JSEC Editorial and Publication Policies

COPE Core Practices: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices

ICMJE Recommendations: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/

Policy Contents

1. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must reflect substantial intellectual contribution and accountability. JSEC applies the four ICMJE authorship criteria: substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data; drafting or critically revising the work; final approval of the version to be published; and agreement to be accountable for the integrity of the work.

• All listed authors must satisfy all authorship criteria and approve the submitted and final versions.
• Gift, guest, honorary, ghost, and coercive authorship are not permitted.
• Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be named in the Acknowledgments, with their permission.
• A CRediT contributor statement is required for research articles and is strongly encouraged for all other article types.
• Changes to authorship after submission require a written explanation and documented agreement from all affected authors. Requests after acceptance are considered only in exceptional circumstances.
• AI systems and AI-assisted technologies cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility or accountability.

ICMJE authorship criteria: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html

COPE authorship guidance: https://publicationethics.org/authorship

CRediT Contributor Role Taxonomy: https://credit.niso.org/

2. Peer Review

JSEC uses a double-blind peer-review model. Author and reviewer identities are concealed from one another during review. All primary research articles undergo external peer review.

• Initial editorial screening evaluates scope fit, originality, scholarly quality, ethical compliance, reporting completeness, and basic methodological soundness.
• Manuscripts that pass screening are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject experts; additional reviewers may be invited when specialist expertise is required.
• Reviewers provide evidence-based, constructive assessments. The Editor makes the final decision and is not bound by a numerical vote.
• Possible decisions are Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject.
• Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers or assessed editorially, depending on the nature of the revisions.
• Reviewer suggestions supplied by authors are advisory only. The journal independently selects reviewers and screens conflicts of interest.
• Manuscripts submitted by editors or editorial-board members are handled by an independent editor with no involvement from the submitting editor.

COPE peer review guidance: https://publicationethics.org/peerreview

COPE ethical guidelines for peer reviewers: https://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines/cope-ethical-guidelines-peer-reviewers

3. Confidentiality

Submitted manuscripts, associated files, correspondence, reviewer reports, and editorial deliberations are confidential and are treated as privileged scholarly communications.

• Editors and reviewers must not disclose, distribute, retain for personal use, or exploit unpublished information obtained through peer review.
• Reviewers may not share a manuscript with colleagues or trainees without prior editorial permission and must identify any person who contributed to the review.
• Editors and reviewers must not upload manuscript content to external AI systems or other third-party services when confidentiality, data retention, or training use cannot be assured, unless the journal has expressly approved the service and the author has provided any required permission.
• Information may be disclosed when necessary to investigate suspected misconduct, comply with law, or protect research participants or the public.
• Rejected manuscripts and review records are retained only for legitimate editorial, legal, audit, or integrity purposes in accordance with the publisher's retention practices.

ICMJE confidentiality and peer-review responsibilities: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/responsibilities-in-the-submission-and-peer-peview-process.html

4. Ethics and Malpractices

JSEC follows COPE Core Practices and expects research to comply with relevant institutional, national, and international standards. Authors must obtain all approvals, permissions, registrations, and informed consents required for the reported work.

• Human-subject research must state the approving ethics committee/institutional review board, approval identifier where available, and informed-consent arrangements.
• Animal research must report the approving body and demonstrate compliance with applicable welfare standards; ARRIVE reporting is encouraged where relevant.
• Clinical or prospective intervention studies should be registered in a recognized public registry before participant enrollment where registration standards apply.
• Research involving identifiable individuals requires appropriate consent for publication.
• Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, undisclosed duplicate publication, citation manipulation, peer-review manipulation, and misrepresentation of authorship are forms of misconduct.
• The journal may contact authors' institutions, funders, ethics bodies, or other journals when necessary to investigate credible concerns.

COPE Core Practices: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices

World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki: https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki/

ARRIVE Guidelines: https://arriveguidelines.org/

5. Data Sharing and Reproducibility

JSEC supports transparent and reproducible research. Every research article must include a Data Availability Statement, even when no new data were generated or when access is restricted.

• Authors should deposit data, code, protocols, models, trained parameters, and other materials necessary to verify the findings in an appropriate trusted repository whenever ethically and legally possible.
• Repository records should include persistent identifiers such as DOIs where available.
• Restrictions caused by privacy, confidentiality, national security, contractual obligations, commercial sensitivity, or third-party ownership must be explained clearly.
• Data and code underlying published claims must not be withheld solely to prevent scrutiny.
• Methods should report sufficient parameters, software versions, datasets, sampling procedures, validation strategies, and statistical methods to permit independent evaluation or replication.
• Editors or reviewers may request underlying data or analysis files when needed to evaluate the manuscript.

