Publication Ethics

Core Ethical Principles

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for managing submissions fairly, independently, confidentially, and promptly. Editors must:

• Evaluate manuscripts according to their originality, scientific quality, methodological soundness, relevance, clarity, and contribution to the journal’s scope.
• Make editorial decisions without discrimination based on race, ethnicity, gender, religion, nationality, disability, political belief, institutional affiliation, or other irrelevant personal characteristics.
• Maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts, correspondence, reviewer identities, and unpublished information.
• Select reviewers with appropriate expertise and avoid assigning reviewers with known conflicts of interest.
• Apply the journal’s double-anonymous peer-review process consistently.
• Consider reviewer recommendations objectively while retaining responsibility for the final editorial decision.
• Recuse themselves from handling a manuscript when a financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other conflict could reasonably affect their judgment.
• Not use unpublished information obtained from a submitted manuscript for personal research, advantage, or the benefit of another party.
• Respond appropriately to ethical concerns raised before or after publication.
• Issue corrections, expressions of concern, retractions, or other notices when required to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers contribute to editorial decisions and help authors improve the quality of their manuscripts. Reviewers must:

• Accept a review assignment only when they have appropriate expertise and sufficient time to complete the review.
• Promptly decline an invitation if they cannot provide a competent, independent, and timely assessment.
• Disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest before accepting a review assignment.
• Treat the manuscript, supplementary files, correspondence, and review process as confidential.
• Provide an objective, evidence-based, constructive, and respectful review.
• Avoid hostile, discriminatory, defamatory, or personally directed comments.
• Identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately acknowledged and report suspected plagiarism, duplication, fabrication, or other ethical concerns to the editor.
• Not use unpublished information, ideas, methods, or data obtained through peer review for personal advantage.
• Not delegate the review to another individual without prior permission from the editor.
• Not upload confidential manuscripts or review materials to external AI systems when confidentiality and data protection cannot be guaranteed.

Further information is available in the Peer Review Process .

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for the integrity, accuracy, originality, and ethical compliance of their submitted work. Authors must:

• Submit original work that has not been published previously and is not under consideration by another journal.
• Present research methods, data, results, and interpretations honestly and accurately.
• Not fabricate, falsify, manipulate, omit, or misrepresent research data or findings.
• Properly acknowledge and cite all ideas, words, data, methods, images, and other materials obtained from external sources.
• Avoid plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, redundant publication, citation manipulation, and inappropriate text recycling.
• List as authors only individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions and can take responsibility for the work.
• Obtain approval from all authors for the submitted version and the order of authorship.
• Disclose funding sources, institutional support, potential conflicts of interest, and other relationships that could influence the work.
• Obtain all necessary ethical approvals, permits, informed consent, and permissions before conducting and publishing the research.
• Retain relevant research records and provide supporting data or documentation when reasonably requested during evaluation or an ethical investigation.
• Promptly notify the editor when a significant error or ethical concern is discovered in a submitted or published article.
• Cooperate with editorial inquiries, corrections, retractions, and investigations conducted according to the journal’s policies.

Complete requirements are described in the Authorship and Contribution Policy and Plagiarism Policy .

Responsibilities of the Publisher and Journal Management

The journal management and publisher support editorial independence and the integrity of the publication process. Their responsibilities include:

• Providing appropriate infrastructure for manuscript submission, peer review, publication, preservation, and public access.
• Respecting the independence of editors in making scholarly decisions.
• Maintaining transparent information about ownership, management, publication charges, copyright, licensing, and access.
• Supporting investigations of publication-ethics concerns and cooperating with relevant institutions when necessary.
• Protecting personal information, confidential submissions, reviewer identities, and editorial records.
• Preserving published content and maintaining the integrity and availability of the journal record.

Ethical Oversight of Research

Research must comply with applicable institutional, national, and disciplinary ethical requirements. Where relevant, authors must describe ethical approval, research permits, informed consent, biosafety authorization, or other oversight in the manuscript.

Unacceptable Publication Practices

Practices that may constitute a breach of publication ethics include, but are not limited to:

• Fabrication or falsification of data, methods, results, images, or research records.
• Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or unattributed reuse of material.
• Duplicate, redundant, or simultaneous submission and publication.
• Manipulation or selective omission of data that materially changes the interpretation of the findings.
• Inappropriate authorship, ghost authorship, guest authorship, or unauthorized changes to authorship.
• Citation manipulation or excessive citation requested for improper purposes.
• Fabricated reviewer identities, false reviewer contact information, or manipulation of peer review.
• Failure to disclose significant conflicts of interest or funding relationships.
• Unauthorized disclosure or use of confidential manuscript information.
• Misleading, undisclosed, or unethical use of artificial intelligence.
• Retaliation against individuals who raise a publication-ethics concern in good faith.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors and cannot assume responsibility for published content. Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, attribution, and integrity of all AI-assisted material.

Substantive AI use must be disclosed. Editors and reviewers must not upload confidential manuscripts into AI systems when confidentiality and data protection cannot be guaranteed.

Complete requirements are available in the Use of Artificial Intelligence Policy .

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

JATL takes allegations of misconduct seriously, whether they concern a submitted manuscript, a published article, an editor, a reviewer, or another participant in the publication process.

The detailed procedure is available in Allegations of Research Misconduct .

Post-Publication Responsibilities

Publication does not end the responsibilities of the authors, editors, reviewers, or publisher. Credible concerns raised after publication will be assessed and, when necessary, the published record will be corrected.

JATL may issue a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other editorial notice depending on the nature and seriousness of the problem. Notices will be linked to the affected article and written as clearly as reasonably possible.

See: Corrections and Retractions and Post-Publication Discussion .

Complaints and Appeals

Authors and other parties may submit a reasoned complaint or appeal concerning an editorial process, ethical procedure, or decision. An appeal must identify the decision being challenged and provide relevant evidence or a clear explanation.

Complaints and appeals are handled under the journal’s Complaints and Appeals Policy .

Possible Editorial Actions

Depending on the evidence, seriousness, and stage of publication, JATL may:

• Request clarification, original data, ethical approval, or supporting documentation.
• Require correction or revision of the manuscript.
• Reject or withdraw a manuscript from editorial consideration.
• Suspend processing while an investigation is underway.
• Publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction.
• Notify the relevant institution, ethics committee, funder, or authorized body.
• Decline future submissions for a proportionate period in serious or repeated cases.

An editorial action will be based on available evidence and applied as fairly and proportionately as possible.

Related Editorial Policies