Publication Ethics

Journal of Computer Science and Informatics Engineering (CoSIE) is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics and research integrity. CoSIE follows the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and relevant international best practices for scholarly publishing.

All participants in the publication process, including editors, reviewers, authors, and the publisher, are expected to uphold honesty, transparency, fairness, confidentiality, and accountability.

Authors submitting manuscripts to CoSIE must ensure that their work is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration by another journal. CoSIE does not tolerate plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, or other forms of publication misconduct.

1. Duties of Editors

Editorial Decision

The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the final decision on manuscript acceptance, revision, or rejection. Decisions are based on academic merit, originality, relevance to the journal's scope, peer-review reports, and applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Initial Screening and Peer Review

Editors assess manuscripts for scope, quality, completeness, and compliance with journal requirements. Manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism-detection tools before being sent to at least two independent reviewers under a double-blind peer-review process.

Confidentiality

Editors must protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and editorial communications. Information may only be shared with individuals authorized to participate in the editorial process, except where disclosure is required for legitimate ethical or legal reasons.

Fair and Impartial Evaluation

Manuscripts are evaluated on scholarly merit without discrimination based on authors' personal characteristics, nationality, institutional affiliation, or beliefs unrelated to the academic assessment.

Conflict of Interest

Editors must disclose potential conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from handling manuscripts when their impartiality may reasonably be questioned. An alternative editor will be assigned when necessary.

Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions must be based on academic and ethical considerations. Commercial interests, sponsorship, institutional pressure, or personal relationships must not improperly influence editorial decisions.

2. Duties of Reviewers

Timeliness

Reviewers should complete reviews within the agreed timeframe. If they cannot provide a timely review or lack the required expertise, they should promptly inform the editor.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents and must not be shared, reproduced, or used for personal advantage without authorization.

Objectivity and Constructive Feedback

Reviews must be objective, evidence-based, and professionally expressed. Comments should explain the reviewer's assessment and provide constructive recommendations.

Conflict of Interest

Reviewers must disclose financial, professional, institutional, personal, or collaborative relationships that could affect impartiality and decline assignments when a conflict cannot be appropriately managed.

Research Integrity

Reviewers should alert the editor to suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, inconsistent data, inappropriate citations, or other possible research-integrity concerns.

Responsible Use of AI

Reviewers must protect manuscript confidentiality when using digital or AI-assisted tools and must not upload confidential manuscript content to external AI systems where confidentiality and data protection cannot be assured.

3. Duties of Authors

Reporting Standards

Authors must present methods, data, analyses, and results accurately and transparently, with sufficient detail to support critical assessment and, where applicable, replication.

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that submissions are original and that sources, ideas, quotations, data, figures, and materials originating from others are appropriately acknowledged.

Authorship and Contributions

Authorship should be limited to individuals who made substantial scholarly contributions. All listed authors must approve the final version and agree to its submission. Other contributors should be acknowledged appropriately.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose financial and non-financial interests, affiliations, funding sources, or relationships that could influence or appear to influence their research.

Exclusive Submission

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to multiple journals. Previous publication of substantially the same work must be disclosed and must comply with the journal's policies.

Data Availability and Integrity

Authors must maintain accurate research records and provide relevant supporting data or materials when reasonably requested, subject to legal, privacy, confidentiality, and ethical restrictions. Fabrication and falsification are prohibited.

4. Plagiarism and Similarity Assessment

CoSIE strictly prohibits plagiarism, inappropriate text recycling, duplicate publication, and other forms of publication misconduct. All submitted manuscripts are screened using plagiarism-detection software as part of the editorial process.

Similarity percentages are used as screening indicators and are not the sole basis for determining plagiarism or making editorial decisions. Editors assess the sources, context, location, extent, distribution, and attribution of overlapping material, including similarities arising from quotations, references, standard terminology, and methodological descriptions.

