Palgo Journal of Education Research | Palgo Journal of Agriculture | Palgo Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences | Palgo Journal of Business Management
1. General Statement
PALGO JOURNALS is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics across all its journals. All parties involved in the publishing process editors, reviewers, authors, and the publisher are expected to comply with these ethical standards. This statement applies to all submissions and publications in:
- Palgo Journal of Education Research
- Palgo Journal of Agriculture
- Palgo Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences
- Palgo Journal of Business Management
PALGO JOURNALS follows the guidelines and best practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and aligns with standards set by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
2. Duties and Responsibilities of Editors
2.1 Fair and Impartial Decision-Making Editors are responsible for making fair, unbiased, and independent decisions on all submitted manuscripts based solely on academic merit, relevance, and originality, without regard to the authors’ race, gender, nationality, religion, ethnicity, or institutional affiliation.
2.2 Confidentiality Editors must treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents. Information about a submission must not be shared with anyone outside the editorial and review process without the authors’ explicit consent.
2.3 Conflict of Interest Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest, including personal, financial, academic, or professional relationships with the authors or institutions involved. Such manuscripts will be reassigned to another editor.
2.4 Ensuring Integrity of the Academic Record Editors are committed to investigating and acting upon allegations of misconduct. When ethical violations are identified before or after publication editors are responsible for taking appropriate corrective action, including issuing corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions.
3. Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers
3.1 Contribution to Editorial Decisions Peer reviewers assist editors in making publication decisions and help authors improve their manuscripts through constructive feedback. Reviews must be objective, evidence-based, and clearly reasoned.
3.2 Confidentiality Reviewers must treat manuscripts under review as confidential. They must not share, discuss, or disclose the content of a manuscript to any third party without the editor’s authorization.
3.3 Standards of Objectivity Reviews must be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should provide specific, constructive comments supported by evidence or references where applicable.
3.4 Acknowledgment of Sources Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any substantial similarity or overlap between a manuscript under review and any other published work should be reported to the editor.
3.5 Conflict of Interest Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest — including competitive, collaborative, or personal relationships with the authors — and decline to review manuscripts where such conflicts exist.
3.6 Timeliness Reviewers are expected to complete reviews within the agreed timeframe. If a reviewer is unable to complete a review on time, they should notify the editor promptly so that alternative arrangements can be made.
4. Duties and Responsibilities of Authors
4.1 Originality and Plagiarism Authors must ensure that their submitted work is entirely original. Any use of other authors’ work or words must be appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism in any form is considered unethical and is not acceptable.
4.2 Multiple Submissions Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal. Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and will result in rejection or retraction.
4.3 Duplicate Publication Authors must not publish the same research in more than one journal. Submitting previously published work — in whole or in significant part is not permitted without proper disclosure and justification.
4.4 Acknowledgment of Sources Authors must properly acknowledge and cite all works and data that have influenced their research. Information obtained privately, such as through correspondence or privileged access, must not be used without explicit written permission from the source.
4.5 Authorship Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made a significant intellectual contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All listed authors must have made a substantial contribution to the work, approved the final version of the manuscript, and agreed to be accountable for the accuracy and integrity of the work. Contributors who do not meet full authorship criteria should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section. The use of guest, ghost, or honorary authorship is strictly prohibited.
4.6 Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest Authors must disclose all financial or personal relationships that could be perceived as influencing their research. All sources of funding for the research must be disclosed in the manuscript.
4.7 Fundamental Errors in Published Work If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they are obligated to promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate in the issuance of a correction, retraction, or erratum as appropriate.
4.8 Research Involving Human or Animal Subjects Research involving human participants must have been conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and must have received appropriate ethical approval from a recognized institutional review board or ethics committee. Research involving animals must comply with relevant national and institutional guidelines for animal welfare. Authors must include a statement of ethical approval in their manuscript.
5. Peer Review Process
All manuscripts submitted to PALGO JOURNALS undergo a rigorous double-blind peer review process, in which the identities of both authors and reviewers are kept confidential throughout the review. Manuscripts are evaluated based on originality and scholarly contribution, methodological soundness, clarity and quality of presentation, and relevance to the scope of the journal. The editorial team reserves the right to desk-reject manuscripts that do not meet minimum standards or fall outside the scope of the relevant journal prior to peer review.
6. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern
PALGO JOURNALS is committed to maintaining the integrity of the academic record. Where necessary, the following mechanisms will be applied:
Correction/Erratum: Issued when a published article contains a minor error that does not affect the findings or conclusions but may mislead readers.
Retraction: Issued when a published article contains serious errors, fabricated or falsified data, or constitutes plagiarism or duplicate publication. Retracted articles remain accessible but are clearly marked as retracted.
Expression of Concern: Issued when an investigation is ongoing or when there is inconclusive evidence of misconduct.
All corrections and retractions follow COPE Retraction Guidelines.
7. Conflict of Interest Policy
All parties authors, editors, and reviewers are required to disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could influence their objectivity or judgment. This includes financial interests, personal relationships, academic rivalries, or institutional affiliations. Undisclosed conflicts of interest may result in rejection, retraction, or other corrective action.
8. Misconduct and Complaints
PALGO JOURNALS takes all allegations of misconduct seriously. Any concerns regarding ethical violations including plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate submission, or authorship disputes — may be reported to the editorial office. All complaints will be investigated in accordance with COPE procedures. Parties involved will be notified and given an opportunity to respond before any decision is made.
9. Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)
PALGO JOURNALS has a dedicated policy governing the use of Generative AI tools in manuscript preparation. Key provisions include:
Acceptable Use: GenAI tools may be used for language editing, summarization, and idea structuring only.
Mandatory Disclosure: All use of GenAI must be disclosed in the manuscript, including the tool used, the purpose, and the extent of its contribution.
Authorship: GenAI tools cannot be listed as authors. All authorship responsibility remains with the human authors.
Prohibited Uses: Fabrication or falsification of data, generation of misleading results, and undisclosed AI-generated content are strictly prohibited.
Data Privacy: Authors must not upload confidential or unpublished data into GenAI tools.
10. Publisher’s Responsibilities
PALGO JOURNALS, as publisher, is committed to ensuring editorial independence and integrity across all journals, providing clear policies on authorship, peer review, and publication ethics, maintaining transparency regarding Article Processing Charges (APCs), supporting editors in investigating and resolving ethical concerns, and preserving the permanent accessibility of published content through digital archiving.