Publication ethics and malpractice statement

Duties of participants

Editors

• Decide on publication solely on scholarly merit, relevance, and ethical soundness — irrespective of the authors' nationality, institution, gender, seniority, or ability to pay.
• Handle manuscripts confidentially and recuse themselves from submissions where they have conflicts of interest.
• Act on credible allegations of misconduct, before or after publication, following COPE-aligned procedures.

Reviewers

• Provide objective, timely, confidential assessments and declare conflicts of interest.
• Never use unpublished material for personal advantage.

Authors

• Report research honestly, completely, and without fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism.
• Submit original work not under consideration elsewhere; disclose preprints and any related publications.
• Ensure all authors meet contributorship criteria and approve the submitted and revised versions.
• Disclose funding, conflicts of interest, ethics approvals, and data availability.

Publisher

• Protect editorial independence; never interfere in editorial decisions.
• Maintain the integrity and permanence of the scholarly record.
• Publish corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions promptly and visibly.

Plagiarism and originality screening

Every submission is screened with similarity-detection software before peer review. Manuscripts with substantial unattributed overlap are rejected or returned for correction depending on severity; suspected plagiarism discovered after publication is investigated and may lead to retraction. Text recycling ("self-plagiarism") is assessed under the same principles.

Responsible use of artificial intelligence

• Authorship: AI tools cannot be authors. Authorship implies accountability, which only humans can hold.
• Author disclosure: any use of generative AI in study design, analysis, or manuscript preparation must be disclosed in the methods or acknowledgements, naming the tool and its use. Authors remain fully responsible for accuracy, originality, and references.
• Reviewer and editor use: manuscripts may not be uploaded to public AI services. Any permitted, confidentiality-preserving AI assistance must be disclosed to the editor and never replaces the reviewer's own judgement.
• Detection and integrity: undisclosed AI-generated content, fabricated references, or AI-fabricated data are treated as misconduct.

Human and animal research ethics

Research involving human participants must have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee and conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki; informed consent must be documented. Animal research must comply with applicable regulations and the ARRIVE guidelines. Approval bodies and reference numbers must be stated in the manuscript.

Conflicts of interest

All authors, reviewers, and editors must declare financial and non-financial interests that could reasonably be perceived to influence their work or judgement. Declarations are published with each article.

Data availability

Every article must include a data availability statement. Authors are encouraged to deposit data in recognised repositories; where data cannot be shared (for legal or ethical reasons), the statement must explain access conditions. Editors may request underlying data during review or investigation.

Corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions

Honest errors that do not invalidate findings are addressed by published corrections linked to the article. Where the reliability of published work is in serious question, an expression of concern may be issued during investigation. Retraction follows COPE Retraction Guidelines: the article remains accessible, clearly watermarked as retracted, with a linked retraction notice stating the reason. Articles are never silently deleted.

Appeals, complaints, and misconduct reports

Authors may appeal editorial decisions with a reasoned rebuttal to the Editor-in-Chief; appeals are assessed by an editor not involved in the original decision. Complaints about process, ethics concerns, or suspected misconduct — including concerns about editors or the publisher — should be sent to ethics@abiedu.com. We acknowledge within five working days, investigate following COPE-aligned flowcharts, and report outcomes to the complainant. Concerns involving the publisher itself are referred to independent academic advisers.

Our anti-predatory commitments

We commit publicly that ABIEdu Academic Press will never: send indiscriminate solicitation emails; promise unrealistic review times; guarantee acceptance; list editors without their written consent; display fake metrics, fabricated indexing claims, or misleading impact indicators; or charge fees that were not clearly disclosed before submission. If you ever observe a breach of these commitments, report it to ethics@abiedu.com — it will be treated as a formal complaint.