Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Applied Computer Science and Software Engineering (ACSSE), published by Zahira Studies, is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and research integrity.

ACSSE follows the principles of publication ethics and uses relevant COPE guidance and flowcharts when handling allegations of misconduct, plagiarism, authorship disputes, conflicts of interest, corrections, retractions, complaints, and appeals.

1. Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the use of another person’s ideas, words, data, images, or work without appropriate acknowledgment. Plagiarism includes direct copying, substantial unattributed paraphrasing, self-plagiarism, and the use of ideas or materials without proper citation.

All submitted manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism-detection software and reviewed by the editorial team. Similarity scores are not used as the sole basis for decision-making. The editorial team will evaluate the context, sources, extent, and nature of the similarity.

If plagiarism is identified:

  • Minor similarity may require correction and resubmission.

  • Substantial plagiarism may result in immediate rejection.

  • Plagiarism discovered after publication may result in correction, retraction, or another appropriate editorial action.

  • Serious cases may be reported to the authors’ institutions or relevant authorities.

2. Duplicate, Multiple, and Redundant Submission

Authors must submit only original manuscripts that are not under consideration by another journal and have not been published previously in any form.

Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal. Duplicate publication, redundant publication, salami publication, and substantial republication of previously published work are not permitted.

Any related manuscript, preprint, conference paper, thesis, or previously published material must be disclosed during submission. Authors must explain the relationship between the submitted manuscript and related publications.

If duplicate or redundant submission is identified:

  • The manuscript may be rejected or withdrawn.

  • The authors may be asked to provide an explanation.

  • Published articles may be corrected or retracted.

  • The case may be referred to the authors’ institution.

3. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship must be based on substantial contributions to the research and manuscript. An author should have contributed to one or more of the following:

  • Conception or design of the study;

  • Data collection, analysis, or interpretation;

  • Development of methods, software, or research instruments;

  • Drafting or critically revising the manuscript;

  • Approval of the final version; and

  • Accountability for the integrity and accuracy of the work.

All listed authors must approve the final manuscript and agree to its submission to ACSSE. All authors must be able to identify their contributions and accept responsibility for the work.

The corresponding author is responsible for:

  • Confirming that all eligible contributors are listed as authors;

  • Obtaining approval from all authors before submission;

  • Providing accurate author affiliations and contact information;

  • Communicating with the editorial office; and

  • Coordinating responses to editorial queries.

Gift authorship, guest authorship, honorary authorship, and ghost authorship are not permitted. Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.

Any request to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must include a written explanation and written approval from all authors. Authorship disputes must be resolved by the authors’ institution or relevant authority. ACSSE may suspend review or publication while the dispute is being investigated.

4. Conflict of Interest

Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose any financial or non-financial conflict of interest that could influence the research, review, or editorial decision.

Conflicts may include:

  • Employment or organizational affiliation;

  • Research funding or financial support;

  • Consultancy, patents, or commercial relationships;

  • Personal or professional relationships;

  • Academic competition or collaboration;

  • Membership of relevant organizations; or

  • Any other interest that may affect impartiality.

Authors must include a Conflict of Interest statement in the manuscript. If no conflict exists, authors should state:

“The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.”

Editors and reviewers must recuse themselves from handling a manuscript when a conflict exists. Editorial decisions must be based on academic quality and must not be influenced by financial interests, personal relationships, institutional affiliation, or author status.

5. Research Misconduct

Research misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • Fabrication of data or research results;

  • Falsification or manipulation of data, methods, images, or results;

  • Plagiarism and inappropriate text reuse;

  • Duplicate or redundant publication;

  • Citation manipulation;

  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest;

  • Unethical research involving human or animal participants;

  • Peer-review manipulation;

  • Misrepresentation of authorship or contributions; and

  • Deliberate concealment of relevant information.

When an allegation is received, ACSSE will conduct a preliminary assessment. The authors may be asked to provide an explanation, source data, research documents, ethics approval, or other relevant evidence.

Where appropriate, ACSSE may:

  • Consult independent experts;

  • Contact the authors’ institution or research integrity office;

  • Request an institutional investigation;

  • Issue a correction, expression of concern, or retraction;

  • Reject or suspend a manuscript; or

  • Notify relevant indexing and abstracting services.

All investigations will be handled fairly, confidentially, and without prejudice. Individuals who raise concerns in good faith will not be penalized or retaliated against.

