Publication Ethics Statement
All Kean Quest Journals follow the Committee on Publication Ethics Guidelines for Journal Editors. All of the below points are directly based on these guidelines.
All final publication decisions are made by the Executive Editor, who is guided by publication policies set forth by the Editorial Board. All policies pertaining to plagiarism, libel, or copyright infringement are created by the Editorial Board and enforced by the Executive Editor. The Executive Editor confers with the Reviewers and Editorial Board in making final decisions.
All work submitted for publication is reviewed by the Executive Editor and the Reviewers based solely on the strength of the intellectual merit of the work. No consideration is given to the author(s) gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, political philosophies, religious beliefs, or citizenship.
The Executive Editor and other Editors do not disclose any information regarding a submitted manuscript to persons who are not authors of the article, Reviewers, members of the Editorial Board, or other journal advisors. Any information shared is done as appropriate and necessary.
Any materials and information disclosed as part of a manuscript submission cannot be used by Editors and Executive Editors in their own research without prior permission and consent from the author.
DUTIES OF REVIEWERSThe Executive Editor’s decisions are guided by the results of the reviews performed by the Reviewers. The Executive Editor may also communicate with the author to provide feedback that might improve the paper.
Reviewers should notify the Executive Editor in cases where they are assigned to review a manuscript covering topics beyond their expertise. All reviewers in this position shall be excused from the review process.
All materials submitted for publication, regardless of their medium, will be treated as confidential and shared only with authorized persons.
All Reviewers must be objective when reviewing submitted work. No personal criticism of the author is permitted. Any feedback and criticism must be supported with arguments.
To the best of their knowledge and ability, reviewers have the responsibility to point out any areas of the text that need citations but lack them. Any significant similarity or overlap with works that have been previously published must be appropriately attributed. Reviewers must notify the editorial staff of all issues relating to citations.
Reviewers must not undertake manuscripts they have a conflict of interest with through any type of relationship, be it collaborative or competitive in nature. No editorial staff is permitted to use information gleaned from the review process for personal advantage.
DUTIES OF AUTHORSAuthors are expected to be ethical, truthful, and objective in crafting reports of data as well as its significance. Any knowing misrepresentations of any data are unacceptable as they constitute unethical behavior.
All submissions are expected to be original in nature. All references to the work of other authors must be appropriately cited.
Authors must refrain from publishing reports on the same data in multiple journals or primary publications. Authors who simultaneously submit the same manuscript for review to multiple publications engage in unethical behavior.
All sources used (whether through direct or indirect measures) in the manuscript must be cited using appropriate conventions.
Only persons who have had substantial input and influence on the conception, drafting/design, execution, or interpretation of the manuscript shall be called authors. Persons who have aided the creation of the manuscript via limited contribution or participation in the study shall be titled co-author or faculty advisor, depending on the role and standing of the persons. Any other persons who have contributed to the project shall be called contributors. The corresponding author must ensure that all authors and co-authors are credited appropriately. The corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors will review and comment on the final version of the manuscript before submission for publication.
All conflicts of interest that could sway how data are interpreted, be they financial, relational, or political, must be disclosed. All sources of financial support must be disclosed.
In cases of the author discovering significant errors in their own work, they are obliged to immediately contact the editorial staff to cooperate in the process of retracting or correcting the manuscript.