Publication Ethics

Maintaining academic integrity and ethical publishing standards is essential to ensure the credibility and reliability of research. VELES is committed to upholding ethical principles in scholarly publishing by adhering to internationally recognized guidelines, particularly those set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). These ethical standards apply to all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher. Through independent editorial policies, VELES ensures fair and transparent research dissemination, prevents academic misconduct, and promotes responsible authorship and peer review. By following these ethical guidelines, the journal aims to foster trust, accountability, and excellence in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) research.

1. Ethics Statement

The Voices of English Language Education Society (VELES) upholds the highest academic integrity, transparency, and ethical publishing standards. This policy outlines the journal’s ethical standards based on internationally recognized guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). VELES maintains independent editorial policies to ensure fair and ethical research dissemination, prevent academic misconduct and unethical practices, and promote responsible authorship, peer review, and editorial independence. All contributors must adhere to these ethical principles, including authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher.

2. Roles and Responsibilities

Authors submitting to VELES must ensure their manuscript is original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere. They should accurately report research findings without fabrication, falsification, or data manipulation. