Ethics and Malpractice

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Journal of Mathematical Modeling and Fractional Calculus (JMMFC) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. The journal expects authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher to follow ethical principles throughout the submission, review, editorial decision-making, publication, and post-publication processes.

The journal considers ethical publishing essential for maintaining the quality, credibility, originality, and integrity of scholarly research in mathematical modeling, fractional calculus, applied mathematics, and related interdisciplinary fields.

1. General Principles of Publication Ethics

JMMFC is committed to:

Maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.
Publishing original, high-quality, and scientifically sound research.
Ensuring fair, objective, and confidential peer review.
Preventing plagiarism, duplicate publication, data manipulation, and other forms of research misconduct.
Managing conflicts of interest transparently.
Correcting, retracting, or expressing concern regarding published articles when necessary.
Treating all authors, reviewers, and editorial participants fairly and without discrimination.

All parties involved in the publication process are expected to comply with these ethical responsibilities.

Responsibilities of Authors

2. Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must submit only original work.

Manuscripts submitted to JMMFC must not contain plagiarism, including:

Copying text, equations, results, figures, tables, or ideas from previously published work without appropriate acknowledgment.
Presenting another person's work as one's own.
Improper paraphrasing or excessive reproduction of previously published material.
Self-plagiarism or substantial reuse of an author's previously published work without proper disclosure and citation.

All sources used in the preparation of a manuscript must be appropriately cited.

The journal may use plagiarism detection and other editorial screening procedures. Manuscripts containing unacceptable levels of plagiarism or inappropriate text reuse may be rejected.

3. Original Research and Duplicate Submission

Authors must confirm that their manuscript:

Has not been published previously.
Is not under consideration by another journal, publisher, or conference at the time of submission.
Has not been submitted simultaneously to multiple publications.
Does not substantially duplicate previously published work without appropriate disclosure.

Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously is considered unethical publishing behavior.

Authors must immediately inform the Editorial Office if they wish to withdraw a manuscript or if they discover that the work has been submitted elsewhere.

4. Authorship and Contribution

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made significant intellectual contributions to the research and manuscript.

Authors should have contributed substantially to one or more of the following:

Development of the research idea or mathematical model.
Theoretical analysis or methodological development.
Mathematical derivations, computations, simulations, or interpretation of results.
Preparation or substantial revision of the manuscript.
Approval of the final version of the manuscript.

All listed authors must approve the final manuscript before submission.

Individuals who have contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged.

Gift authorship, honorary authorship, ghost authorship, or the inclusion of individuals who have not made a significant contribution is unacceptable.

5. Accuracy and Integrity of Research

Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the research presented in their manuscripts.

Authors must not:

Fabricate mathematical results, experimental findings, data, or computational outputs.
Falsify or manipulate results to support a preferred conclusion.
Misrepresent numerical simulations or computational analyses.
Intentionally omit important information that may affect the interpretation or reproducibility of the research.

Mathematical derivations, assumptions, algorithms, numerical methods, and computational procedures should be described clearly enough to allow appropriate evaluation and, where possible, reproducibility of the work.

6. Data, Software, and Computational Reproducibility

Where research involves computational modeling, numerical simulations, datasets, algorithms, or software, authors are encouraged to provide sufficient information to support verification and reproducibility.

Authors should clearly describe:

Mathematical assumptions and governing equations.
Numerical methods and computational procedures.
Parameters and initial or boundary conditions.
Software, programming languages, or computational tools used where relevant.
Data sources and their appropriate citations.

Where possible and appropriate, authors are encouraged to make supporting datasets, code, algorithms, or supplementary materials available.

7. Proper Citation and Acknowledgment

Authors must appropriately acknowledge all publications and sources that have influenced their work.

Relevant previous research must be cited accurately.

Authors should avoid:

Citation manipulation.
Excessive self-citation.
Citation stacking or coordinated citation practices.
Adding irrelevant references solely to increase citation counts.
Omitting important and relevant scholarly contributions intentionally.

References should be relevant, accurate, and directly related to the research presented.

