Publication Ethics

The Scientific Journal of Fergana State University (SJFSU) is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity in scholarly publishing. As a multidisciplinary journal covering pedagogy, philology, history, philosophy, political science, chemistry, biology, geography and related fields, SJFSU follows the principles and best practices promoted by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and other recognized bodies.

The following policy sets out the responsibilities and ethical expectations for authors, editors, reviewers and the publisher.

1. Authorship and Contributions

1.1. Authorship Criteria

SJFSU adopts the authorship principles recommended by the ICMJE. To be listed as an author, each contributor must meet all of the following conditions, in a way appropriate to the discipline:

1. Substantial contribution to the conception or design of the study, or to data collection, analysis, or interpretation.
2. Active involvement in writing the manuscript or in critically revising it for important intellectual content.
3. Final approval of the version to be published.
4. Accountability for the integrity of the work as a whole, including responding to questions about the accuracy or completeness of any part of the work.

Individuals who contribute to the work but do not meet all four criteria (for example, through technical assistance, data collection, funding acquisition, language editing, or general supervision) should be acknowledged in a separate Acknowledgements section rather than listed as authors.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all listed authors meet the criteria, that no eligible contributor has been omitted, and that all authors have seen and approved the final manuscript and its submission to the journal.

1.2. Changes to Authorship

Any request to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission or publication must be justified in writing by the corresponding author and approved by all affected authors. The journal may request documentary evidence and may decline changes that are not adequately justified.

 

2. Conflicts of Interest

SJFSU requires transparency regarding any financial or non‑financial conflicts of interest that could be perceived as influencing the results, interpretation, or presentation of the work.

• All authors must declare relevant funding sources, institutional or personal financial relationships, consultancies, patents, stock ownership, paid expert testimony, or other interests that might be viewed as potential sources of bias.
• Non‑financial conflicts (such as personal, academic, political or religious relationships) should also be disclosed when they could reasonably be seen as influencing the work.

Conflict‑of‑interest statements must be included in the manuscript (for example, in a dedicated “Conflicts of Interest” section). If no conflicts exist, authors should state: “The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

Editors and reviewers must also disclose any potential conflicts and recuse themselves from handling or reviewing a manuscript when a fair and impartial evaluation may be compromised.

 

3. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI‑Assisted Technologies

3.1. AI and Authorship

AI systems and AI‑assisted tools (such as large language models, chatbots, code generators, or image‑generation tools) cannot be credited as authors, because they cannot assume responsibility for the work, respond to critiques, or agree to publication terms.

3.2. Acceptable Use and Required Disclosure

Authors may use AI‑assisted technologies in research workflows or in preparing manuscripts (e.g. language editing, figure creation, data processing) only under human supervision and remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of all content.

If AI tools are used in any substantive way (for example, to draft text, generate code, or create images), authors must:

• clearly describe the use of AI in the cover letter and in the Acknowledgements or Methods section;
• specify the tool name, provider, and version, and, where relevant, the prompts or parameters that significantly shaped the output;
• carefully check all AI‑generated text, code, or images to ensure accuracy, proper citation of sources, and absence of plagiarism, fabricated data, or discriminatory content.

Editors may decline manuscripts where AI has been used in a way that compromises research integrity or transparency.

3.3. AI in Peer Review

Reviewers must not upload manuscripts or any part of the peer‑review materials to public AI systems, as this would violate confidentiality obligations. If a reviewer uses institutionally approved, secure AI‑assistance tools, they remain fully responsible for the content of the review and must ensure that confidentiality is maintained.

3.4. AI‑Generated Images and Multimedia

AI‑generated figures, images or multimedia may be considered only when they are central to the research topic (e.g. studies on AI or machine learning) and when their generation and limitations are clearly described. In all other cases, AI‑generated images are discouraged and must not misrepresent empirical data or mislead readers regarding how the results were obtained.

 

4. Plagiarism, Text Recycling and Duplicate Publication

4.1. Plagiarism

Plagiarism–using another person’s words, ideas, data, or images without proper acknowledgment–is unacceptable and constitutes misconduct. SJFSU uses similarity‑checking tools (such as antiplag.uz) to screen submissions for overlapping text.

• Authors must ensure that all sources are properly cited and that any verbatim text is clearly indicated with quotation marks or block quotations.
• Extensive copying, even with citation, is not acceptable; authors must present an original synthesis in their own words.
• Submissions with evidence of plagiarism, including self‑plagiarism (“text recycling”), may be rejected or returned for revision. Serious or repeated violations may result in sanctions or notification of authors’ institutions.

4.2. Redundant / Duplicate Publication

SJFSU does not consider manuscripts that are simultaneously under review elsewhere, or that substantially overlap with published or accepted work in any language.

• If parts of the manuscript have been published or submitted elsewhere (including conference proceedings or overlapping papers), authors must provide copies of related work at the time of submission and clearly explain the distinct contribution of the present manuscript.
• Legitimate secondary publication (for example, translation of a paper to reach a different audience) may be allowed only with full transparency, consent from the original publisher, and clear citation of the primary publication.

 

5. Use of Third‑Party Materials

Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission to reuse any copyrighted material–such as figures, tables, photographs, or large excerpts of text–that is not their own original work and that is not clearly covered by an open licence.