FAIR Principles: https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/

ICMJE recommendations on data sharing: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/clinical-trial-registration.html

6. Plagiarism, Duplicate Publication, and Manipulation of Data or Images

Plagiarism, text recycling that obscures prior publication, fabricated or falsified data, manipulated images, and duplicate or redundant publication are not permitted. Submissions may be screened using similarity-detection software such as iThenticate.

• Similarity reports are interpreted by editors; JSEC does not use a single percentage threshold as an automatic acceptance or rejection rule.
• All quotations, paraphrases, datasets, images, software, and reused material must be appropriately attributed and licensed where necessary.
• Image adjustments must be applied to the entire image and must not alter, obscure, add, remove, or misrepresent scientifically relevant information.
• Authors must retain original, unprocessed data and images and provide them to the journal upon reasonable request.
• Submitting substantially the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal is prohibited.
• Suspected manipulation, fabricated references, peer-review manipulation, or data falsification will be investigated using COPE-aligned procedures.

COPE plagiarism resources: https://publicationethics.org/plagiarism

COPE data and reproducibility resources: https://publicationethics.org/data

7. Corrections, Retractions, Expressions of Concern, and Research Misconduct

JSEC is committed to maintaining the reliability of the scholarly record. Post-publication changes are made transparently and are linked to the Version of Record.

• A correction may be issued when an error materially affects interpretation, indexing, attribution, or reproducibility but does not invalidate the central findings.
• An expression of concern may be issued when there are substantial unresolved doubts and an investigation is incomplete or inconclusive.
• A retraction may be issued when findings are unreliable because of major error or misconduct, when publication is redundant, when unethical research is identified, or when other conditions in recognized retraction guidance are met.
• Retraction notices will identify the article, explain the reason clearly, remain freely accessible, and preserve the scholarly record rather than silently deleting it.
• Content removal is reserved for exceptional legal or safety circumstances, such as unlawful content, serious privacy violations, or immediate substantial risk.
• Allegations are assessed fairly, confidentially, and without presuming misconduct before evidence is evaluated.

COPE retraction guidelines: https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines

COPE research misconduct resources: https://publicationethics.org/misconduct

ICMJE corrections and version control: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/corrections-and-version-control.html

8. Conflicts of Interest

All participants in publication must disclose relationships or activities that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their work or decisions.

• Authors must disclose relevant financial and non-financial interests, funding relationships, employment, consultancies, patents, personal relationships, and institutional interests.
• Reviewers must disclose potential conflicts before accepting a review and decline when impartial evaluation may be compromised.
• Editors must recuse themselves from manuscripts involving close collaborators, competitors, family members, their own institution where appropriate, or other material conflicts.
• Funding sources and the role of funders in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, and publication decisions must be stated.

ICMJE conflict-of-interest guidance: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/author-responsibilities--conflicts-of-interest.html

COPE competing interests: https://publicationethics.org/competinginterests

9. Acknowledgments

The Acknowledgments section should recognize individuals, facilities, organizations, or technical assistance that contributed to the work but did not meet authorship criteria. Authors must obtain permission from named individuals because acknowledgment may imply endorsement. Funding belongs in the dedicated Funding Statement rather than being used as a substitute for contributorship disclosure.

10. Fees

JSEC does not charge a fee for editorial screening or peer review. If an Article Processing Charge (APC) applies to an accepted article, the current amount, taxes if applicable, and waiver or discount arrangements are displayed transparently on the journal's Fees page before submission. Payment is requested only after acceptance and is administratively separated from editorial decision-making.

• Editors and reviewers do not receive decision-linked payments.
• Ability or inability to pay must not influence peer review or the editorial decision.
• No indexing, acceptance, citation, or publication outcome is guaranteed in exchange for payment.
• Authors are responsible for confirming the current fee schedule on the journal website before submission.

11. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Policy

JSEC recognizes that AI and AI-assisted technologies can support research and scholarly communication, but human authors, reviewers, editors, and publishers remain accountable for all decisions and published content. The policy is based on transparency, human responsibility, confidentiality, accuracy, attribution, and protection of the research record.