8. Use of Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Tools

Authors may use artificial intelligence or AI-assisted tools only as supportive tools in accordance with responsible research and publication practices.

Authors remain fully responsible for:

The accuracy and originality of the manuscript.
Verification of mathematical statements, calculations, references, and results.
Ensuring that confidential, copyrighted, or sensitive information is handled appropriately.
Reviewing and validating any content generated or assisted by AI tools.

Artificial intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors because authorship requires accountability and responsibility that can only be assumed by human contributors.

Where AI tools have made a substantial contribution to the preparation of the manuscript, authors should disclose their use appropriately according to the journal's requirements.

Responsibilities of Editors

9. Editorial Decisions

Editors are responsible for deciding which submitted manuscripts should be published.

Editorial decisions should be based on:

Originality.
Scientific and mathematical quality.
Methodological soundness.
Significance and relevance to the journal's scope.
Clarity and quality of presentation.
Results of the peer-review process.
Compliance with ethical and editorial requirements.

Editors must not make decisions based on the author's nationality, ethnicity, gender, institutional affiliation, religion, political beliefs, or other personal characteristics unrelated to the scholarly merit of the work.

10. Editorial Independence

Editors should make independent and objective decisions.

The publisher must respect the independence of editors in matters concerning editorial evaluation and publication decisions.

Commercial considerations, personal relationships, institutional interests, or other inappropriate influences must not affect editorial decisions.

11. Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must treat submitted manuscripts as confidential documents.

Information concerning a submitted manuscript must not be disclosed to anyone other than:

The corresponding author and authorized co-authors.
Appropriate editorial personnel.
Assigned reviewers.
The publisher, where necessary for publication administration.

Unpublished material contained in a submitted manuscript must not be used for an editor's personal research without the explicit written permission of the authors.

12. Conflicts of Interest

Editors must disclose and appropriately manage conflicts of interest.

An editor should not handle a manuscript when there is a significant conflict of interest, including situations involving:

Personal relationships with the authors.
Recent or ongoing research collaboration.
Institutional relationships that may affect impartiality.
Financial interests connected to the manuscript.

When a conflict exists, the manuscript should be assigned to another qualified editor.

Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

13. Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists editors in evaluating the scholarly quality, originality, validity, and relevance of submitted manuscripts.

Reviewers should provide constructive, objective, and evidence-based comments that help authors improve their work.

14. Confidentiality of Peer Review

Reviewers must treat manuscripts received for review as confidential.

Reviewers must not:

Share manuscripts with unauthorized individuals.
Use unpublished information for personal research or benefit.
Disclose confidential findings or ideas contained in the manuscript.

Reviewers should not use confidential manuscript content with artificial intelligence tools or external systems where doing so could compromise confidentiality, unless explicitly permitted under the journal's policies.

15. Objectivity and Professional Conduct

Reviews must be conducted objectively and respectfully.

Reviewers should evaluate manuscripts based on scholarly merit and should avoid personal criticism of authors.

Comments should be clear, constructive, and supported by appropriate reasoning.

16. Reviewer Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers should decline a review assignment if they have a conflict of interest that could affect their impartiality.

Potential conflicts may include:

Close personal relationships with an author.
Recent collaboration with an author.
Competitive research interests.
Financial or institutional interests.

Reviewers should promptly inform the editor if they recognize a conflict of interest.

17. Recognition of Relevant Work

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately cited where possible.

However, reviewers must not pressure authors to cite the reviewer's own publications or other publications unless those references are genuinely relevant to the manuscript.

Research and Publication Misconduct

18. Plagiarism

Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable.

This includes:

Direct copying without acknowledgment.
Substantial paraphrasing without proper citation.
Appropriation of mathematical ideas or research contributions.
Reuse of figures, tables, equations, or computational material without permission or attribution.

Suspected plagiarism will be investigated according to the journal's editorial procedures.

19. Fabrication and Falsification

The fabrication or falsification of research is considered serious misconduct.

Examples include:

Inventing data or computational results.
Manipulating numerical results.
Altering figures or graphs in a misleading manner.
Misrepresenting simulations or computational experiments.
Reporting mathematical or scientific conclusions not supported by the presented methodology.

