Research & Publication Ethics Policy

DScholar Press International enforces rigorous ethical standards across all published research monographs, edited volumes, conference proceedings, working papers, and technical reports. Guided by international publication ethics and best practices, this policy outlines the mandatory standards and responsibilities expected of authors, volume editors, peer reviewers, and editorial board members.

1. Plagiarism, Text Recycling & Originality Standards

Submitted manuscripts must represent original, unpublished work. DScholar Press International strictly prohibits all forms of plagiarism, including verbatim copying, paraphrasing without proper attribution, patchwriting, and image manipulation.

• Similarity Screening: All submitted proposals and full manuscripts undergo automated text-similarity screening upon submission. Manuscripts containing unoriginal material, unauthorized reproduction, or lacking proper attribution will be desk-rejected.
• Redundant & Concurrent Submissions: Authors must not submit the same manuscript (or substantially overlapping work) to multiple publishers simultaneously.
• Text Recycling (Self-Plagiarism): Reuse of the author’s own previously published text, figures, or data must be explicitly cited, placed in quotation marks where applicable, and accompanied by copyright permissions where required.

2. Authorship Criteria, Contributorship & AI Usage

2.1 Authorship Qualification

Every listed author must meet all four of the following fundamental criteria:

1. Substantial contributions to the conception, design, acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; AND
2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Guest, gift, or ghost authorship is strictly prohibited. Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be recognized separately under an "Acknowledgements" section.

2.2 Policy on Generative AI & AI-Assisted Technologies

3. Conflict of Interest & Competing Interests

Full transparency regarding potential competing interests is critical to maintaining academic integrity and objective evaluation.

• Authors: Must declare all financial support, employment, consultancies, honoraria, patent applications, or personal and academic relationships that could inappropriately influence their work. If no conflict exists, authors must state: "The authors declare no competing financial or non-financial interests."
• Peer Reviewers & Editors: Must recuse themselves from evaluating any manuscript if personal, professional, financial, or institutional ties exist with any of the authors or volume editors.

4. Research Involving Human Participants & Animal Subjects

Studies involving human subjects, human material, human data, or animals must adhere to recognized international ethical protocols:

5. Data Availability, Transparency & Reproducibility

To support academic verification and research reproducibility, DScholar Press International strongly encourages authors to make their underlying research data accessible.

Every published book chapter or monograph should include a formal Data Availability Statement (DAS) detailing where the dataset supporting the results can be found, including links to publicly archived datasets analyzed or generated during the study, or stating reasons why data cannot be publicly shared.

6. Post-Publication Corrections, Retractions & Misconduct Handling

DScholar Press International maintains the integrity of the published record through transparent post-publication revision and correction protocols.

7. Confidential Reporting & Ethical Inquiries