Publication Ethics

Digital Communication Research is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and adheres to the guidelines set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We expect all parties involved in the publication process—authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers—to follow ethical behavior and professional integrity throughout the submission, review, and publication stages.

1. Duties of Authors

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their work is original and that all sources are properly cited. Plagiarism in any form is unethical and unacceptable.

  • Multiple Submissions: Authors should not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously. Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals constitutes unethical publishing behavior.

  • Authorship: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All contributors must be properly acknowledged.

  • Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript.

  • Data Access and Retention: Authors may be asked to provide raw data in connection with a manuscript for editorial review and must be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

2. Duties of Editors

  • Fair Decision-Making: Editors will evaluate manuscripts based solely on academic merit, relevance to the journal's scope, and originality, without regard to the authors' race, gender, nationality, religion, or political beliefs.

  • Confidentiality: Editors must ensure the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and must not disclose any information about a manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and other editorial staff.

  • Conflicts of Interest: Editors must refrain from handling manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest. In such cases, the manuscript should be reassigned to another editor.

  • Handling of Unethical Behavior: Editors will take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred. In cases of suspected misconduct, appropriate investigations will be initiated in accordance with COPE guidelines.

3. Duties of Reviewers

  • Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat the manuscript as a confidential document. It must not be disclosed or discussed with others without authorization from the editor.

  • Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

  • Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any similarity or overlap with other published works should be reported to the editor.

  • Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must not review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors or affiliated institutions.

4. Retraction and Correction Policy

Digital Communication Research follows COPE’s guidelines in handling retractions and corrections. Articles may be retracted or corrected if significant errors are found that affect the interpretation of results, or if ethical misconduct is confirmed post-publication.