Publication Ethics

           The Journal of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University is an academic, peer-reviewed journal published by the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University. The ethical conduct of authors, editors, and reviewers is essential to the integrity of the journal. The Journal of Liberal Arts, Prince of Songkla University, enjoys editorial independence and endeavours to adhere to the core practices defined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Listed below is an overview of the main responsibilities of parties involved in the publication of manuscripts in the journal.

Responsibilities of Authors

         1. The corresponding author affirms that the manuscript has not been concurrently submitted for consideration of publication in any other journal or conference proceedings.

         2. Authors need to ensure that they submit only original work not previously published by others or themselves.

         3. Other research or publications cited in the manuscript need to be referenced accurately, as prescribed by the 7th edition of the APA Publication Manual (2019).

         4. Authors have to report the facts that have been found in the study or research without bias, omission of conflicting findings or falsification of data.

         5. Authorship must be restricted to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the manuscript. All those and only those who have made such significant contributions should be listed as co-authors.

         6. The authors must read and accept the JLA guidelines on AI use.

         7. The corresponding author needs to ensure that all co-authors have seen and approved the version of the manuscript which is submitted to the journal.

         8. Authors need to describe how they protected the rights and confidentiality of study participants; relevant evidence of ethics committee approval must be provided by the authors.

         9. The authors must disclose information of all financial support for the study or the manuscript, and potential or actual conflicts of interest.

        10. Authors need to format their manuscript in accordance with the journal’s Author Guidelines and follow the submission procedure described therein.

        11. Authors must alert the Editors to any significant errors in their work, as soon as they become aware of such errors, so as to correct or retract the paper.

        12. Authors should be aware that steps will be taken by the journal in cases where author misconduct such as plagiarism or unethical research behaviour is detected. Authors may be held accountable for any costs involved in the retraction of their article or correction of mistakes in print.

Responsibilities of Editors

         1. The editors must evaluate each submitted research or review manuscript based purely on the quality of its academic content and its suitability for publication in accordance with the journal’s scope and objectives.

         2. The editors must carefully examine submitted manuscripts for signs of plagiarism using appropriate software tools.

         3. In a double-blind process, the editors assign three qualified peer reviewers to review a manuscript. The assignment of reviewers is based on their field of expertise and lack of a conflict of interest.

         4. The editors must not reveal an the authors’’s or a reviewer’s identity and/or the manuscript content at any stage of the review process.

         5. The editors should give timely and comprehensive feedback about the progress of the review process to the corresponding author.

         6. The editors must publish a peer-reviewed manuscript after the author has revised the manuscript according to the suggestions by the reviewers and/or the editors.

         7. The editor should strive to maintain the highest possible standard and improve the quality of the journal.

         8. The editors need to publish corrections, clarifications, and retractions where necessary.

         9. The editors must give corresponding authors an opportunity to appeal against their decisions, and treat any such appeals in a fair manner in accordance with the COPE guidelines.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

         1. The reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of all documents sent to them as part of the review process.

         2. The reviewers should provide prompt and timely feedback as agreed with the editors.

          3. The reviewers must evaluate a manuscript in an objective fashion and without any bias. If they find that the content of a manuscript lies outside their field of expertise, they need to inform the editors and return the manuscript for reassignment.

         4. The reviewers must inform the editors of any possible or actual conflict of interest in relation to a manuscript or its assumed authors.  The reviewers should provide clear statements to support their review decisions and provide the editors with suggestions on how a manuscript can be improved.