PUBLICATION ETHICS

KENANGA’s Publication Ethics is an essential building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. It is a direct reflection of the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the scientific method. It is therefore important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, the publisher, and the society. (Refer to COPE).

The editorial board of KENANGA takes its duties of guardianship over all stages of publishing seriously and we recognize our ethical and other responsibilities. We are committed to ensuring that advertising, reprint, or other commercial revenue has no impact or influence on editorial decisions. 

Publication and authorship

  • All submitted papers are subject to a strict peer-review process by at least two international or national reviewers that are experts in the area of the particular paper.
  • The review process is a double-blind peer review.
  • The factors that are taken into account in review are relevance, soundness, significance, originality, readability, and language.
  • The possible decisions include acceptance, acceptance with revisions, or rejection.
  • If authors are encouraged to revise and resubmit a submission, there is no guarantee that the revised submission will be accepted.
  • Rejected articles will not be re-reviewed.
  • The paper acceptance is constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.
  • No research can be included in more than one publication.

Authors’ responsibilities

  • Authors must certify that their manuscripts are their original work.
  • Authors must certify that the manuscript has not previously been published elsewhere.
  • Authors must certify that the manuscript is not currently being considered for publication elsewhere.
  • Authors must participate in the peer-review process.
  • Authors are obliged to provide retractions or corrections of mistakes.
  • All Authors mentioned in the paper must have significantly contributed to the research.
  • Authors must state that all data in the paper are real and authentic.
  • Authors must notify the Editors of any conflicts of interest.
  • Authors must identify all sources used in the creation of their manuscript.
  • Authors must report any errors they discover in their published paper to the Editors.

Reviewers’ responsibilities

  • Reviewers should keep all information regarding papers confidential and treat them as privileged information.
  • Reviews should be conducted objectively, with no personal criticism of the author
  • Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments
  • Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.
  • Reviewers should also call to the Editor in Chief’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.
  • Reviewers should not review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Editors’ responsibilities

  • Editors have complete responsibility and authority to reject/accept an article.
  • Editors are responsible for the contents and overall quality of the publication.
  • Editors should always consider the needs of the authors and the readers when attempting to improve the publication.
  • Editors should guarantee the quality of the papers and the integrity of the academic record.
  • Editors should publish errata pages or make corrections when needed.
  • Editors should have a clear picture of the research’s funding sources.
  • Editors should base their decisions solely on the papers’ importance, originality, clarity, and relevance to the publication’s scope.
  • Editors should not reverse their decisions nor overturn the ones of previous editors without serious reason.
  • Editors should preserve the anonymity of reviewers.
  • Editors should ensure that all research material they publish conforms to internationally accepted ethical guidelines.
  • Editors should only accept a paper when reasonably certain.
  • Editors should act if they suspect misconduct, whether a paper is published or unpublished, and make all reasonable attempts to persist in obtaining a resolution to the problem.
  • Editors should not reject papers based on suspicions, they should have proof of misconduct.
  • Editors should not allow any conflicts of interest between staff, authors, reviewers, and board members.

Ethical Oversight and Research Ethics

KENANGA requires authors to ensure that research involving human participants, animals, biological materials, or other ethically sensitive subjects is conducted in accordance with applicable ethical standards and regulations.

Where applicable, authors must obtain approval from the appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review board prior to conducting the research. The ethics approval number must be included in the manuscript, if applicable.

For research involving human participants, informed consent must be obtained where required. Authors must protect the privacy and confidentiality of participants and ensure that personal information is not disclosed without proper authorization.

Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional and national guidelines regarding animal welfare and ethical treatment. The editor may request proof of ethical approval or informed consent if necessary.

Publication Decision

The editors of KENANGA are responsible for determining whether articles submitted to this journal are suitable for publication. These decisions are based on the scientific quality of the manuscript and its significance to researchers and readers.

In carrying out their duties, the editor adheres to the journal’s editorial board policies and complies with applicable laws, including those related to defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.

To ensure the authenticity of the manuscript, all submitted articles will be checked using plagiarism detection software (e.g., Turnitin) by the assigned editor. The editor may also consult with other editors or peer reviewers during the decision-making process.

Complaints and Appeals

KENANGA accepts complaints and appeals regarding editorial decisions, the peer review process, publication procedures, or the conduct of journal staff, editors, reviewers, and authors.

Complaints must be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief through the journal’s official contact channels. All complaints will be handled fairly, confidentially, and promptly. Complaints will not influence the editorial review of manuscripts.

Authors may appeal editorial decisions by providing clear justification and relevant evidence. Appeals will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriate independent editorial board member who was not involved in the initial decision.

KENANGA follows the principles and procedures recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in handling complaints and appeals.

