Misconduct Investigation

Misconduct Investigation Policy

1. Scope of Covered Misconduct

This policy covers alleged or confirmed instances of:

  • Fabrication or falsification of data, results, figures, or tables.
  • Plagiarism, including text recycling, self-plagiarism, and unauthorized use of copyrighted material.
  • Undisclosed duplicate submission or duplicate publication.
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest affecting manuscript decisions.
  • Authorship misconduct, including gift authorship, ghost authorship, and unauthorized removal or addition of authors.
  • Manipulation of the peer review process, including impersonation of reviewers or reviewer coercion.
  • Breach of peer review confidentiality.
  • Ethical violations in research conduct, including absence of required ethics approval or breach of FPIC obligations.
  • Harassment, intimidation, or discrimination directed at any party in the publication process.

2. Reporting and Preliminary Assessment

Allegations may be submitted by authors, reviewers, editors, readers, or third parties in writing to the Editor-in-Chief at the journal's official email address. Upon receipt, the EiC will conduct a preliminary assessment within fourteen (14) calendar days to determine whether the allegation is credible. During this phase, the manuscript or publication under investigation may be placed under editorial hold.

3. Formal Investigation Procedure

If the preliminary assessment concludes the allegation warrants investigation, the Editor-in-Chief will:

  • Convene an ad hoc Investigation Committee comprising at least two Editorial Board members with no conflict of interest and, if necessary, an independent external expert.
  • Notify the accused party in writing, providing sufficient detail to allow a substantive response while protecting the confidentiality of the complainant.
  • Allow the accused party twenty-one (21) calendar days to submit a written response.
  • Review all available evidence, including original data files, correspondence, submission records, and similarity reports.
  • Complete the investigation and produce a written report within ninety (90) calendar days of formal initiation.

4. Outcomes and Sanctions

Outcome Description
Exoneration Allegation not substantiated; record cleared; parties notified.
Editorial Correction Published erratum or corrigendum to correct a specific error.
Expression of Concern Notice published indicating unresolved questions about the work.
Retraction Article retracted with a published retraction notice stating reason.
Rejection Manuscript rejected without further consideration.
Submission Ban Named author(s) barred from submitting for 2–5 years.
Institutional Referral Formal notification sent to the author's employing institution and/or funder.
Criminal Referral Referral to relevant authorities where fraud or other criminal conduct is established.

5. Record Keeping and Transparency

The journal will maintain confidential records of all misconduct investigations for a minimum of ten (10) years. Outcomes resulting in retractions, expressions of concern, or editorial corrections will be permanently linked to the original article. The journal's annual editorial report will include aggregate statistics on misconduct cases, without identifying parties.

ZERO TOLERANCE: ETHIOINQUIRY operates a zero-tolerance policy toward deliberate research misconduct. Authors found to have fabricated data, plagiarized the work of others, or manipulated peer review will be permanently barred from the journal and their institutions notified.