Index Academic is committed to upholding principles of integrity, transparency, and responsibility in research and academic publishing.

The journal’s policies are based on international best practices in publication ethics and take into account the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Authors, editors, and reviewers share responsibility for contributing to the integrity of the academic record and for reporting any ethical concerns identified before or after publication.

Originality and Previous Publication

Manuscripts submitted for publication must represent original contributions and must respect the intellectual rights of other authors.

By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that the work:

  • has not previously been published in the same form, except in situations declared to and accepted by the editorial team;
  • is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal;
  • properly identifies and cites the sources used;
  • does not reproduce copyrighted material without permission;
  • does not contain fabricated, falsified, or improperly manipulated data.

Previous publication of a preprint or deposit of an allowed version in a repository does not automatically exclude the manuscript from consideration, provided that the existence of that version is disclosed to the editorial team.

Plagiarism and Improper Use of Sources

Index Academic does not accept plagiarism in any form.

The following are considered inappropriate, among other practices:

  • reproducing another person’s text, ideas, data, images, or results without proper attribution;
  • paraphrasing sources without citation;
  • excessive use of reproduced passages even where the source is cited;
  • presenting another person’s contribution as one’s own;
  • self-plagiarism or substantial reuse of one’s own previously published material without acknowledging the source;
  • redundant publication or unjustified fragmentation of the same research into multiple publications.

The editorial team may use tools for detecting textual similarities and may request explanations from authors when significant overlaps are identified.

The identification of similarity does not automatically constitute evidence of plagiarism; the context and nature of the overlap are assessed editorially.

Authorship and Contributions

Authorship should be attributed only to individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the conception, conduct, analysis, or writing of the work and who accept responsibility for its content.

All authors must:

  • have approved the final version of the manuscript;
  • agree to its submission for publication;
  • accept responsibility for their own contribution;
  • cooperate, when necessary, in clarifying issues concerning the integrity of the work.

Individuals who provided technical, administrative, financial, or other support but do not meet the criteria for authorship may be acknowledged in the acknowledgements section.

Guest authorship, gift authorship, and ghost authorship are not accepted.

The order of authors should be agreed upon before submission.

Any request to change the author list after submission must be justified and approved by all persons involved.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other interests that could influence, or could reasonably be perceived as influencing, the research or interpretation of the results.

Funding sources and the role of funders in study design, data collection and analysis, manuscript preparation, or the decision to publish must be disclosed where relevant.

Editors and reviewers have the same obligations of transparency and must withdraw from the process whenever a conflict of interest could affect their impartiality.

Integrity of Data and Results

Data, results, and methods must be presented accurately and without manipulation intended to mislead readers.

The following are prohibited:

  • fabrication of data or results;
  • falsification or unjustified alteration of data;
  • selective omission of results in order to create a misleading conclusion;
  • manipulation of images in a way that changes the meaning of the original information.

Technical adjustments to images are acceptable only where justified and where they do not alter the interpretation of the results.

Editors may request additional data, supporting documentation, or methodological information when necessary to verify the integrity of the research.

Where the nature of the research and disciplinary norms allow, authors are encouraged to facilitate access to the data supporting published results.

Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants, sensitive personal data, or human biological materials must comply with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Where required, authors must declare:

  • approval from an ethics committee or competent authority;
  • informed consent;
  • measures taken to protect privacy and personal data;
  • any justification for situations in which approval or consent was not required.

Information that could identify an individual must not be published without a legitimate basis and, where necessary, without that person’s explicit consent.

Animal Research

Research involving animals must be conducted in accordance with applicable legislation and ethical standards in the relevant jurisdiction and discipline.

Where relevant, authors must indicate the institutional or ethical approvals obtained and describe the measures taken to minimize animal suffering.

Citations and References

Sources must be selected according to their academic relevance and cited correctly.

The following are not accepted:

  • citations added solely to artificially increase the citation counts of an author, editor, reviewer, or journal;
  • pressure on authors to add irrelevant citations;
  • citation rings or coordinated citation manipulation;
  • fabricated or unverified references.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the bibliographic references included in the manuscript.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence tools cannot be considered authors or co-authors because they cannot assume responsibility for content, disclose conflicts of interest, or be accountable for research integrity.

Authors remain fully responsible for every element of the manuscript, including content generated or modified using artificial intelligence tools.

Substantial use of AI systems to generate or modify text, code, images, data, analyses, translations, or other relevant elements of the work must be transparently disclosed. Where relevant, the declaration should specify the tool used and the purpose for which it was used.

The use of tools solely for spelling, grammar, or stylistic correction, without generating substantial academic content, does not need to be declared.

