Publication Ethics and Malpractice

Muthanna Journal of Engineering and Technology (MJET) adheres to the highest standards of publication ethics and is committed to ensuring the integrity and transparency of scholarly publishing. This ethics statement is based on the guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1. Editorial Responsibilities

  • Fair Decision-Making: Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on their intellectual merit, regardless of the authors’ race, gender, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy.

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

  • Conflict of Interest: Editors will recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest.

2. Reviewer Responsibilities

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

  • Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively and supported with clear arguments.

  • Disclosure of Conflicts: Reviewers must decline to review if they have a conflict of interest.

  • Promptness: Reviewers should notify the editor promptly if they are unable to complete the review in a timely manner.

3. Author Responsibilities

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their work is entirely original. Proper citation of all used sources is required. Plagiarism in any form constitutes unethical behavior and is unacceptable.

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

  • Acknowledgement of Sources: All sources of data, ideas, and financial support must be properly acknowledged.

  • Authorship: Only individuals who made a significant contribution to the research and writing should be listed as authors.

  • Reporting Standards: Authors must present their data accurately and discuss its significance objectively. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements are unethical and unacceptable.

  • Data Availability: Authors may be asked to provide raw data for editorial review and should be prepared to make data publicly available if appropriate.

4. Publishing Ethics Issues

  • Plagiarism Detection: MJET uses similarity detection tools (e.g., iThenticate or Turnitin) to screen for plagiarism in all submissions.

  • Corrections and Retractions: If errors or ethical breaches are discovered post-publication, the journal will publish corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern as appropriate.

  • Handling Misconduct: Allegations of misconduct will be investigated according to COPE’s flowcharts and procedures. This includes author misconduct (e.g., data falsification) and reviewer/editor misconduct.

5. Conflict of Interest Disclosure

All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the research or its interpretation.

6. Ethical Oversight

  • Human and Animal Subjects: For studies involving human participants or animals, authors must include an ethics statement and confirm that appropriate institutional approval was obtained.

  • Informed Consent: Where applicable, manuscripts must include statements confirming informed consent was obtained.

7. Open Access and Licensing

MJET is an open access journal. All content is published under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

8. Appeals and Complaints

Authors who wish to appeal an editorial decision or file a complaint about the journal's processes should contact the Associate Editor directly. All concerns will be handled fairly, transparently, and in accordance with COPE guidance.

Contact:
Associate Editor
Muthanna Journal of Engineering and Technology
Email: [email protected]