Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing and Advanced Materials

Ethical Standards

Ethical Policies for Publication

Ethical standards for publication are in place to ensure high-quality scientific work, maintain public trust in scientific findings, and ensure individuals receive proper credit for their ideas. It is crucial for readers, writers, reviewers, and editors to follow the ethical rules set by AGC Publication. The ethical policy of AGC Publication guides the selection of research papers or articles that meet the publication criteria for each issue of the JIMAM Journal. We ensure that Authors, Editors, and Reviewers are informed about best practices in publication ethics. Several policies are in place, and details are given below.

1. Duties and Responsibilities of Publisher / Editors / Reviewers / Authors

1.1 Duties and Responsibilities of Publisher

• AGC Publication pledges to uphold a commitment to impartiality in the evaluation of manuscript submissions, prioritising professional judgement above any potential financial influences.
• AGC Publication is dedicated to upholding the integrity of academic and research records.
• The ethics of AGC Publication are being monitored by many individuals involved in the publication process, including the Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editors, Editorial Board Members, Reviewers, Authors, and Readers.
• AGC Publication consistently conducts plagiarism and data fraud assessments on all submitted manuscripts.
• AGC Publication demonstrates a consistent willingness to publish necessary revisions, clarifications, and retractions of its publications.

1.2 Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

• The editors of the JIMAM journal should be able to decide for themselves whether to accept or reject a paper.
• The editors of the JIMAM journal should keep the papers that are sent in secret while they are being reviewed or until they are released.
• The Editor-in-Chief should make a judgment on whether or not to publish submitted papers in collaboration with other editors and reviewers.
• It is essential for the Editors of the JIMAM journal to uphold the principle of maintaining the anonymity of reviewers.
• It is essential for the Editors of the JIMAM journal to declare and make efforts to mitigate any potential conflicts of interest.
• It is essential for the Editors of the JIMAM journal to uphold academic integrity and make concerted efforts to cater to the requirements of both readers and authors.
• Editors of the JIMAM journal should be amenable to publishing corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when necessary and willing to investigate instances of plagiarism and fraudulent data.
• The editors of the JIMAM journal ought to be constrained solely by the realm of intellectual substance.
• The Editors of the JIMAM journal are obligated to maintain confidentiality and refrain from sharing any details on submitted articles with anybody other than the corresponding author, reviewers, prospective reviewers, other editorial advisors, and the publisher, as deemed appropriate.
• The editor and members of the editorial board will refrain from using unpublished information provided in a submitted work for their own research endeavours unless they have obtained specific written approval from the author.

1.3 Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers

• The reviewers of the JIMAM journal are expected to assist the editors in making decisions on the publication of submitted papers.
• It is essential for reviewers to uphold the principle of secrecy while handling manuscripts that have been extended to them for review.
• The reviewers are expected to promptly give constructive comments that will assist the editors in determining whether the submitted paper should be accepted for publication or not.
• The reviewers are obligated to maintain the confidentiality of the paper submitted for peer review. They are prohibited from using the information acquired during the peer review process for personal gain.
• Reviewers should be technical, skilled, and fair in their opinions on each accepted paper.
• Reviewers shouldn't read papers where they have a personal or financial connection to any of the writers, companies or institutions mentioned.
• If the reviewers have a conflict of interest, they should say so and try to stay away from it.

1.4 Duties and Responsibilities of Authors

• When authors submit their manuscripts, they are required to confirm that their articles are free from plagiarism, constitute original work, and adhere to all ethical and publishing policy standards set out by JIMAM journal from AGC Publication.
• The author must acknowledge that they have not already submitted the paper for publication elsewhere and that they will refrain from submitting it to any other publication throughout the review process.
• Assume all accountability for the work one submits to and publishes with JIMAM journal from AGC Publication
• Authors must disclose all potential conflicts of interest in a ‘Conflicts of Interest’ section, explaining why any interest might be a conflict. If there are none, they should state, “The author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this paper.” Submitting authors are responsible for ensuring co-authors declare their interests.
• Authors must disclose current or recent funding (including for article processing charges) and any other payments, goods, or services that could influence the work. All funding, whether it presents a conflict or not, must be acknowledged in the ‘Acknowledgments’.

