Journal of Learning and Character Education (JLCEdu) is a peer-reviewed academic journal. This statement explains the ethical behavior of all parties involved in the act of publishing articles in this journal as well as alleged research violations, including the authors, Editor-in-Chief, Editorial Board, peer reviewers, and the publisher, SRA & YHMM Publishing. This statement is based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.
Guidelines for Journal Publication Ethics
Articles in JLCEdu are an important building block in the development of a coherent and respected knowledge network in pedagogy and character education. This is a direct reflection of the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the scientific method. Therefore, it is important to agree on the standards of ethical behavior expected of all parties involved in the act of publishing: authors, journal editors, peer reviewers, publishers, and the public.
SRA & YHMM Publishing, as the publisher of JLCEdu, takes the duty of guardianship over all stages of publishing very seriously, and we are fully aware of our ethical and professional responsibilities. We are committed to ensuring that advertising, reprint, or other commercial revenue has no impact or influence on editorial decisions.
Alleged Research Misconduct
Research misconduct includes fabrication, falsification, manipulation of citations, or plagiarism in producing, conducting, or reviewing research and writing articles by authors, or in reporting research results. When authors are found to be involved in research violations or other serious irregularities involving articles that have already been published in a scientific journal, the Editor has a responsibility to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the scientific record.
In cases of suspected violations, the Editors and the Editorial Board will use COPE best practices to help them resolve complaints and deal fairly with violations. This will include an investigation into the allegations by the Editor. Submissions found to contain these errors will be rejected. In cases where the published paper is found to contain such errors, a retraction may be issued and will be linked to the original article.
The first step involves determining the validity of the allegation and assessing whether the allegations are consistent with the definition of research misconduct. This initial step also involves determining whether the individual committing the offense has a relevant conflict of interest.
If a scientific error or the presence of other substantial research irregularities is a possibility, the allegations are shared with the appropriate authors, who, on behalf of all co-authors, are asked to provide detailed responses. Once responses are received and evaluated, additional review and involvement of experts (such as statistical reviewers) can be obtained. For cases where infringement is unlikely, clarification, additional analysis, or notification of corrections published in the journal is sufficient.
Institutions are expected to carry out proper and thorough investigations into suspected scientific misconduct. Ultimately, authors, journals, and institutions have an important obligation to ensure the accuracy of scientific records. By responding appropriately to concerns about scientific errors and taking necessary actions (such as corrections, retractions with replacements, or retractions), JLCEdu will continue to fulfill its responsibility to ensure the validity and integrity of the scientific record.
Publication Decisions
The Editor is responsible for deciding which articles submitted to the journal should be published. Editors may be guided by the policies of the journal's Editorial Board and limited by legal requirements regarding defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The Editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.
Fair Play
An editor evaluates manuscripts at all times for their intellectual content regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, nationality, or political philosophy of the authors.
Confidentiality
Editors and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the respective authors, reviewers, prospective reviewers, other editorial advisors, and publishers, as appropriate.
Complaints and Appeals
JLCEdu has a clear procedure for handling complaints against the journal, Editorial Staff, Editorial Board, or Publisher. Complaints will be clarified with a designated impartial party regarding the complaint case. The scope of complaints includes everything related to the journal's editorial and business processes (e.g., peer-review manipulation, citation manipulation, unfair editorial decisions). Complaint cases will be processed according to COPE guidelines.
Post-Publication Discussions
JLCEdu permits post-publication debate and discussions either on its website, through letters to the editor, or via moderated channels, allowing readers to raise valid concerns regarding published works.
Data Sharing Policy
JLCEdu is committed to an open research landscape, facilitating faster and more effective research discovery by enabling reproducibility and verification of data, methodologies, and reporting standards. We encourage authors to share their research data including, but not limited to: raw data, processed data, software, algorithms, protocols, methods, and evaluation tools.
Duties of Reviewers
- Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists editors in making editorial decisions and through editorial communications with authors may also assist authors in improving papers.
- Promptness & Appropriateness: Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that immediate review is not possible must notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.
- Confidentiality: Any manuscript received for review must be treated as a confidential document. It must not be shown or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.
- Objectivity Standards: Reviews must be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees must express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
- Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers must identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument has been previously reported must be accompanied by a relevant citation. Reviewers should also call the editor's attention to any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and other published papers of which they have personal knowledge.
- Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal gain. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.
Duties of Authors
- Reporting Standards: Authors of original research reports must present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data must be represented accurately. A paper must contain sufficient detail and references to allow others to replicate the work. Deceptive or intentionally inaccurate statements constitute unethical and unacceptable behavior.
- Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, this must be properly cited or quoted.
- Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publications: An author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
- Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.
- Authorship of the Paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All persons who have made significant contributions must be listed as co-authors. The corresponding author must ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and agreed to its submission for publication.
- Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors must disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project must be disclosed.
- Fundamental Errors in Published Works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.
Ethical Oversight
If research work involves chemicals, human subjects, animals, procedures, or equipment that have unusual hazards inherent in their use, authors must clearly identify these in the manuscript to comply with the ethical conduct of research using animal or human subjects. Authors must provide legal and ethical permission/clearance from appropriate institutional review boards or ethics committees when required.
If the research involves confidential data or specific organizational practices, the author must clearly justify whether the data or information will be securely anonymized or protected.