Publication Ethics

Publishing an article in Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Research is considered one of the recognized systems of scientific communication, aiming to build a trusted entity of knowledge. Publishing an article also has a preliminary indication of the quality and impact of the research work, reflecting on the authors of those articles and the institutions they belong to. Furthermore, publishing a sound scientific article supports and embodies the scientific method. Therefore, it has become necessary to establish standards for the expected ethical behavior of all parties involved in the publication process (authors, journal editors, peer reviewers, and the journal's executive and administrative council). These standards are based on respecting the parties with dignity and fairness, without discrimination, bullying, or retaliation.

Duties of Journal Management:

  • Protecting the scientific output or scholar record: The role of the journal is to support the efforts of editors and reviewers in maintaining the integrity of the published scientific output and its source. The journal supports the scientific communication process while ensuring compliance with the best available publishing practices.
  • Safeguarding editorial independence: The journal commits to ensuring that editorial decisions are not influenced by reprinting processes or financial revenues.
  • Educating researchers about publication ethics: The journal provides courses on publication ethics standards, specifically targeting researchers in the early stages of their professional careers.

Duties of Editors:

  • Publishing decisions: The editor, in collaboration with the journal's editorial board, bears the sole responsibility for determining which submitted articles should be published. Verifying the validity and significance of the work for researchers and readers is an important factor in making these decisions. Copyright requirements and plagiarism also affect the editor's choices, who may consult with other editors, reviewers, or journal management officials to assist in the decision-making process.
  • Peer review: The editor ensures that the peer review process is fair, unbiased, and timely. Research articles should be reviewed by at least two external and independent reviewers, with the possibility of obtaining additional opinions when necessary. The editor selects reviewers with appropriate expertise in the relevant field, considering the importance of comprehensive and diverse representation. The editor reviews all potential statements regarding conflicts of interest and self-citation proposed by the reviewers to assess potential bias.
  • Neutrality: The editor evaluates manuscripts based on their intellectual content, regardless of factors such as race, gender, religious belief, or ethnic origin of the authors. When nominating members of the editorial board, the editor ensures appropriate, comprehensive, and diverse representation. The journal's editorial policies encourage transparency, full and honest reporting, and the editor must ensure that peer reviewers and authors have a clear understanding. Standard electronic submission systems provided by the journal should be used.
  • Confidentiality: The editor must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted materials and communications with reviewers unless otherwise agreed upon with the relevant authors and reviewers. The identities of reviewers should be protected unless the reviewers agree to disclose them. Unpublished materials obtained through the manuscript review process should not be used for personal gain. Information or ideas should remain confidential.

Regarding the use of artificial intelligence and its techniques in the journal editing process, the following guidelines apply:

  • Confidentiality and intellectual property rights: Editors should refrain from uploading submitted manuscripts or any part of them to artificial intelligence tools to avoid violating authors' confidentiality and intellectual property rights. This is particularly important when personally identifiable information is present in the paper, as it may violate data privacy rights.
  • Critical Evaluation and Decision Making: Editors should refrain from using artificial intelligence to assist in evaluating manuscripts or making decisions about them. The critical thinking and original evaluation required for this task surpass the capabilities of these technologies, and there is a risk of drawing incorrect, incomplete, or biased conclusions based on the limitations and biases in the artificial intelligence model.
  • Transparency and Disclosure: Editors must inform authors and reviewers if artificial intelligence or its techniques were used during the editing process. Transparency helps maintain trust and allows authors and reviewers to understand how their work is evaluated.
  • Ethical Considerations: Editors should be aware of the ethical implications of using artificial intelligence techniques in the editing process. Artificial intelligence algorithms may contain biases or constraints that can affect the decision-making process. It is important to regularly evaluate and monitor the performance of artificial intelligence tools to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability.

