Publication Ethics

I-MARKED (International Journal of Marketing Studies and Environments of Digital Business) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, and scientific rigor. The journal follows the core practices and ethical guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

All participants in the publication process—including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—are expected to understand and comply with the ethical standards and responsibilities outlined below.

1. Duties and Responsibilities of Authors

  • Originality and Prior Publication: Authors must submit original work that has not been previously published in any language or medium and is not under consideration by another journal, conference, or publication venue. Duplicate submissions, redundant publication, and inappropriate text or data recycling, including salami slicing, are not permitted.
  • Accuracy and Data Integrity: Authors must provide an accurate and complete account of the research conducted and present the results objectively. Fabrication, falsification, manipulation, or misrepresentation of data constitutes serious academic misconduct and is strictly prohibited.
  • Plagiarism and Proper Attribution: Authors must appropriately acknowledge the ideas, findings, and contributions of others. All direct quotations, paraphrased material, and referenced sources must be properly cited in accordance with APA 7th Edition. Plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, is unacceptable.
  • Authorship Criteria: Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, or interpretation of the research. All listed authors must have significantly contributed to the work, approved the final version of the manuscript, and agreed to its submission. Ghost, guest, and gift authorship are not permitted.

2. Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (Generative AI Policy)

I-MARKED recognizes the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in academic research and follows applicable international publishing standards and relevant COPE guidance concerning the responsible use of AI.

  • Authorship Eligibility: Generative AI tools and Large Language Models (LLMs), including ChatGPT, Claude, and similar technologies, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. AI tools cannot assume responsibility for the content, disclose conflicts of interest, or fulfill the other requirements of authorship.
  • Responsible Use and Disclosure: Authors may use Generative AI tools to support activities such as language improvement, drafting, coding, data processing, or other research-related tasks, provided that such use does not compromise the integrity, originality, or transparency of the research. Where AI has been used in a manner that materially contributes to the research or manuscript, its use must be disclosed transparently.
  • Declaration of AI Use: The disclosure should identify the AI tool used, its version where applicable, and describe the specific purpose and extent of its use. For analytical or procedural applications, the disclosure should be included in the Research Methodology section. For language editing, drafting, or other writing assistance, the disclosure may be included in the Acknowledgments section, as appropriate.
  • Author Responsibility: Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, scientific integrity, proper attribution, and ethical compliance of all content submitted and published. Authors must independently verify any information, references, data, or statements generated or assisted by AI tools.

3. Conflicts of Interest (Competing Interests)

  • Author Disclosure: Authors must disclose any financial, commercial, personal, academic, or professional relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation. If no competing interests exist, authors should include the following statement:

    "The authors declare no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article."

  • Reviewer Obligations: Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest and decline to review a manuscript when financial, professional, competitive, collaborative, or personal relationships could affect their objectivity.
  • Editorial Impartiality: Editors must not handle manuscripts in which they have a personal, academic, financial, or commercial conflict of interest. When a conflict exists, the manuscript should be assigned to an independent editor who will oversee the peer-review and editorial decision-making process.

4. Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers

  • Objectivity and Constructive Feedback: Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively, impartially, and within the designated review period. Reviews should focus on the scientific quality, originality, methodology, relevance, and clarity of the manuscript. Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate.
  • Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review are confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, reproduce, discuss, or use information from submitted manuscripts for personal or professional advantage without prior authorization from the Editor.
  • Identification of Ethical Concerns: Reviewers should promptly inform the handling editor of any suspected plagiarism, substantial similarity to previously published work, data fabrication or falsification, inappropriate citation practices, or other potential ethical violations.
  • Conflict of Interest: Reviewers should disclose any potential conflict of interest before accepting an invitation to review and should decline the assignment when such a conflict may compromise the impartiality of the review.

5. Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

  • Editorial Independence and Fairness: Editorial decisions must be based on the manuscript's academic quality, originality, theoretical contribution, methodological rigor, relevance, and alignment with the journal's Aims and Scope. Decisions must not be influenced by the author's race, gender, nationality, religion, institutional affiliation, or other irrelevant personal characteristics.
  • Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and must not disclose information about a manuscript to anyone other than the authors, designated reviewers, editorial staff, and publisher representatives as appropriate.
  • Fair and Transparent Peer Review: Editors are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts are evaluated through a fair, appropriate, and unbiased peer-review process. Editors should select reviewers with relevant expertise and avoid potential conflicts of interest.
  • Handling of Scientific Misconduct: When allegations or concerns regarding research or publication misconduct arise, editors will respond appropriately and follow relevant COPE procedures and flowcharts. Where warranted, the journal may conduct an investigation and take appropriate corrective action, including issuing a correction, retraction, or expression of concern.
  • Post-Publication Integrity: Editors will consider credible concerns regarding published articles and, when necessary, facilitate appropriate corrections or retractions to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

I-MARKED is committed to maintaining a transparent, fair, and responsible publication process and to protecting the integrity of the academic record through adherence to internationally recognized publication ethics and best practices.