Allegations of Misconduct

Research misconduct include fabrication, falsification, citation manipulation, or plagiarism in conducting, executing, or reviewing research, as well as in writing articles and reporting research results. If an author is found to have engaged in research misconduct or other serious irregularities involving articles published in a scientific journal, the Editor is responsible for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the scientific record.

In cases of suspected misconduct, the Editor and Editorial Board will follow best practices from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) to resolve complaints and address violations fairly. This process includes an investigation by the Editor. If a submitted manuscript is found to contain such violations, it will be rejected. If the violation is found in a published article, a retraction notice will be issued and linked to the original article.

The initial step in handling allegations of misconduct involves determining the validity of the allegation and assessing whether it falls under the definition of research misconduct. This step also includes identifying potential conflicts of interest from the individual reporting the misconduct.

If research misconduct or significant research irregularities are suspected, the allegations will be communicated to the corresponding author, who, on behalf of all co-authors, will be asked to provide a detailed response. Once the response is received and evaluated, further review may be conducted, involving relevant experts such as statistical reviewers. If no misconduct is found, clarifications or additional analyses may be published as a letter to the editor, often including a correction notice and an amendment to the published article.

Academic institutions are expected to conduct a thorough and appropriate investigation of allegations of research misconduct. Ultimately, authors, journals, and institutions have a crucial obligation to ensure the accuracy of the scientific record. By appropriately addressing concerns about scientific misconduct and taking necessary actions based on evaluations—such as corrections, retractions with replacement, or full retractions—the HIJAB Journal will continue to uphold its responsibility in maintaining the validity and integrity of the scientific record