Code of Conduct

IJLS places great importance on the academic integrity of the papers it publishes, and any instance of author insincerity/dishonesty will automatically result in a REJECT decision on the part of IJLS. If, after a work is published, it is discovered that any author has breached the honesty agreement, their papers will be retracted, and legal action will be taken against them.

All parties involved in the act of publishing (the authors, the journal directors, editor(s), the editorial staff, the peer reviewers) must agree upon standard of expected ethical behavior. The ethic statements of IJLS are based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct guidelines available at: http://publicationethics.org

Duties of Authors

• Submission of a manuscript to IJLS means that the author has transferred the copyright to IJLS--unless the manuscript is rejected after review or the author withdraws it before final publication and receives written confirmation from IJLS.

Authors who submit their manuscript to IJLS attest that their manuscript is original and unpublished, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Furthermore, authors confirm that their manuscript is their own; that it has not been copied or plagiarized, in whole or in part; and that they have disclosed actual or potential conflicts of interest with their work or partial benefits associated with it. If authors decide to withdraw their submissions from IJLS during the review process, they are legally obliged to write to us and wait for our confirmation before they submit their works elsewhere; authors' unethical act of writing to us and simultaneously submitting their works to other journals without waiting for our confirmation--and simply on the naive assumption that we have received their messages--is a violation of author duties, and such acts entail legal prosecution of the unethical authors.

Authors should acknowledge in a cover letter that accompanies their manuscript:

• that the work they are submitting to IJLS has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of an academic thesis);
• that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere;
• that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out;
• that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere including electronically in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of IJLS;
• that there is no plagiarism, self-plagiarism (i.e., copying materials from authors' own previously published works), fraud, or other ethical issues in the manuscript; and
• that they have assumed and accepted FULL legal accountability for ANY probable third-party claims or lawsuits that might follow the publication of their papers, and that they have agreed to keep the International Journal of Language Studies outside of ANY such probable claims and lawsuits.

Our code of ethics highlights that all authors must have 'materially' participated in the research and/or article preparation. The statement that 'all authors have approved the final article' should be true and included in the disclosure. All authors are requested to disclose, in the cover letter, any actual or potential conflict of interest including any financial, personal or other relationships with other people or organizations within three years of beginning the submitted work that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived to influence, their work.

• Authors are expected to avoid plagiarism, fraud, pseudo-science, and other unethical acts in their manuscripts. To verify originality, your article will be checked through such originality detection software packages as iThenticate, TurnItIn, etc. Plagiarizers, fraudsters, self-plagiarizers, and other insincere authors (e.g., those who make double/parallel submissions--submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal) will be black-listed and will be denied future publication opportunities (for at least 5 years--or for ever depending on the importance of their dishonest act).
• Authors should NOT reveal their identities in the manuscript in any way; self-citation is OK, but references to the author in the main paper should be replaced with "Author, year" (e.g., Author, 2013), or "Author et al., year" (e.g., Author et al., 2013)--regardless of the number of co-authors or the actual order of names. Likewise, in the reference list, references to the author should follow the format "Author. (year). [details removed for peer review]" (e.g., Author. (2013). [details removed for peer review] or Author et al. (2013). [details removed for peer review])--again, regardless of the number of co-authors or the actual order of names.
• Throughout the process of paper evaluation and publication, all communication is made ONLY through corresponding authors. When a co-authored manuscript is based on a supervised project (such as a master’s thesis or a PhD dissertation), the page proof of the accepted manuscript will ONLY be sent to the supervisor of the project to check and return to IJLS within 48 hours.
• If IJLS does not receive author corrections of page proofs within 48 hours, the journal will proceed with the publication of the "editor’s version" of the accepted paper, and the silent authors themselves are legally responsible for all of the probable issues which may ensue.
• Authors reporting results of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
• Authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if they have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.
• Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should also cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.
• Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. All co-authors must be clearly indicated at the time of manuscript submission.
• All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.
• When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal's editor or publisher and cooperate with them to either retract the paper or to publish an appropriate correction statement or erratum.

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Changes to Authorship

This policy concerns the addition, deletion, or rearrangement of author names in the authorship of accepted manuscripts. Any such request must be made before the accepted manuscript is published. Requests to add or remove an author, or to rearrange the author names, must be sent to IJLS by the corresponding author of the accepted manuscript and must include:

• the reason the name should be added or removed, or the author names rearranged; and
• written confirmation from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement.

In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed. Requests that are not sent by the corresponding author will not be accepted. Note that publication of the accepted manuscript is suspended until authorship has been agreed.

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Copyright Agreement

Agreement between the Author and IJLS

Whereas the author has written an article (construed to include short notes, reviews, and any other material published in IJLS) which the Author is sole owner of the contents thereof and of all right, title, and interest therein, and it has been accepted by IJLS, it is agreed as follows:

1. Assignment

The Author hereby assigns to IJLS the right to publish and distribute the said article and to create derivative work from said article. The assignment shall be effective so long as IJLS is available on computer networks.

2. Style and Form of Publication

The Author's name shall appear at the beginning of the article (following the title) of said article when published.

3. Infringement of Copyright

The Author agrees to hold IJLS harmless for any unauthorized use of the article subsequent to its publication by IJLS in an electronic or other medium.

NOTE: Submission of a manuscript to IJLS means that the author has transferred the copyright to IJLS--unless the manuscript is rejected after review or the author withdraws it before final publication and receives written confirmation from IJLS. Corresponding authors may also want to complete, sign and return the COPYRIGHT FORM to IJLS.

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Before You Submit Your Manuscript

To save your own time and energy, we kindly invite you to read our Author Guidelines carefully and attentively. Before you send your contribution to IJLS, please go through the points that are presented on this page, on the Peer Review Process page, on our Author Guidelines page, as well as those provided in IJLS Editorial Style guide and the Journal Style Sheet. Your manuscript is expected to observe them all. Please notice that:

• Submissions that are incomplete or fail to observe IJLS author guidelines, IJLS Code of Conduct, IJLS editorial style, and other IJLS procedures cannot be processed.

Duties of Editor(s)

1. Publication Decisions

The editor of each single issue is responsible for deciding which articles submitted to the journal should be published. The editor must take into account the evaluation made by the reviewers in making this decision. The editor may confer with the directions, the editor in chief and the editorial staff. The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism.

2. Fair play

The editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the author(s).

3. 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.

4. Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

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.

Duties of Reviewers

1. Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and, through the editorial communication with the author, may also assist the author in improving the paper.

2. Promptness

Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that it is not possible to meet the deadline, should immediately notify the editor so that the paper can be sent to another reviewer.

3. 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.

4. Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author(s) is unacceptable. Referees should express their views impartially and clearly and with supporting argument.

5. Acknowledgment of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the Editor in Chief's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

6. 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.

7. Standard Practice

Reviewers should read IJLS review guidelines and follow IJLS standards of practice in performing their review assignments.

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