Publication Ethics

To publish in the Journal of Multidisciplinary in Social Sciences (JMSS) with the highest quality, publishing ethics are necessary. The following infractions shall be prohibited and sanctioned.

  • Manuscripts and articles with plagiarism
  • Manuscripts and articles with fabricated or falsified data
  • Manuscripts and articles that have already been submitted to other journals or subject to other revisions
  • Manuscripts and articles that have already been published elsewhere
  • Manuscripts and articles with manipulated citations

JMSS is committed to preventing all types of research misconduct and maintaining the ethical standards for scholarly publication. Any suspected cases of plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, will be taken seriously. In case acts of plagiarism and/or self-plagiarism are discovered during the review process, regardless of the severity of the situation, the editorial staff will stop the reviewing process and return the article back to the authors. If the acts of plagiarism and/or self-plagiarism are discovered after publication, the editorial board will consider retracting the paper.

Before publication, every manuscript will be checked for plagiarism by Turnitin. The acceptable percentage of similarity is below 25%.

According to JMSS, plagiarism is defined as the unacknowledged insertion of content drawn from published or unpublished work, whether it was done on purpose or not. Self-plagiarism is the act of sending a draft to editors that has already been published in whole or in part elsewhere with the intention of passing the document off as an unpublished original piece of work. The responsibilities of each participant involved in the reviewing process are as follows.

Editor’s Regulations

  1. The duty of the editor(s) is to consider and evaluate the submitted manuscripts related to field of the multidisciplinary body of knowledge in Social Sciences based on the content only. The ethnicity, country of origin, gender, sexual orientation, political affiliation, or religious beliefs of the authors will have nothing to do with the editor’s decision.
  2. The editors shall not share the information about the submissions to anyone except the authors, reviewers, and JMSS staffs throughout the process(es).
  3. The editors always make sure the manuscript does not possess any conflicts of interests from authors or affiliated organizations.
  4. It is the duty of editorial staff to ensure that the manuscript has been peer-reviewed by at least two reviewers in the field of Social Sciences or the related field appropriate for each manuscript. The editorial staff also have to be careful about the copyright infringement, falsification of data, and acts of  plagiarism. If there is an offense according to the aforementioned regulations, the editor must investigate and seek for evidence before considering rejecting the manuscript.
  5. If the editors suspect that the manuscript might has been published elsewhere, the editors should investigate and consider rejection.
  6. In case of unethical publishing practices that are later uncovered, the action will still be taken seriously.

Reviewer’s Regulations

  1. The reviewers should give constructive and professional comments. Improper criticism must be avoided.
  2. If the manuscript given is not in the area of expertise, the reviewers should inform the staff immediately.
  3. The reviewers must not share any information of the manuscript to anyone apart from the editorial staff.
  4. If other works contained in the manuscript are not properly credited, reviewers are required to inform the editorial staff.
  5. If there are conflicts of interests, reviewers should inform the editorial staff. The editors will decide whether the reviewer is appropriate for the manuscript or not.

Author’s Regulations

  1. The authors should write the manuscript related to the theme of multidisciplinary in Social Sciences. The research manuscript should contain relevant background information, proper methodology, APA6 style citations, accurate results, and reasonable discussion.
  2. The authors should follow the journal guidelines strictly.
  3. Any opinion or perspective made in the manuscript must be explicitly highlighted as “opinion” or “perspective”
  4. The authors must be aware that fraudulent information and omission of important information are unethical author behaviors.
  5. The authors must be able to provide research data if the editor requires it.
  6. The authors must credit other works properly. Any work involved in the manuscript also must be well credited.
  7. The authors must ensure that the manuscript has not been published elsewhere and is not currently in the publication process in any journals.
  8. To be listed as an author, the person must have made significant contributions to the manuscript, participate and give important efficient content during revisions and provide approval for publication. Researchers who do not meet the above criteria should be listed in the acknowledgements section.
  9. The authors should identify any conflicts of interest that might have influenced the data and/or interpretations of data.
  10. To make the efficient modification, the authors should respond to all the given critiques and suggestions during the revision.
  11. If the authors find errors in their works that need to be correct, the author should inform the editors immediately.

