Citations Ethics

Research Ethics: Citation Integrity Policy

Guidelines on Citation Selection, Prohibition of Manipulation, and Retraction Protocols

1. Standards for Source Selection

Researchers should use sources that are directly related to the study. It is not permissible to use sources that are unrelated or only marginally related to the research.

Additionally, researchers must be precise in selecting recent and relevant sources to maintain the academic value and rigor of their manuscripts.

2. Prohibition of Citation Manipulation

For Researchers

Researchers must not cite sources that are unrelated to their work for the purpose of increasing citation metrics for themselves, others, or their university. We receive feedback from reviewers in this regard, and we either reject the research or ask the researcher to remove such sources.

For Reviewers

Reviewers should not ask researchers to add sources that are unrelated to the research for the purpose of increasing citations for themselves, their institution, or their university.

3. Penalties, Revocation & Retraction Protocols

  • Immediate Rejection: Research that violates the above points regarding citation integrity will be rejected.
  • Revocation of Acceptance: Accepted research found to be in violation of these points will have its acceptance revoked.
  • Published Research Retraction & Cancellation: Published research found to be in violation of these guidelines will have its publication canceled, and Scopus will be notified to retract the research from its database, according to the journal’s guidelines derived from publishing ethics institutions.

Website & Indexing Notice Protocol

The research title will remain on the journal’s website, with the reason for publication cancellation noted beneath it. The same protocol applies to the research page and status on Scopus and indexing databases.