Scientific Integrity, Retractions, and Ethics Policy

JETIA – Journal of Engineering and Technology for Industrial Applications, published by ITEGAM, adopts international standards of scientific integrity based on the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the recommendations of the Web of Science Core Collection, and the ethical requirements applicable to scientific and technological research.

The journal maintains an active and co-responsible editorial stance, in which authors, reviewers, and editors share responsibility for ensuring the reliability, originality, and ethical quality of scientific production.

1. Ethical Responsibilities of the Editorial Board

The Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editors of JETIA are responsible for:

• Evaluating allegations or suspicions of scientific misconduct;
• Conducting formal investigations based on documented evidence;
• Issuing technical reports, deliberating with the Editorial Committee, and, when necessary, publishing retractions, corrections, or expressions of concern;
• Notifying authors’ affiliated institutions and funding agencies in cases of plagiarism, data fabrication, duplicate submission, or serious ethical violations;
• Ensuring confidentiality of the editorial process and impartiality in decision-making.

Editor-in-Chief:

The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the overall management of the journal, defining editorial policies, and making the final decision on submitted manuscripts.

Responsibilities:

• Define editorial guidelines and journal scope;
• Oversee the entire peer review process;
• Make final decisions on manuscripts;
• Ensure scientific quality and editorial integrity;
• Represent the journal institutionally.

Assistant Editor / Managing Editor:

The Assistant Editor is responsible for operational and administrative support of the editorial process, ensuring efficiency and organization in the submission and review workflow.

Responsibilities:

• Conduct initial screening of manuscripts (formatting, scope, and compliance);
• Verify adherence to journal guidelines before peer review;
• Assist the Editor-in-Chief in manuscript assignment;
• Manage the submission system (OJS or similar);
• Monitor deadlines and send reminders to authors and reviewers;
• Ensure effective communication among authors, reviewers, and editors;
• Organize issues and volumes for publication;
• Assist in formatting and standardization of accepted manuscripts;
• Support indexing and publication processes;
• Ensure compliance with editorial policies and best practices.

Section Editor:

Section Editors are responsible for managing the peer review process within their respective subject areas.

Responsibilities:

• Assess the initial suitability of manuscripts within the journal scope;
• Assign expert reviewers and monitor the review process;
• Ensure the double-blind peer review process;
• Analyze reviewer reports and provide editorial recommendations (accept, revise, or reject);
• Ensure scientific quality, originality, and relevance of submissions;
• Monitor timelines and ensure editorial efficiency;
• Ensure compliance with ethical guidelines and publication best practices;
• Declare and avoid conflicts of interest.

2. Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are primarily responsible for the integrity, originality, and ethical standards of the content submitted to JETIA. By submitting a manuscript, authors irrevocably declare that:

• The work is original, has not been previously published, and is not under review elsewhere (except when explicitly declared as a preprint);
• All sources have been properly cited, avoiding plagiarism and self-plagiarism;
• The data presented are real and have not been fabricated, manipulated, or omitted;
• There is no “salami publication” or improper fragmentation of results intended to inflate scientific productivity;
• There is full transparency regarding any potential conflicts of interest;
• All listed authors have made substantial contributions to the research and have written or critically revised the manuscript;
• Ethical information regarding research involving humans or animals is included in the manuscript and submission metadata.

JETIA uses the Copysider system to verify textual similarity and reserves the right to reject, retract, or suspend any article at any time if scientific misconduct is identified. Serious cases may be reported to the authors’ affiliated institutions and may result in temporary or permanent submission bans.

Manuscripts showing more than 85% similarity after Copysider analysis must be clarified to the Editor-in-Chief, demonstrating that all sources are properly cited in the reference list.

Retraction, Correction, and Expression of Concern

If a substantial error, unethical conduct, or compromise of scientific integrity is identified in a published article, JETIA will follow this protocol:

1. The editorial team will be notified by any interested party (author, reader, reviewer, or institution);
2. The issue will be classified (plagiarism, duplication, falsification, improper authorship, etc.);
3. A full review of the editorial process, reports, communications, and similarity report will be conducted;
4. The Editor-in-Chief will prepare a substantiated technical report;
5. The authors involved will be invited to present their defense;
6. The Scientific Editorial Committee will deliberate and make a final decision;
7. In case of retraction, a notice will be published including:
   • Original article title;
   • Authors’ names and affiliations;
   • Explicit reason for retraction, signed by the Editor-in-Chief;
   • Record linked to the DOI of the original article.

Depending on the severity, authors may be temporarily or permanently restricted from submitting new manuscripts.