• Permissions must be obtained from the copyright holder (publisher, institution or individual) before publication.
• Acknowledgements and credit lines should accurately reflect the source and permission status.
• Failure to secure necessary permissions may delay publication or lead to removal of material.

 

6. Preprints and Prior Dissemination

SJFSU supports responsible use of preprint servers and early sharing of research findings.

• Manuscripts previously posted on reputable, non‑profit preprint servers (e.g. arXiv, OSF, SSRN, bioRxiv, etc.) may be submitted to the journal, provided that this is clearly declared at submission and in the manuscript.
• During review, authors should not substantially revise the preprint in ways that could be seen as another concurrent submission of a different version.
• After publication, authors are encouraged to update the preprint record with the citation and DOI of the final published article.

SJFSU does not consider material that has already been formally published in another peer‑reviewed journal or book.

 

7. Data Sharing and Materials Availability

To support transparency and reproducibility, authors are expected to make data, code, and materials underlying their published results available to editors, reviewers and, after publication, to readers, subject to ethical and legal constraints.

• Authors should describe in the manuscript where and how data, code and materials can be accessed (for example, in institutional or discipline‑specific repositories) or provide a clear justification if open sharing is not possible (e.g. privacy, security, or contractual restrictions).
• Any restrictions, fees, or Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) that limit access to data or materials must be disclosed at submission and mentioned in the manuscript.
• When large datasets are used, authors are encouraged to deposit them in recognized public repositories and to provide accession numbers or persistent identifiers.

 

8. Ethical Research with Human Participants, Animals and Sensitive Data

SJFSU expects authors to conduct research in accordance with relevant national and international ethical standards (such as the Declaration of Helsinki for human research and recognized guidelines for animal welfare).

8.1. Human Participants

For studies involving human participants, personal data, or identifiable human material:

• Authors must confirm that the research was approved by an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board (IRB), providing the name of the committee and approval number where applicable.
• The manuscript must state that informed consent was obtained from all participants (or their legal guardians), and describe how privacy and confidentiality were protected.
• Particular care must be taken when working with vulnerable populations or sensitive topics.

8.2. Animals and the Environment

For studies involving animals:

• Authors must affirm compliance with recognized guidelines for the care and use of animals in research and must specify the approval from the relevant ethics committee or regulatory body.
• The species, strain, sex, age, housing conditions, and experimental procedures should be described in sufficient detail to allow evaluation and replication.

For studies that may affect environmental or cultural heritage (e.g. fossils, rare specimens, archaeological materials), authors should confirm that all relevant permits were obtained and that specimens are deposited in accessible collections where appropriate.

 

9. Reporting Standards and Reproducibility

Authors should report their methods and results with sufficient detail to allow informed evaluation and, where appropriate, reproducibility of the research. SJFSU encourages the use of recognized reporting guidelines (such as CONSORT, PRISMA, STROBE, COREQ, etc.) where applicable to the study design, as recommended by the EQUATOR Network.

• Statistical methods must be described clearly, and measures of uncertainty (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors) should be reported where relevant.
• Any deviations from pre‑registered protocols or analysis plans should be disclosed and justified.
• Negative results, replication studies, and well‑conducted confirmatory work are welcome when they make a useful contribution to the field.

 

10. Handling of Ethical Concerns and Allegations of Misconduct

SJFSU takes all allegations of research or publication misconduct seriously, including fabrication or falsification of data, plagiarism, image manipulation, undisclosed conflicts of interest, inappropriate authorship practices, or unethical research.

When concerns are raised, either before or after publication, the editors will:

1. Carefully consider the allegation and, where necessary, seek an explanation from the authors.
2. Consult relevant documentation (peer‑review reports, similarity‑check reports, ethics approvals, etc.) and, if appropriate, contact authors’ institutions or other bodies for investigation, following COPE flowcharts and guidance.
3. Take steps to correct the scholarly record where required.

Possible editorial actions include corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions, depending on the seriousness and nature of the problem.

 

11. Post‑Publication Corrections, Retractions and Expressions of Concern

SJFSU is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.

• Corrections (Errata or Corrigenda) will be published when minor errors that do not affect the main conclusions are identified.
• An Expression of Concern may be issued when serious doubts arise about the integrity of an article, but the available evidence is not yet conclusive (for example, while an institutional investigation is ongoing).
• Retractions will be published when an article is shown to contain major errors or misconduct that invalidate its findings, or when publication is later found to be unethical.

All such notices will be linked to the original article and will be freely accessible.

Authors and readers who identify an error or ethical issue in a published article are encouraged to contact the editorial office with detailed information.

 

12. Security and Dual‑Use Concerns

For work that could reasonably be considered dual‑use research of concern (for example, research in life sciences, cybersecurity, or other areas where misuse could pose serious risks to public health, safety or security), authors and reviewers must alert the editors.

In such cases, the Editor‑in‑Chief may seek advice from external experts and, if necessary, request revisions, limit certain details, or decide not to publish the work.

 

13. Archiving and Access

SJFSU is an open‑access journal. All articles are freely accessible online immediately upon publication and are stored on secure institutional servers with regular backups to ensure long‑term preservation.