Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Arab Media Renewal Journal (AMRJ) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics across all stages of the editorial and publishing process. The journal's policies are developed in strict accordance with the guidelines and best practices set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) where applicable, and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) principles of transparency.

Duties of Editors

The Editor-in-Chief and members of the Editorial Board are responsible for making fair, unbiased, and timely publication decisions based solely on the scholarly merit of submitted manuscripts, the relevance to the journal's scope, and the outcomes of the peer review process. Editors shall not disclose any information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate. Editors must recuse themselves from handling submissions in which they have a conflict of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the paper. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript shall not be used by editors in their own research without the express written consent of the author(s).

Duties of Reviewers

Peer reviewers assist the Editor in making editorial decisions and may also assist the author in improving the quality of the manuscript through constructive feedback. Any reviewer who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or who cannot complete the review within the agreed timeframe must notify the editor and withdraw from the review process. Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents and shall not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor. Reviews must be conducted objectively. Reviewers must identify published work relevant to the manuscript that has not been cited by the authors. Any observation, derivation, or argument that has been previously reported must be accompanied by the relevant citation. Reviewers must alert the editor to any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and any other published work of which they have personal knowledge. Reviewers should have no conflict of interest with respect to the research, the authors, or the funding sources of the submitted manuscript.

Duties of Authors

Authors must present an accurate account of the original research performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. The underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable. Authors must ensure that the submitted work is entirely original. Where the work and/or words of others have been used, this must be appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. An author must 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. 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 must be listed as co-authors, and all co-authors must approve the final version of the manuscript and agree to its submission. The corresponding author must ensure that all appropriate co-authors are included on the manuscript and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version. Authors must disclose any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the research must be disclosed. Authors must ensure compliance with ethical standards regarding research involving human participants, including securing informed consent and ethics approval from an institutional review board (IRB).

Handling Publication Misconduct

AMRJ takes allegations of publication misconduct seriously and follows COPE flowcharts for resolving suspected cases of research and publication misconduct. In the event of suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication or falsification, or authorship disputes, the journal will investigate following established COPE procedures. Depending on the severity and outcome of the investigation, actions may include issuance of an expression of concern, retraction of the published article, notification to the author's institution, and a ban on future submissions by the author(s) to the journal for a defined period.

Plagiarism Detection

All manuscripts submitted to AMRJ are screened for plagiarism using Turnitin and/or iThenticate before being sent for peer review. Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 20% (excluding references and properly attributed quotations) are returned to authors for revision or rejected at the editor's discretion.

Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

AMRJ follows COPE's Retraction Guidelines. Corrections (errata) are published when errors are identified that do not affect the integrity of the findings. Retractions are issued when there is clear evidence of research misconduct, unreliable findings, plagiarism, or ethical violations. Expressions of concern are published when there is inconclusive evidence of misconduct but sufficient cause for caution.

Research Ethics and Informed Consent

Studies involving human participants must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and must have received approval from a recognized institutional ethics committee. Evidence of informed consent must be documented in the manuscript. Studies involving animals must comply with relevant institutional and national guidelines.