Publication Ethics and and Publication Malpractice Statement
The ethical statements of the Journal of Digital Learning and Distance Education (JDLDE) are based on COPE’s Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.
The editor is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published.
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. The editor may consult with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.
An editor at any time evaluates manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
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.
Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's research without the express written consent of the author.
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.
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 himself from the review process.
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.
Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. 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.
Reporting standards
Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. The underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. 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.
The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works and that if they have used the work and/or words of others, this has been appropriately cited or quoted.
An author should not, in general, publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
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.
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 others have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.
The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included in the paper and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
Disclosures and Conflicts of Interest
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.
Fundamental errors in published works
When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, the author must promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.
Publication Malpractice Statement (Procedures for Addressing Misconduct)
JDLDE takes issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism, or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. To ensure a rigorous process, the following procedures are implemented:
Identification of Misconduct: Editorial staff and reviewers are trained to identify various forms of misconduct, including but not limited to plagiarism, data fabrication/falsification, and improper authorship credit. We use Turnitin to screen all submitted manuscripts.
Investigation: In cases of alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication, or plagiarism, the publisher, in close collaboration with the editors, will take all appropriate measures to clarify the situation and to amend the article in question. This includes the prompt publication of an erratum, clarification, or, in the most severe case, the retraction of the affected work.
Sanctions: In the event of documented misconduct, JDLDE reserves the right to impose sanctions, which may include:
- A formal letter to the author's institution or funding body.
- A formal notice of misconduct published in the journal.
- The journal will impose a ban on submissions from the author(s) for a period of 1–3 years.
- Retraction of the published work from the digital archive and indexing databases.
Retraction Policy: Retractions will be issued according to the COPE Retraction Guidelines. A retraction note will be linked to the original article, clearly stating the reason for retraction and who is retracting the article.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Use Policy
The Journal of Digital Learning and Distance Education recognizes the potential of Generative AI (GenAI) technologies, such as Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI imaging tools, as tools for writing and research. However, adherence to ethical publication standards is a top priority. Therefore, we have established the following provisions:
1. AI Not an Author: GenAI cannot meet the criteria for authorship (e.g., cannot be held accountable for the content and integrity of the research). GenAI tools are strictly prohibited from being listed as Authors or Co-Authors in manuscripts.
2. Full Responsibility: Human authors retain full responsibility for the originality, accuracy, and ethics of all published content, including any portions generated or modified using GenAI.
3. Disclosure Obligation: The use of GenAI for any purpose (including language editing, summarizing, or data analysis) must be transparently disclosed by the Author.
GenAI Usage Policy for Editors and Reviewers
1. Editors' Roles and Responsibilities
This policy applies to Editors (Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editors, and the Editorial Board).
A. Prohibition on Using GenAI for Core Decisions:
Editors are strictly prohibited from using GenAI (such as LLMs) to make substantial editorial decisions, including decisions to accept, reject, or request revisions. Editorial decisions must be based on human scientific assessment of the originality, validity, and contribution of the manuscript.
B. Obligation to Maintain Confidentiality:
Editors must ensure the absolute confidentiality of manuscripts under review. Editors are prohibited from uploading, copying, or incorporating all or part of the manuscript into public GenAI tools (including language correction tools), as this may violate copyright and author confidentiality.
2. Guidelines for Reviewers (Peer Reviewers)
This policy should be included in the instructions you provide to each reviewer when they accept an assignment.
A. Prohibition on Manuscript Uploading:
Reviewers are strictly prohibited from using, uploading, copying, or incorporating all or part of the content of a manuscript under review into public Generative AI tools (including ChatGPT, Gemini, or similar tools) for any purpose. Doing so is a serious breach of confidentiality and may result in removal from the journal's reviewer list.
B. Use of GenAI to Assist in Review Writing (Strictly Restricted):
If reviewers wish to use GenAI to assist in the grammatical correction of their review reports (rather than the content of the review itself), they must ensure that no sensitive information or manuscript content is included in the AI ​​tool. Reviewers must write their own review reports and are fully responsible for the assessment and criticism contained therein.
C. Reporting Suspected Use of AI by Authors:
If reviewers suspect undisclosed or unethical use of GenAI by authors (e.g., the presence of AI-sounding text or fabricated references), they are required to report this to the Editor.
Advertising Policy
The Journal of Digital Learning and Distance Education does not accept any external advertisements on its website or in its published issues. This policy is maintained to ensure that the content and editorial decisions are completely independent of any commercial influence.