Publishing Ethics
IJMEER adheres to COPE guidelines and the highest standards of publication ethics for all stakeholders.
IJMEER is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics. We follow the guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and expect all authors, reviewers, and editors to adhere to these principles.
1. Authorship
All listed authors must have made significant intellectual contributions to the research. Ghost authorship and gift authorship are strictly prohibited. All authors must approve the final manuscript before submission. The corresponding author is responsible for all communication with the journal and for ensuring all co-authors are informed of submission status and editorial decisions.
2. Originality & Plagiarism
All submitted manuscripts must be original work. Plagiarism in any form — including appropriation of ideas, text, figures, or data without proper attribution — is strictly prohibited. All manuscripts are screened using plagiarism detection tools. The maximum permissible similarity index is 15% (UGC compliant). Self-plagiarism and duplicate submissions are also prohibited.
3. Data Integrity
Authors must ensure that all data presented in manuscripts is accurate, complete, and reproducible. Fabrication (inventing data) or falsification (manipulating data) are serious ethical violations that will result in immediate rejection or retraction, and may result in formal misconduct reporting to the authors' institution.
4. Conflict of Interest
Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal relationships that could influence their research or its interpretation. Reviewers and editors must also declare potential conflicts of interest and recuse themselves when appropriate. Funding sources must be disclosed in all manuscripts.
5. Human & Animal Rights
Research involving human subjects or animal experimentation must comply with applicable institutional and national ethical guidelines. Appropriate ethical approvals (e.g., IRB/IEC approval) must be documented within the manuscript. Informed consent must be obtained where applicable and stated in the methods section.
6. Peer Review Ethics
Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively and confidentially. They must not use unpublished material, ideas, or data for personal purposes. Reviewers must alert editors to any similarities with published works and declare any conflicts of interest. IJMEER uses a double-blind review process to ensure impartiality.
7. Corrections & Retractions
When significant errors are discovered post-publication, IJMEER will issue corrections (errata) or retractions as appropriate, following COPE guidelines. Corrections are made transparently with clear documentation of what was changed and why. Retracted articles remain visible with a clear retraction notice.
8. Misconduct Handling
Allegations of misconduct will be investigated thoroughly following COPE guidelines. IJMEER reserves the right to reject manuscripts, retract published articles, or ban authors from future submissions in cases of proven ethical violations. For reporting ethics concerns, contact: editor@ijmeer.com