The journal ensures the credibility and reliability of the academic record by enforcing ethical policies, ensuring transparency, preventing misconduct, and promoting fairness throughout the editorial workflow.

Editorial Responsibilities
Evaluation of Manuscripts
Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on academic merit, originality, methodological rigor, and relevance to the journal’s scope.
Confidentiality
Editors must treat all manuscripts as confidential documents and must not disclose contents to anyone except those involved in the review process.
Peer Review Supervision
Editors ensure that peer review is fair, objective, timely, and free from bias. They select qualified reviewers based on scholarly expertise.
Editorial Independence
Decisions are free from commercial, personal, institutional, or political influences. Conflicted editors must recuse themselves and delegate responsibility to another editor.

Peer Review Process
Review Model
The journal typically follows an open peer review model but may employ double-blind or triple-blind review when necessary.
Initial Screening
Manuscripts undergo technical and ethical screening, including plagiarism detection, relevance assessment, and scope compliance.
Reviewer Assignment
Reviewers are selected based on subject expertise. Authors generally receive reviewer comments within three weeks.

Reviewer Expectations
Reviewers must:
• Provide constructive, objective feedback
• Identify missing relevant literature
• Detect potential misconduct
• Maintain confidentiality
• Avoid use of unpublished material

Reviewer Misconduct
Breaches of confidentiality or conflicts of interest result in corrective action and possible removal from reviewer lists.

Author Responsibilities
Originality
Authors must submit only original work that has not been published elsewhere. Simultaneous or redundant submission is prohibited.
Authorship and Contribution
Authors listed must have made a substantial contribution to the research. All co-authors must approve the submitted version.
Data Accuracy
Authors are responsible for the accuracy of all data and findings. Errors must be reported immediately.
Citation and Acknowledgment
Authors must properly cite all sources and avoid unethical self-citation. Plagiarism, falsification, and data manipulation constitute misconduct.
Conflict of Interest
Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, or personal conflicts that may influence the research.

The journal follows PNAS conflict of interest guidelines.

Plagiarism and Research Misconduct
Screening
All submissions undergo plagiarism detection using Turnitin, iThenticate, or similar software.
Types of Misconduct
Misconduct includes plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, duplicate submission, unethical authorship, citation manipulation, and peer review interference.
Consequences
Misconduct may result in:
• Rejection
• Retraction
• A five-year submission ban
• Notification of the authors’ institution
• Reporting to funding agencies

Reviewer COI
Reviewers must decline reviews when conflicts arise due to financial, collaborative, or competitive relationships.
Editor COI
Editors must recuse themselves from manuscripts where conflicts exist.
COI Policy Framework
The journal adheres to PNAS and COPE guidelines for identifying and managing conflicts of interest.

Author Rights
Authors retain full copyright and may deposit preprints, accepted manuscripts, and published versions in repositories.
Authorship Changes
Post-submission authorship changes require a signed statement from all authors confirming agreement.
Parallel and Redundant Publication
Parallel publication—including multilingual duplication without substantial revision—is considered unethical and strictly prohibited.
Authors must not submit the same or significantly similar manuscripts to multiple journals, regardless of language or format.
Reference and Citation Integrity
Authors must:
• Cite only relevant, accurate, and appropriate sources
• Avoid excessive or irrelevant self-citation
• Use APA 7th edition (numeric style allowed for Azerbaijani authors)
• Provide accurate DOIs, URLs, and metadata

Citation manipulation will result in rejection or corrective action.

All cases of suspected malpractice are thoroughly investigated in accordance with COPE Core Practices and resolved with fairness and professionalism.