Publication Ethics & Publication Malpractice Statement
The AJMS Publication Ethics statement sets the journal’s expectations for integrity, transparency, fairness, accountability, and editorial independence. It applies to authors, reviewers, editors, Editorial Board members, and the publisher, and operates alongside the Peer Review Process, Post-Publication Policy, and other AJMS policies.
1. Authorship and Contributorship
Authorship should be limited to individuals who made substantial intellectual contributions, participated in drafting or critical revision, approved the final version, and accept accountability for the work. AJMS supports the CRediT Contributor Roles Taxonomy to improve transparency of individual contributions. Guest, gift, honorary, purchased, or ghost authorship is not acceptable.
2. Originality, Duplicate Publication and Plagiarism
Submissions must be original and not simultaneously under consideration elsewhere. Duplicate, redundant, fragmented, or concurrent publication is not permitted without legitimate justification and transparent disclosure. Plagiarism and inappropriate self-reuse are prohibited; similarity-detection results are interpreted in context rather than used as an automatic threshold.
3. Data Integrity, Images and Citations
Fabrication, falsification, misleading image manipulation, invented references, coercive citation, citation cartels, and irrelevant citation padding are publication malpractice. Authors should report methods, data, results, limitations, and conclusions accurately and be prepared to provide supporting records when integrity questions arise.
4. Peer-Review Integrity and Conflicts of Interest
AJMS prohibits fabricated reviewer identities, impersonation, review rings, undisclosed relationships, coercion, and inappropriate interference with reviewer selection. Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose financial, professional, institutional, academic, personal, or other conflicts that could reasonably affect impartiality.
5. Data Sharing, Ethical Oversight and Permissions
Where appropriate, manuscripts should include a Data Availability Statement and sufficient methodological detail for critical evaluation. Research requiring ethics approval, informed consent, registration, or other formal oversight must satisfy applicable institutional, disciplinary, and legal requirements. Authors are responsible for third-party permissions and intellectual-property compliance.
6. Complaints, Corrections, Expressions of Concern and Retractions
Complaints and appeals are considered fairly and confidentially. AJMS may issue corrections, Expressions of Concern, retractions, withdrawals, or other notices when needed to maintain the scholarly record. Detailed procedures are described in the Post-Publication and Accountability Policy.
7. Research Misconduct and Generative AI
Potential misconduct may lead to requests for explanations or records, independent expert input, review of editorial records, or contact with responsible institutions where appropriate. AJMS requires transparent, accountable, and confidential use of AI-assisted tools; AI cannot be an author and must not be used to fabricate data, images, references, quotations, or evidence. See the Generative AI Policy for detailed requirements.
8. Editorial Independence and Publisher Responsibilities
Editorial decisions are based on scholarly merit, originality, methodological quality, ethical compliance, and relevance to the Aims and Scope. Decisions are not influenced by APCs, ability to pay, advertising, sponsorship, marketing, ownership interests, or other commercial considerations. The publisher supports transparent policies, preservation, and proportionate action when integrity concerns arise.
