Publication Ethics

Aafaq-e-Tahqeeq (AT) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, transparency, and ethical publishing practices. The journal follows internationally recognized publication ethics principles to ensure fairness, accountability, and integrity throughout the submission, peer review, and publication processes.

The journal follows the ethical guidelines and best practices recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

COPE Website:
https://publicationethics.org/

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to Aafaq-e-Tahqeeq (AT) must ensure that their research is original, accurate, and ethically conducted.

Authors are responsible for:

  • Submitting original work that has not been previously published or submitted elsewhere.
  • Properly acknowledging all sources, ideas, data, and previously published materials.
  • Providing accurate research findings without fabrication, falsification, or manipulation of data.
  • Ensuring that all listed authors have made significant contributions and approved the final manuscript.
  • Declaring any financial, personal, academic, or institutional conflicts of interest.
  • Obtaining ethical approval and informed consent where research involves human participants or animals.
  • Cooperating with the journal in case corrections, clarifications, or retractions are required after publication.

2. Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers play an important role in maintaining the academic quality of the journal. Reviewers must:

  • Treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents.
  • Evaluate manuscripts objectively based on academic quality, originality, relevance, and research integrity.
  • Provide constructive, clear, and unbiased comments to help authors improve their work.
  • Disclose any potential conflict of interest before accepting a review assignment.
  • Decline review assignments where personal, professional, or academic relationships may affect impartiality.
  • Complete reviews within the agreed timeframe or inform the editorial office if unable to complete the review.

3. Editorial Responsibilities

The editorial team of Aafaq-e-Tahqeeq (AT) ensures that all editorial decisions are made fairly, independently, and transparently.

Editors are responsible for:

  • Ensuring that manuscripts are evaluated based on academic merit and relevance to the journal scope.
  • Maintaining confidentiality throughout the peer review and publication process.
  • Ensuring that all manuscripts undergo an appropriate peer review process.
  • Avoiding decisions influenced by personal relationships, institutional affiliations, financial interests, or external pressures.
  • Managing conflicts of interest among authors, reviewers, and editors.
  • Taking appropriate action in cases of plagiarism, research misconduct, ethical violations, or publication disputes.

The final decision regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection of manuscripts remains the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief or editorial board.

4. Peer Review and Transparency

Aafaq-e-Tahqeeq (AT) follows a double-blind peer review process, where the identities of authors and reviewers remain confidential.

Submitted manuscripts are evaluated by qualified independent reviewers according to:

  • Originality and contribution to knowledge.
  • Research quality and methodology.
  • Academic significance.
  • Ethical compliance.
  • Quality of references and scholarly presentation.

Reviewer recommendations support editorial decisions; however, final publication decisions are made independently by the editorial team.

5. Plagiarism and Research Misconduct

Aafaq-e-Tahqeeq (AT) considers plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, unethical research practices, and misuse of intellectual property as serious violations of publication ethics.

All submitted manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using appropriate similarity-checking tools.

If plagiarism or research misconduct is identified:

  • Manuscripts may be rejected before publication.
  • Authors may be requested to provide clarification or corrections.
  • Published articles may be corrected, withdrawn, or retracted depending on the severity of the issue.
  • Serious cases may be reported to relevant institutions or authorities.

6. Research Data and Transparency

Aafaq-e-Tahqeeq (AT) promotes responsible research practices and encourages transparency in scholarly communication.

Authors are encouraged to provide access to supporting research data where ethically and legally possible.

The journal follows a separate:

Data Availability and Transparency Policy

which explains requirements regarding research data sharing and availability statements.

7. Copyright and Ethical Compliance

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts respect copyright laws and do not violate the intellectual property rights of others.

The journal follows its Copyright and Licensing Policy to protect author rights and promote responsible open access publishing.

8. Continuous Ethical Monitoring

The editorial board continuously monitors ethical standards throughout the publication process and takes appropriate actions to maintain the quality, transparency, and reliability of published research.