Publication Ethics and Malpractice

The Davao Research Journal (DRJ) and its publisher, the Davao Oriental State University (DOrSU), strive to uphold the highest standards of publication ethics, research integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly communication. The journal adheres to internationally recognized ethical publishing principles and follows the best practices and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and other recognized scholarly publishing standards. The Editorial Board, Board of Reviewers, authors, and Journal Publication Unit staff are dedicated to fully adhering to the following publication ethics and malpractice policies:

A. PUBLICATION AND RESEARCH MALPRACTICE POLICIES

I. Publication Credit: Authorship credit must be given only to researcher(s) who genuinely completed the work or made a substantial intellectual contribution to it. Primary authorship and publishing credits must fairly reflect each researcher???s distinct scientific or professional achievements, regardless of academic rank or administrative position. Possession of an official institutional title (e.g., department head or unit leader) does not automatically entitle an individual to authorship credit. In faculty???student research collaborations, a student is acknowledged as the lead author on any multi-authored work primarily derived from their thesis or dissertation. Faculty advisors and students should agree on publication credit early in the research process, and an authorship and contribution statement must be confirmed by all co-authors upon submission.

II. Redundant and Duplicate Publication: Researchers must not submit or publish previously published data or findings as new original work. Submitting a manuscript that repeats identical hypotheses, datasets, figures, discussions, or conclusions from an already published paper constitutes redundant or duplicate publication and is treated as a serious breach of publication ethics. All submitted manuscripts undergo similarity and originality screening, and authors are required to attest to the originality of their work.

III. Simultaneous Submission: Authors must not submit manuscripts describing essentially the same research to more than one journal or primary publication simultaneously. Upon submission to DRJ, authors must confirm that the manuscript is original and is not currently under consideration, review, or press at any other scientific journal. Simultaneous submission is regarded as an unethical publishing practice and is grounds for immediate rejection or removal.

IV. Appropriate Citation and Self-Citation: Authors must cite only relevant scholarly works that directly inform the reported study. Excessive or irrelevant self-citation intended to artificially inflate citation metrics is considered unethical. Self-citations are permissible only when the current study directly builds upon or extends the authors??? prior published research, and must remain strictly relevant to the scope of the manuscript.

V. Data Integrity, Fabrication, and Sharing for Verification: Authors are responsible for ensuring that all reported data, statistical analyses, images, and findings are accurate, authentic, and honestly presented. DRJ maintains zero tolerance for data fabrication, data falsification, or deceptive image/figure manipulation. After publication, authors should be prepared to make anonymized underlying data available to qualified researchers or the Editorial Board for verification and reproducibility, provided participant confidentiality and legal/ethical protections are maintained.

B. AUTHORSHIP AND AUTHOR RESPONSIBILITIES

I. Reporting Standards: Authors of original research reports must present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data must be represented accurately in the manuscript, and sufficient methodological detail and references must be provided to permit replication. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

II. Originality and Plagiarism Policy: Authors must ensure that they have written entirely original works, and where the work and/or words of others have been used, that this has been appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism in all its forms???including unattributed copying, self-plagiarism, and improper paraphrasing???constitutes unethical publishing behavior. All submissions undergo plagiarism and similarity screening prior to peer review and publication. As a general standard, manuscripts must maintain an overall similarity index of 15%-20% or below (excluding properly cited bibliography and standard institutional affiliations).

III. Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately (as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties) must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source.

IV. Authorship of the Manuscript and CRediT Contributions: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made substantial contributions should be listed as co-authors, with their specific roles stated in the Author Contributions section (consistent with the CRediT taxonomy). Individuals who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the project should be recognized in the Acknowledgments section.

V. Responsibilities of the Corresponding Author: The corresponding author must ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the manuscript, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication. Any request to add, remove, or rearrange authors after submission requires written confirmation from all listed authors.

VI. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest and Funding: All authors must disclose in their manuscript any financial, institutional, personal, or professional conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project must be explicitly disclosed in the Funding section.

