Allegation of Research Misconduct

Journal of Educational Science and E-Learning (JESE) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of research integrity and publication ethics. The journal takes allegations of research misconduct seriously and handles them in a fair, objective, transparent, and confidential manner.

Definition of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct refers to serious violations of responsible research practices and publication ethics, including but not limited to:

Fabrication — making up data, results, or other research information and reporting them as genuine.
Falsification — manipulating research materials, processes, data, images, or results so that the research record is inaccurately represented.
Plagiarism — using another person's ideas, words, data, figures, or other intellectual contributions without appropriate acknowledgment or attribution.
Duplicate or redundant publication — publishing substantially the same work in more than one publication without appropriate disclosure, justification, or permission.
Manipulation of citations — inappropriate practices intended to artificially increase citation counts, author metrics, or journal metrics.
Authorship misconduct — including guest, honorary, or ghost authorship, as well as unauthorized or inappropriate changes to authorship.
Undisclosed conflicts of interest — failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest that could improperly influence the research, peer-review, or publication process.
Ethical violations involving research participants — including failure to obtain appropriate ethical approval, informed consent, or other required safeguards where applicable.
Manipulation or misuse of peer review — including interference with the peer-review process, fraudulent reviewer identities, fabricated reviewer reports, or other attempts to improperly influence peer review.
Other serious violations of accepted standards of research integrity and publication ethics.

Reporting Allegations

Allegations of research misconduct may be submitted to the Editorial Office by authors, reviewers, readers, editors, institutions, research organizations, or other concerned parties.

Reports should provide sufficient information and, where possible, relevant supporting evidence to enable the journal to assess the allegation. Allegations will be treated confidentially and handled objectively, without prejudice to the individuals concerned.

Investigation Procedure

When an allegation is received, JESE may take the following steps:

Initial assessment
The Editor-in-Chief or a designated editor conducts a preliminary assessment to determine whether the allegation is sufficiently credible, whether relevant evidence is available, and whether the matter falls within the journal's responsibility.
Request for clarification
Where appropriate, the journal may contact the corresponding author, other authors, reviewers, or other relevant parties to request an explanation, clarification, or supporting documentation.
Further assessment and investigation
If the allegation appears credible or cannot be resolved through clarification, the journal may conduct further assessment and may seek advice from independent experts, editors, reviewers, or other appropriate parties.
Institutional involvement
For serious allegations, particularly those involving fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or violations concerning research participants, JESE may refer the matter to the relevant author's institution, research organization, ethics committee, or other appropriate authority for formal investigation.
Editorial decision and corrective action
Based on the available evidence and, where applicable, the outcome of an institutional investigation, the journal will determine appropriate editorial or corrective action.

The journal may take appropriate measures to protect the integrity of the scholarly record while an investigation is ongoing, including temporarily suspending the review or publication process.

Possible Actions

Depending on the nature and severity of the alleged misconduct and the available evidence, JESE may:

reject a manuscript that is under review;
suspend or terminate the peer-review or publication process;
request clarification, corrections, or additional documentation;
publish a Correction or Expression of Concern;
retract a published article when the findings or publication process are seriously compromised;
notify the author's institution, research organization, ethics committee, or relevant authority;
request an institutional investigation where appropriate;
restrict future submissions from individuals found to have committed serious publication misconduct; and
take other appropriate actions consistent with recognized publication-ethics practices.

Any Correction, Expression of Concern, or Retraction will be clearly identified, appropriately linked to the original article, and maintained as part of the scholarly record to preserve transparency and research integrity.

Fairness, Confidentiality, and Due Process

JESE will handle allegations objectively, fairly, and confidentially. The journal will provide authors and other concerned parties with a reasonable opportunity to respond to allegations and provide relevant evidence before a final editorial decision is made, where appropriate.

An allegation will not be treated as proof of misconduct until the available evidence has been appropriately assessed. Where a formal determination of research misconduct falls within the authority of an author's institution or research organization, JESE may rely on the findings of the relevant institution while making its own editorial decisions concerning the publication record.

All parties involved in an investigation are expected to maintain confidentiality and to avoid public disclosure of allegations or investigation details unless disclosure is required by applicable law, institutional procedures, or publication-ethics standards.

Research Integrity and Publication Ethics

JESE is committed to protecting the integrity of the scholarly record and to responding appropriately to suspected research and publication misconduct. The journal follows established principles of research integrity and publication ethics and may refer to the guidelines and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when assessing and managing allegations of misconduct.