Publication Ethics

The Journal of Statistical Models and Methods (JSMM) is committed to maintaining high standards of integrity, transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct in scholarly publishing. The journal follows the principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and recognized best practices in scholarly publishing. Authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher are expected to uphold these standards throughout the submission, peer-review, and publication processes.

1. Originality, Authorship, and Contributorship

All manuscripts submitted to JSMM must be original, must not have been previously published, and must not be simultaneously under consideration by another journal. Authors are responsible for presenting an accurate and honest account of their research and for appropriately acknowledging all sources and contributions.

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the work and who accept responsibility for the published content.
All listed authors must approve the submitted manuscript and agree to its submission to JSMM.
Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.
Author contributions should be described using the CRediT taxonomy, where applicable.

Plagiarism, unattributed text reuse, inappropriate duplication, redundant publication, and other forms of unethical publication practice are not permitted.

2. Plagiarism and Similarity Screening

All manuscripts submitted to JSMM are screened for plagiarism and textual similarity using Crossref Similarity Check/iThenticate before peer review. Manuscripts exceeding 20% overall similarity or 5% similarity from a single source, excluding the reference list, are rejected during the initial editorial screening.

The editorial team also evaluates the nature and source of the detected overlap. A manuscript may therefore be rejected for plagiarism or inappropriate textual reuse even when the reported similarity percentages are below these thresholds.

If serious misconduct is identified after publication, appropriate action will be taken in accordance with the journal’s publication ethics policy and relevant COPE guidelines, including correction or retraction where appropriate.

3. Fabrication, Falsification, and Image Manipulation

Fabrication or falsification of data, results, images, or other research records is prohibited. Authors must not manipulate data or images in a manner that could misrepresent, obscure, enhance, or remove information relevant to the interpretation of the research.

Where image processing or adjustment is scientifically necessary, it should be applied appropriately and consistently and should not alter the meaning of the original information. Authors should describe material image processing or manipulation when relevant.

If concerns regarding fabricated, falsified, or manipulated data or images arise, the journal may request original data, images, analyses, or other supporting materials and will take appropriate action in accordance with publication-ethics procedures.

4. Peer Review and Confidentiality

JSMM follows a single-blind peer-review model in which reviewers are aware of the authors’ identities, while reviewers remain anonymous to the authors.

All submissions undergo initial editorial screening for scope, originality, ethical compliance, and suitability for peer review.
Manuscripts proceeding to peer review are evaluated by at least two independent external expert reviewers with relevant subject expertise.
Reviews must be objective, constructive, fair, confidential, and based on scientific merit, methodological soundness, clarity, and relevance.
Reviewers must disclose potential conflicts of interest and decline a review when impartial evaluation cannot be assured.
The assigned editor evaluates the reviewers’ reports and provides an editorial recommendation. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the final editorial decision.

Submitted manuscripts and associated materials are confidential and must not be shared, used, or disclosed for purposes unrelated to the review and editorial process.

Further details are provided in the journal’s Peer Review Process.

5. Duplicate Submission and Redundant Publication

A manuscript must not be submitted to another journal while it is under consideration by JSMM. Authors must withdraw a manuscript from JSMM before submitting it elsewhere.

Authors must disclose and appropriately cite closely related manuscripts, preprints, or publications that overlap substantially with the submitted work and clearly explain the relationship between the works. Publication of substantially the same research in more than one journal without appropriate disclosure, justification, and cross-referencing is not permitted.

6. Data Integrity, Availability, and Reproducibility

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the data, analyses, and results reported in their manuscripts. A Data Availability Statement should be included in all manuscripts.

Authors are encouraged to make data, code, and supplementary materials openly available when legally, ethically, and practically possible. Where sharing is restricted because of privacy, confidentiality, ethical, legal, commercial, or other legitimate constraints, the Data Availability Statement should explain the conditions governing access.

Editors may request underlying data, code, or supporting materials when necessary to evaluate the integrity, reproducibility, or validity of the work.

7. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived to influence the research, peer review, or editorial decision-making.

Authors must provide a Conflict of Interest Statement. If no conflicts exist, they should state: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”
Authors must disclose the role of funders, where applicable, in study design; data collection, analysis, or interpretation; manuscript preparation; and the decision to submit the work for publication.
Reviewers must disclose any potential conflict to the editor and decline the review when the conflict could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, their impartiality.
Editors must recuse themselves from manuscripts where a conflict exists and ensure reassignment to an appropriate editor.

Potential conflicts may include recent or ongoing collaboration with an author, shared or recent institutional affiliation, close personal or professional relationships, direct academic competition, or any circumstance that may prevent objective assessment.

