ASKARA journal, published by the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Digital, Economy, Creative and Innovation (DETCI), is committed to upholding integrity, quality, transparency, and ethics throughout the entire scholarly publishing process. All parties involved in the publication process, including editors, reviewers, authors, and members of the editorial board are expected to carry out their responsibilities professionally, objectively, and honorably.

The publication ethics policy of ASKARA journal refers to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and is intended to ensure that the entire process of managing and publishing articles is conducted fairly, transparently, and responsibly.

• Editor Responsibilities

Publication Decisions
The editorial board of ASKARA journal is responsible for determining which articles will be published. Publication decisions are made based on the outcomes of the editorial process and consideration of reviewers’ recommendations. Editorial decisions are based on academic quality, originality, relevance, and the article’s conformity with the scope of ASKARA journal. Such decisions must not be influenced by the authors’ background, including nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, political views, or institutional affiliation. Editors must also give due consideration to legal requirements relating to copyright, plagiarism, and defamation.

Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest
Editors must maintain the confidentiality of all information relating to a manuscript throughout the editorial and peer-review process. Information about a manuscript may only be disclosed to the corresponding authors, reviewers, prospective reviewers, and other parties legitimately involved in the editorial process. Unpublished material contained in a manuscript must not be used by editors, reviewers, or other parties for their own research purposes without the written consent of the author. Editors must also ensure transparency regarding sources of research funding and the possible involvement of funders in the conduct or publication of the research.

Relations with Authors
Editors must ensure that the peer-review process is conducted fairly, objectively, indiscriminately, and promptly. ASKARA journal has a mechanism for handling manuscripts authored by editors or members of the editorial board, so that the evaluation process remains objective and free from conflicts of interest. The journal also provides clear guidance regarding authorship criteria and the responsibilities of authors in the publication process.

Relations with Reviewers
Editors are responsible for selecting reviewers with competence appropriate to the subject matter of the article. Reviewers are encouraged to pay attention to research ethics, potential misconduct, data manipulation, redundant publication, and plagiarism. Reviewers’ comments are conveyed to authors as part of the manuscript revision process, unless such comments contain offensive or defamatory statements. ASKARA journal also evaluates reviewer performance. Reviewers who consistently provide discourteous, low-quality reviews, or fail to meet the established timeline, may no longer be used in the peer-review process.

Quality Assurance
Editors are responsible for taking the necessary steps to maintain the quality of published articles. Editors must also give due attention to research ethics and, where relevant, ensure that the research has obtained approval from an ethics committee or other authorized body. In addition, editors must give attention to intellectual property matters and cooperate with the publisher in addressing alleged copyright infringement or other legal violations. Errors, inaccurate information, or misleading statements in published articles must be corrected promptly and appropriately.

• Reviewer Responsibilities

Contribution to Editorial Decisions
Reviewers assist editors in evaluating the quality and suitability of a manuscript. Reviews are conducted objectively, constructively, and based on clear academic argumentation. Reviewers’ comments should help authors improve the quality of their article. Criticism of a manuscript must be directed at its scholarly substance and must not take the form of personal criticism of the author.

Competence and Conflicts of Interest
Reviewers who feel they lack the competence appropriate to the subject matter of a manuscript, or who are unable to complete a review within the specified time, must notify the editor and withdraw from the review process. Reviewers are also not permitted to assess a manuscript if they have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of their evaluation, including competitive, collaborative, professional, or other relationships with the author, the author’s institution, or parties connected with the research.

Confidentiality
Manuscripts received for review are confidential documents. Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of all information, ideas, data, and other materials obtained during the peer-review process. Information or ideas obtained through the review process must not be used for the reviewer’s personal benefit.

Acknowledgement of Sources
Reviewers are expected to identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any idea derived from the work of others must be properly acknowledged through appropriate citation. Reviewers must also notify the editor of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and any other published work.

• Author Responsibilities

Reporting Standards
Authors must present research reports accurately and provide an objective discussion of the significance of their findings. Research data must be presented accurately and must not be manipulated. Authors must be able to provide access to research data for verification purposes, if required, and must retain such data for an adequate period of time. Statements that are knowingly false or misleading constitute a violation of publication ethics.

Originality and Plagiarism
Authors must ensure that the submitted article is an original work and that all sources used have been properly acknowledged through appropriate citation. Plagiarism in any form is not tolerated. Submitting a substantially similar manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously is also considered a violation of publication ethics ASKARA journal may conduct similarity checks using plagiarism-detection software. Manuscripts found to contain plagiarism or unacceptable duplicate publication may be rejected during the editorial process.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest
Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could potentially influence the results or interpretation of their research.
All sources of funding supporting the research must also be disclosed transparently in the manuscript.

Authorship
The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all individuals who meet the authorship criteria are listed as authors, and that no individual who does not meet the authorship criteria is included. All co-authors must have read and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission to ASKARA journal. Individuals who have made a significant contribution to the research must receive appropriate recognition as authors. Meanwhile, those who have made a substantive contribution but do not meet the authorship criteria may be listed as contributors or acknowledged in the acknowledgments section.

Errors in Published Articles
If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy after an article has been published, the author must promptly notify the editor of ASKARA journal and cooperate to correct or, if necessary, retract the article.

• Protection of Privacy and Individual Data

Information that could identify an individual must not be published without a legitimate scientific reason and consent for publication. Authors are responsible for obtaining and retaining informed consent when a study or article includes information, photographs, or other materials that could reveal a person’s identity. Consent to participate in a study does not automatically imply consent to publish personal information, images, or individual data.

• Research Reporting Standards

Research must be communicated in a manner that supports verification and reproducibility. Authors are therefore encouraged to provide a comprehensive description of the research rationale, research protocol, methodology, data-collection and analysis process, and findings and their interpretation.

• Research Ethics and Consent

ASKARA journal requires manuscripts involving human subjects, animals, plants, biological materials, restricted datasets, collections, or specific research sites to include an ethics statement in the Ethics Approval section, comprising the name of the ethics committee/institutional review board (IRB), the ethics approval number, and a statement of informed consent (where human subjects are involved).

Research Involving Human Subjects
Research must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and must obtain approval from an institutional IRB/ethics committee prior to the research being conducted (retrospective approval is generally not accepted). Manuscripts must state the name of the institution, the review board, and the approval number, together with a statement that informed consent was obtained from participants. The privacy and rights of research subjects must be safeguarded at all times.

Research Involving Animals
Research involving animals must comply with the ARRIVE guidelines and relevant national/international regulations on animal welfare (e.g., EU Directive 2010/63/EU or the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals). Manuscripts must include the ethics approval, justification for the species used, housing conditions, method of anesthesia/euthanasia, and steps taken to minimize animal suffering.

Research Involving Plants
Research involving plants must comply with institutional guidelines and relevant regulations, including the Convention on Biological Diversity and CITES, and must include relevant permits/licenses where applicable.

Manuscripts that do not satisfy the above ethics-approval requirements will be rejected.