1. Duties of Authors

• Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their manuscripts are original and appropriately acknowledge the ideas, data, quotations, and work of others. All sources must be cited accurately. Plagiarism is unacceptable.
• Original Submission and Duplicate Publication: Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal. Previous publication or substantial overlap with another work must be disclosed to the editor.
• Authorship and Contributorship: Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the research or manuscript. All listed authors must approve the final manuscript and agree to its submission. Other contributions should be acknowledged appropriately.
• Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose financial, professional, personal, or institutional relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their research.
• Research Integrity: Research findings must be presented accurately and transparently. Fabrication, falsification, and misleading manipulation of data are unacceptable.
• Research Ethics: Research involving human participants, personal data, or ethically sensitive materials must comply with applicable ethical requirements. Appropriate ethical approval and informed consent must be obtained where required and reported when applicable.
• Use of Artificial Intelligence: AI tools must not be listed as authors. Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of their manuscripts. Material use of AI in research or manuscript preparation should be disclosed in accordance with the journal's applicable guidelines.
• Corrections: Authors must promptly inform the editor if significant errors are discovered in their published work and cooperate in issuing corrections or retractions when necessary.

2. Duties of Editors

• Editorial Decisions: Editors make publication decisions based on scholarly quality, originality, relevance, methodological rigor, and compliance with publication ethics.
• Fair and Impartial Evaluation: Manuscripts must be evaluated on their scholarly merit without discrimination based on irrelevant personal characteristics or institutional affiliation.
• Confidentiality: Editors must protect the confidentiality of manuscripts and disclose information only to authorized individuals involved in the editorial process.
• Conflicts of Interest: Editors must disclose potential conflicts of interest and delegate manuscript handling when necessary to ensure impartiality.
• Peer-Review Integrity: Editors must ensure that the journal's double-blind peer-review process is conducted fairly and that reviewers have appropriate subject expertise.
• Handling Misconduct: Editors must respond appropriately to credible allegations of plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, authorship disputes, and other publication misconduct.
• Corrections and Retractions: Editors must assess concerns about published work and take appropriate action to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

3. Duties of Reviewers

• Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat manuscripts as confidential documents and must not use unpublished information for personal or professional advantage.
• Objectivity: Reviews must be professional, constructive, and supported by clear academic arguments.
• Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited and inform the editor of substantial similarities with other works.
• Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers must disclose actual or potential conflicts and decline assignments when impartiality may be compromised.
• Timeliness: Reviewers should complete reviews within the agreed timeframe or promptly inform the editor if they cannot do so.
• Research Integrity: Reviewers should alert the editor to credible concerns about research ethics, data integrity, authorship, or publication misconduct.

4. Publisher's Responsibilities

• Ethical Publishing Practices: The publisher is expected to support transparent, fair, and responsible publishing practices.
• Editorial Independence: Publication decisions must be based on scholarly merit and established editorial policies, without improper commercial or institutional influence.
• Support for Investigations: The publisher should support the editorial team in investigating credible allegations of misconduct and implementing appropriate corrective measures.
• Scholarly Record: The publisher should cooperate with the editorial team to ensure that corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions are handled transparently.

5. Handling Allegations of Publication Misconduct

LANGSFERA takes allegations of publication misconduct seriously. Concerns may be reported to the editorial team by authors, reviewers, readers, or other relevant parties.

The editorial team will assess the information available and determine whether further investigation is warranted. Relevant parties may be contacted and given an opportunity to provide explanations or supporting evidence. Allegations will be handled as confidentially as reasonably possible.

Depending on the nature and severity of the issue, appropriate actions may include requesting clarification, requiring corrections, rejecting a manuscript, issuing an expression of concern, retracting a published article, or taking other measures consistent with publication ethics principles and applicable guidance.

6. Complaints and Appeals

Authors may submit a reasoned appeal against an editorial decision or lodge a complaint concerning the journal's editorial procedures. Appeals and complaints should be submitted through the journal's official contact channels, with a clear explanation and relevant supporting evidence.

The journal will consider complaints and appeals fairly and impartially. Where appropriate, the matter may be assigned to an editor who was not involved in the original decision. An appeal does not guarantee that the original decision will be changed.

7. Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

LANGSFERA is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record. When significant errors or credible concerns arise after publication, the editorial team will assess the available evidence and determine the appropriate response.

A correction may be issued when an error can be rectified without invalidating the main findings or conclusions. An expression of concern may be published when a substantial issue remains under investigation. Retraction may be considered when findings are unreliable due to serious error or misconduct, or when other circumstances warrant correction of the scholarly record.

Corrective actions will be documented transparently and handled in accordance with applicable publication ethics guidance.

8. Ethical Compliance and Reporting Misconduct

All authors, editors, reviewers, and other contributors are expected to familiarize themselves with this policy and comply with the journal's ethical standards. Suspected violations should be reported to the editorial team through the journal's official contact channels.

LANGSFERA is committed to addressing ethical concerns responsibly, protecting the integrity of scholarly communication, and promoting trust among authors, reviewers, editors, readers, and the academic community.