We also encourage author to understand several misconduct:

Plagiarism refers to the use of another person’s ideas, text, data, images, or intellectual property without proper citation, attribution, or permission. This includes copying textual content verbatim from published articles, paraphrasing ideas without acknowledgment, or presenting someone else’s conceptual model as one’s own. Self-plagiarism—such as reusing substantial parts of a previously published article without disclosure—is also considered unethical. For example, an author copies an entire section of literature review from another scholar’s publication and inserts it into their manuscript without citation. We tolerate a plagiarism check result of 15%–23% when using applications such as iThenticate, Turnitin, Grammarly Plagiarism Checker, PlagScan, and other similar tools. We manually re-examine the report because a high percentage may occur solely due to references.

Fabrication involves creating data, findings, sources, or research materials that never existed. This includes inventing survey responses, constructing interview transcripts that were never conducted, or listing references to studies that were never actually used or do not exist. Fabrication is a severe violation because it creates a false empirical basis for conclusions. For example, a researcher claims to have surveyed 300 participants, but in reality no data collection was conducted and the results were completely invented.

Falsification occurs when researchers manipulate data, images, or research processes to misrepresent the results. This can include altering numerical values, modifying graphs to hide inconsistencies, removing outliers solely to achieve desired outcomes, or editing images (e.g., microscopy or photographic evidence) to enhance or distort findings. For example, a researcher changes several data points in a dataset to produce a statistically significant outcome that would not otherwise appear.

Authorship misconduct includes improper assignment or reporting of authorship contributions. Ghost authorship occurs when substantial contributors are excluded, while gift or guest authorship refers to listing individuals as authors despite minimal or no contribution. Fraudulent authorship claims or disputes that misrepresent actual contributions also fall under this category. For example, a supervisor demands to be listed as the first author on an article even though they did not contribute to the research or writing process.

Conflict of interest misconduct arises when researchers fail to disclose financial, academic, institutional, or personal connections that may influence the research. Undisclosed conflicts can raise questions about the objectivity and credibility of the work. For example, an author publishes an article evaluating the effectiveness of a communication strategy funded by a corporation, but fails to disclose that they are a paid consultant for that same company.

Ethical violations in research encompass failures to follow established ethical guidelines and standards. This includes conducting studies involving human participants without informed consent, misusing sensitive personal data, or neglecting to obtain ethical clearance from relevant bodies. For example, a researcher interviews vulnerable community members and publishes their personal stories without consent, thereby violating ethical principles of confidentiality and protection.

Manipulation of the editorial or peer-review process includes actions intended to dishonestly influence publication outcomes. This may involve submitting manuscripts with fabricated reviewer identities, concealing personal relationships with suggested reviewers, or engaging in coercive citation practices. For example, an author creates fake email accounts pretending to be qualified reviewers and recommends them during submission to ensure favorable reviews.

Duplicate or redundant publication refers to submitting or publishing substantially similar research in more than one outlet without disclosure. This includes reusing the same dataset or analysis across different manuscripts and presenting them as separate original studies. For example, an author submits nearly the same article to two different journals, changing only the title and introduction, without informing either editorial office.