6. Data Fabrication, Falsification, and Image Manipulation

Authors must report research data honestly and accurately. Data must not be fabricated, falsified, selectively manipulated, or intentionally misrepresented.

Authors must retain the underlying data, research records, analysis files, and relevant documentation for a reasonable period and provide them to the editorial office or institution when legitimately requested, subject to privacy, confidentiality, and legal restrictions.

Images, figures, charts, and visual materials must not be manipulated in a way that misrepresents the original data. Any permitted image processing must be transparently described.

If data fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate image manipulation is confirmed, ACSSE may reject the manuscript or retract the published article.

7. Ethical Approval and Informed Consent

Research involving human participants, patients, personal data, medical records, children, vulnerable groups, or identifiable images must comply with applicable ethical standards.

Authors must:

  • Obtain approval from an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review board when required;

  • Provide the name of the approving institution and approval number, where applicable;

  • Explain why ethical approval was not required when approval was not applicable;

  • Obtain informed consent from participants when required;

  • Protect participant privacy and confidentiality; and

  • Remove personally identifiable information from the manuscript and supplementary materials.

For research involving children or other vulnerable participants, consent must be obtained from a parent, legal guardian, or authorized representative when applicable.

Authors using publicly available datasets must provide the source, access information, licensing conditions, and ethical considerations. Public availability of data does not automatically remove the obligation to protect privacy or comply with applicable regulations.

8. Complaints

Complaints concerning the editorial process, publication ethics, peer review, authorship, or published content should be submitted through the official ACSSE Contact page.

A complaint should include:

  • The complainant’s name and contact information;

  • The manuscript title or article DOI;

  • A clear description of the concern; and

  • Supporting evidence, where available.

Complaints will be reviewed objectively and confidentially. Complaints involving the Editor-in-Chief will be handled by the Publisher, Zahira Studies, or an independent senior editor who is not involved in the matter.

9. Appeals

Authors may appeal an editorial decision within 14 calendar days after receiving the decision. An appeal must explain the specific reason for the appeal and provide relevant evidence.

Valid grounds for appeal may include:

  • A significant procedural error;

  • A misunderstanding or misinterpretation of the manuscript;

  • Evidence that a conflict of interest affected the decision; or

  • Substantive new information that was not available during the original review.

An appeal cannot be based solely on disagreement with the reviewers’ academic judgment or the rejection decision.

Appeals will be evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief or an independent editor who was not involved in the original decision. The outcome of the appeal is final. Only one appeal is permitted for each editorial decision.

10. Corrections

ACSSE will publish a correction when an error affects the accuracy, clarity, attribution, or integrity of a published article but does not invalidate the main findings.

Corrections will:

  • Clearly identify the affected article;

  • Describe the correction;

  • Be linked to the original article;

  • Include the publication date; and

  • Preserve the transparency of the scholarly record.

Minor typographical or formatting errors may be corrected without a formal correction notice when they do not affect the meaning of the article.

11. Retractions

An article may be retracted when its findings or conclusions are unreliable or when serious ethical or publication violations are confirmed.

Reasons for retraction may include:

  • Fabricated or falsified data;

  • Major methodological or analytical errors;

  • Plagiarism;

  • Duplicate or redundant publication;

  • Unethical research or lack of required consent;

  • Manipulated peer review;

  • Serious authorship or copyright violations; or

  • Other circumstances that substantially undermine the integrity of the article.

A retraction notice will explain the reason for the retraction and will be linked to the original article. The original article will remain accessible where possible but will be clearly marked as “Retracted.” The article will not be silently removed from the journal archive except when removal is required for legal or exceptional ethical reasons.

12. Expression of Concern

If a serious concern has been raised but the investigation has not yet been completed, ACSSE may publish an Expression of Concern.

The notice will explain the nature of the concern and will remain linked to the article until the matter is resolved through correction, retraction, or confirmation of the article’s integrity.

13. Confidentiality and Records

Manuscripts, peer-review reports, author communications, and investigation records will be treated confidentially. Editors and reviewers must not disclose, use, or distribute unpublished manuscript content without permission.

ACSSE will maintain appropriate editorial and publication records to support the integrity, transparency, and traceability of the scholarly record.

14. Use of Artificial Intelligence

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI or other automated tools in preparing the manuscript beyond routine spelling, grammar, formatting, or language correction.

Artificial intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical compliance of their manuscript.

Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential manuscripts or peer-review materials to generative AI tools or use such tools to generate confidential evaluations without authorization.