Policies on Ethics

University of Zawia Journal of Economic Sciences (UZJES) believes in the value of maintaining the integrity of the scientific record. The Editorial Board members do the best they can to ensure that published articles follow the best available standards for research.

Ethical Conduct in Research

All manuscripts submitted for publication in the journal must represent original scholarly work and address a novel research topic. Submissions must not have been previously published, nor be under consideration for publication in any other journal. Authors are expected to uphold the principles of originality and exclusivity throughout the submission and review process.

Authors must strictly avoid all forms of unethical research and publication practices. These include, but are not limited to, data falsification or distortion, plagiarism, duplicate or redundant publication, simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to multiple outlets, unnecessary delays, poor manuscript organization, or the inappropriate fragmentation of research findings into multiple papers.

Researchers are required to meet all recognized scientific research standards and maintain a high level of academic rigor at every stage of the research process. This includes clearly articulating the research objectives and problem, conducting a comprehensive and relevant literature review, applying appropriate methodologies and data analysis techniques, critically discussing the results, and presenting well-founded conclusions and recommendations. Proper and consistent citation of all sources is mandatory.

All information, data, and ideas derived from external sources must be accurately attributed to their original authors. In addition, researchers must transparently disclose any financial, institutional, or advisory support that could potentially give rise to a conflict of interest, ensuring full transparency and accountability.

Authors are required to adhere and agree to the research ethics commitment, available electronically as part of the submission process. This process confirms the originality of the submission, adherence to ethical standards of publication, accurate attribution of sources, and appropriate acknowledgment of all contributors, along with a clear description of their respective roles in the research.

When reproducing or adapting images, tables, or other materials from previously published works, authors must properly cite the original source and obtain written permission from the copyright holder prior to submission.

Researchers must respect and protect the privacy and confidentiality of individuals involved in the research. This includes obscuring or blurring identifiable features, such as faces in images, and obtaining written informed consent from participants before including such materials in the manuscript.

The journal is committed to upholding the standards set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and adheres to its established guidelines in addressing cases of research misconduct. Editors and publishers follow COPE’s best practices to ensure integrity, fairness, and transparency throughout the publication process.

 Conflict of Interest (COI)

The Conflict of Interest is established to protect the integrity, transparency, and impartiality of the editorial and peer-review process. By identifying and managing potential conflicts of interest, the journal seeks to ensure that all manuscripts are evaluated solely on their scholarly merit, free from personal, professional, or institutional influence.

All corresponding authors are required to declare any conflicting interests related to the conduct of the submitted research. To ensure best practice is followed in drafting such declarations, authors are highly encouraged to fill out ICJME's Conflict of Interest form. This form generates a COI statement based on the answers provided by the author to a given set of questions. This statement will be included in the final published version of the article.

Reviewers are also required to disclose and avoid any conflicts of interest that may compromise, or appear to compromise, their objectivity in evaluating a manuscript. Such conflicts include, but are not limited to, current or former professional relationships with the authors, including colleagues, previous collaborators or co-authors, doctoral supervisors or students, and other close academic or professional associations. In cases where a potential conflict of interest exists outside these defined categories, reviewers must promptly inform the editorial board so that appropriate action can be taken, including reassignment of the manuscript if necessary.

In addition, Members of the editorial board bear a particular responsibility in upholding ethical standards throughout the review process. Upon assignment of a manuscript, editorial board members are required to disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could affect their impartial judgment. When a conflict is identified, the editorial board member must recuse themselves from the editorial decision-making process to ensure fairness, objectivity, and the credibility of the journal’s editorial practices.

Plagiarism

Authors are required to ensure the originality of all content submitted to the Journal. Any use of ideas, data, text, or other intellectual material from the work of others must be clearly acknowledged through appropriate citation or direct quotation. All manuscripts submitted to the journal are subjected to plagiarism screening as part of the editorial and peer-review process. The journal uses Plagiarism Checker X software to ensure the originality of the submitted manuscripts as well as AI detection. The maximum allowed similarity index is 20%. Manuscripts exceeding this threshold will be returned to authors for revision or rejected. Extensive plagiarism can be a reason for rejecting the manuscript during the initial screening (before peer-review). The manuscript will be checked again for plagiarism in cases where significant changes are introduced by the author during the process of peer-review. If plagiarism is identified again at any stage prior to publication, the manuscript will be rejected immediately. In cases where plagiarism is discovered after publication, the article will be formally retracted, and a public retraction notice will be issued. Depending on the severity and nature of the misconduct, the journal reserves the right to take further action against the author(s).

Retraction from publication

In the event of confirmed plagiarism, the journal may notify the relevant funding agencies, the author(s)’ affiliated institutions, and the original authors whose work has been improperly used. The journal follows the guidelines and flowcharts provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) COPE Flowchart when investigating and addressing plagiarism allegations, ensuring that all cases are handled in a fair, transparent, and consistent manner.

Complaints and appeals

Authors and readers are encouraged to report suspected cases of plagiarism or to submit appeals related to editorial decisions by contacting the editor or publisher via email. Each complaint or appeal will be assigned a unique reference number by the publisher, which may be used for tracking and follow-up purposes. All submissions will be reviewed carefully and addressed in accordance with the journal’s ethical policies.

Disclaimer

The responsibility for the content of each published article rests solely with the author(s). Neither the University of Zawia Journal of Economic Sciences (ZUJES), nor its editors, publisher, or any individuals involved in the production and distribution of the journal, assume responsibility or liability for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information presented. Furthermore, the journal disclaims any liability for direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from the use of published content.

Authorship

Authorship of manuscripts submitted to the Journal is restricted to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions and provided meaningful intellectual input to the research. Such contributions include, but are not limited to, the conception and design of the study, the execution of the research, the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data, and the drafting or critical revision of the manuscript. All individuals who meet these criteria should be listed as co-authors.

Individuals who have contributed to specific aspects of the work but have not provided significant intellectual input such as technical assistance, data collection, or administrative support should not be listed as authors. Instead, their contributions should be appropriately acknowledged in the acknowledgments section of the manuscript.

One author must be designated as the corresponding author, who will serve as the primary point of contact with the journal. The corresponding author is responsible for communicating with the editorial office throughout the submission, peer-review, and publication processes, as well as for ensuring that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript prior to publication in the journal.

The journal strictly discourages practices such as guest authorship and ghost authorship. To qualify for authorship, each listed author must meet all of the following four criteria:

(1) having made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;

(2) having drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content;

(3) having given final approval of the version to be published; and

(4) having agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that any questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

While all authors share responsibility for the integrity of the manuscript, the corresponding author bears primary responsibility for submitting complete and accurate information to the journal and for tracking the manuscript through the editorial review and production stages.

Cases of Misconduct

Although not currently a member, the journal follows the Committee on Publication Ethics' Code of Conduct. Consequently, the relevant COPE Flowchart will be used to guide the Editorial Board in tackling cases of suspected misconduct. This includes any breach of the rules mentioned above as well as other types of scientific misconduct (e.g. data fabrication, data manipulation, authorship disputes, etc.). In case the article in question was already published, retraction might be necessary.