Clear policies support responsible scholarly publishing
IJIF expects journals to make relevant editorial, review and publication-ethics practices clear to authors, readers and other users.
Standards relevant to responsible journal publishing
IJIF considers the transparency and availability of journal policies as part of its broader review of publishing practices. The points below describe key areas journals should address in a clear and accessible manner.
Editorial Responsibilities
Journals should maintain clearly identified editorial responsibility, appropriate oversight and transparent information about editorial roles.
Peer Review
Where peer review is used, the journal should describe its review model and apply it consistently to manuscripts within scope.
Authorship & Contributions
Authorship should reflect genuine scholarly contribution. Journals should provide a means to address disputed or inappropriate authorship.
Originality & Misconduct
Journals should address plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated or falsified material and other forms of research or publication misconduct.
Corrections & Retractions
Material errors and unreliable findings should be addressed through appropriate corrections, retractions or other notices that preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.
Research Ethics
Research involving people, animals or sensitive information should comply with applicable ethical requirements and, where relevant, appropriate approval or consent processes.
Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions should be made on relevant scholarly and editorial considerations and should not be improperly influenced by commercial, personal or other conflicting interests.
Complaints & Appeals
Journals should provide a reasonable way to raise editorial complaints or appeals and should consider them fairly, consistently and without retaliation.