Where concerns arise, the editorial team may request clarification or revision, conduct further investigation, or reject the manuscript, depending on the evidence and seriousness of the case. Confirmed serious misconduct may result in rejection or, for published articles, appropriate post-publication action, including correction, expression of concern, or retraction. These matters are handled in accordance with CoSIE's Plagiarism Policy and applicable publication ethics guidance.

5. Research Ethics and Informed Consent

Authors conducting research involving human participants, personal data, identifiable information, or animals must comply with applicable ethical standards and institutional and legal requirements. Where applicable, authors must obtain approval from a competent research ethics committee and report approval details in the manuscript. Informed consent must be obtained when required. Authors must protect participant privacy and confidentiality. Editors may request documentation when necessary to assess compliance.

6. Research Misconduct

Research and publication misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

Plagiarism and unattributed reuse of published or unpublished work.
Fabrication or falsification of data, images, methods, or results.
Duplicate or redundant publication and simultaneous submission.
Improper authorship, including guest, gift, or ghost authorship.
Undisclosed conflicts of interest or misleading funding statements.
Manipulation of peer review, citation manipulation, or other deceptive practices.

When a concern is raised, the editorial team will assess the available evidence and may request an explanation or supporting documentation from the authors. Where appropriate, the journal may seek clarification from relevant institutions or responsible bodies. The process will be conducted fairly, confidentially, and proportionately. Possible actions include requesting clarification, suspending editorial processing, rejecting the manuscript, publishing a correction or expression of concern, retracting an article, or notifying relevant institutions when justified.

7. Complaints and Appeals

Authors may appeal an editorial decision when they have substantive grounds, such as a factual error in the assessment, a significant misunderstanding of the manuscript, or a procedural irregularity. Appeals should identify the decision being challenged and provide specific supporting evidence.

Complaints concerning editorial conduct, peer review, publication ethics, or journal procedures may be submitted to the CoSIE editorial team through the journal's official contact channels.

Appeals and complaints will be assessed fairly, impartially, and confidentially by the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriate editor who was not directly involved in the matter, where feasible. The journal may request additional information, conduct further assessment, or take appropriate corrective action. Submission of an appeal does not guarantee reversal of the original decision or acceptance of a manuscript.

For complaints or appeals, please use the official CoSIE Contact page.

8. Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

CoSIE is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record after publication.

Corrections: A correction may be published when a verified error affects the accuracy, clarity, or integrity of an article but does not justify retraction.
Expressions of Concern: An expression of concern may be issued when credible questions arise about an article and an investigation is ongoing or the available evidence is insufficient for a final determination.
Retractions: An article may be retracted when serious problems, such as unreliable findings caused by misconduct or major error, plagiarism, or other circumstances, substantially undermine the integrity of the publication.

Decisions will be made after considering available evidence and, where appropriate, seeking explanations from authors or relevant institutions. Notices will identify the affected article and explain the reason for the action. The original publication record and its notice will remain linked to preserve transparency and the scholarly record. These actions will follow applicable COPE guidance and relevant publishing best practices.

9. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Authors, reviewers, and editors must comply with the journal's policy on artificial intelligence and AI-assisted technologies. AI tools must not be listed as authors because they cannot take responsibility for the integrity, accuracy, or accountability of scholarly work. Authors remain responsible for verifying content, references, data, analyses, and conclusions, and for disclosing AI use when required by the journal's policy.

Reviewers and editors must preserve manuscript confidentiality and must not disclose confidential manuscript content to AI systems or external services where adequate confidentiality and data protection cannot be assured.

For detailed requirements, please refer to the CoSIE Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy.

10. Funding and Disclosure

Authors must disclose funding sources and relevant financial or non-financial relationships that may influence, or be perceived to influence, their research. Where applicable, authors should report the funder's role in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or publication decisions. If no relevant conflict of interest exists, authors should provide an appropriate declaration in accordance with the journal's submission requirements.

Commitment to Publication Integrity

CoSIE is committed to transparent editorial practices, independent peer review, responsible authorship, and preservation of the scholarly record. All parties involved in publishing are expected to act ethically and cooperate in addressing concerns that may compromise research integrity.

This policy is informed by the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.