Editorial Policies

Ethical Guide for Chief Editor

  • Chief editor should take responsibility to guarantee as far as possible the published contents are up to scientific quality, meet ethical conduct, and free from conflicting influence.
  • Chief editor should take prompt action to correct errors in published contents whether a formal complaint is received.
  • Chief editor should avoid publishing paper co-authored with any editorial board member in the journal. In case of such manuscript is submitted, it is subjected to the regular peer review process of the journal, and the final decision should be made by the handling editor regarding acceptance, rejection, or revision of the manuscript.
  • Chief editor should also follow the ethical guide for editor as detailed below.
  • Chief editor should ensure the aims and scope of the journal reflect the new direction of the fields of study.
  • Chief editor should strategise the development of the journal.

Ethical Guide for Editor

  •  Editor should consider each manuscript unbiasedly.
  • Editor may reject a manuscript without review if it is incomplete or outside the journal’s scope.
  • Editor must keep the confidentiality of all the information of a submission.
  • Editors should not involve in the review process of any self-authored manuscript submitted to the journal.
  • Editor should not use any material in a submission for other purposes without the consent of the authors.
  • Editor should make all reasonable effort to process submissions on time.

Ethical Guide for Reviewers

  • Reviewer should understand the review policy of the journal.
  • Reviewer should declare any potential conflict of interest.
  • Reviewer should assess the manuscript objectively based on scientific quality. Avoid personal criticism of the author, and defamatory remarks.
  • Reviewer should express their views clearly with supporting arguments and references.
  • Reviewer should not use any material in a submission for other purposes.
  • Reviewer must keep the confidentiality of all the information of a submission.
  • Reviewer must keep the confidentiality of communication with the editor(s).
  • Reviewer must contact the editor if he/she wants to pass a review invitation onto another reviewer.

Ethical Guide for Authors

  • Authors should ensure the originality of their work and avoid plagiarism. The submitted manuscript should not be published elsewhere.
  • Authors should not submit the manuscript to more than one publisher for simultaneous consideration.
  • Authors must always give proper acknowledgment of sources and secure permissions for material that is copyrighted.
  • Authors should maintain the integrity of research, present accurate work and discuss its significance objectively.
  • Authors should be prepared to provide data or relevant supporting material for verification and validation of the results upon request.
  • Authors should avoid statements that could potentially be seen as allegations.
  • Authors are strongly discouraged to have excessive and inappropriate self-citation or collectively cite among several authors.
  • Authors are obliged to notify the journal chief editor if inaccuracy of the published work is discovered.
  • Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the work reported in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data and interpretation. It is a collective responsibility and accountability of all the authors for the accuracy and integrity of the published work.

Research Integrity

Journal of Smart Science and Technology is committed to upholding the highest standards of quality and integrity in the published articles. The editorial board takes reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication, among others. The editor board shall follow COPE’s guidelines (or equivalent) in dealing with the allegation of research misconduct relating to a published article.

Authorship

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the work reported in the conception, study design, execution, acquisition of data and interpretation. It is a collective responsibility and accountability of all the authors for the accuracy and integrity of the published work.

Conflict of Interest

Authors are required to disclose interests that are related to the work. The interests include but are not limited to the funding agency, employment, financial and non-financial. Authors must provide information on parties involved that may gain or lose through the publication of this manuscript.

Handling Complaints and Appeals

Complaints and Appeals can be submitted through the contact in the official website of Journal of Smart Science and Technology. The editorial board will carefully consider pre- and post-publication complaints and appeals with referring to the guideline from Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Upon receiving complaint, the editorial board will inform the publisher, UiTM Press, and addresses the issue. If necessary, further investigation will be taken by referring to the relevant institutions. If there is update from the investigation, notice will be linked to the original published article for the outcome either it is a correction, a retraction or in where it is in the public interest, a removal. Complicated cases may be submitted to COPE for guidance. Appeals to editorial decision will be assessed the validity based on the evidence provided. If valid, a new editorial decision will be made based on the results of the review of the appeal. All complaints and appeals will be acknowledged within 7 working days of receipt, and the complainants will be updated throughout the process.

Data Sharing and Reproducibility

Journal of Smart Science and Technology is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research. The journal supports and encourages research data to be shared but it is not mandatory. The authors may make access to the data with a description or share it as supplementary material.

Intellectual Property

Prior to the publication of an article, corresponding authors are required to complete the Open Access Agreement CC BY, where authors retain self-archiving right.

Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections

In the case where post-publication corrections need to be made, the original published article will be linked to a notice or an erratum which indicates the corrections made.