Peer Review, Publication Ethics, and Malpractice Statement

The Bank and Policy Journal (ISSN: 2790-1041 | E-ISSN: 2790-2366) is committed to the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity. All stakeholders in the publication process—including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—are expected to adhere to the principles outlined below, in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines.

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Editorial Responsibilities

• Manuscript Evaluation: Editors evaluate submissions exclusively on the basis of academic merit, originality, quality, and relevance to the journal’s scope, without discrimination based on race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation.

• Confidentiality: Editors must not disclose any details about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and editorial board members.

• Peer Review Oversight: Editors ensure that the peer review process is conducted fairly, promptly, and with scientific rigor.

• Impartiality: Editorial decisions are based solely on the scientific quality of the manuscript, free from personal, financial, or political bias.

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Peer Review Process

• Bank and Policy follows an open peer review model, although double- or triple-blind peer review may also be applied depending on the manuscript.

• Manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening for quality, originality, and compliance with the journal’s scope. Papers that fail to meet these standards may be rejected without review.

• Reviewers are assigned based on expertise and relevance. Authors are normally informed of reviewer reports within three weeks.

• Reviewers provide constructive feedback and highlight relevant published work not cited by the author. They must identify potential overlaps with previously published research.

• Reviewers treat manuscripts as confidential documents, and they may not use unpublished material for personal advantage.

• In cases of reviewer misconduct, such as breach of confidentiality or conflict of interest, the journal will take corrective action.

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Author Responsibilities

• Originality: Authors must submit only original, unpublished work. Simultaneous or redundant submission to multiple journals (parallel publication) is strictly prohibited.

• Authorship: All individuals who contributed significantly to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study should be listed as co-authors. The corresponding author must confirm that all co-authors have approved the final version of the manuscript.

• Accuracy: Authors are responsible for ensuring accuracy of data, analyses, and conclusions. Any errors discovered after submission must be promptly reported to the editor.

• Acknowledgement of Sources: Authors must properly cite all sources that have influenced their research. Plagiarism, falsification, or manipulation of data constitutes academic misconduct and will be addressed in line with COPE guidelines.

• Conflict of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal conflicts that could inappropriately influence their work.

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Publisher Responsibilities

The publisher, IMCRA Publishing, in collaboration with the editorial board:

• Ensures the integrity and permanence of all published records.

• Publishes corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when necessary.

• Maintains transparency in all publication activities and upholds the independence of editorial decisions.

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Plagiarism and Misconduct

• All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection software (e.g., Turnitin).

• Plagiarism, duplicate publication, data manipulation, or other forms of research misconduct will not be tolerated.

• Confirmed cases of misconduct may result in rejection, retraction, or institutional notification, in line with COPE recommendations.

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Conflicts of Interest

• Reviewers must withdraw from reviewing manuscripts if conflicts of interest arise due to financial, collaborative, competitive, or other relationships with the authors or their institutions.

• Editors and editorial board members must also declare and manage conflicts transparently.

• The Bank and Policy Journal follows the PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA) conflict of interest guidelines.

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Copyright and Licensing

• All published articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0).

• Authors retain full copyright of their work and may deposit accepted and published versions in institutional and subject repositories.

• Requests for authorship changes (addition, removal, or reordering) after submission must be accompanied by a signed statement from all authors.

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Parallel Publication

• Submitting the same or substantially similar research to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior and will not be accepted.

• Submitting the same research to different journals in different languages without significant changes is also considered parallel publication.

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References and Citation Integrity

• Authors should cite only relevant literature that directly informs the study.

• Irrelevant, excessive, or unethical self-citation is prohibited.

• All references must follow the APA 7th edition style (numeric citation permitted for Azerbaijani authors).

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Conclusion

The Bank and Policy Journal strictly enforces ethical publishing practices to ensure the credibility of research and trust within the academic community. All cases of suspected malpractice will be handled according to COPE Core Practices.