Citation Manipulation Policy

DScholar Press International is committed to ensuring that citations included in published works are accurate, relevant, and based solely on scholarly merit. The Press does not permit citation manipulation or any practice intended to artificially increase citation counts, influence bibliometric indicators, or misrepresent the scholarly significance of research. This policy applies to all publications, including peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed books, scholarly monographs, edited volumes, conference proceedings, working papers, and research reports.

Citation manipulation includes the addition of unnecessary, irrelevant, or excessive citations intended to increase the citation count of a particular author, publication, journal, book, conference proceeding, institution, publisher, or research group. It also includes coercive citation, citation stacking, reciprocal citation agreements, self-citation without scholarly justification, and any attempt to influence citation metrics through inappropriate referencing practices.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all citations included in a manuscript are directly relevant to the content, accurately represent the cited work, and support the statements for which they are cited. References must be selected on the basis of scholarly relevance rather than personal, institutional, commercial, or bibliometric considerations. Authors must not include unnecessary self-citations or citations requested solely to increase citation counts.

Editors and reviewers must not request authors to add citations to their own publications, publications issued by the Press, or specific authors, journals, books, or institutions unless such citations are genuinely necessary to improve the scholarly quality, completeness, or accuracy of the manuscript. Any recommendation to add citations must be based solely on academic relevance.

The editorial office may evaluate reference lists to identify patterns of excessive self-citation, citation stacking, reciprocal citation practices, or other forms of citation manipulation. Where concerns arise, authors may be asked to justify the inclusion of particular references or revise the reference list before editorial assessment or publication.

If citation manipulation is suspected, the editorial process may be suspended while the matter is investigated. Authors, editors, or reviewers may be requested to provide explanations or supporting information. If inappropriate citation practices are confirmed before publication, the manuscript may be rejected or returned for revision. If citation manipulation is identified after publication, the Press may publish a correction, expression of concern, retraction, or take other appropriate editorial action.

Deliberate attempts to manipulate citation metrics or influence editorial decisions through inappropriate citation practices may be treated as publication misconduct. Depending on the seriousness of the case, the Press may restrict future submissions or reviewer assignments and may notify relevant institutions or organizations where appropriate.

DScholar Press International maintains this policy to preserve the integrity of scholarly communication, ensure the accuracy and relevance of citations, and promote responsible citation practices in accordance with international standards of publication ethics and research integrity.

Effective date: 25 June 2026
Last updated date: 25 June 2026