How Authors Employ Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies

Although there are restrictions and limitations on the usage of AI technologies, JMSS does not prohibit their use in all situations. If an author decides to draft their article using generative AI and/or AI-assisted tools, they should only utilize these tools to make the book easier to read. This might involve asking for advice on language choices, paragraph structure, the use of simple language, keyword selection, and informative headers. Text generation, concept generation, paraphrasing, and data analysis should not be done by authors using AI. This is due to the fact that (a) employing AI-generated content would be plagiarism and (b) present AI models are prone to producing hallucinations, which are potentially biased, inaccurate, or incomplete content that seems authoritative. These limitations mean that the author or authors should not cite AI as an author or name AI and/or AI-assisted technologies as an author or co-author. Being an author entails duties and obligations that are exclusive to and carried out by humans. Therefore, sole accountability and responsibility for the work's contents should stay with the author or authors. The author or authors should provide a note in the declarations section of their published work if artificial intelligence (AI) has been utilized to improve the presentation of an article.

How Authors Use Generative AI and AI-Assisted Tools for Figures, Images, and Artwork

JMSS prohibits authors from using generative AI or AI-assisted technologies to modify figures, photos, or artwork that they did not create themselves. Such modifications may include enhancing, obscuring, moving, eliminating, or introducing elements within an image or figure. When AI is used in research design or techniques, authors may include AI-generated figures. In such cases, authors must ensure the figure is reproducible by providing details of the model or tool used, how it was applied, and appropriate credit. Authors may use AI-generated images or artwork only when necessary and without violating proprietary rights. To obtain permission, they must demonstrate that all rights have been cleared, content is properly attributed, and the material meaningfully contributes to the work. Final approval rests with the journal editor and publisher.

How JMSS Handle Allegations of Research Misconduct        

At JMSS, we dedicate ourselves on striving for the ethically best practices in achieving integrity in research and publication. We take seriously any allegations of research misconduct, including those involving plagiarism, improper use of citations, and fabrication of data. The journal’s process of responding to allegations would also follow ethical standards.

  • Editor-in-chief and editorial board carefully consider evidences and follow to the ethical standards to manage a comprehensive inquiry after receiving a claim of research misconduct.
  • The alleged author(s) will be given with an opportunity to refute the accusations.
  • To support the privacy and reputation of all individuals concerned, JMSS keeps confidentiality throughout the inquiry process.
  • If the inquiry finds the evidence of misconduct, the appropriate actions will be followed, which may include retraction, correction, or statement of concern, in accordance with the ethical standards.
  • All participants concerned will be informed of the conclusion when allegations that are determined to be fabricated or lacking sufficient evidence are rejected.

In order to keep the confidence of our readers, authors, and reviewers, we work carefully to prevent and resolve research misconduct. We motivated all participants involved to report any issues of claims of research misconduct through the channels we have established, and we will deal with them immediately and effectively in compliance with the ethical standards.

Ethical Concern Reporting Section:     

               JMSS values the ethical standard of publishing scholarly works. It is important to us to ensure that you are able to report any misconduct you may have encountered. By using our Ethical Concern Reporting form, you are helping us to maintain our ethical standard and provide feedback that will improve research community.
               You can access the Ethical Concern Reporting form by clicking the link provided below. The form was designed to be user-friendly. You can report your concern by providing details and supporting evidence that will be useful for investigation. JMSS will handle your report with confidentiality and professionality, and ensure that appropriate actions will be taken as necessary.   
               Your dedication to the research community is very much appreciated.  Please use our appropriate contact provided on our website for any other general inquiries.

Ethical Concern Reporting Form (PDF)