Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
Journal of Education and Learning Reviews (JELR)

Purpose and Commitment
The Journal of Education and Learning Reviews (JELR) is committed to maintaining high standards of integrity, transparency, accountability, and ethical scholarly publishing. This policy applies to all participants in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher. It covers ethical responsibilities, editorial governance, peer review integrity, research ethics, conflicts of interest, procedures for handling misconduct, and post-publication updates.
Journal Model and Editorial Principles
JELR is a double-blind peer-reviewed and open-access journal. Editorial decisions are made independently and are based on scholarly merit, originality, methodological rigor, relevance to the journal’s scope, clarity of presentation, and ethical compliance. The publisher does not interfere with editorial decisions concerning acceptance, revision, rejection, correction, expression of concern, or retraction.

Related links:
Journal homepage: https://so19.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JELS
About the Journal: https://so19.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JELS/about
Editorial Team: https://so19.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JELS/about/editorialTeam
Publisher Information: https://so19.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JELS/PublisherInfo

Ethical Framework and International Standards
JELR adheres to the principles and Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applies COPE guidance and flowcharts when handling potential cases of misconduct or ethical concern. For research involving human participants, the journal also follows internationally recognized ethical principles, including the World Medical Association (WMA) Declaration of Helsinki. The journal may also refer to WAME Editorial Policy Statements where relevant.

Related links:
COPE Core Practices: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
COPE Guidance: https://publicationethics.org/guidance
COPE Flowcharts: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts
COPE main website: https://publicationethics.org
WAME Editorial Policy Statements: https://wame.org/editorial-policy-statements
Declaration of Helsinki: https://www.wma.net/what-we-do/medical-ethics/declaration-of-helsinki/

Scope of This Policy
This policy applies to all submissions to JELR, including research articles, review articles, case studies, conceptual papers, and other scholarly works considered for publication. It covers matters relating to authorship, originality, peer review integrity, editorial decision-making, human research ethics, conflicts of interest, complaints and appeals, corrections and retractions, research misconduct, and post-publication oversight.
Human Research Ethics
JELR takes research ethics seriously and prioritizes safeguarding the safety, rights, dignity, privacy, and well-being of all human participants. Any study involving human participants must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international ethical standards. Where required, authors must obtain approval from an appropriate ethics committee, Human Research Ethics Committee, Institutional Review Board, or Research Ethics Committee (IRB/REC or equivalent) before conducting the study. Authors must clearly state the name of the approving body and the approval number or reference code in the manuscript. Approval for publication remains subject to the final decision of the editorial board.

General Requirements for Research Involving Human Participants
Authors must ensure that:

participation is voluntary and based on informed consent;
participants are informed of the purpose, procedures, risks, and benefits of the study;
privacy, confidentiality, dignity, and rights of participants are protected;
personal data are securely handled and protected;
identifiable information is published only with explicit consent where required.

Research Involving Vulnerable Populations

Research involving vulnerable populations requires additional ethical safeguards to ensure the protection of participants’ rights, dignity, and well-being. Vulnerable populations may include, but are not limited to, children, minors, school students, patients, persons with disabilities, individuals with limited decision-making capacity, and participants in dependent or hierarchical relationships (e.g., students, employees, trainees).

For manuscripts involving such participants, authors must clearly report:
- the ethical justification for including vulnerable populations in the study;
- the level of risk involved and the specific measures taken to minimize potential harm;
- the procedures implemented to prevent coercion, undue influence, pressure, or exploitation;
- how informed consent was obtained from parents or legal guardians for minors, where applicable;
- how assent was obtained from participants, when appropriate;
- how privacy, dignity, confidentiality, and participant well-being were protected throughout the research process;
- whether formal permission was obtained from relevant institutions or authorities, such as schools, universities, hospitals, organizations, or other responsible bodies;
- how participation, non-participation, or withdrawal from the study did not affect participants’ grades, academic standing, employment, healthcare, access to services, or institutional relationships.
Special care is required in school-based, classroom-based, and other educational research settings. Authors must ensure that students, trainees, or other subordinate participants are not subjected to direct or indirect pressure to participate in the research.

All studies involving vulnerable populations must be reviewed and approved by an appropriate ethics committee or Institutional Review Board (IRB), where required. Research must be conducted in accordance with internationally recognized ethical standards.

This journal adheres to internationally accepted principles and guidelines, including:
- World Medical Association – Declaration of Helsinki: https://www.wma.net/what-we-do/medical-ethics/declaration-of-helsinki/
- Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE Core Practices): https://publicationethics.org/
- World Association of Medical Editors: https://www.wame.org/
- International Committee of Medical Journal Editors Recommendations: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/
Authors should also consult the journal’s submission requirements:
Submission Guidelines: https://so19.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JELS/about/submissions

Required Ethics Statement in Manuscripts
All manuscripts involving human participants must include a clear Ethics Statement. The Ethics Statement should specify:

the name of the ethics committee or IRB/REC;
the approval number or reference code;
confirmation that informed consent was obtained;
confirmation of parental or guardian consent where applicable;
confirmation of participant assent where applicable;
confirmation that data were anonymized or handled confidentially.

Example:
This study was approved by [Institution Name] under approval no. [number]. Informed consent was obtained from all participants. For minors, parental consent and participant assent were obtained where applicable. All data were anonymized and handled confidentially.