8. Editors, Editorial Board Members, and Reviewers as Authors

Editorial status does not influence the evaluation of a manuscript. Submissions authored or co-authored by the Editor-in-Chief, editors, Editorial Board members, or other individuals involved in the journal’s editorial process are subject to the same peer-review and editorial standards as all other submissions.

Any editor who is an author of, has contributed to, or has a conflict of interest with a manuscript must have no involvement in reviewer selection, peer review, editorial recommendation, or the final decision. Such manuscripts will be reassigned to an appropriate editor with no relevant conflict of interest.

9. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automated Tools

JSMM supports transparent and responsible use of artificial intelligence and automated tools in scholarly publishing.

Authors must disclose substantive use of generative AI or automated content-generation tools in manuscript preparation beyond routine language correction, editing, spelling, grammar, or formatting. The disclosure should identify the tool and the purpose for which it was used.
Authors remain fully responsible for checking the validity, accuracy, originality, integrity, and appropriate attribution of all content produced or assisted by automated tools.
AI and automated tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors, and generative AI should not be cited as a source.
Reviewers and editors must protect manuscript confidentiality and should not upload unpublished manuscripts, figures, tables, data, or other confidential material to publicly accessible generative AI systems.
Reviewers and editors should not use generative AI to create peer-review assessments or editorial decisions. Responsibility for reviews and decisions remains with the individuals assigned to those roles.
Any routine use of automated tools by the journal, including similarity-detection tools, is subject to human oversight and does not independently determine editorial decisions.

10. Ethical Oversight of Research

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their research complies with applicable ethical, institutional, and legal requirements. Where a study involves human participants, personal or sensitive data, surveys, experiments involving individuals, or animal research, authors must obtain appropriate ethical approval and informed consent where required. Relevant approval or exemption information should be clearly stated in the manuscript. The journal may request supporting documentation when necessary.

11. Copyright, Licensing, and Intellectual Property

In JSMM, authors retain the copyright to their published articles. All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, allowing anyone to freely access, download, read, share, and reuse the published content. The material may also be adapted and redistributed, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and the original published version is properly cited. This licensing supports the broad dissemination and visibility of published research while ensuring appropriate recognition of the authors’ work.

12. Corrections, Retractions, Expressions of Concern, and the Scholarly Record

JSMM is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record. When significant errors, ethical concerns, or misconduct are identified after publication, the journal will consider appropriate post-publication action in accordance with relevant COPE guidance.

Corrections may be issued when errors affect the accuracy, interpretation, or completeness of a published article but do not invalidate the work as a whole.
Retractions may be issued when findings are unreliable because of major error or misconduct, when plagiarism or redundant publication is confirmed, or when other serious ethical violations undermine the validity or integrity of the article.
Expressions of concern may be published when serious concerns require investigation and a definitive conclusion is not yet available.

Correction, retraction, and expression-of-concern notices will be clearly identified, permanently accessible, and linked to the original article. Retracted articles will normally remain part of the scholarly record and will be clearly marked as retracted rather than removed, except in exceptional circumstances involving legal, privacy, or safety considerations.

13. Complaints and Appeals

JSMM provides authors, reviewers, readers, and other stakeholders with a fair and transparent mechanism for raising complaints and appealing editorial decisions.

Appeals must identify a significant scientific or procedural concern and provide a clear, evidence-based justification. Disagreement with an editorial decision alone is not sufficient grounds for an appeal. Only one appeal per manuscript is permitted. Appeals are assessed by the Editor-in-Chief and, where appropriate, by an editor or subject expert who was not involved in the original decision.

Complaints concerning editorial conduct, peer review, publication ethics, or journal procedures will be handled objectively and confidentially. A complaint concerning the Editor-in-Chief will be referred to the publisher or an appropriate senior editor who was not involved in the matter.

14. Sanctions and Responses to Ethical Violations

Where a breach of publication ethics is established, the journal will take action proportionate to the nature and severity of the issue. Actions may include:

A request for clarification, correction, or supporting documentation.
A formal warning.
Rejection of a submitted manuscript.
Restrictions on future submissions or reviewing activities where justified.
Correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other appropriate post-publication action.
Notification of relevant institutions, funders, or other appropriate bodies when warranted.

Actions will not be imposed solely on the basis of an allegation. Concerns will be assessed and, where appropriate, investigated before a determination is made.

Publisher’s Note

The views, opinions, data, and conclusions expressed in published articles are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of AdvantaCore for Scientific Publishing LLC, the journal, or its editors. The publisher and editors are not responsible for any injury, loss, or damage resulting from the application of ideas, methods, instructions, or products described in published content.