The Academic Journal of Applied Engineering is committed to maintaining high standards of research integrity, ethical publishing, editorial independence, transparency, and professional conduct. The journal expects authors, editors, reviewers, and all contributors involved in the publication process to act honestly, responsibly, and fairly.

This statement explains the ethical responsibilities of authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher, as well as the actions that may be taken when publication malpractice, research misconduct, or ethical concerns are identified.

Ethical Publishing Principles

The journal promotes publication practices based on:

• Originality and technical accuracy
• Honest reporting of research methods, data, and results
• Fair and unbiased editorial decision-making
• Confidential and constructive peer review
• Proper acknowledgement of prior research and third-party materials
• Transparency regarding funding and conflicts of interest
• Respect for safety, privacy, intellectual property, and confidentiality
• Responsible use of engineering software, artificial intelligence, datasets, and automated tools
• Timely correction of errors in the scholarly record

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to the Academic Journal of Applied Engineering must ensure that their work is original, accurate, ethically conducted, and not under consideration by another journal.

Authors are expected to:

• Submit only original work that has not been previously published.
• Avoid simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal.
• Properly cite all sources, standards, technical reports, datasets, software, figures, tables, and previously published work.
• Ensure that all listed authors have made meaningful contributions to the research.
• Avoid guest, honorary, or gift authorship.
• Obtain approval from all co-authors before submission.
• Report data, methods, calculations, simulations, experiments, and results honestly and accurately.
• Disclose funding sources, institutional support, commercial relationships, and conflicts of interest.
• Obtain necessary permissions for copyrighted material, proprietary information, confidential industrial data, and third-party technical content.
• Retain relevant research records, data, calculations, design files, software outputs, and supporting materials where appropriate.
• Disclose material use of artificial intelligence, machine learning tools, simulation platforms, automated design tools, or language-support systems in the research or manuscript preparation.

Originality, Plagiarism, and Duplicate Publication

Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable. This includes direct copying, improper paraphrasing, self-plagiarism, reuse of previously published material without acknowledgement, and presenting another person’s ideas, data, models, code, figures, designs, or results as one’s own.

Manuscripts may undergo similarity screening before or during the review process. Where substantial overlap, duplicate publication, or inappropriate text reuse is identified, the manuscript may be rejected, returned for explanation, or investigated further.

Authors must not submit work that substantially duplicates their own previously published research unless the overlap is clearly disclosed and academically justified.

Data Integrity and Research Misconduct

The journal does not tolerate research misconduct, including:

• Fabrication of data, experimental results, images, figures, or technical findings
• Falsification or manipulation of data, calculations, simulations, or research outcomes
• Misrepresentation of methods, test results, engineering models, software outputs, or design performance
• Inappropriate alteration of images, graphs, diagrams, or technical illustrations
• False claims of ethical approval, institutional affiliation, funding, authorship, or industrial collaboration
• Citation manipulation or inclusion of irrelevant references for the purpose of increasing citation counts
• Concealment of significant limitations, risks, failures, or findings that materially affect the interpretation of results

Authors must provide a clear and accurate description of methods, assumptions, limitations, validation procedures, and results so that the work can be appropriately assessed.

Safety, Confidentiality, and Responsible Engineering Research

Authors must ensure that research involving engineering systems, industrial processes, machinery, infrastructure, chemicals, electrical systems, autonomous technologies, or safety-sensitive applications has been conducted responsibly.

Where relevant, authors should address:

• Safety risks and risk-mitigation measures
• Compliance with institutional, legal, and technical requirements
• Confidentiality of proprietary or industrial information
• Privacy and security of human, organizational, or operational data
• Potential environmental and social impacts
• Responsible use of artificial intelligence and automated decision systems

Research involving human participants, personal data, workplace data, clinical technologies, or identifiable information must follow applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for making fair, independent, and evidence-based publication decisions. Manuscripts are evaluated on the basis of originality, technical quality, relevance to the journal’s scope, methodological soundness, ethical compliance, and reviewer feedback.

Editors must:

• Evaluate submissions without discrimination based on nationality, gender, institution, religion, ethnicity, political views, or personal characteristics.
• Maintain confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and reviewer identities.
• Avoid using unpublished manuscript information for personal or professional advantage.
• Disclose and manage conflicts of interest.
• Select qualified reviewers with relevant subject expertise.
• Address complaints, ethical concerns, corrections, and misconduct allegations fairly and promptly.
• Take appropriate editorial action when evidence of malpractice is identified.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play an essential role in maintaining the academic and technical quality of the journal. Reviewers are expected to provide objective, confidential, respectful, and timely evaluations.

Reviewers must:

• Accept assignments only within their area of expertise.
• Maintain confidentiality of manuscript content and reviewer discussions.
• Avoid sharing or using unpublished information for personal, institutional, or commercial benefit.
• Disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest before accepting a review.
• Provide constructive, evidence-based, and professional comments.
• Identify relevant published work that may not have been cited.
• Report suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data manipulation, unethical research, safety concerns, or other possible misconduct to the editor.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, personal, or commercial relationship that could influence, or reasonably appear to influence, their judgement.

Authors should include a conflict-of-interest statement in their manuscript. Where no conflict exists, authors should state that they have no competing interests.

Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

The journal is committed to preserving the reliability and accuracy of the scholarly record. When errors, ethical issues, or concerns about research integrity arise after publication, the journal may take appropriate action.

Depending on the seriousness of the issue, the journal may publish:

• A correction or erratum for factual, editorial, or production-related errors
• A corrigendum for author-identified errors
• An expression of concern when an investigation is ongoing or evidence is inconclusive
• A retraction when findings are unreliable due to serious error, plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, unethical research, or other major misconduct

Retraction notices will clearly state the reason for the action and remain linked to the original article to preserve transparency in the scholarly record.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

Concerns relating to publication ethics or research malpractice may be raised by authors, reviewers, readers, editors, institutions, or other concerned parties.

The journal will assess allegations confidentially and fairly. Where necessary, the editorial office may request additional information from authors, reviewers, affiliated institutions, or relevant research bodies.

Appropriate action will be taken according to the available evidence, the seriousness of the allegation, and the need to protect the integrity of the published record.

Commitment to Ethical Publishing

The Academic Journal of Applied Engineering is dedicated to promoting responsible research, transparent editorial practice, ethical peer review, technical reliability, and trustworthy scholarly communication. All contributors are expected to uphold these standards to ensure that published engineering research remains credible, useful, and beneficial to the academic, industrial, and wider professional community.