Publication Ethics

1. General Statement

International Journal of Linguasphere (LINGUASPHERE), published by Universitas Negeri Surabaya (UNESA), Indonesia, is committed to maintaining the integrity, transparency, fairness, and academic quality of scholarly publishing.

The journal's publication ethics policy is guided by the principles and core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). These principles apply to authors, editors, reviewers, and all parties involved in the publication process.

LINGUASPHERE implements a double-blind peer-review process and evaluates manuscripts on the basis of scholarly merit, originality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal's aims and scope.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must submit original scholarly work and appropriately acknowledge the ideas, findings, data, and expressions of others.

Plagiarism, including unattributed copying, inappropriate paraphrasing, and the misrepresentation of another person's work as one's own, is unacceptable.

Authors must also disclose substantial reuse of their previously published material. Similarity reports may support editorial assessment, but similarity percentages alone do not establish whether plagiarism has occurred.

Multiple and Redundant Publication

Manuscripts submitted to LINGUASPHERE must not be under consideration by another journal or have been published elsewhere in substantially the same form.

Any legitimate relationship to previously disseminated material, including preprints, conference papers, or earlier publications, must be disclosed to the editorial team.

Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must reflect substantial intellectual contributions to the research and manuscript.

All listed authors must approve the submitted manuscript, agree to its submission, and accept responsibility for their respective contributions.

Individuals who provide assistance without meeting authorship requirements should be appropriately acknowledged.

Changes to authorship during the editorial process must be supported by a clear explanation and agreement among the relevant contributors.

Accuracy and Research Integrity

Authors are responsible for the accuracy, authenticity, and integrity of the information presented in their manuscripts.

Fabrication, falsification, selective misrepresentation of research findings, and manipulation of data or research materials are prohibited.

Authors are expected to retain relevant research records and provide reasonable clarification or supporting documentation when ethical or methodological concerns arise.

Ethical Approval and Informed Consent

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable institutional and ethical requirements.

When appropriate, authors must report ethical approval, informed consent, procedures for protecting participants, and safeguards for confidentiality and personal data.

Research involving children, vulnerable populations, sensitive information, or identifiable linguistic data requires particular attention to ethical protection.

When formal ethical review is not required, authors should explain the applicable ethical framework if requested by the editors.

Conflicts of Interest and Funding

Authors must disclose financial, institutional, professional, or personal relationships that could reasonably influence the interpretation or reporting of their research.

Sources of research funding and the roles of funders should be acknowledged where applicable.

3. Responsibilities of Editors

Editorial Independence and Fairness

Editors must evaluate manuscripts on the basis of their academic quality, relevance, originality, and ethical integrity.

Editorial decisions must not be influenced by an author's nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, personal relationships, or other irrelevant considerations.

Editors must preserve editorial independence and avoid inappropriate influence from commercial, institutional, or personal interests.

Confidentiality

Editors must treat submitted manuscripts and associated correspondence as confidential.

Unpublished material must not be disclosed or used for personal research or other purposes without appropriate authorization.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors must disclose potential conflicts of interest and withdraw from handling manuscripts when their impartiality may reasonably be compromised.

Manuscripts involving editors or members of the editorial board must be handled through an independent editorial process.

Editorial Decisions

The responsible editor makes publication decisions by considering reviewer assessments, journal policies, methodological quality, originality, and scholarly contribution.

Reviewer recommendations inform editorial judgment but do not automatically determine the final decision.

Editors must respond appropriately to credible allegations of research or publication misconduct.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Objectivity and Constructive Evaluation

Reviewers must provide objective, evidence-based, respectful, and constructive evaluations.

Review reports should identify scholarly strengths, methodological limitations, and areas requiring clarification or improvement.

Personal criticism or discriminatory comments are unacceptable.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts assigned for review are confidential scholarly documents.

Reviewers must not share, distribute, reproduce, or use unpublished manuscript content for personal or professional advantage.

Competence and Timeliness

Reviewers should accept review invitations only when they have appropriate expertise and sufficient time to undertake a responsible assessment.

Reviewers should inform the editor if they cannot complete the evaluation within the agreed period.

Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must disclose relationships or interests that could compromise independent assessment.

When a significant conflict exists, reviewers should decline the assignment or seek guidance from the responsible editor.

Recognition of Sources

Reviewers should identify important relevant literature that has been overlooked and notify the editor of suspected plagiarism, substantial overlap, or other potential ethical problems.

5. Use of Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence tools, including generative AI systems and large language models, cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for scholarly work.

Authors remain fully accountable for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and legal compliance of all manuscript content, including content developed with AI assistance.

The substantive use of AI tools in drafting, generating or modifying research materials, analyzing data, producing images, or preparing manuscript content must be disclosed transparently, including the purpose of use and the tools employed.

Editors and reviewers must protect manuscript confidentiality and must not upload confidential submitted manuscripts or identifiable research data to external AI systems without appropriate authorization and safeguards.

AI-generated references, factual claims, quotations, or research findings must be independently verified by the authors.

6. Data Availability and Research Transparency

Authors should describe research procedures and analytical methods sufficiently to support scholarly evaluation.

Where appropriate and ethically permissible, authors are encouraged to make relevant research data, instruments, or supporting materials available.

Restrictions arising from informed consent, participant confidentiality, privacy, intellectual property, or other ethical obligations must be respected.

Editors may request clarification concerning data availability, methodological procedures, or the reproducibility of reported findings.

7. Handling Allegations of Misconduct

LINGUASPHERE takes credible allegations of publication or research misconduct seriously, whether raised before or after publication.

Concerns may involve plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, manipulated peer review, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or other serious breaches of research integrity.

The editorial team will assess available information, seek clarification from relevant parties where appropriate, and consider applicable COPE guidance.

Depending on the circumstances and evidence, editorial responses may include requests for clarification, additional review, rejection of a manuscript, correction of the published record, or retraction.

The journal may communicate with relevant institutions when necessary and appropriate.

8. Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

LINGUASPHERE recognizes its responsibility to maintain the accuracy and reliability of the scholarly record.

When a published article contains an error that does not invalidate its principal findings, a correction may be issued.

An expression of concern may be published when substantial questions about the integrity or reliability of an article remain unresolved.

Retraction may be considered when serious errors, unreliable findings, research misconduct, or significant publication irregularities undermine confidence in an article.

Corrections, expressions of concern, and retraction notices should clearly identify the affected publication and explain the reason for the editorial action.

9. Complaints and Appeals

Authors and other stakeholders may raise concerns regarding editorial procedures, publication ethics, peer-review conduct, or editorial decisions.

Complaints and appeals should be submitted through the journal's official contact channels and supported by relevant information.

The editorial team will consider complaints fairly and seek to ensure that concerns involving a potentially conflicted editor are assessed independently.

An appeal does not guarantee reversal of an editorial decision.

10. Copyright, Licensing, and Intellectual Property

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts respect the intellectual property rights of others.

Permission must be obtained when required for the reproduction or adaptation of copyrighted materials.

Copyright ownership, publication licenses, author rights, and conditions for reuse are governed by the journal's applicable copyright and licensing policies.

Authors and readers should consult the journal's official policy pages for the specific terms associated with publication and reuse.

11. Commitment to Ethical Publishing

LINGUASPHERE is committed to continuous improvement in editorial governance, research integrity, peer-review quality, and publication transparency.

All participants in the publication process are expected to act responsibly and cooperate in resolving legitimate ethical concerns.

This policy is informed by the core practices and relevant guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Reference: Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): https://publicationethics.org/