Research Ethics

- Research Results

Author(s) of the submitted manuscript must be honest in their claims of results, data and conclusions. The intentional or unintentional fabrication, falsification or misrepresentation of data or results violates the norms of scientific research conduct. It is therefore considered to be unethical and unprofessional behavior. Authors should strive to avoid mistakes in research, exercising due care and diligence in presenting high quality work for publication. They must put their utmost efforts into critically assessing experimental, methodological and human errors, as well as aiming to avoid bias.

- Authorship

In presenting their research, the author must present a concise and accurate account of the research performed and provide an objective discussion of its significance. When determining credit for a piece of work, all those who have made a sufficient contribution must be given the opportunity to be cited as authors. Other individuals who have contributed to the work should also receive acknowledgment within the manuscript. All authors of the research must receive the final version of the manuscript and accept responsibility for the work before it is published. Any changes to the authorship must be agreed upon by all authors involved in the process. Once it has been submitted, the same research cannot be submitted elsewhere as it is considered bad practice to submit the same paper to more than one journal.

- Citations and Plagiarism

Authors must always acknowledge the works of others in their manuscript, whether it is the use of someone else’s experiments, research results or theories.  Authors must also cite publications that have influenced the direction and/or the course of their research. Private communications should only be used after the author has received the explicit permission of the individuals involved. Likewise, knowledge obtained during confidential duties like refereeing research papers or funding applications should not be used without permission of the original author.

Plagiarism is considered unethical scientific behavior and it is in no way acceptable. There is a wide range of offences that can be considered to constitute as plagiarism. These range from the unreferenced use of the ideas of others, to the submission of a complete paper under new authorship. Self-plagiarism (the production of two or more papers with almost the same content by the same authors) is also unacceptable. It is therefore extremely important that authors check their pervious publications to make sure no duplicates have arisen. At all times, authors must disclose the sources of the work and must obtain the appropriate permission when using a large amount of others' material. All sources of financial support for the research must also be stated in the article.

- Peer Review

In the case of a conflict of interest, referees must contact the editorial office to declare this before refereeing the manuscript. For example, if you are a co-worker of or collaborator with one of the authors, or are in a position which precludes reporting an objective opinion of the submitted manuscript, a conflict of interest must be reported. Peer review is considered an important step in the scientific process as it is conducted by an independent referee who then advises the editor and the editorial board of the journal. This ensures that the quality of the research is maintained. Names of the referees are kept confidential and may only be disclosed to the Journal Editorial Board members who are also instructed to maintain confidentiality. It is the journal's policy to give all submitted manuscripts the same considerations in the refereeing process regardless of the race, gender, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, political background, age or reputation of the authors.

It is important that referees act with professionalism throughout; abiding by the ethical codes of publishing and editing. All information obtained as a referee must be kept confidential and is not to be used for competitive advantage. Referees should judge the quality of the work in the submitted manuscript impartially and objectively. They must give fair, frank and constructive criticism. It is also the referees' duty to point out relevant work that has not been cited. Furthermore, the referee is expected to use citations to explain where elements of the work have been previously reported. Any substantial similarity between the submitted manuscript and any published article is the responsibility of the referee.

- University Stance on Cases of Misconduct

An-Najah National University has a clear policy regarding unethical practices and/or misconduct in research and publishing. The University believes that good research ethics are a very important component to the integrity, development and the advancement of all types of sciences. The University considers all possible measures against those who fail to comply with this ethics statement.