11.1 Authors

• AI systems cannot be listed as authors or co-authors and cannot be cited as the accountable source of scholarly claims.
• Authors must disclose substantive use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies in preparing the manuscript, including the tool or system used, the purpose, and the parts of the work affected. If AI is part of the research method, it must be described reproducibly in the Methods section.
• Ordinary spelling, reference-formatting, and non-generative grammar tools do not require a separate AI declaration unless they materially alter scholarly content.
• Authors are fully responsible for verifying facts, calculations, citations, quotations, code, analyses, translations, and any AI-assisted output. Fabricated or unverifiable references are unacceptable.
• AI must not be used to fabricate, falsify, selectively alter, or misrepresent data or results.
• AI-generated or AI-altered scientific images are not permitted when they could be mistaken for observed data. Such methods may be used when AI-based image generation or transformation is itself part of the research methodology, provided the process is fully disclosed, reproducible, and does not misrepresent evidence.
• Authors must not enter confidential participant information, proprietary data, unpublished third-party material, or other protected information into AI services without appropriate authorization and safeguards.

11.2 Required AI Declaration

When disclosure is required, authors should include a section titled 'Declaration of AI-Assisted Technology Use' before the References. The statement should identify the tool/system, purpose, and extent of use, and confirm that the authors reviewed and take responsibility for the final content. If no disclosure is required, the statement may read: 'The authors declare that no generative AI or AI-assisted technology requiring disclosure under the journal policy was used in the preparation of this manuscript.'

11.3 Reviewers and Editors

• Manuscripts and review materials are confidential. Reviewers and editors must not upload them, in whole or in part, to external AI services when confidentiality, retention, or model-training use cannot be assured.
• Use of an AI tool in peer review requires prior journal permission unless it is a journal-approved system operating under appropriate confidentiality protections.
• Any permitted AI assistance must be disclosed to the handling editor. The reviewer or editor remains solely responsible for the analysis, recommendation, and decision.
• AI output must not replace expert judgment, and automated tools must not make final editorial decisions.

11.4 Journal and Publisher Use

• If AI-assisted tools are used for production, screening, language processing, or other journal operations, the publisher remains responsible for accuracy, fairness, privacy, and appropriate human oversight.
• The journal will not represent AI-detection scores as proof of misconduct. Concerns are assessed using evidence and due process.
• Material non-disclosure or misuse of AI may lead to editorial action, including requests for clarification, correction, rejection, expression of concern, or retraction depending on severity and evidence.

ICMJE 2026 guidance on AI in publishing: https://icmje.org/recommendations/browse/artificial-intelligence/

ICMJE AI use by authors: https://icmje.org/recommendations/browse/artificial-intelligence/ai-use-by-authors.html

ICMJE AI use by reviewers: https://icmje.org/recommendations/browse/artificial-intelligence/ai-use-by-reviewers.html

ICMJE editors' role in responsible AI use: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/artificial-intelligence/ai-use-by-editors.html

12. Copyright and Open Access

JSEC is an open-access journal. Authors retain copyright in their work. Unless an article states otherwise, published articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

• Readers may share and adapt the work, including for commercial purposes, provided appropriate attribution is given, a link to the license is supplied, and changes are indicated.
• Authors are responsible for obtaining permission for third-party content not covered by the article's open license.
• License information will appear on the article landing page and in the Version of Record.

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

13. Digital Archiving and Sharing

JSEC supports long-term preservation and responsible self-archiving. The publisher uses recognized preservation and dissemination arrangements and will maintain journal content independently of changes to the journal website.

• Authors may self-archive the preprint, accepted manuscript, and published Version of Record in institutional or subject repositories, subject to proper citation and the applicable article license.
• Authors are encouraged to include the article DOI or permanent journal URL when depositing or sharing published work.
• All published articles and associated metadata are maintained through the journal’s OJS platform to support continued accessibility and dissemination.
• Authors may also deposit associated research data and supplementary materials in appropriate repositories and link them to the published article where applicable.

14. Advertising and Marketing

JSEC does not permit advertising, sponsorship, or marketing relationships to influence editorial decisions. Promotional communications must accurately represent the journal's scope, peer-review process, ownership, fees, and indexing status.

• Indexing or metric claims will be made only after they can be independently verified.
• The journal will not guarantee acceptance, rapid indexing, citations, or impact metrics.
• Editorial content is independent of commercial, sponsorship, or promotional considerations.
• If the journal accepts advertising in the future, a separate advertising policy will identify permitted categories and maintain clear visual separation from editorial content.

15. Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, and other stakeholders may submit complaints about editorial conduct, peer review, publication ethics, published content, or journal operations. Complaints should identify the article or matter concerned and provide supporting information.

• Complaints are acknowledged promptly and handled by a person who was not directly responsible for the disputed action whenever feasible.
• Editorial appeals must explain the specific factual or procedural basis for reconsideration; disagreement with reviewer opinion alone is not sufficient.
• Appeals do not guarantee re-review or reversal of a decision.
• The journal aims to provide a substantive response within 21 days when the matter does not require a longer external investigation.
• Complaints involving the Editor-in-Chief are escalated to the publisher or an independent senior editor.

COPE complaints and appeals: https://publicationethics.org/appeals

16. Journal Ownership and Revenue Sources

The Journal of Science and Engineering Convergence is published by KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology. Editorial decisions are made independently of the publisher's commercial or administrative interests.

• Publisher: KPR Institute of Engineering and Technology, Avinashi - Coimbatore Road, Arasur, Tamil Nadu 641407, India
• Publisher website: https://www.kpriet.ac.in/
• Revenue may include article processing charges, memberships, print subscriptions, institutional services, grants, and publisher support, where applicable.
• Revenue sources do not determine acceptance decisions, reviewer selection, editorial conclusions, or the content of published articles.

17. Reviewer Responsibilities

• Accept assignments only when the manuscript falls within the reviewer's competence and the review can be completed within the agreed period.
• Declare all financial, institutional, collaborative, personal, or intellectual conflicts before accepting the review.
• Decline when recent collaboration, direct competition, institutional relationships, or other circumstances could reasonably compromise impartiality.
• Treat the manuscript as confidential and do not use unpublished ideas, data, code, or methods for personal advantage.
• Provide specific, evidence-based, respectful, and constructive comments; personal, discriminatory, hostile, or defamatory language is unacceptable.
• Do not require citation of the reviewer's own work unless it is genuinely necessary for scholarly reasons.
• Identify suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data or image manipulation, citation manipulation, or ethical concerns confidentially to the editor.
• Do not contact authors directly about the manuscript.
• Do not use external generative AI systems on confidential manuscript content unless explicitly permitted under the journal's AI policy.
• Review recommendations are advisory; the editor is responsible for the final decision.

COPE ethical guidelines for peer reviewers: https://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines/cope-ethical-guidelines-peer-reviewers

18. Publisher Responsibilities

• Protect editorial independence and ensure that commercial, ownership, or financial interests do not interfere with editorial decisions.
• Maintain reliable journal infrastructure, metadata, DOI registration, accessibility, security, publication continuity, and long-term preservation arrangements.
• Publish clear information on ownership, governance, editorial board membership, contact details, peer review, fees, copyright, licensing, complaints, and ethics.
• Support the Editor-in-Chief and editorial board in handling allegations of misconduct and post-publication corrections in accordance with recognized guidance.
• Use appropriate screening and integrity tools while ensuring that automated systems do not substitute for human editorial judgment.
• Maintain accurate claims about indexing, metrics, partnerships, memberships, and archiving.
• Ensure accepted articles are processed and published in a timely and consistent manner.
• Protect personal data and confidential editorial information through appropriate administrative and technical safeguards.

COPE Core Practices: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices

19. Editorial Independence and Editor-Authored Papers

The Editor-in-Chief and editors have authority over editorial decisions based on scholarly merit, validity, originality, relevance to scope, ethical compliance, and the quality of peer review. The publisher does not direct acceptance or rejection of individual manuscripts.

• An editor who is an author, collaborator, supervisor, close colleague, or otherwise conflicted with a submission has no access to confidential review information beyond what is available to ordinary authors and takes no part in reviewer selection or decision-making.
• Such submissions are assigned to an independent editor and reviewed under the same criteria as all other submissions.
• Editorial-board membership, sponsorship, institutional affiliation, nationality, or ability to pay does not confer preferential treatment.

External Standards and Reference Links

COPE Core Practices: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices

ICMJE Recommendations: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/

ICMJE - AI in Publishing: https://icmje.org/recommendations/browse/artificial-intelligence/

CRediT: https://credit.niso.org/

Creative Commons CC BY 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

ARRIVE Guidelines: https://arriveguidelines.org/

Declaration of Helsinki: https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki/

FAIR Principles: https://www.go-fair.org/fair-principles/

Portico: https://www.portico.org/

Keepers Registry: https://keepers.issn.org/