Fair Play

An editor at any time evaluates manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Confidentiality

The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Material that has not been published or disclosed in the submitted manuscript may not be used by the editor for their own research purposes without the authors’ explicit written consent.

 

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper.

Promptness

Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.

Confidentiality

Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgment of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

 

Duties of Authors

Reporting Standards

Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior are unacceptable.

Data Availability and Reproducibility

Authors are encouraged to provide data supporting their research findings to the greatest extent possible, while taking into account ethical, legal, privacy, and confidentiality considerations.

Authors must provide sufficient methodological information so that other researchers can understand and, where appropriate, reproduce the study.

If data cannot be shared with the public due to ethical, legal, privacy, or confidentiality restrictions, authors must provide an appropriate explanation.

Editors may request access to supporting data if necessary to verify the accuracy and integrity of the research.

Originality and Plagiarism

The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication

An author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

Acknowledgment of Sources

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.

Authorship of the Paper

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Fundamental Errors in Published Works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

Corrections, Retractions, and Statements of Concern

KENANGA upholds the integrity of the scientific record by correcting or retracting published articles when necessary.

Corrections: A correction will be published if there is an error that does not invalidate the article’s main findings but requires correction to maintain the accuracy of the scientific record.

Retractions: An article may be retracted if there is clear evidence of serious errors, research misconduct, plagiarism, unreliable findings, or other circumstances that substantially affect the validity or integrity of the publication.

Statement of Concern: The journal may publish a Statement of Concern if there are serious concerns regarding the integrity or reliability of a published article, but the available evidence is insufficient to warrant retraction.

Corrections, retractions, and Statements of Concern will be clearly identified and linked to the original article.

Post-Publication Discussion

Authors are urged to promptly notify the KENANGA editorial board if they discover substantial errors, inaccuracies, or concerns regarding the integrity of a published article that may affect the scientific record.

The Editor-in-Chief will evaluate the matter and, if necessary, consult with the author, reviewers, members of the editorial board, or relevant institutions to determine the appropriate course of action.

If necessary, authors are expected to cooperate with the journal in publishing corrections, retractions, Statements of Concern, or other appropriate editorial notices to maintain the accuracy, transparency, and integrity of the scientific record.

 

Post-Publication Discussions, Corrections, and Article Retractions

KENANGA welcomes post-publication discussions and feedback regarding published articles. Authors, readers, reviewers, and other members of the academic community may report substantive issues to the Editor.

The Editor will evaluate the reported feedback and, if necessary, consult with the author, reviewers, the editorial board, or relevant institutions. KENANGA may publish corrections, errata, Statements of Concern, article retractions, or other editorial notices to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the scientific record, in accordance with relevant publication ethics standards and COPE guidelines.


Policy of Screening for Plagiarism

Papers submitted to KENANGA will be screened for plagiarism using Turnitin plagiarism detection tools. KENANGA will immediately reject articles leading to plagiarism or self-plagiarism.

Before submitting articles to reviewers, those are first checked for similarity/plagiarism tool, by a member of the editorial team. The papers submitted to KENANGA must have a similarity level of less than 25%.

Plagiarism is the exposure of another person’s thoughts or words as though they were your own, without permission, credit, or acknowledgment, or because of failing to cite the sources properly. Plagiarism can take diverse forms, from literal copying to paraphrasing the work of another. To correctly judge whether an author has plagiarized, we emphasize the following possible situations:

  • An author can copy another author’s work- by copying word by word, in whole or in part, without permission, acknowledge or citing the source. This practice can be identified by comparing the source and the manuscript/work who is suspected of plagiarism.
  • Substantial copying implies an author to reproduce a significant part of another author, without permission, acknowledgment, or citation. The substantial term can be understood both in terms of quality as quantity, is often used in the context of Intellectual property. Condition refers to the relative value of the copied text in proportion to the work as a whole.
  • Paraphrasing involves taking ideas, words, or phrases from a source and crafting them into new sentences within the writing. This practice becomes unethical when the author does not properly cite or does not acknowledge the original work/author. This form of plagiarism is the more difficult form to be identified.

 

Research and Publication Ethics Violations

KENANGA considers the following practices to be violations of research or publication ethics:

  • fabrication of research data;
  • falsification or manipulation of data;
  • plagiarism and self-plagiarism;
  • duplicate or redundant publication;
  • inappropriate authorship or authorship manipulation;
  • citation manipulation;
  • manipulation of the peer-review process;
  • undeclared conflicts of interest; and
  • other practices that violate accepted standards of research and publication ethics

Allegations of misconduct may be filed before or after publication. The Editor-in-Chief will evaluate the allegations and, if necessary, request clarification or evidence from the authors and relevant institutions.

KENANGA will follow the relevant COPE guidelines in handling allegations of research or publication ethics violations.

 

Copyrights, Permissions, Reprints & Licensing

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