2. Policy on Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship requires significant contributions to conception and design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation, as well as authoring or critically reviewing the work, and obtaining final approval. An author who is cited must meet these requirements.

The Authors' list should accurately and clearly mention the corresponding author's details with an email address in the paper at the time of submission. The corresponding author's submission implies that all authors and responsible authorities approved the publication. The list of authors should meet the criteria for the conception and design of the study, data acquisition, or data analysis and interpretation. They should also be involved in drafting the article or critically revising its important intellectual content. Final approval of the version to be submitted is required.

Contributions from others, such as those who helped raise money, compiled data, or oversaw publishing, are appreciated but do not warrant authorship. Funding sources must be disclosed. The author must state that the work is original and not under review elsewhere. Plagiarism is unethical. Authors must declare copyright or obtain permission. Infringing on copyright is unacceptable.

The corresponding author must declare the following details when submitting the article:

• The cover letter should be submitted along with the paper.
• To add, delete, or rearrange author names before acceptance, you must declare the reason for the change and obtain written confirmation by e-mail from all authors, including those who have been added or removed, indicating their agreement with the proposed change.
• Authors cannot alter authorship after publication.

3. Research Integrity

3.1 Article Valuation

All manuscripts undergo peer review and must meet academic standards. If approved by the editor, submissions are reviewed anonymously. Our Research Integrity team may seek external advice on submissions with ethical, security, biosecurity, or societal issues, consulting experts and the academic editor before taking actions like recruiting specialized reviewers, involving extra editors, or declining the submission.

3.2 Plagiarism

JIMAM journal from AGC Publication uses Turnitin™ similarity checks to detect overlapping or similar text in submitted manuscripts. Authors must not use others' words, images, or ideas without attribution, citing all sources at the point of use. Reuse of wording must be limited, attributed, or quoted. Authors are responsible for ensuring originality. Manuscripts are evaluated for similarity to previous work, and figures are checked for duplication. Detected plagiarism results in rejection (if unpublished) or retraction (if published). JIMAM journal welcomes submissions with less than 20% plagiarism, ensuring original and authentic work.

3.3 Submission of Duplicate and Redundant Manuscripts

Manuscripts published or under review elsewhere will be considered duplicate submissions. If authors use their previous work, they must cite it and show how their new manuscript adds novel insights. Reusing words outside the Methods section requires attribution or quoting. Reusing figures or large portions of previous work may require copyright permission, which authors must obtain. Duplicative or redundant publications, where data are republished in different words by the same authors, are not accepted. A single study should not be divided into multiple submissions with similar data and questions across or within journals.

3.4 Conferences and Proceedings

Manuscripts based on conference papers may be allowed but must be expanded to be considered original. Authors should add substantial new content, such as experiments or new analysis of old data, leading to original discussions or conclusions that greatly surpass the conference version. Permission for reuse is required if the copyright isn't owned by the author, with proof needed upon submission. Cite the conference paper.

3.5 Data Fabrication and Falsification

Authors of submitted or published articles found to involve fabricated, falsified, or manipulated results will face sanctions, and their articles will be retracted immediately.

3.6 Territorial Descriptions, Maps & Affiliations

JIMAM journal from AGC Publication is neutral on territorial descriptions, maps, and author affiliations. Territorial claims are solely those of the authors and do not represent their organizations, the publisher, editors, or reviewers.

4. Citation Policy

Submitted manuscripts with citations mainly to boost author or journal citations will face sanctions. Editors and reviewers must not request references solely to increase citations for authors, journals, or associates. All citations must be genuine; self-citations are strictly forbidden. Authors should avoid excessive self-citation. Manipulation will result in manuscript rejection and possible institutional reporting. Any peer or editor encouragement of such practices should also be reported.

5. Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of Interest, or "competing interests," refer to situations that might influence the objectivity of research, including personal, financial, intellectual, professional, political, or religious factors. Editors, authors, and reviewers may have conflicts, which AGC Publication aims to identify and mitigate to protect research integrity. All involved in peer review must disclose relevant personal circumstances, associations, and funding sources. Not disclosing conflicts can lead to manuscript rejection. However, conflicts related to public funding from government, charities, or academic institutions do not need to be reported. Conflicts are not permanent; relationships ending over two years before submission do not require disclosure.

