1. Statement & Scope

The publication of peer-reviewed articles in the Journal of JAFA is essential to building a coherent and respected body of knowledge. It reflects the quality of the authors’ work and their institutions. Ethical standards are therefore expected from all parties: authors, editors, reviewers, the publisher, and the scholarly community.

2. Editors’ Responsibilities

• Publication decisions. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for deciding which submissions are accepted, based on editorial board input and peer-review reports, while observing laws on defamation, copyright, and plagiarism.
• Fair play / Non-discrimination. Manuscripts are evaluated for intellectual content without regard to authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, nationality, or political philosophy.
• Confidentiality. Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
• Disclosure & conflicts of interest. Unpublished materials disclosed in submissions must not be used in editors’ own research.

3. Reviewers’ Responsibilities

• Contribution to decisions. Reviewers provide recommendations to the Editor-in-Chief to assist editorial decisions and to help authors improve their manuscripts.
• Timeliness. Reviews should be delivered promptly. If a reviewer cannot meet the deadline, the manuscript will be reassigned to another qualified reviewer.
• Confidentiality. Manuscripts under review are confidential documents and must not be discussed with others; the journal uses a double-blind process.
• Objectivity. Reviews must be conducted objectively; comments should be respectful and supported by clear arguments.
• Source recognition. Reviewers should identify relevant published work not cited by the authors and report substantial similarities or overlap with other publications.
• Disclosure & conflicts of interest. Information obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers must decline to review in case of competing interests with any author, company, or institution related to the work.

4. Authors’ Responsibilities

• Authors must present an accurate account of the work performed and an objective discussion of its significance. The manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references to permit replication.
• Knowingly inaccurate or fraudulent statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

• Authors may be asked to provide raw data for editorial review and should be prepared to provide public access where feasible and to retain such data for a reasonable time.

• Authors must ensure their work is original and that others’ work and words are properly cited or quoted.
• Manuscripts with plagiarism are rejected; duplicate, redundant, or concurrent submission to another journal is unethical and unacceptable.

• Proper acknowledgment of others’ work is required; publications that influenced the research must be cited.

• Authorship is limited to those who made significant contributions to the research. The corresponding author must keep co-authors informed during review and confirm that all authors approve the final manuscript.

• Authors must clearly identify any unusual hazards inherent in the methods or equipment, and must include ethical approval and informed consent statements where studies involve humans or animals.

• All authors must disclose financial or substantive conflicts that could be construed to influence the results or interpretation. All sources of financial support must be stated.

• When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must promptly notify the editor/publisher and cooperate to retract or correct the paper.

5. Publisher’s Responsibilities

• Editorial independence. Advertising, reprints, or commercial revenue do not influence editorial decisions.
• Oversight. The publisher works with editors to ensure ethical publishing practices and, where necessary, facilitates communication with other journals or publishers.

6. Publication Misconduct & Actions

• Allegations. Suspected plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, citation manipulation, duplicate submission, or undisclosed conflicts will be investigated by the editors.
• Editorial actions. Depending on findings, actions may include rejection, request for revision, publication of a correction/erratum, expression of concern, or retraction in accordance with best practice (e.g., COPE guidance).
• Transparency. Authors will be notified of decisions; institutions may be contacted where appropriate.