Publication Ethics

Gerasi in Language Studies (GILS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. The journal follows established principles of responsible scholarly publishing and expects all authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher to uphold ethical standards throughout the publication process.

This Publication Ethics policy is intended to ensure the integrity, transparency, fairness, and quality of scholarly communication published by the journal.

1. Ethical Principles

Gerasi in Language Studies is committed to:

• Maintaining academic integrity and responsible research practices.
• Ensuring fairness and objectivity in editorial and peer review decisions.
• Protecting the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.
• Preventing plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, and other forms of academic misconduct.
• Ensuring transparency in authorship, funding, and conflicts of interest.
• Correcting the scholarly record when errors or misconduct are identified.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submissions meet the journal's ethical and academic requirements.

Authors must:

1. Submit original work that has not been previously published.
2. Ensure that the manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal.
3. Properly acknowledge and cite all sources, ideas, data, and quotations obtained from other works.
4. Provide an accurate and complete account of the research.
5. Ensure that research data and findings are reported honestly.
6. Avoid fabrication, falsification, manipulation, or selective reporting of data.
7. Ensure that all individuals listed as authors have made substantial contributions to the research.
8. Obtain approval from all authors before submitting the manuscript.
9. Disclose relevant conflicts of interest.
10. Disclose sources of research funding where applicable.
11. Obtain appropriate ethical approval and informed consent when required.
12. Cooperate with the editorial team in responding to questions, corrections, or investigations concerning the manuscript.

Authors must not submit the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously.

3. Authorship and Contribution

Authorship should be based on substantial contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, or interpretation of the research.

Individuals who have contributed to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged.

All authors are responsible for approving the final version of the manuscript and agreeing to its publication.

Any request to add, remove, or change the order of authors after submission must be justified and approved by all affected authors.

4. Plagiarism

Gerasi in Language Studies does not tolerate plagiarism or any form of unauthorized use of another person's work.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

• Copying text without appropriate citation.
• Presenting another person's ideas as one's own.
• Reusing substantial portions of previously published work without proper acknowledgment.
• Unauthorized use of data, figures, tables, or other intellectual material.

Submitted manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism or similarity-detection software.

Manuscripts found to contain significant plagiarism may be rejected. Published articles may be corrected, retracted, or otherwise handled in accordance with the severity of the violation.

5. Fabrication and Falsification

Authors must present research findings honestly and accurately.

The following practices are considered serious forms of misconduct:

• Fabrication – Making up data, results, participants, or research information.
• Falsification – Manipulating research materials, procedures, data, images, or results in a way that misrepresents the research.
• Deliberately omitting or manipulating findings to produce misleading conclusions.

Any suspected case may be investigated by the editorial team.

6. Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Authors must not submit or publish substantially the same research in more than one journal.

Redundant or duplicate publication includes publishing substantially overlapping content without appropriate disclosure or justification.

If substantial duplication is discovered after publication, the journal may take corrective action, including publication of a correction or retraction where appropriate.

7. Citation and Referencing Ethics

Authors must provide accurate references for all sources used in their manuscripts.

Authors should not:

• Cite sources that were not actually consulted.
• Manipulate citations to increase citation counts.
• Engage in excessive self-citation without scholarly justification.
• Deliberately omit relevant sources.

Citations should be relevant to the argument, analysis, and research presented.

8. Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical standards.

Where required, authors should obtain appropriate ethical approval before conducting the research.

Authors should ensure:

• Informed consent is obtained where appropriate.
• Participant privacy and confidentiality are protected.
• Personal or sensitive information is not disclosed without permission.
• Research participation is voluntary.
• Participants are not exposed to unnecessary risks.

9. Conflict of Interest

All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any potential conflict of interest that could influence the research, review, or editorial decision.

Conflicts may include financial, professional, institutional, personal, or academic relationships.

If no conflict exists, authors may state:

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Reviewers who have a conflict of interest with a manuscript must decline the review assignment.

10. Funding and Financial Disclosure

Authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the research.

Funding information should identify the funding organization and, where applicable, the grant or project number.

If the research received no external funding, authors may state:

This research received no external funding.

11. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for maintaining the academic integrity and quality of the journal.

Editors must:

• Evaluate manuscripts objectively based on academic quality, relevance, and originality.
• Ensure that manuscripts are handled fairly and confidentially.
• Select appropriate and qualified reviewers.
• Protect the identities of authors and reviewers in the double-blind review process.
• Avoid conflicts of interest in editorial decisions.
• Ensure that editorial decisions are not influenced by nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, institutional affiliation, political considerations, or personal relationships.
• Take appropriate action when ethical concerns or allegations of misconduct arise.
• Correct or retract published articles when necessary.

Editors must not use unpublished information from submitted manuscripts for their own research without permission.

12. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play an important role in maintaining the academic quality of the journal.

Reviewers must:

• Conduct reviews objectively and constructively.
• Maintain confidentiality regarding submitted manuscripts.
• Identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately cited.
• Inform the editor of any suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other ethical concerns.
• Disclose potential conflicts of interest.
• Complete reviews within the agreed timeframe whenever possible.
• Avoid using unpublished information from manuscripts for personal or professional benefit.

Reviewers should provide clear, respectful, and evidence-based comments.

13. Confidentiality

All submitted manuscripts and related editorial correspondence are treated as confidential.

Editors and reviewers must not disclose information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than those directly involved in the editorial and review process.

Reviewers must not share, copy, distribute, or use manuscript content before publication without authorization.

14. Corrections and Retractions

The journal is committed to maintaining an accurate scholarly record.

If significant errors are discovered after publication, the journal may publish a correction or other appropriate notice.

Articles may be retracted when there is clear evidence of serious problems, such as:

• Major data fabrication or falsification.
• Significant plagiarism.
• Duplicate publication.
• Serious ethical violations.
• Unreliable or fundamentally invalid findings.

Retractions will be handled transparently, and the original article will remain part of the scholarly record with an appropriate retraction notice.

15. Complaints and Appeals

Authors may submit complaints or appeals concerning editorial decisions or publication procedures to the editorial office.

Complaints should be submitted with sufficient information and supporting evidence to allow the editorial team to evaluate the matter fairly.

The editorial team will review complaints objectively and confidentially.

16. Allegations of Misconduct

When an allegation of research or publication misconduct is received, the editorial team will assess the available evidence and may conduct an investigation.

Where necessary, the journal may request clarification or supporting documentation from the authors or relevant institutions.

Appropriate corrective action will be taken based on the nature and severity of the misconduct.

17. Post-Publication Discussions

Gerasi in Language Studies welcomes responsible scholarly discussion regarding published articles.

Readers who identify substantial errors or ethical concerns are encouraged to contact the editorial office with clear evidence and relevant information.

The journal may publish corrections, clarifications, editorial notices, or retractions when warranted.

18. Ethical Commitment

Gerasi in Language Studies is committed to promoting responsible research and ethical scholarly communication.

All parties involved in the publication process—including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—are expected to uphold the principles of honesty, transparency, fairness, accountability, confidentiality, and academic integrity.

By submitting a manuscript to Gerasi in Language Studies, authors acknowledge their responsibility to comply with this Publication Ethics policy and the journal's other editorial policies.