Publication Ethics and Editorial Policies

1. Introduction

The Journal of Research in Language & Translation (JRLT) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, editorial integrity, and research transparency. The journal follows internationally recognized principles of ethical publishing and promotes honesty, accountability, fairness, and academic excellence throughout the publication process.

All authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members are expected to comply with the policies outlined on this page.

2. Research Integrity and Publication Misconduct

JRLT is committed to preserving the integrity of the scholarly record.

The following practices constitute publication misconduct:

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

Cases of suspected misconduct will be investigated in accordance with established ethical standards and may result in manuscript rejection, correction, retraction, or notification of relevant institutions.

3. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial contributions to:

The conception or design of the study;
Data collection, analysis, or interpretation;
Drafting or revising the manuscript;
Approval of the final version;
Accountability for the integrity of the work.

Individuals who do not meet these criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.

CRediT Contributor Roles

Authors are encouraged to describe their contributions using the CRediT taxonomy, including:

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

Changes in Authorship

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be approved by all authors and justified in writing.

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.

Substantial overlap with previously published work may result in rejection.

5. Preprint Policy

JRLT accepts submissions previously deposited in recognized preprint repositories.

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

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

6. Data Availability and Research Transparency

Authors are encouraged to make research data available whenever possible.

Each manuscript should include a Data Availability Statement indicating:

Public repository availability;
Availability upon reasonable request;
Ethical or legal restrictions;
No datasets generated or analyzed.

7. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Authors may use AI-assisted technologies to support writing, language editing, coding, data organization, or translation.

However:

AI systems cannot be listed as authors.
Authors remain fully responsible for all submitted content.
Significant AI use must be disclosed.
AI-generated citations and references must be verified by authors.

Undisclosed substantial AI use may constitute misconduct.

8. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any relationships or interests that could influence their judgment.

Examples include:

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

Authors should include a Conflict of Interest Statement in every submission.

9. Human Participants and Ethical Approval

Research involving human participants should comply with recognized ethical standards.

Where applicable, authors must provide:

Name of the ethics committee or review board;
Approval number;
Confirmation of informed consent.

Research involving vulnerable populations requires particular ethical consideration.

10. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are expected to:

Submit original work;
Report findings accurately;
Acknowledge sources appropriately;
Obtain ethical approvals when required;
Disclose funding and conflicts of interest;
Cooperate during peer review;
Correct significant errors promptly.

11. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to:

Maintain confidentiality;
Provide objective and constructive feedback;
Identify relevant uncited literature;
Report suspected misconduct;
Disclose conflicts of interest;
Complete reviews within agreed timelines.

12. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for:

Making impartial editorial decisions;
Maintaining confidentiality;
Managing conflicts of interest;
Ensuring fair peer review;
Investigating ethical concerns;
Preserving academic integrity.

Editorial decisions are based solely on scholarly merit.

13. Responsibilities of the Publisher

The College of Language Sciences, King Saud University, as the publisher of JRLT:

Supports editorial independence;
Promotes ethical publishing practices;
Preserves published content;
Facilitates transparent editorial processes;
Supports investigations into publication misconduct;
Does not interfere with editorial decisions.

14. Editorial Independence

The Editor-in-Chief has full authority over the editorial content of the journal and all publication decisions.

Editorial decisions are based solely on:

Academic merit;
Originality;
Methodological rigor;
Relevance to the journal's scope.

The publisher, sponsors, or external organizations shall not influence editorial decisions.

15. Handling Submissions from Editors and Editorial Board Members

JRLT welcomes submissions from editors and Editorial Board members.

To ensure impartiality:

Editors are excluded from editorial decisions regarding their own submissions.
Editorial Board members have no access to reviewer reports concerning their manuscripts.
An independent editor manages the review process.
Such manuscripts undergo the same double-blind peer-review process as all other submissions.

16. Citation Integrity

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

The journal prohibits:

Excessive self-citation;
Citation cartels;
Citation manipulation;
Coercive citation practices.

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

17. Appeals and Complaints

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

Complaints regarding editorial conduct, peer review, or publication ethics will be handled confidentially and fairly.

18. 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 while serious allegations are under investigation.

All notices will remain permanently linked to the original article.

19. Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain copyright of their work unless otherwise specified.

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

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted material.

20. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

JRLT evaluates manuscripts solely on academic merit and does not discriminate based on nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability, institutional affiliation, or political beliefs.

21. Contact for Ethical Concerns