1. Introduction

The Journal of Research in Language and Translation (JRLT) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and research integrity. The journal follows the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and promotes transparency, fairness, accountability, and scholarly excellence throughout the publication process.

All authors, reviewers, editors, and members of the editorial board are expected to adhere to the policies outlined below.

2. Research Integrity and Publication Misconduct

JRLT is committed to preserving the integrity of the scholarly record. The following practices constitute research misconduct and are unacceptable:

• Plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism and redundant publication
• Data fabrication
• Data falsification
• Citation manipulation
• Image manipulation
• Peer-review manipulation
• Ghost authorship
• Gift or honorary authorship
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest

Allegations of misconduct will be investigated according to COPE guidelines. Confirmed cases may result in manuscript rejection, retraction of published articles, notification of authors’ institutions, or other appropriate corrective actions.

3. Authorship and Contributorship

3.1 Authorship Criteria

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the work, including:

• Conceptualization or design of the study;
• Data collection, analysis, or interpretation;
• Drafting or critically revising the manuscript;
• Approval of the final version;
• Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Individuals who do not meet these criteria should be acknowledged appropriately but should not be listed as authors.

3.2 CRediT Author Contribution Statement

Authors are encouraged to provide a contribution statement using the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT), such as:

• Conceptualization
• Methodology
• Formal Analysis
• Investigation
• Data Curation
• Writing – Original Draft
• Writing – Review & Editing
• Visualization
• Supervision
• Project Administration
• Funding Acquisition

Example:

Author A: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – Original Draft.

Author B: Formal Analysis, Writing – Review & Editing.

3.3 Changes in Authorship

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be accompanied by:

• A written explanation for the change;
• Written consent from all authors.

Changes after acceptance will only be permitted under exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

4. Originality, Plagiarism, and Redundant Publication

Submitted manuscripts must be original and must not be under consideration elsewhere.

All submissions may be screened using plagiarism-detection software.

Authors must properly cite all sources and acknowledge prior work.

Manuscripts exhibiting substantial overlap with previously published material may be rejected.

5. Preprint Policy

JRLT accepts submissions that have previously been deposited in recognized non-commercial preprint repositories.

Authors must disclose any preprint version at the time of submission.

The manuscript must not have undergone formal peer-reviewed publication elsewhere.

6. Data Availability and Research Transparency

Authors are encouraged to promote transparency and reproducibility by providing access to underlying research data whenever possible.

Each manuscript should include a Data Availability Statement.

Examples:

• The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
• Data are available in the repository [repository name and DOI].
• No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study.

Restrictions related to confidentiality, ethics, or legal requirements should be clearly stated.

7. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative AI Policy

Authors may use AI-assisted tools to improve language, readability, translation, coding assistance, or data organization.

However:

• AI tools cannot be listed as authors.
• Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of all submitted content.
• Any substantial use of generative AI tools must be disclosed in the manuscript.
• Authors are responsible for verifying all AI-generated content, citations, references, analyses, translations, and interpretations.
• Failure to disclose significant AI use may be considered a breach of publication ethics.

Example Disclosure:

"The authors used ChatGPT (OpenAI) to assist with language editing. All content was reviewed and verified by the authors."

8. Conflicts of Interest

All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any relationships or interests that could influence the objectivity of the publication process.

Potential conflicts include:

• Financial interests;
• Employment relationships;
• Personal relationships;
• Institutional affiliations;
• Research funding.

If no conflicts exist, authors should state:

"The authors declare no conflict of interest."

9. Ethical Approval and Human Participants

Research involving human participants must comply with recognized ethical standards.

Where applicable, authors must provide:

• Name of ethics committee or institutional review board;
• Approval number;
• Confirmation that informed consent was obtained.

Research involving vulnerable populations should receive particular ethical scrutiny.

10. Peer Review Policy

JRLT operates a double-blind peer-review system.

Editorial Screening

All submissions undergo an initial editorial evaluation to assess:

• Relevance to the journal’s scope;
• Originality;
• Academic quality;
• Compliance with submission requirements.

Manuscripts may be desk rejected if they do not meet these criteria.

External Review

Suitable manuscripts are evaluated by at least two independent reviewers.

Reviewers assess:

• Originality;
• Methodological rigor;
• Theoretical contribution;
• Clarity and organization;
• Significance of findings.

The Editor-in-Chief retains final responsibility for publication decisions.

11. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are expected to:

• Submit original work;
• Present findings accurately;
• Retain research data when appropriate;
• Properly acknowledge sources;
• Disclose conflicts of interest;
• Identify all funding sources;
• Obtain required ethical approvals;
• Cooperate during peer review;
• Correct significant errors promptly.

12. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to:

• Maintain confidentiality;
• Conduct objective and constructive reviews;
• Identify relevant uncited work;
• Report suspected ethical concerns;
• Avoid personal criticism;
• Disclose conflicts of interest;
• Complete reviews within agreed timelines.

13. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for:

• Making publication decisions based on scholarly merit;
• Ensuring fairness and impartiality;
• Protecting reviewer confidentiality;
• Managing conflicts of interest;
• Investigating allegations of misconduct;
• Maintaining editorial independence.

Editorial decisions shall not be influenced by authors’ nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, ethnicity, religion, or political beliefs.

14. Citation Integrity

Authors should cite only sources that are directly relevant to the research.

The journal prohibits:

• Excessive self-citation;
• Citation cartels;
• Manipulation of citation metrics;
• Inclusion of irrelevant citations solely to increase citation counts.

Editors and reviewers must not request unnecessary citations to their own work.

15. Appeals and Complaints

Authors may appeal editorial decisions by submitting a detailed justification to the Editor-in-Chief.

Appeals will be reviewed independently and fairly.

Complaints regarding editorial conduct, peer review, or publication ethics will be handled confidentially in accordance with COPE principles.

16. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

JRLT is committed to maintaining the accuracy of the scholarly record.

Corrections

Corrections may be issued when errors do not invalidate the study's findings.

Retractions

Articles may be retracted when findings are unreliable due to misconduct or major error.

Expressions of Concern

The journal may issue an Expression of Concern when serious allegations are under investigation.

All notices will be linked to the original article and remain permanently accessible.

17. Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain copyright of their work unless otherwise specified by the journal.

Published articles are distributed under the licensing terms stated on the journal website.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted material.

18. Archiving and Digital Preservation

JRLT is committed to ensuring long-term accessibility and preservation of published content through institutional archiving systems, persistent identifiers, and other recognized preservation mechanisms.

19. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

JRLT is committed to fostering an inclusive scholarly environment.

Editorial decisions are based solely on academic merit and scholarly quality without discrimination based on nationality, gender, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, institutional affiliation, or political beliefs.

20. Contact for Ethical Concerns

Questions regarding publication ethics, complaints, appeals, or allegations of misconduct should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief through the journal’s official contact channels.