20. Citation Manipulation

Citation manipulation is unethical.

Authors, editors, and reviewers must not attempt to artificially increase citation counts through:

Excessive self-citation.
Coercive citation requests.
Citation cartels.
Irrelevant citation requests.
Coordinated practices intended primarily to manipulate bibliometric indicators.

21. Peer Review Manipulation

Any attempt to manipulate the peer-review process is considered serious misconduct.

This may include:

Providing false reviewer identities or contact information.
Impersonating reviewers.
Creating fraudulent reviewer accounts.
Influencing reviewers improperly.
Interfering with the confidentiality or independence of the review process.

Complaints, Appeals, and Ethical Concerns

22. Complaints and Appeals

Authors may contact the Editorial Office regarding concerns about editorial decisions, peer-review procedures, publication ethics, or other matters related to the journal.

Complaints and appeals should provide clear information and supporting evidence.

The journal will consider complaints fairly and confidentially. Where appropriate, the matter may be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief, editorial board, or another independent editorial authority.

23. Handling Allegations of Misconduct

Allegations of research or publication misconduct will be taken seriously.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the concern, the journal may:

Request clarification from the authors.
Request original data, computational files, or supporting documentation.
Conduct an editorial investigation.
Consult reviewers, editors, institutions, or other relevant parties where appropriate.
Reject the manuscript.
Suspend the editorial or review process pending investigation.

The journal will make reasonable efforts to ensure that investigations are conducted fairly and confidentially.

Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

24. Corrections

If an error is identified in a published article that does not invalidate the main findings, the journal may publish a correction.

Corrections may address errors involving:

Mathematical expressions.
Figures or tables.
Author information.
References.
Typographical or production errors.
Other factual inaccuracies.

25. Retractions

A published article may be retracted when there is clear evidence of serious problems, including:

Plagiarism.
Fabrication or falsification.
Serious errors that invalidate the findings.
Duplicate publication.
Major ethical violations.
Manipulation of the peer-review process.

Retraction notices will clearly identify the affected article and explain the reason for retraction where appropriate.

26. Expressions of Concern

The journal may publish an Expression of Concern when serious questions have been raised about a published article but an investigation has not yet reached a final conclusion.

This may occur when evidence is inconclusive or when an investigation requires additional time.

Publisher Responsibilities

27. Responsibilities of the Publisher

ACS Publisher supports the Journal of Mathematical Modeling and Fractional Calculus in maintaining ethical and transparent scholarly publishing practices.

The publisher is committed to:

Supporting editorial independence.
Maintaining appropriate publication standards.
Supporting investigations into suspected misconduct.
Facilitating corrections, retractions, and other post-publication actions where necessary.
Protecting the integrity of the scholarly record.
Maintaining transparent editorial and publishing processes.

The publisher does not permit commercial or financial considerations to compromise editorial decisions.

28. Post-Publication Discussion

The journal welcomes legitimate scholarly discussion and constructive criticism of published research.

Readers who identify significant errors or ethical concerns in a published article are encouraged to contact the Editorial Office with relevant evidence.

Concerns will be assessed appropriately, and corrective action may be taken when necessary.

29. Ethical Compliance

By submitting a manuscript to the Journal of Mathematical Modeling and Fractional Calculus, authors confirm that:

The submitted work is original.
The manuscript is not under consideration elsewhere.
All authors have approved the submission.
The research has been conducted responsibly and ethically.
Sources and prior work have been properly acknowledged.
The information presented is accurate to the best of the authors' knowledge.
Any conflicts of interest have been disclosed.

Failure to comply with these ethical requirements may result in rejection, withdrawal, correction, retraction, or other appropriate editorial action.

30. Contact

Questions, concerns, or allegations regarding publication ethics or research malpractice may be directed to the Editorial Office of the Journal of Mathematical Modeling and Fractional Calculus through the journal's official contact channels.

The journal is committed to protecting the integrity of scholarly publishing and maintaining high ethical standards for all participants in the publication process.