Editors-in-Chief and Editorial Board members must declare any conflicts of interest affecting their ability to fairly review or handle an article; if they submit work, they must disclose related activities and relationships. Authors and reviewers should inform the journal of any conflicts or relationships that could hinder impartial evaluation. In such cases, they will be removed from the review process to ensure objective assessments.

6. Investigations and Enforcement Actions

If there are documented violations of any of the policies mentioned above that occur in a jimam journal published by AGC, the following sanctions will apply: immediate rejection of the infringing manuscript and all other submissions by the authors to any AGC Publication journals. Authors are also barred from submitting new work, either alone or with others, for at least 24 months. Additionally, they cannot serve on any Editorial Board of these journals. If violations are particularly egregious, the publisher may impose additional sanctions beyond those described.

7. Errors in Published Works

7.1 Corrections and Retractions

We will not allow corrections after publication of the article on the JIMAM journal website. In exceptional cases, the Editor-in-Chief will make a decision based on the requests received from the authors. Articles may be withdrawn, retracted, removed, or replaced after publication if they contain substantial errors or ethical violations are found. The Editor-in-Chief leads the investigation and decision on retraction. Once approved, the article is marked 'RETRACTED' but remains accessible on the journal’s website.

7.2 Remarks Following Publication

If a critique raises concerns about a paper's results or methods, it may be published if the concerns are reasonable. The Editorial Office contacts the authors for a response. Critiques and responses are peer-reviewed. If complaints are valid and authors cannot respond adequately, a correction or retraction may occur. Comments should critique the work, not the authors.

8. Peer Review Process

JIMAM journal from AGC Publication is dedicated to producing exceptional works that achieve significant literary and policy impact. Every manuscript is carefully selected using a meticulous procedure. Manuscripts submitted for publication will be subjected to double-blind peer review and assessed for their contribution to a scientific understanding of science and technology.

Step 1: Submission

The process begins with the submission of a paper, followed by a round of revisions. The Editors-in-Chief check the manuscript’s conformity with the JIMAM journal’s scope and quality requirements during pre-screening.

Step 2: Approval and Peer Review

If the Editors-in-Chief approve the manuscript, it proceeds to the peer review stage. The Editor-in-Chief or Associate Editor-in-Chief with the most expertise on the submitted paper selects an Associate Editor. This Associate Editor then sends the submission to at least three to four conflict-free reviewers, who are reminded of confidentiality before proceeding. Based on the reviewers' recommendations, the Associate Editor will make one of the following three initial decisions regarding publication:

• Accept the paper as it is.
• Require author modifications (minor or major revisions).
• Reject the manuscript due to insufficient scientific merit.

Step 3: Author Revisions

Based on expert feedback, authors must make the necessary revisions and resubmit the paper for a second round of review.

Step 4: Final Decision

The revised manuscript undergoes another review process. All submissions will be accepted after evaluation and approval by the JIMAM Associate Editor-in-Chief and Editor-in-Chief. Reviewers remain anonymous throughout the entire publishing process and must refrain from contacting the authors. For security and safety reasons, we use a double-blind review process, ensuring that reviewers do not know the identities of the authors. The final decision is provided below:

• Accept the paper for in-house publication.
• Request further updates before final publication.

The Editors-in-Chief are fully authorized to approve or reject submitted manuscripts. Anyone with a financial or other conflict of interest related to a submitted manuscript must disclose it and will be withdrawn from the peer review process for that specific article.

9. Ethical Oversight

All laws and regulations should be followed. Authors must indicate their institution's ethical declarations. Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of peer review, and not disclose or misuse article information or data.

10. Intellectual Property

All policies related to intellectual property, such as copyright and publishing licenses, are outlined on the JIMAM journal website. Details about publishing costs are listed in the APC. Authors interested in understanding their rights to submit articles to JIMAM journal from AGC Publication can find information on their responsibilities.

11. Ethical Business Practices Policy

11.1 Revenue Sources and Advertising

AGC Publication is an open-access publisher. All revenue from its journals comes solely from Article Processing Charges (APCs) paid by authors whose articles are accepted for publication (there are no submission fees). APCs are waived from 2023 to 2026 for all journals affiliated with AGC Publication.

AGC Publication does not publish advertisements or engage in any direct marketing to generate extra revenue.