct will be reported to the author's institution.

Publication Misconduct
Publication misconduct is a serious offense that can undermine the credibility of the journal. Our journal adheres to the COPE guidelines for dealing with potential cases of publication misconduct.

Corrections
Changes that have an impact on the interpretation or conclusion of an article but do not completely invalidate it will be corrected through the publication of a Correction that is indexed and connected to the original article. A Retraction will be issued if there is a major error in the methods or analysis that affects the conclusions, or if research or publication misconduct has occurred, such as the use of unapproved ethical research, fabricated data, manipulated images, plagiarism, or duplicate publication.

Retractions
The decision to retract an article will be made according to both Journal policies and COPE guidelines, following a thorough investigation by our journal editorial staff and the journal's editorial team. Authors and institutions may request a retraction if they believe their reasons meet the criteria for retraction.

The COPE guidance can be found here.

Retractions will be considered in situations where there is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable due to misconduct, such as data fabrication or image manipulation, or honest error, such as miscalculation or experimental error. Additionally, retractions will be considered if the findings have been published elsewhere without proper referencing, permission, or justification, if the research constitutes plagiarism, if the Editor no longer has confidence in the validity or integrity of the article, if there is evidence or concerns of authorship for sale, if there is evidence of compromised peer review or systematic manipulation, if there is evidence of unethical research or a breach of editorial policies, or if the authors have deliberately submitted fraudulent or inaccurate information or breached a warranty provided in the Author Publishing Agreement (APA).

Editorial Expressions of Concern
In certain cases, an Editor may choose to publish an Editorial Expression of Concern if they become aware of serious concerns regarding the interpretation or conclusion of a published article. This may occur in situations where the concerns have a significant and immediate impact on public health or public policy, or where the investigation of the concerns is prolonged and complex. An Editorial Expression of Concern may be superseded by a subsequent Correction or Retraction, but will remain part of the permanent published record.

Removal of Published Content
Under exceptional circumstances, the journal reserves the right to remove an article, chapter, or book from publication. This may occur if the content is defamatory, infringes upon a third party's intellectual property rights, right to privacy, or other legal rights, or is otherwise unlawful. Additionally, if a court or government order is issued or is likely to be issued requiring the removal of such content, the journal may take action to remove it. Removal of content may be either temporary or permanent. While bibliographic metadata, such as the title and authors, will be retained, a statement explaining the reasons for the content removal will accompany it.

Appeals and complaints

Definitions of 'complaint'
A complaint refers to any issue or concern related to content or a procedure that falls under the responsibility of the journal or our editorial staff. It is defined as any expression of dissatisfaction that goes beyond mere disagreement with a decision and instead identifies a perceived failure of process or severe misjudgment. If an author believes that their article has been unfairly rejected, they should follow our appeals procedure.

Procedures for Making a Complaint
To file a complaint, please email us directly at our email address, and we will handle the matter confidentially. A central team will coordinate the complaint and assign it to the most appropriate staff member. There is an option for escalation if the issue cannot be resolved at the initial level.

Our complaints team will initially review all complaints. They will determine the appropriate course of action and direct the complaint to the relevant member of the editorial or publishing staff. If necessary, the complaint can be escalated to a higher level within the team. If the initial response is deemed insufficient, the complainant can request an escalation to a more senior member of the team.