Reviewer Responsibilities:

  • Reviewers play a crucial role in the journal editing process. They contribute to the decision-making process for editors and can also provide valuable feedback to authors to improve their papers. Peer review is an integral part of scientific communication and the scientific method. In addition to specific ethical responsibilities, reviewers should treat authors and their work with respect and follow good review practices.
  • If a selected reviewer feels unqualified to review the manuscript submitted to the journal or is unable to complete the review, they should inform the editor and decline the review request. Confidentiality is of utmost importance in the peer review process, and reviewers should treat all manuscripts as confidential documents. They should not share the review or any information from the manuscript with others, including contacting the authors directly, without obtaining permission from the editor.
  • While some editors may allow discussion with colleagues or joint reviewing exercises, reviewers should consult with the editor first to ensure confidentiality. Reviewers should not use unpublished materials disclosed in the manuscript for their own research without explicit written consent from the author. Information or distinctive ideas obtained through peer review should remain confidential and should not be used for personal gain.
  • With the emergence of artificial intelligence and its techniques, guidelines have been developed to provide transparency and guidance for authors, editors, and reviewers. Reviewers should treat manuscripts as confidential documents and avoid uploading them or any part of them to artificial intelligence tools, as this may violate the confidentiality and intellectual property rights of the authors. If the submitted article contains personally identifiable information, the use of artificial intelligence tools may also violate data privacy rights.
  • Confidentiality extends to the peer review report, which may contain confidential information about the manuscript and the authors. Reviewers should not upload their peer review report to an artificial intelligence tool, even for the purpose of language improvement and readability.
  • Despite the current prevalence of artificial intelligence and its techniques, reviewers should not rely on these technologies for scientific review, as they lack the critical thinking and original evaluation required for this task. Relying on artificial intelligence for review may lead to incorrect, incomplete, or biased conclusions. The reviewer is responsible for the content of their review report.
  • The reviewers must pay attention to identifying potential ethical issues in the paper and should notify the editor of any concerns. If there is significant similarity or overlap between the reviewed article and other published works known to the reviewers, the editor should be alerted, accompanied by relevant citations.
  • Reviewers should conduct their reviews objectively and should be aware of any personal biases they may have. Personal criticism of the author is not appropriate, and reviewers should express their opinions clearly with supporting arguments.
  • Reviewers should disclose any potential conflicts of interest to the editor. These conflicts may arise from competitive or cooperative relationships or other connections with the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the research papers.
  • If a reviewer suggests that the author includes citations to their own work or the work of their colleagues, it should be based on genuine scientific reasons and not with the aim of increasing citations or promoting visibility.

 

Author Responsibilities:

  • Authors should present their original research accurately, objectively, and discuss its significance. It is necessary to accurately represent the underlying data in the paper. The paper should provide sufficient details and references to allow others to replicate the work. Deliberate fraudulent or inaccurate data is considered unethical and unacceptable.
  • Review and professional publication articles should also maintain accuracy and objectivity, while clearly identifying editorial opinions.
  • Authors should ensure that their work is entirely original. If they have used the work or words of others, appropriate citations and permissions should be obtained. It is important to acknowledge the work of others and cite the publications that have influenced the reported work. The use or reporting of private information without explicit written permission is not acceptable. Intellectual theft, in any form, is unethical and unacceptable.
  • Authors should not submit manuscripts describing the same research to multiple journals. Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously is unethical. Exceptions can be made for certain types of articles, provided certain conditions are met, and appropriate citation is provided. Information obtained through confidential services, such as manuscript peer review, should not be used.
  • Authorship should be limited to those who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study. All significant contributors should be included as co-authors. Individuals who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research should be acknowledged under the heading of Acknowledgments.
  • The corresponding author should ensure the inclusion of appropriate contributing authors and approve the final version of the paper. Authors bear collective responsibility for the work and should resolve any questions related to accuracy or integrity.
  • To address the emergence of artificial intelligence and its techniques, authors can use these techniques to improve readability and language, but with human supervision and control. Authors are responsible for reviewing and editing the outputs carefully, as artificial intelligence can generate incorrect or biased content. Authors should disclose the use of artificial intelligence techniques in their manuscripts, and artificial intelligence should not be included as an author. Authors are responsible for the content and should adhere to the journal's publishing policies.
  • The use of artificial intelligence tools to create or alter images in submitted manuscripts is not allowed. Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable as long as they do not obscure or remove information. Authors should describe the use of artificial intelligence or AI-supported tools in the Methods and Tools section and comply with specific usage policies. The production of artwork using artificial intelligence requires prior permission from the journal editor and publisher, ensuring proper attribution of the content.

Al-Azhar Journal of Agricultural Research