Research Ethics and Scientific Integrity Policy

Ethics and Scientific Integrity Policy:

The University of Misurata strives to ensure the highest standards of integrity and ethics throughout all stages of scientific research and publication, by establishing a comprehensive framework that defines proper values, practices, and procedures to follow in the event of any violations. This framework adheres to the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and international indexing standards such as Scopus.

This policy focuses on the following core principles:

  • Academic Honesty and Integrity: Commitment to present original work and verify the accuracy of results before publication.

  • Transparency and Disclosure: Clearly stating author contributions, funding sources, and any potential conflicts of interest.

  • Objectivity and Fairness: Evaluating research and making editorial decisions without bias, ensuring equal treatment for all parties.

  • Responsibility: Authors, reviewers, and the Editorial Board assume full responsibility for the quality, validity, reliability, and integrity of the content and the scientific process.

  • Confidentiality and Privacy Protection: Safeguarding sensitive information and personal data of participants, and obtaining necessary approvals when required.

Responsibilities of the Parties:

  • Authors: Prepare original research, refrain from plagiarism or duplicate publication, disclose any conflicts of interest, and ensure the accuracy of all data and information provided.

  • Reviewers: Provide objective and impartial scientific evaluations, maintain confidentiality of materials, and abstain from reviewing in cases of conflicts of interest.

  • Editorial Board: Make independent and transparent publishing decisions, handle violations according to the rules, and avoid exploiting their position for personal purposes.

Prohibited Actions:
Include plagiarism, duplicate submission, data falsification, or biased decisions that compromise publication quality.

Procedures for Handling Violations:
Any party may report a violation. An independent investigation team will collect evidence, review documents, and issue a detailed report with appropriate recommendations.

Potential Sanctions:

  • Authors: Manuscript rejection, temporary or permanent ban, notification of the academic institution, or withdrawal of the article with an official clarification.

  • Reviewer: Permanent prohibition from reviewing or removal from the reviewers list.

  • Editorial Board Members: Warning or removal from the committee, with the possibility of article retraction and the issue of a clarification statement.

Right to Appeal:
An appeal may be submitted within 30 days of the committee's decision, accompanied by the relevant documents. The request shall be reviewed by an independent committee, which will issue a final, non-appealable decision.

Implementation and Policy Review
This policy shall take effect after immediately upon publication, and the submission of manuscripts shall be deemed as implicit consent to abide by it. The policy will be subject to periodic review to ensure its alignment with academic and legal developments. 

For the relevant legal and ethical standards governing this policy, please refer to the page: General publishing policies of the journal.