VII. Fundamental Errors in Published Works (Corrections and Retractions): When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is the author???s obligation to promptly notify the Editor-in-Chief or Publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper in the form of an erratum, corrigendum, or retraction notice in accordance with COPE Retraction Guidelines.

VIII. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Use and Ethical Compliance: Authors may use AI-assisted tools for language editing, reference searching, coding assistance, data organization, and preparation of conceptual diagrams, provided such use is transparently disclosed in the manuscript (including the name of the tool and its purpose). AI systems or generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. The use of AI technologies for fabricating or falsifying data, manipulating scientific images/results, generating fraudulent peer reviews, or plagiarism/ghostwriting is strictly prohibited.

C. PEER REVIEW AND EDITORIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

C.1 Editor Responsibilities

I. Publication Decisions and Accountability: The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board of the Davao Research Journal are responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published, based on the validation of the work in question, its scholarly importance, originality, methodological rigor, and relevance to the journal???s scope. The Editor may be guided by the policies of the journal???s Editorial Board and constrained by legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.

II. Fair Play and Non-Discrimination: Editors evaluate manuscripts solely for their intellectual and scientific content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, institutional affiliation, or political philosophy of the authors.

III. Confidentiality: The Editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

IV. Disclosure, Conflicts of Interest, and Editorial Independence: Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor???s own research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Editors must recuse themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers, and instead assign the manuscript to another qualified member of the Editorial Board. Editorial decisions remain strictly independent of commercial or financial considerations.

V. Complaints, Appeals, and Cooperation in Misconduct Investigations: An editor should take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper, in conjunction with the publisher. Such measures will generally include contacting the author of the manuscript or paper and giving due consideration of the respective complaint or claims made, and may also include further communications to the relevant institutions and research bodies. If the complaint is upheld, the publication of a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other note as may be relevant will be executed in accordance with COPE guidelines.

C.2 Reviewer Responsibilities

I. Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Double-blind peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper.

II. Promptness and Competence: Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse themselves from the review process so that alternative reviewers can be contacted promptly.

III. Confidentiality: Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

IV. Standards of Objectivity and Prohibition of Unsecured AI Upload: Reviews must be conducted objectively, fairly, and constructively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments. Reviewers must not upload unpublished manuscripts, figures, or data into public or unsecured generative AI platforms, nor use AI tools to write peer review evaluations on their behalf.

V. Acknowledgment of Sources and Misconduct Alerting: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. A reviewer should also call to the editor???s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge, as well as any suspected data fabrication or ethical violations.

VI. Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

D. RESEARCH INVOLVING HUMAN SUBJECTS, ANIMALS, AND THE ENVIRONMENT

I. Human Subjects and Informed Consent: Research involving human participants must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and applicable national or institutional ethical guidelines. Authors must state in the manuscript that the protocol was approved by an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Review Committee (providing reference numbers where applicable) and confirm that prior informed consent was obtained from all participants or legal guardians, ensuring participant anonymity and privacy.

II. Animal Welfare: Studies involving animals must comply with international standards for the ethical treatment of animals, including the ARRIVE Guidelines and OECD Principles, and must state institutional ethical clearance and measures taken to minimize animal distress.

III. Environmental and Indigenous Community Responsibility: Research involving biodiversity, coastal/marine ecosystems, indigenous peoples, and vulnerable communities must demonstrate compliance with relevant statutory permits (e.g., DENR, DA-BFAR, NCIP Prior Informed Consent) and sustainable, socially responsible field practices.

E. LICENSING AND COPYRIGHT

I. Open Access and Creative Commons Licensing: The Davao Research Journal operates under a Diamond Open Access model (no submission or Article Processing Charges) and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). Users are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles for non-commercial scholarly purposes, provided proper attribution is given to the author(s) and the journal.

II. Copyright Terms: Authors who publish in the Davao Research Journal accept the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the Davao Research Journal the right of first publication.
2. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post and self-archive their published work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or academic profiles) with complete citation and DOI link to the official version of record published in DRJ.