Plagiarism Policy
The journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of academic integrity, originality, and ethical publishing. All submitted manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using recognized plagiarism detection software before entering the peer-review process. The Editorial Office reserves the right to conduct additional similarity assessments at any stage of the review or publication process.
The journal maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism and all forms of academic misconduct. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:
- Copying text, figures, tables, images, or other copyrighted material without appropriate acknowledgment or permission.
- Using another author's ideas, data, methodologies, or intellectual contributions without proper citation.
- Inadequate paraphrasing or close imitation of previously published work without attribution.
- Duplicate or redundant publication, including simultaneous submission of substantially similar manuscripts to multiple journals.
- Self-plagiarism, including the reuse of substantial portions of an author's previously published work without proper citation, disclosure, or editorial approval.
- Data fabrication, data falsification, image manipulation, or any deliberate misrepresentation of research findings.
Manuscripts containing unacceptable levels of plagiarism or other forms of publication misconduct will be rejected immediately. Where concerns arise during peer review, authors may be asked to provide clarification, revise the manuscript, or submit supporting documentation before an editorial decision is made.
If plagiarism or serious publication misconduct is identified after publication, the journal reserves the right to take appropriate editorial action, including the publication of a correction, expression of concern, or retraction, notifying the authors' affiliated institutions or funding agencies where appropriate, and informing relevant indexing and abstracting services when required.
Authors are solely responsible for ensuring the originality of their submissions and for obtaining all necessary permissions for the use of copyrighted material. Submission of a manuscript constitutes the authors' declaration that the work is original, has been properly cited where applicable, and complies with the journal's publication ethics and plagiarism policy.
Retraction, Correction & Expression of Concern Policy
The journal is committed to maintaining the integrity, accuracy, and reliability of the scholarly record. When errors or ethical concerns are identified in published articles, appropriate editorial actions are taken in accordance with internationally recognized publishing ethics and best editorial practices.
- Corrections (Erratum and Corrigendum): Corrections are issued when minor errors, typographical mistakes, author information, or production-related inaccuracies are identified that do not compromise the validity, integrity, or scientific conclusions of the published work. All corrections are published promptly and are permanently linked to the original article.
- Retractions: A published article may be retracted when there is clear evidence that its findings are unreliable due to major methodological errors, data fabrication or falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, copyright infringement, unethical research practices, manipulation of the peer-review process, or other serious breaches of publication ethics. Retraction notices remain permanently available, clearly identify the reasons for retraction, and are electronically linked to the original article.
- Expressions of Concern: Where credible concerns arise regarding the integrity or reliability of a published article, but conclusive evidence is not yet available, the Editor-in-Chief may issue an Expression of Concern while an investigation is underway. This notice informs readers of potential issues until a final editorial decision has been reached.
All corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern are published in a transparent, timely, and permanent manner. The journal ensures that all editorial actions are clearly identified, freely accessible, and directly linked to the original publication.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy
The journal recognizes the growing role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in scholarly research and academic writing. While AI-assisted tools may support certain aspects of research preparation, authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and ethical standards of all submitted work.
AI Use by Authors
Authors may use AI-based tools to assist with language editing, grammar correction, formatting, literature organization, coding assistance, or data analysis, provided that such use does not compromise the originality or scientific integrity of the manuscript.
When AI tools have made a substantial contribution to the preparation of a manuscript, authors must disclose their use in a dedicated AI Declaration section placed immediately preceding the References. The disclosure should include the name of the AI tool and a brief description of how it was used. Standard word-processing checks (e.g., basic spelling and grammar checkers) do not require disclosure. However, the use of Generative AI or Large Language Models (LLMs) must be formally declared.
Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies
Authors must select the statement that applies to their manuscript. Standard tools used solely for basic grammar, spelling, and reference management do not need to be declared.
Statement A: No AI Use
"During the preparation of this work, the author(s) did not use any Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or similar Large Language Models) for data analysis, literature review, ideation, or manuscript drafting."
Statement B: AI Use Declared
"During the preparation of this work, the author(s) used the following Generative AI or AI-assisted technology: Name of Tool(s): [e.g., ChatGPT 4.0, Google Gemini]; Specific Application: [e.g., to improve language fluency, to assist in generating Python code for data visualization, to summarize background literature]. Author Attestation: After using this tool, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full and ultimate responsibility for the exact content, accuracy, and originality of the published work. The author(s) confirm that AI was not used to fabricate data or manipulate research findings, and that no AI system is credited as an author."
Authorship
Artificial Intelligence systems, including generative AI tools, cannot be listed as authors or co-authors. AI systems cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy, originality, ethical compliance, conflicts of interest, copyright, or accountability required of scholarly authorship. Only human authors who have made substantial intellectual contributions and accept full responsibility for the work may be credited as authors.
Responsibility for Content
Authors are solely responsible for verifying all information, references, citations, analyses, data interpretations, figures, tables, and conclusions contained in their manuscripts, regardless of whether AI tools were used during manuscript preparation. AI-generated content may contain factual inaccuracies, fabricated references, biased outputs, or copyrighted material; therefore, authors must carefully review and validate all content before submission.
Research Integrity
The use of AI to fabricate, falsify, manipulate, or misrepresent research data, images, results, peer-review reports, or any aspect of scholarly communication constitutes research misconduct and is strictly prohibited. Manuscripts found to involve unethical or undisclosed AI use may be rejected, corrected, or retracted in accordance with the journal's editorial policies.
AI Use by Reviewers and Editors
Reviewers and editors must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts. They must not upload confidential manuscript content, reviewer reports, or unpublished research into publicly available AI systems or any platform that could compromise confidentiality, intellectual property, or data security. Editorial decisions will always be made by qualified human editors based on expert peer review and independent scholarly judgment.
The journal will continue to monitor developments in AI technologies and may update this policy periodically to reflect evolving international best practices, ethical standards, and scholarly publishing guidelines.
Reviewer Ethics
Peer reviewers play a critical role in maintaining the quality of published research. Reviewers must:
- Provide objective, unbiased, and constructive evaluations.
- Treat all manuscripts as confidential documents and not share their content with unauthorized parties.
- Declare any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from reviewing if a conflict exists.
- Not use information obtained during the review process for personal advantage.
- Not upload confidential manuscript content into publicly available AI systems.
- Complete reviews in a timely manner and notify the editor if unable to meet deadlines.
- Alert the editor to any suspected ethical violations, plagiarism, or duplicate publication.
Editor Ethics
Editors of MERIT are committed to:
- Making fair and unbiased editorial decisions based solely on the quality and merit of the research.
- Maintaining the confidentiality of the peer review process.
- Avoiding conflicts of interest in handling manuscripts.
- Ensuring that the review process is rigorous, fair, and transparent.
- Taking appropriate action in response to ethical concerns raised about submitted or published articles.
- Not uploading confidential manuscript content into publicly available AI systems.
- Following internationally recognized guidelines for responsible scholarly publishing.