Publication Ethics

Ethical Principles of the Journal of Land Use and Sustainable Development

Commitment to Ethical Standards:
This journal adheres to the ethical guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and complies with the executive bylaws of Iran’s Law on Prevention and Combating Fraud in Scientific Works. The journal’s ethical policies are based on the principles of COPE and the Code of Ethics for Scientific Publications issued by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology (MSRT). Authors, reviewers, editors, and the editorial board are expected to uphold these ethical standards.

Responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board:

1. The journal commits to informing authors of the status of their submitted manuscript (acceptance, revision, or rejection) within 6 months.

2. Editors must maintain confidentiality during the review process and avoid conflicts of interest.

3. The Editor-in-Chief makes final decisions on publication based on reviewers’ feedback and editorial board recommendations.

4. Editors must ensure anonymity of reviewers and authors (double-blind peer review).

5. Editors are responsible for detecting and addressing plagiarism, fraud, or unethical practices, including retractions, corrections, or apologies when necessary.

6. Unpublished manuscripts must not be used for personal gain.

7. Manuscripts must be evaluated solely based on academic merit, without bias toward race, gender, religion, ethnicity, or political orientation.

8. Editors must maintain a database of qualified reviewers in the field of "spatial economy" and update it regularly.

9. Editors must investigate allegations of ethical violations thoroughly and follow MSRT regulations for resolution.

10. Published articles found to violate ethical standards must be retracted immediately, with transparent notification to readers and indexing databases.

Responsibilities of Reviewers:

1. Reviewers must submit evaluations on time and ensure technical, evidence-based feedback.

2. Confidentiality of manuscripts and avoidance of personal bias are mandatory.

3. Reviewers must disclose conflicts of interest and refrain from evaluating manuscripts with such conflicts.

4. Unauthorized sharing of manuscripts or their content is prohibited.

5. Reviewers must report any similarity between the submitted manuscript and other published works.

6. Reviewers must avoid rewriting manuscripts based on personal preferences and focus on scientific validity.

7. Reviewers may not delegate evaluations without the Editor-in-Chief’s approval.

Responsibilities of Authors:

1. Submitted manuscripts must be original and not under review or published elsewhere (except as abstracts, theses, or lectures).

2. Authors must ensure all contributors are listed, and "honorary authorship" or exclusion of actual contributors is prohibited.

3. Proper citation and quotation marks are required for direct use of others’ work.

4. Authors must disclose funding sources and obtain permissions for reused content.

5. Authors must promptly correct errors post-publication and cooperate in investigations of ethical violations.

6. Manuscripts derived from theses must list authors in the order: student, supervisor(s), advisor(s).

7. Plagiarism checks are mandatory, and unethical practices (e.g., data fabrication, duplicate submission) will result in rejection or retraction.

Responsibilities of the Publisher:

1. The publisher safeguards academic integrity and monitors adherence to ethical standards.

2. The publisher uses plagiarism-detection software and addresses misconduct (e.g., retractions, corrections).

Examples of Ethical Violations:

• Plagiarism: Copying text/ideas without attribution.

• Data Fabrication/Falsification: Inventing or manipulating data.

• Duplicate Submission: Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals.

• Redundant Publication: Dividing one study into multiple papers.

• Guest/Ghost Authorship: Excluding contributors or adding non-contributors.

• Citation Manipulation: Unjustified inclusion/exclusion of references.

• Academic Rental: Hiring others to conduct research and publishing it under one’s name.

Final Note:
The Journal of Land Use and Sustainable Development reserves the right to take strict action against ethical violations, in alignment with COPE guidelines and national regulations. Authors transfer publication rights to the journal upon submission.