Ethical Principles

The Journal of Governance and Smart City (JGSC) is fully committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, and responsible scholarly conduct. The journal follows international norms and best practices established by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics), as well as widely recognized ethical standards in scientific publishing.
This Publication Ethics statement outlines the responsibilities and ethical obligations of authors, editors, reviewers, and the journal as a whole to ensure transparency, fairness, accountability, and high scientific quality.

Ethical behavior is a fundamental requirement throughout all stages of the publication process—from manuscript submission to peer review, editorial decision-making, production, dissemination, and post-publication communication. Any deviation from ethical standards may result in rejection, withdrawal, retraction, correction, or notification to the authors' institutions.

1. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to JGSC must adhere to the following principles:

1.1. Originality and Avoidance of Plagiarism

  • Manuscripts must be entirely original, written by the authors, and not copied or paraphrased from previously published works.

  • Any text, ideas, data, figures, or methods derived from other sources must be properly cited.

  • The journal employs iThenticate to detect similarity.

  • Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, or inappropriate reuse of one’s own previous work without citation is strictly prohibited.

1.2. Authorship and Contribution Transparency

  • Authorship must reflect substantial intellectual contribution to the conception, design, analysis, or interpretation of the study.

  • All authors must approve the final manuscript and agree to its submission.

  • Ghost authorship, guest authorship, and gift authorship are unethical and not permitted.

  • The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all listed authors have made legitimate contributions.

1.3. Data Integrity and Accuracy

  • Authors must ensure that all data in the manuscript are accurate, verifiable, and honestly presented.

  • Fabrication, falsification, manipulation of data, or selective omission of findings are serious ethical violations.

  • Upon request, authors must provide the journal with access to raw data, databases, analytical scripts, or additional documentation for verification.

1.4. Multiple or Redundant Submissions

  • Manuscripts submitted to JGSC must not be under review by any other journal at the same time.

  • Duplicate or redundant publication—submitting the same or similar work to multiple journals—is prohibited.

1.5. Citation Ethics

Authors must:

  • Cite relevant literature appropriately.

  • Avoid excessive self-citation or inappropriate citation to boost metrics.

  • Avoid citation manipulation, citation cartels, or coordinated citation behavior.

1.6. Ethical Research Standards

  • Research involving human participants must comply with ethical standards, including informed consent and confidentiality protections.

  • Research involving sensitive data must follow privacy and data protection laws.

  • Any conflicts of interest must be clearly disclosed.

1.7. Corrections, Retractions, and Clarifications

If authors discover significant errors in their published work:

  • They must immediately notify the editorial office.

  • They must cooperate in issuing corrections, errata, or retractions as deemed necessary by the editor.

2. Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play a critical role in maintaining the scholarly quality of the journal. Reviewers must comply with the following obligations:

2.1. Confidentiality

  • All manuscripts are confidential documents.

  • Reviewers must not share, distribute, or use any part of the manuscript for personal purposes.

  • Discussion with colleagues is not permitted unless authorized by the editor.

2.2. Objectivity, Fairness, and Lack of Bias

  • Reviews must be conducted objectively and professionally.

  • Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate.

  • Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts based solely on academic merit, regardless of nationality, gender, ethnicity, institutional affiliation, or personal relationships.

2.3. Conflict of Interest

Reviewers must declare any potential conflict of interest, including:

  • Financial relationships,

  • Personal or academic relationships with the author(s),

  • Competition or collaboration with the author(s),

  • Situations that may bias their judgment.

If a conflict exists, reviewers must decline the review.

2.4. Timeliness

  • Reviewers must complete their evaluations within the assigned deadline.

  • If unable to provide a timely review, they must inform the editor immediately.

2.5. Identification of Ethical Problems

Reviewers should report:

  • Plagiarism or similarity with other publications,

  • Data inconsistencies,

  • Ethical concerns about research methods,

  • Possible duplicate submission,

  • Any suspicion of misconduct.

3. Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

Editors and members of the editorial board must ensure the integrity, quality, and fairness of the publication process.

3.1. Fair and Impartial Decision-Making

  • Editorial decisions must be based solely on scholarly value, relevance to the journal’s scope, and quality of the research.

  • Editors may not discriminate based on authors’ gender, religion, nationality, institutional affiliation, or political viewpoint.

3.2. Confidentiality

  • Editors must keep all submissions confidential.

  • Manuscript information must not be used for personal research or gain.

3.3. Handling Conflicts of Interest

  • Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have a direct conflict of interest.

  • Manuscripts submitted by editors or editorial board members must be handled independently through blind review.

3.4. Ensuring Ethical Compliance

Editors must ensure:

  • Similarity checks are conducted,

  • Research ethics are followed,

  • Plagiarism and misconduct cases are investigated thoroughly,

  • Retractions, corrections, or expressions of concern are issued when necessary.

3.5. Oversight of Peer Review

  • Editors must select qualified, unbiased reviewers.

  • They must ensure that the double-blind review process is strictly maintained.

  • Editors must prevent peer-review manipulation or conflicts of interest among reviewers.

4. Journal Ethical Responsibilities

The Journal of Governance and Smart City commits to maintaining ethical standards across all operations.

4.1. COPE Compliance

The journal follows COPE guidelines for:

  • Ethical publishing

  • Handling misconduct

  • Retractions and corrections

  • Reviewer and author responsibilities

4.2. Transparency and Accountability

The journal ensures:

  • Transparent editorial processes,

  • Clear communication with authors and reviewers,

  • Honest representation of journal policies,

  • Publicly available guidelines and ethical statements.

4.3. Misconduct Investigation

If misconduct is suspected:

  • The journal will follow COPE flowcharts for investigation.

  • Authors may be contacted for data or explanation.

  • Institutions may be notified in serious cases.

  • Investigations are conducted confidentially and fairly.

Possible actions include:

  • Rejection of manuscript

  • Retraction or correction

  • Temporary or permanent publication ban

  • Notification to institutional authorities

4.4. Retractions and Corrections

The journal may issue:

  • Retraction – for serious ethical violations or unreliable findings

  • Correction – for minor errors

  • Expression of Concern – when investigations are ongoing

Retractions remain publicly accessible and linked to the original article to ensure transparency.

5. Ethical Responsibilities of the Publisher

The publisher supports the journal in maintaining ethical standards by:

  • Ensuring long-term digital preservation and archiving

  • Providing resources for plagiarism detection (iThenticate)

  • Ensuring independence of editorial decisions

  • Supporting transparency in APC policies

  • Preventing any commercial influence on editorial decisions

6. Guidelines for Addressing Allegations of Misconduct

JGSC will follow COPE flowcharts when dealing with:

  • Authors’ misconduct

  • Reviewers’ misconduct

  • Editors’ misconduct

  • Ethical complaints by readers or institutions

Complaints may include:

  • Plagiarism

  • Fabricated or manipulated data

  • Peer-review manipulation

  • Undeclared conflicts of interest

  • Ethical violations in research involving humans or sensitive data

All allegations are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly.

7. Ethical Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

Authors must disclose the use of artificial intelligence for:

  • Writing assistance

  • Data analysis

  • Image generation

  • Translation

AI tools:

  • Must not be listed as authors

  • Must be used responsibly

  • Must not fabricate data or references

  • Require authors to verify accuracy and originality

8. Post-Publication Responsibilities

Authors, editors, and the journal must address:

  • Requests for correction

  • Reporting of errors

  • Concerns raised by readers

  • Data transparency requests

The journal encourages post-publication dialogue to enhance research quality.