Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

1. Introduction

VFAST Transactions on Mathematics (VTM) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, and transparency in scholarly publishing. The journal follows internationally recognized best practices and adheres to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

All parties involved in publishing — authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher — must comply with the ethical standards described below.

2. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made significant intellectual contributions to the research. Authors must meet all of the following criteria:

  • Substantial contribution to conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the research.

  • Drafting or critically revising the manuscript.

  • Approval of the final version.

  • Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal and ensuring that all co‑authors approve submissions and revisions.

Changes in authorship (addition, removal, or order change) require written consent from all authors and a valid explanation.

Ghost authorship, honorary authorship, or undisclosed contributions are considered unethical.

3. Peer Review

VTM operates a single‑blind peer‑review system. Reviewers know author identities, but authors do not know reviewer identities. Manuscripts are evaluated for originality, scholarly quality, clarity, and relevance.

Detailed procedures are described in the journal’s separate Peer Review Policy.

4. Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, or readers may submit complaints regarding:

  • editorial decisions

  • publication ethics

  • peer‑review process

  • procedural errors

Complaints must be submitted in writing to the Editor‑in‑Chief with supporting information. The journal acknowledges complaints within 7 days and aims to resolve cases within 30 days.

Appeals must include justification and supporting evidence. Appeals are evaluated independently by the editorial board. Decisions on appeals are final.

5. Conflict of Interest / Competing Interests

All participants must disclose conflicts of interest that may influence their work.

Conflicts include:

  • financial interests

  • institutional affiliations

  • collaborations

  • personal relationships

  • competing academic or business interests

Reviewers and editors must recuse themselves when conflicts exist.

Authors must include a Conflict of Interest statement in their manuscript before the references section.

Undisclosed conflicts discovered after publication may result in correction or retraction.

6. Funding Disclosure

Authors must disclose all funding sources supporting the research. Funding information must appear in the manuscript.

If no funding was received, authors must state:

"This research received no external funding."

7. Data Sharing and Reproducibility

VTM supports transparency and reproducibility of research findings.

Authors are expected to:

  • make supporting data available where possible

  • deposit datasets in recognized repositories

  • provide persistent identifiers (DOI, accession number, etc.)

  • describe methodology clearly

Data may be withheld only when ethical, legal, or confidentiality restrictions apply.

8. Ethical Oversight

Research must comply with recognized ethical standards.

Authors must provide:

  • ethical approval for human or animal studies

  • informed consent documentation where applicable

  • confirmation of compliance with institutional guidelines

Editors may request supporting documents at any stage.

9. Plagiarism and Originality

All manuscripts are screened using similarity‑detection software.

Submissions must be:

  • original

  • unpublished

  • not under consideration elsewhere

Plagiarism, self‑plagiarism, or unattributed content will result in rejection or retraction.

10. Intellectual Property and Copyright

Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the journal a license to publish and distribute it.

All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) unless otherwise stated.

Authors must obtain permission for any copyrighted material used.

11. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are made independently by editors based solely on scholarly merit, without influence from the publisher, sponsors, or external organizations.

12. Advertising Policy

VTM does not allow advertising to influence editorial decisions. If advertising is ever accepted, it will be clearly distinguished from editorial content.

13. AI‑Generated Content Policy

Artificial intelligence tools may be used only for language editing or formatting assistance. AI systems cannot be listed as authors. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of their work.

14. Post‑Publication Discussions and Corrections

The journal maintains mechanisms for addressing post‑publication issues:

Corrections: Minor errors corrected through errata.

Expressions of Concern: Issued when serious concerns arise.

Retractions: Issued for major ethical violations or unreliable findings.

All updates are transparently documented. The journal maintains a permanent record of all article versions.

15. Publication Malpractice

The journal strictly prohibits:

  • plagiarism

  • fabrication or falsification of data

  • duplicate submission or publication

  • citation manipulation

  • ghost or honorary authorship

  • peer‑review manipulation

  • coercive citation practices

Suspected misconduct will be investigated following COPE guidelines.

Sanctions may include:

  • rejection

  • retraction

  • publication bans

  • notification of institutions

16. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must:

  • evaluate manuscripts fairly

  • maintain confidentiality

  • avoid conflicts of interest

  • ensure ethical standards

  • act on misconduct allegations

17. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must:

  • provide objective evaluations

  • maintain confidentiality

  • disclose conflicts

  • complete reviews promptly

  • avoid personal criticism

18. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must:

  • report accurate data

  • cite sources properly

  • disclose conflicts

  • cooperate with review

  • correct errors promptly

19. Policy Enforcement

Violations of this policy will be handled according to COPE procedures. The editorial board reserves the right to take appropriate action to protect scholarly integrity.