SJARD is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. This statement is informed by the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Duties of authors
- Originality: manuscripts must be the authors’ own original work, not previously published and not under consideration elsewhere. SJARD has zero tolerance for plagiarism.
- Authorship: all listed authors must have made a significant contribution and approved the final manuscript. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors are aware of and approve the contents of the submitted manuscript.
- Data and reporting: results must be reported honestly and without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate manipulation. Authors should retain raw data and make it available to editors on request.
- Permissions: obtain permission for all borrowed, adapted or modified tables and figures, and give a credit line.
- Disclosure: all sources of funding and any competing interests must be declared.
- Ethical approval: research involving human participants or animals must have appropriate ethical approval and informed consent.
- Errors: authors who discover a significant error in their published work must promptly notify the editor.
Duties of reviewers
- Treat manuscripts as confidential documents and do not use unpublished information for personal advantage.
- Provide objective, constructive and timely reviews, and decline if unqualified or unable to meet the deadline.
- Declare any conflict of interest and decline to review where one exists.
- Alert the editor to any suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication or other misconduct.
Duties of editors
- Evaluate manuscripts solely on their academic merit, without regard to authors’ race, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality or institutional affiliation.
- Maintain the confidentiality of submissions and the anonymity of reviewers.
- Recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest.
- Investigate allegations of misconduct and, where necessary, publish corrections, expressions of concern or retractions.
Handling misconduct
Suspected misconduct is investigated following COPE guidance. Outcomes may include rejection of the manuscript, publication of a correction or retraction, and notification of the authors’ institutions.
Last updated 27 September 2026