The Scientific Renaissance Journal of the Open University of Sebha is committed to high ethical standards in all aspects of the publishing process. We believe that scientific publishing must be conducted responsibly, transparently, and with integrity by all stakeholders: authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher.

Authors' Responsibilities:

• Originality: Submitted research must be original, unpublished, and not currently under review in any other journal.
• Citation: All works and sources cited must be properly and accurately cited. Plagiarism of any form (including self-plagiarism) is strictly unacceptable.
• Data: Data used must be authentic, reliable, and ethically obtained. No falsification, manipulation, or fabrication of data is acceptable.
• Authorship: All authors who meet the criteria for authorship (substantial contribution to the design, implementation, or analysis, approval of the final version, and shared responsibility) must be listed. Any other contributions (such as financial or technical support) must be acknowledged in a separate section.
• Conflict of Interest: Authors must disclose any potential conflict of interest (financial, personal, academic, etc.) that may affect the research results or their interpretation.
• Disclosure of Errors: If a material error or inaccuracy is discovered in a published paper, the author is responsible for immediately informing the editor-in-chief so that they can cooperate in withdrawing or correcting the paper.

Reviewer Responsibilities (Peer Reviewers):

• Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat all manuscripts with the strictest confidence and not discuss them with any third parties.
• Objectivity: Reviews must be objective, constructive, and professional, providing scholarly critique aimed at improving the quality of the research. Personal criticism should be avoided.
• Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest that may affect their ability to provide an impartial review and withdraw from the review process if necessary.
• Disclosure of Plagiarism or Duplicate Publication: Reviewers must alert the editor-in-chief if they notice any significant similarity between the manuscript under review and their most recently published or reviewed work.
• Punctuality: Reviewers must complete their reviews within the agreed-upon timeframe.

 

Responsibilities of Editors and Editorial Boards:

• Fairness and Objectivity: Editors make decisions regarding the publication of manuscripts based on the scientific merit, importance, originality, and relevance to the journal's objectives, without discrimination.
• Confidentiality: Editors are obligated to maintain the confidentiality of information related to submitted manuscripts, including the names of authors and reviewers and the content of reviews.
• Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest: Editors must Editorial board members withdraw from the review process for manuscripts in which they may have a conflict of interest.
• Ensuring a fair peer review process: Editors ensure that the peer review process is conducted transparently and fairly, and that peer reviewers have the necessary expertise to evaluate research.
• Dealing with malpractice: The journal takes appropriate action if ethical malpractice is suspected or confirmed.

Dealing with malpractice and retracting research:

The journal takes any allegations of ethical malpractice seriously. These allegations are investigated and action is taken accordingly. Misconduct cases include:

• Plagiarism (including self-plagiarism)
• Fabrication or falsification of data
• Duplicate or exaggerated publication
• Inappropriate authorship
• Failure to disclose a conflict of interest

Actions Taken:

• Investigation: The journal will conduct a thorough investigation into any allegation of misconduct and may contact authors, referees, or relevant institutions.
• Correction or Retraction: If misconduct is proven, the journal may:

o Publish a correction if the error is minor and does not affect the reliability of the findings.

o Publish a notice of concern if there are serious doubts about integrity but the investigation is not yet complete.

o Retract the article if the violation is serious (such as plagiarism or falsification of data). A clear retraction notice will be published explaining the reason for the retraction, and databases and indexes will be notified.

• Publication ban: Authors or individuals involved in malpractice may be banned from publishing in the journal in the future.