Publishing Ethical Policy

The Asian Journal of Qualitative Research (AJQR) follows the Standard Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. Authors must ensure honesty in presenting their research results and conclusions. Any form of research misconduct is detrimental to knowledge and can mislead other researchers.

Research Integrity

Fabrication, falsification, or selective reporting of data with the intent to mislead or deceive is unethical, as is the theft of data or research results from others. Research findings should be recorded and maintained for proper analysis and review. After publication, data should be retained for a reasonable period and made available upon request, except in cases where privacy, patent protection, or similar concerns are involved.

Plagiarism

Reproducing text from other papers without proper attribution (plagiarism) or publishing multiple papers with nearly identical content by the same authors (self-plagiarism) is strictly prohibited. Authors must acknowledge others' contributions to their work and cite relevant literature that influenced their research.

Submitting the same results to multiple journals simultaneously is unethical, with the exception of review articles. Authors must ensure their results are original and not presented as someone else's work.

Duplicate Submission

Simultaneous submissions of the same manuscript to multiple journals are not allowed. If detected, the submitted article will be removed without consideration.

Corrections and Retractions

Authors must notify and cooperate with the editorial team in correcting errors or retracting papers when necessary. AJQR will issue retractions in cases where:

There is clear evidence that findings are unreliable due to misconduct (e.g., data fabrication) or honest mistakes (e.g., miscalculations or experimental errors).
The findings have been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing or permission (redundant publication).
The manuscript constitutes plagiarism.
The research reported is unethical.

The journal will issue corrections (errata) if:

A small portion of a reliable publication proves to be misleading (especially due to honest error).
The author list is incorrect (i.e., a deserving author has been omitted, or an ineligible person has been included).

Other forms of misconduct include misrepresentation of interests, breach of confidentiality, lack of informed consent, and unethical treatment of research subjects or materials. Even minor ethical violations, while not always leading to formal investigations, can be damaging and should be corrected.

Principles of Research Integrity

Reliability – Ensuring high-quality research through robust methodology, sound analysis, and appropriate use of resources.
Honesty – Conducting research in a transparent, fair, and unbiased manner.
Respect – Valuing research participants, colleagues, society, cultural heritage, and the environment.
Accountability – Taking full responsibility for research from conception to publication, including management, supervision, and ethical oversight.

Note: All manuscripts submitted to AJQR will undergo plagiarism detection to prevent copying or self-plagiarism. Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

Date: ________________________ Corresponding Author’s Signature: __________________________