Publication Ethics

MRCIS is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of ethical publishing. All parties involved—authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers—must adhere to ethical principles throughout the publication process. The journal follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1. Duties of Authors

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must submit original work. Any form of plagiarism or self-plagiarism is strictly prohibited.

  • Multiple Submissions: Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently.

  • Authorship: Only those who have made significant contributions should be listed as authors. All co-authors must agree to the final version of the manuscript.

  • Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must be provided through accurate citations and references.

  • Conflict of Interest Disclosure: Authors must disclose any financial or other conflicts of interest that may influence their research.

  • Data Access and Retention: Authors should be prepared to provide raw data related to their manuscript upon reasonable request.

  • Reporting Standards: Authors must present their findings truthfully and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation.

2. Duties of Reviewers

  • Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.

  • Objectivity: Reviews must be conducted objectively, with no personal criticism of the author.

  • Acknowledgement of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.

  • Conflict of Interest: Reviewers should decline to review a manuscript if they have conflicts of interest with any of the authors or institutions.

3. Duties of Editors

  • Fairness and Impartiality: Editorial decisions are based solely on the academic merit of the manuscript, regardless of the authors’ race, gender, religion, nationality, or political beliefs.

  • Confidentiality: Editors must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and publisher.

  • Publication Decisions: The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for deciding which articles are published. Decisions are guided by the reviewers’ reports, editorial policies, and legal requirements.

  • Handling Misconduct: Editors must take appropriate actions if ethical concerns arise with submitted or published manuscripts.

4. Publisher Responsibilities

  • Ethical Oversight: The publisher ensures that best practices in publishing ethics are followed.

  • Archiving: The publisher guarantees the digital preservation of all published articles and ensures their long-term availability.

  • Retractions and Corrections: The publisher works with the editorial team to issue corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when needed.

5. Ethical Misconduct and Complaints

MRCIS takes allegations of misconduct seriously. Suspected cases such as plagiarism, authorship disputes, falsification of data, or peer review manipulation will be investigated according to COPE procedures. If misconduct is confirmed, appropriate action (rejection, retraction, or blacklisting) will be taken.

6. Use of COPE Guidelines

MRCIS adheres to the COPE Core Practices and uses COPE flowcharts to guide ethical decision-making in cases of:

  • Authorship disputes

  • Conflicts of interest

  • Data fabrication or manipulation

  • Plagiarism

  • Retractions and corrections