Research and Publication Ethics

Research and Publication Ethics

The Journal of Resilient Urbanism and Sustainable Design (JRUSD) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of ethical integrity in research, authorship, peer review, and publication. All authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to comply with the following principles.

  1. Research Ethics
  • Research involving human participants, communities, or sensitive cultural heritage must comply with internationally recognized ethical standards and applicable national regulations.
  • Where required, authors must confirm that the study protocol received approval from an institutional or national ethics committee, and that informed consent was obtained.
  • Studies involving Indigenous peoples or vulnerable communities must demonstrate cultural sensitivity, respect local values and traditions, and avoid harm or exploitation.
  1. Authorship and Contributorship
  • Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the work.
  • All listed authors must approve the final manuscript and agree to its submission.
  • Guest, honorary, and ghost authorship are not permitted.
  • Any change to authorship (addition, removal, or re-ordering) after submission requires written agreement from all co-authors and approval by the journal.
  1. Originality and Plagiarism
  • Manuscripts must be original, not previously published, and not under review elsewhere.
  • Plagiarism in any form, including self-plagiarism and uncredited reuse of previously published materials, is unacceptable. JRUSD may screen submitted manuscripts using Turnitin or equivalent similarity-checking tools as part of the editorial assessment process.

  • Similarity scores are not used as a single pass/fail criterion. Editors evaluate reports qualitatively, taking into account legitimate overlaps such as properly cited quotations, references, methods descriptions, standard terminology, and correctly attributed reuse (e.g., parts of a thesis/dissertation or a preprint, where applicable and disclosed).

  • When a similarity report indicates potentially inappropriate overlap (e.g., substantial uncited copying, uncredited paraphrasing, or excessive text recycling), the journal may request clarification, revisions, or supporting documentation.

  • If concerns suggest plagiarism, redundant publication, or unacceptable text recycling, the journal may take actions including: requesting revision and explanation, desk rejection, notification to relevant institutions in serious cases, and post-publication corrections or retractions when warranted.

  • Similarity screening is used strictly for editorial evaluation. Manuscripts and similarity reports are handled confidentially and shared only with those involved in the editorial process as necessary.
  1. Data Integrity, Transparency, and Reproducibility
  • Authors must ensure the accuracy and transparency of data, methods, and findings, and present results honestly without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate manipulation of figures or data.
  • Authors should retain original/raw data and relevant documentation and provide them upon reasonable request for verification, subject to legal, ethical, and privacy constraints.
  • Where possible, authors are encouraged to provide data and code availability statements and share materials via repositories or supplementary files, with appropriate safeguards for sensitive data.
  1. Conflicts of Interest
  • Authors must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest (financial, professional, or personal) that could be perceived to influence the work.
  • Editors and reviewers must declare conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from handling or reviewing manuscripts when a conflict exists.
  1. Peer Review Ethics
  • JRUSD uses a double-blind peer review process. All manuscripts are treated as confidential.
  • Reviewers are expected to provide objective, constructive, and timely feedback and to evaluate manuscripts solely on scholarly merit.
  • Reviewers must not use, share, or disclose unpublished information from manuscripts for personal advantage.
  • Editors do not handle or make decisions on manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest.
  1. Handling Allegations of Misconduct
  • Suspected misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, redundant publication, data fabrication or falsification, unethical research, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or authorship disputes) will be investigated in accordance with COPE guidance and the journal’s procedures.
  • Outcomes may include requests for clarification, rejection, publication of corrections, retraction, notification to relevant institutions (when appropriate), and restrictions on future submissions.
  1. Corrections and Retractions
  • JRUSD is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.
  • If errors are identified after publication, the journal may issue a correction (erratum/corrigendum).
  • If findings are unreliable due to misconduct or serious error, the journal may issue a retraction.
  • In cases of unresolved or serious concern, an expression of concern may be published while an investigation is ongoing.
  • Notices will be clearly linked to the original article.
  1. Copyright, Licensing, and Permissions
     All articles published in the Journal of Resilient Urbanism and Sustainable Design (JRUSD) are fully open access and made available immediately upon publication.

  • Copyright: Authors retain copyright and full publishing rights without restrictions.

  • Publishing rights: By submitting and publishing in JRUSD, authors grant the journal the right of first publication and the right to publish, reproduce, and distribute the work as part of the scholarly record.

  • License: All accepted articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided that appropriate credit is given to the author(s) and the source, a link to the license is provided, and any changes are indicated.

  • Permissions and third-party material: Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reuse any third-party material (e.g., images, figures, maps, datasets) and for providing appropriate acknowledgements. Third-party content is covered by the article’s CC BY 4.0 license unless otherwise stated in a credit line.

  • License link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

  1. Direct Marketing Policy
    Any direct marketing activities conducted on behalf of JRUSD (e.g., calls for papers or invitations to submit) are appropriate, well targeted, and non-intrusive. Information provided about the journal’s scope, peer review, and policies is truthful and not misleading. JRUSD does not guarantee acceptance or promise unrealistically short peer review timelines in any communications.
  1. Complaints and Appeals
  • Authors may submit complaints or appeals regarding editorial decisions, peer review, or publication ethics by contacting the journal at editor@jrusd.org.
  • Complaints and appeals will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and, where appropriate, an independent member of the editorial board.
  • JRUSD aims to acknowledge receipt within 10 working days and provide a final response within 30 working days, depending on the complexity of the case.