Ethical Guidelines

Research Stars Ethical Guidelines

The Research Stars is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, research integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly communication. The journal follows internationally accepted ethical publishing principles and encourages ethical conduct from authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers throughout the publication process.

The Research Stars follows international ethical publishing standards and transparency principles inspired by:

• DOAJ Principles of Transparency and Best Practice
• DOAJ Guide for Open Access Journals
• COPE Publication Ethics Guidelines
• Elsevier Publishing Ethics Policies

 

1. Research Integrity

Research Stars supports honesty, originality, transparency, and ethical research conduct in scholarly publishing. Authors must submit genuine and original research work without plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, or manipulation. Proper citation and acknowledgment of sources are mandatory. Research integrity improves trust and credibility in academic communication. The journal follows ethical publishing principles recommended by COPE and transparency standards supported by DOAJ and major indexing systems.

Supported Guidelines

• COPE Publication Ethics Guidelines
• DOAJ Transparency Principles

 

2. Authorship Ethics

Only individuals who have significantly contributed to the research work should be listed as authors. All listed authors must approve the final manuscript before submission. Fake authorship, guest authorship, or hidden contributors are not acceptable. Research Stars encourages transparent author contribution statements for all submissions. Ethical authorship practices improve accountability and publication transparency. These principles are supported by international publication ethics standards.

Supported Guidelines

• COPE Authorship and Publication Ethics
• DOAJ Best Practice Principles

 

3. Conflict of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, institutional, personal, or professional conflicts of interest related to the manuscript. Transparency in conflict disclosure helps maintain fairness and trust in the publication process. Research Stars encourages complete and honest declarations from all participants involved in scholarly publishing. Editorial decisions should remain independent and unbiased.

Supported Guidelines

• COPE Conflict of Interest Guidelines
• DOAJ Transparency Standards

 

4. Ethical Approval and Participant Protection

Research involving human participants, surveys, interviews, questionnaires, animals, or sensitive data must follow ethical approval standards wherever applicable. Participants should provide informed consent, and confidentiality should be protected during the research process. Research Stars supports responsible and respectful treatment of research participants and ethical research practices aligned with international standards.

Supported Guidelines

• COPE Ethical Research Guidance
• DOAJ Publishing Best Practices

 

5. AI Usage Ethics

Authors using Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools during manuscript preparation must clearly disclose their usage. AI tools may be used for language editing, grammar correction, or technical support, but AI cannot be listed as an author. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the submitted work. Research Stars supports transparent and responsible AI use in scholarly publishing.

Supported Guidelines

• DOAJ AI and Automated Tools Guidance
• Elsevier AI Policies

 

6. Peer Review Ethics

Research Stars follows a fair, confidential, and unbiased peer review process. Reviewers are expected to provide constructive, professional, and objective comments. Manuscript confidentiality must be protected throughout the review process. Reviewers should avoid personal criticism and disclose conflicts of interest if present. Ethical peer review strengthens research quality and scholarly credibility.

Supported Guidelines

• COPE Peer Review Ethics
• DOAJ Transparency and Peer Review Principles

 

7. Editorial Ethics

Editors are responsible for maintaining publication quality, fairness, transparency, and ethical standards. Editorial decisions are based on manuscript quality, originality, ethical compliance, and reviewer recommendations. Editors must ensure confidentiality and avoid discrimination based on nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, or personal beliefs. Editorial independence is an important principle of responsible scholarly publishing.

Supported Guidelines

• COPE Editorial Responsibilities

 

8. Plagiarism Policy

Research Stars strictly opposes plagiarism in all forms, including direct copying, self-plagiarism, citation manipulation, and unethical paraphrasing. All submitted manuscripts may undergo plagiarism detection screening before peer review. Manuscripts with serious plagiarism concerns may be rejected or retracted if necessary. Maintaining originality is essential for trustworthy scholarly publishing.

Supported Guidelines

• COPE Plagiarism Guidance
• DOAJ Transparency Principles

 

9. Data Transparency and Availability

Authors should maintain transparency regarding research methodology, data sources, statistical analysis, and findings. Research Stars encourages authors to provide data availability statements wherever possible to support reproducibility and academic verification. Responsible data reporting improves scientific reliability and research transparency.

Supported Guidelines

• DOAJ Best Practices for Open Access Journals

 

10. Retraction and Correction Policy

Research Stars reserves the right to publish corrections, expressions of concern, or article retractions if ethical misconduct, major errors, plagiarism, or research integrity concerns are identified after publication. Retraction decisions are handled carefully according to international ethical publishing practices. Transparent correction policies help maintain the reliability of the scholarly record.

Supported Guidelines

• COPE Retraction Guidelines
• DOAJ Transparency Principles

 

11. Open Access and Ethical Publishing

Research Stars supports ethical open access publishing and free global access to academic knowledge. Readers can access published articles without subscription or payment barriers. The journal encourages responsible scholarly communication, transparent publishing practices, and long-term accessibility of research content. Open access publishing improves global academic visibility and knowledge sharing.

Supported Guidelines

• DOAJ Open Access Definition and Principles
• DOAJ Transparency and Best Practice

 

12. Responsibilities of Authors, Reviewers, and Editors

All participants in the publication process share responsibility for maintaining ethical scholarly communication. Authors should submit ethical and original research, reviewers should provide fair and confidential evaluations, and editors should maintain transparent editorial decisions. Research Stars encourages professional conduct, academic integrity, and responsible publishing practices from all stakeholders.

Supported Guidelines

• COPE Code of Conduct
• DOAJ Principles of Transparency

Additional International Reference Resources

• Scopus Content Policy and Selection
• Web of Science Master Journal Evaluation
• DOAJ Best Practice Guide

These international resources support ethical publishing standards, transparency, editorial quality, and responsible open access scholarly communication.