Studies Without Ethics Approval
If ethics approval is not required, authors must provide a clear explanation based on institutional or national regulations. The editorial board may request supporting documentation and retains the right to determine whether ethics approval should have been obtained. A statement that ethics approval was not required does not automatically exempt the manuscript from editorial scrutiny.
Sensitive and Identifiable Data
Authors must exercise caution when publishing sensitive or identifiable material, including student data, classroom observations, interviews, audio or video recordings, digital learning analytics, photographs, and other information that may directly or indirectly identify participants. Such material must be ethically justified and published only with appropriate consent, permission, anonymization, or redaction where required.
Peer Review Integrity
JELR employs a double-blind peer review process. All submissions undergo initial editorial screening before external review and are normally evaluated by at least two independent reviewers with relevant subject expertise. Editors ensure fairness, confidentiality, objectivity, and academic rigor in all review decisions. Reviewer identities are protected as appropriate within the journal’s peer review model.

Related links:
Submission Guidelines / Review process: https://so19.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JELS/about/submissions
Publication Ethics: https://so19.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JELS/Publication-Ethics

Responsibilities of Editors
Editors are responsible for:

ensuring a fair, unbiased, and timely peer review process;
maintaining the confidentiality of manuscripts;
managing conflicts of interest;
conducting initial editorial screening;
applying ethical standards consistently;
following COPE procedures when misconduct is suspected;
requesting clarification, revision, documentation, or further ethical justification when necessary.

Related links:
Editorial Team: https://so19.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JELS/about/editorialTeam
COPE Guidance: https://publicationethics.org/guidance

Responsibilities of Authors
Authors must:

submit original work that is not under consideration elsewhere;
ensure the accuracy and honesty of their reporting;
avoid plagiarism, duplicate submission, data fabrication, data falsification, misleading image manipulation, or other forms of misconduct;
ensure that authorship accurately reflects genuine scholarly contributions;
disclose relevant conflicts of interest and funding sources;
comply with all applicable human research ethics requirements;
cooperate fully with editorial requests for clarification, correction, or investigation.

Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers are expected to:

provide objective, constructive, and timely feedback;
maintain confidentiality;
declare any conflicts of interest;
decline review where impartiality may be compromised;
alert editors to suspected ethical concerns, including plagiarism, duplicate publication, unethical research practices, or data irregularities.

Related links:
COPE main website: https://publicationethics.org
COPE Flowcharts: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts

Authorship and Contributorship
All listed authors must have made substantial scholarly contributions to the work and must have approved the final version of the manuscript. Ghost authorship, guest authorship, and any other misleading authorship practices are not permitted. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all listed authors meet authorship criteria and that no qualifying contributor has been omitted.
Conflict of Interest
All participants in the publication process must disclose any financial, institutional, academic, professional, or personal relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their work, review, or editorial judgment. Undisclosed conflicts of interest may result in correction, expression of concern, retraction, or other appropriate editorial action depending on the seriousness of the case.

Research Misconduct
Research and publication misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

plagiarism;
duplicate publication or redundant publication;
data fabrication or falsification;
misleading image or data manipulation;
unethical research practices;
false statements regarding ethics approval, consent, authorship, or funding;
undisclosed conflicts of interest;
peer review manipulation.

The journal follows COPE procedures in handling misconduct and may take actions including clarification, rejection, correction, expression of concern, retraction, or notification to relevant institutions.

Complaints and Appeals
Complaints must be submitted with relevant evidence and will be reviewed fairly, confidentially, and transparently. Complaints may concern editorial process, peer review, ethical issues, or publication conduct. Authors may appeal editorial decisions where justified. Appeals should include a clear explanation and supporting evidence. Submission of an appeal does not guarantee reversal of the original decision.

Post-Publication Updates
To maintain the integrity of the scholarly record, the journal may issue:

corrections;
expressions of concern;
retractions.

All notices will be clearly linked to the original article and will explain the reason for the editorial action in the interest of transparency.

Article Retraction Policy
Retractions are issued in accordance with COPE guidelines when published findings are found to be unreliable due to misconduct, plagiarism, duplicate publication, data falsification, serious ethical violations, lack of required ethics approval, serious undisclosed conflicts of interest, or major methodological errors. Retracted articles may remain accessible in order to preserve the scholarly record, but they will be clearly marked as retracted and accompanied by a retraction notice.

Related links:
COPE Retraction guidance: https://publicationethics.org/guidance
PEMS: https://so19.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/JELS/PEMS

AI-Assisted Writing and AI-Generated Content
JELR allows the use of AI tools under clearly defined conditions. AI systems cannot be listed as authors. Authors must disclose significant AI use where it affects content generation, analysis, interpretation, or presentation. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, citation, and integrity of all submitted content. AI-generated or AI-assisted content must not be misleading, fabricated, plagiarized, or deceptive. The journal may reject or retract work that violates this policy.

Copyright and Open Access
JELR is an open-access journal. Articles are freely accessible, and reuse is permitted according to the journal’s stated licensing terms. Authors must ensure that submitted content does not infringe the rights of third parties.

Related links:
Creative Commons licenses: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/

Transparency and Continuous Improvement
JELR is committed to transparency in editorial processes and to the continuous improvement of ethical and publishing standards. The journal regularly reviews and updates its policies to remain aligned with internationally recognized best practices.