Ethics & Policies

📋 Ethics in Publishing

Authors must follow the ethical guidelines set out in IJTIMES's Publishing Ethics Policy. These standards apply to the conduct of research, preparation of manuscripts, and the submission and review process.

📝 Submission Declaration

When authors submit an article to IJTIMES it is implied that:

• The work described has not been published previously, except in the form of a preprint, abstract, published lecture, academic thesis, or registered report.
• The article is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
• Its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out.
• If accepted, the article will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, including electronically, without the written consent of the copyright-holder.

To verify compliance with our journal publishing policies, we may check your manuscript with appropriate screening tools.

👥 Authorship

All authors should have made substantial contributions to all of the following:

• The conception and design of the study, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data.
• Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
• Final approval of the version to be submitted.

All authors are accountable for all aspects of the work and must ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Authors should appoint a single corresponding author to communicate with the journal during the editorial process. This individual submits the manuscript and all required documentation, and serves as the primary contact between the journal and the co-authors.

✏ Changes to Authorship

The editors of IJTIMES generally will not consider changes to authorship once a manuscript has been submitted. Authors must carefully consider the authorship list and order before submission.

• All authors must be listed in the manuscript and their details entered into the submission system. Changes can only be made prior to acceptance, and only if approved by the journal Editor.
• Requests to change authorship must be submitted in writing by the corresponding author to the editorial office, providing the reason for the request and written confirmation from all authors — including any being added or removed — that they agree with the changes.
• IJTIMES does not allow authorship changes after acceptance. This includes additions, deletions, or rearrangement of author names.
• The review process may be paused while an authorship change request is being considered.
• Unauthorised authorship change requests may result in rejection of the manuscript, or retraction if the article has already been published.

⚖ Declaration of Competing Interests

All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organisations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:

• Employment
• Consultancies
• Stock ownership
• Honoraria
• Paid expert testimony
• Patent applications or registrations
• Grants or any other funding
• Affiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board Member

Authors with no competing interests to declare should include the statement: "The authors declare that they have no competing interests."

Authors who serve on the IJTIMES Editorial Board must declare this, and must have no involvement in the peer-review of their own submitted article. Full editorial responsibility for such articles is delegated to another editor.

💰 Funding Sources

Authors must disclose any funding sources that provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article. The role of sponsors, if any, should be declared in relation to the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing of the report, and the decision to submit for publication.

List funding sources in this standard format:

If no funding has been received, include:

🤖 Declaration of Generative AI Use

Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission.

AI and AI-assisted technologies may be used to support manuscript preparation. However, these tools must never substitute for human critical thinking, expertise, and evaluation. AI tools may only be applied with human oversight and control. Authors remain fully responsible and accountable for the content of their work, including:

• Carefully reviewing and verifying the accuracy and impartiality of all AI-generated output (AI-generated references may be incorrect or fabricated).
• Editing all material to ensure the manuscript represents the author's authentic and original contribution.
• Ensuring accuracy and originality of any AI-generated images with appropriate attribution where relevant.
• Ensuring the use of AI tools is transparent to readers.
• Ensuring the manuscript safeguards data privacy, intellectual property, and other rights.

Authors must not list or cite AI tools as an author or co-author; authorship implies responsibilities that can only be attributed to humans.

Include the following declaration at the end of your manuscript before the References section, if applicable:

This declaration does not apply to basic grammar, spelling, or reference checking tools. If you have nothing to disclose, no statement is required.

📄 Preprints

Authors may share preprints of their manuscript (e.g., on a preprint server such as arXiv, bioRxiv, or SSRN) prior to submission to IJTIMES. Sharing a preprint will not count as prior publication and will have no effect on the editorial process or publication outcome.

It is expected that the corresponding author will seek approval from all co-authors before agreeing to post the manuscript publicly prior to peer review.

Authors should update the preprint with a link to the published version of record once the article is accepted and published.

🤝 Use of Inclusive Language

Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Authors should ensure their work uses inclusive language throughout and contains nothing which might imply one individual is superior to another on the grounds of:

• Age, gender, race, or ethnicity
• Culture or sexual orientation
• Disability or health condition

Avoid using descriptors about personal attributes unless they are relevant and valid. Write for gender neutrality using plural nouns ("clinicians," "patients") as default and avoid "he/she" where possible.

Writing should be free from bias, stereotypes, slang, references to dominant culture, and cultural assumptions.

📊 Reporting Sex- and Gender-Based Analyses

Sex and gender-based analyses (SGBA) should be integrated into research design when research involves or pertains to humans, animals, or eukaryotic cells. Authors should:

• Address sex and/or gender dimensions within the article or declare them as a limitation to the generalizability of the research.
• Explicitly state definitions of sex and/or gender applied in the study to enhance precision and reproducibility.

We advise authors to consult the SAGER guidelines for systematic approaches to the use of sex and gender information in study design, data analysis, outcome reporting and research interpretation.

⏱ Delayed Publication

If you need to delay the publication of your article for any reason, please contact the IJTIMES editorial office at editor.ijtimes@gmail.com at the earliest possible opportunity.

While we will endeavour to ensure your article is not published before a certain date if your request is made on a timely basis, we cannot guarantee this. Once the agreed period of delay has expired, the article may be published at any time thereafter.

⚠ Withdrawal, Correction or Retraction

For questions about article withdrawal, correction, or retraction, please consult IJTIMES's Article Correction, Retraction and Removal Policy or contact the editorial office at editor.ijtimes@gmail.com.