Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.

Introduction

The Ilorin Journal of Economic Policy (IJEP) is an Open Access (OA) journal based at the University of Ilorin in the Department of Economics. The journal strives to achieve the utmost standards of scholarly integrity, transparency, and ethical conduct in all areas of publishing. This Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement (PEMS) contains the policy and procedure of the journal on authorship, review, misconduct, conflict of interest, correction, and other elements of the publishing ethics.

This is based on well-established principles like COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics), principles of transparency and best practice in scholarly publishing, the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, jointly published by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Directory of Open Access Journal (DOAJ), Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA), and World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

Scope & Applicability

This PEMS is applicable to all manuscripts submitted to IJEP and to all individuals who are engaged in the publication process, such as authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial staff. In good faith, all parties would be required to adhere to these policies and procedures.

1. Authorship and Contributorship.
   1. The contributors identified as authors must have contributed meaningfully to the work intellectually, e.g., in conception, design, execution, analysis, or drafting/critical revision, and can publicly accept responsibility for the content of the work.
   2. When submitting a manuscript, the authors should include a declaration of contribution (e.g., who did what), otherwise known as the Author Credit Statement.
   3. The final version should be approved by all authors, and they should be willing to take responsibility for the work.
   4. Adding authors who have not contributed to the research (gift authorship) and omitting authors who have contributed to the research (ghost authorship) is not allowed.
   5. In case a person has participated in supporting (e.g., by providing technical support, obtaining funding) but not an intellectual contribution to the work, he/she must be mentioned instead of being mentioned as an author.

2. Process of Reviewing, Independence, and Confidentiality of the Editors.
   1. IJEP has a double-blind peer review of manuscripts (the authors are unaware of the reviewers; the reviewers are unaware of the authors).
   2. Acceptance/rejection is the sole prerogative of the editors, on the recommendation of the reviewers, based on the quality, originality, and suitability to the subject matter of the journal.
   3. Reviewers and editors need to maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts and not share them with other people, and use information/data in them to do their work without authorization.
   4. The editor is expected to recuse himself or herself in submissions where he/she has a conflict of interest (e.g., the author is his/her close friend or even professional colleague).
   5. Reviewers remain anonymous; reviewers are not asked to identify themselves to authors, except under special circumstances on the invitation of the editor.

3. Misconduct Allegations, Appeals, and Complaints.
   1. IJEP offers a formal mechanism for complaints and appeals. The author can request a revision in the editorial decisions by submitting new arguments or evidence to the Editor-in-Chief.
   2. Should there be suspected research or publication misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, fabrication of data, manipulation, duplicate publication, citation manipulation) by the researcher or author, the journal will start an investigation according to the COPE guidelines.
   3. This process shall usually entail communicating with the authors to clarify matters, seeking external advice where necessary, and adopting the institution of the authors where necessary.
   4. In cases where a complaint is accepted, possible actions would include turning down the manuscript (when being reviewed), making corrections or retractions (when published), or writing a statement of concern.
   5. Every action and decision in the investigation would be documented and made open to the interested parties (without compromise of confidentiality where necessary).

4. Conflict of Interests and Disclosure.
   1. When submitting a manuscript, all authors are expected to reveal any type of financial or non-financial conflict of interest (e.g., funding, employment, consultancies, personal relationships).
   2. The editorial staff, reviewers, and editors should also disclose conflicts of interest and recuse themselves in case the conflict could affect their decisions or their review.
   3. In case of any conflict, whether observed in the course of review or post-publication, one should disclose it and take care of it (e.g., by a corrigendum or editorial note).

5. Data Availability, Research Transparency & Reproducibility.

1. In cases where possible, there should be the availability of underlying research data, code, or materials (in a publicly accessible repository or supplementary files) under legal, ethical, or confidentiality restrictions by the authors.
2. Papers must incorporate enough methodological description and references in order to enable other people to replicate or confirm the work.
3. Writers are expected to maintain original data and materials over a reasonable amount of time (e.g., as demanded by their institutions) and be willing to submit them to editors or reviewers upon request.
4. In case sharing of data is limited in some way (e.g., by privacy, confidentiality, proprietary restrictions), these should be explicit in the writing of the author(s).

6. Research Involving Humans or Animals- Ethical Oversight.
   1. In case of a study with human subjects, the authors should state that the study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards (e.g., the Declaration of Helsinki) and that an institutional review board (IRB) or an ethics committee approved the research, and that informed consent was obtained.
   2. In the case of animal studies, researchers should provide information on conformance with appropriate guidelines and institutional authorizations.
   3. Letters of ethics approval or consent documentation can be copied and sent to the editors on demand.

7. Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Licensing.
   1. The authors in their published work keep the copyright under an appropriate open access license (such as CC BY or any other), except where otherwise specified.
   2. In submission, authors testify that the work is original, not undergoing consideration in another place, and that they are entitled to all content (figures, data, text).
   3. Third-party material must be reused with permission; the author should give the necessary attribution and demonstrate the permission.
   4. Any previous publication (e.g., conference paper, working paper) should be clearly revealed, with reference, and authors should make sure that the paper submitted to IJEP is a sufficiently novel contribution.

8. Post-Publication Discussion, Corrections & Retractions.
   1. IJEP can encourage post-publication debate (e.g., letters to the editor, comments) and can publish replies or editorial commentaries.
   2. In case of errors or inaccuracies being identified after publication, the editorial office should be notified by the authors or the readers concerned. According to the severity, the journal can issue:
      1. a correction (erratum),
      2. an editorial note (expression of concern), or
      3. a retraction (in case of serious violations of ethics or falsification).
   3. Retraction notices should be clear on the retraction reasons, and they should be connected to the original article. The reason that the original article has been retracted (not removed) should not be to the detriment of the scholarly record.

9. Safeguarding the Authenticity of the Academic Document.

1. IJEP journal will make reasonable efforts to identify and avert plagiarism, duplicity, citation manipulations, and other malpractices.
2. Plagiarism-check software can be used to screen manuscripts.
3. Over self-citation or citation metrics manipulation is not encouraged and can be subject to editorial review.
4. Even after publication, the journal has the right to reject or withdraw the manuscripts that breach ethical standards.

10. Duties of Reviewers
    1. The reviews given by reviewers should be confidential, timely, objective, and constructive.
    2. Reviewers should point out any ethical issues (e.g., plagiarism, overlap, data issues) that they come across to the editors.
    3. The reviewers are expected to reject review assignments when they do not qualify or when they have a conflict of interest.
    4. The review process and the manuscript should be treated as confidential information, and no part of the material should be divulged or used by the reviewer with any intention of personal gain.

11. Editorial responsibilities and the work of the Editors and Editorial Staff.
    1. The decisions made by editors must be done fairly and fairly and according to the scope and standards of the journal.
    2. The editors must ensure there is integrity in the published record by taking necessary actions, such as retractions or corrections, where necessary.
    3. Confidentiality of the manuscripts submitted ought to be maintained by the editors, as well as the identity of the reviewers.
    4. The editorial office ought to maintain proper records of each submission, review, revision, and correspondence, to facilitate the audit trails in case of controversies.
    5. The editorial board makeup, affiliations, and any conflict of interest need to be publicly stated in the journal.

12. Implementation & Review

1. IJEP shall review this Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement periodically (e.g., every 2–3 years) and update as needed.
2. The journal commits to continuing ethics training for editors, reviewers, and staff.
3. The journal will prominently publish this ethics statement (with a clear, accessible link on the homepage) and require authors, editors, and reviewers to adhere to it.