Authors must independently verify:

  • the accuracy of information generated by AI;
  • the existence and accuracy of references;
  • the originality of the content;
  • compliance with copyright;
  • the absence of fabricated data, citations, or sources.

AI-generated content does not relieve authors of responsibility for errors, plagiarism, copyright infringement, or other integrity concerns.

Artificial Intelligence in Editorial Work and Peer Review

The confidentiality of manuscripts must be protected throughout the editorial process.

Editors and reviewers must not upload unpublished manuscripts or confidential information associated with them to external artificial intelligence services unless adequate guarantees exist regarding confidentiality, data protection, and subsequent use of the content.

Automated tools may be used by the journal for auxiliary purposes such as similarity checking, technical manuscript analysis, metadata processing, or quality control.

Editorial decisions are not delegated to artificial intelligence systems.

Responsibility for evaluating and deciding on the publication of a manuscript rests with the individuals involved in the editorial process.

Redundant and Simultaneous Publication

The same manuscript may not be submitted simultaneously to Index Academic and another journal.

Authors must inform the editorial team about previous works that use the same data, methods, or results and that could represent significant overlap.

A justified extension of previously published work may be considered only if the relationship between the two works is transparently disclosed, the earlier version is cited, and the new contribution provides substantial and distinct academic value.

Copyright and Permissions

Authors are responsible for obtaining any permissions required to reproduce copyrighted materials that they do not own.

This obligation may include text, images, photographs, tables, graphs, maps, research instruments, or other material originating from external sources.

The fact that material is available on the internet does not automatically mean that it may be reused without permission or without complying with the conditions of the applicable license.

Suspected Misconduct and Allegations

Index Academic considers allegations of possible research or publication misconduct whether they are received before or after publication.

Such situations may include, among others:

  • plagiarism;
  • fabrication or falsification of data;
  • inappropriate authorship;
  • redundant publication;
  • manipulation of the peer review process;
  • citation manipulation;
  • breaches of ethical requirements;
  • undisclosed conflicts of interest.

The editorial team examines allegations confidentially and fairly and may request from authors, reviewers, institutions, or other relevant parties the information necessary to clarify the situation.

The existence of an allegation alone is not considered evidence of misconduct.

Where circumstances require, the journal may seek assistance from the author’s affiliated institution or other competent bodies in investigating the matter.

Post-Publication Corrections

Index Academic considers editorial responsibility to continue after an article has been published.

If an error is identified that does not fundamentally affect the validity of the work, the journal may publish a correction transparently linked to the original article.

Significant changes made after publication are not introduced silently into the text without a record of the correction.

Retractions

An article may be retracted when there are serious reasons to consider its results or conclusions unreliable or when a major breach of publication integrity is identified.

Such situations may include, among others:

  • fabrication or falsification of data;
  • substantial plagiarism;
  • serious redundant publication;
  • research conducted in violation of essential ethical requirements;
  • manipulation of the editorial or peer review process;
  • other forms of misconduct that compromise the validity or integrity of the article.

A retracted article remains identifiable in the academic record, and its status is clearly indicated. The retraction notice is linked to the article and explains, to the extent possible and legally permissible, the reason for the retraction.

Expressions of Concern

When serious concerns exist regarding the integrity of an article but the available information does not yet allow a definitive conclusion, the journal may publish an Expression of Concern.

This notice may remain associated with the article until the investigation is completed and may subsequently be replaced or supplemented by a correction, retraction, or other editorial conclusion.

Author Cooperation

Authors are required to cooperate with the editorial team when clarification is requested regarding a manuscript or published article.

Unjustified refusal to provide relevant information does not prevent the journal from taking the necessary editorial action on the basis of the information available.

Measures in Cases of Policy Violations

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the issue, the journal may:

  • request explanations or correction of the manuscript;
  • suspend the editorial process;
  • reject the manuscript;
  • retract a published article;
  • publish a correction or Expression of Concern;
  • inform institutions or other competent bodies where the circumstances justify such action;
  • temporarily or permanently decline to consider new manuscripts in serious or repeated cases of misconduct.

Measures are adopted proportionately and only after the available information has been assessed.

Shared Responsibility for Publication Integrity

The integrity of an academic journal depends on the shared responsibility of authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher.

Index Academic seeks to address editorial concerns in a documented, fair, and transparent manner, protecting both the integrity of the academic record and the rights of the individuals involved.

This policy is applied together with the Editorial Policy and Peer Review, Author Guidelines, and Open Access, Copyright and License policies.

[Editorial Policy and Peer Review →]
[Author Guidelines →]
[Open Access, Copyright and License →]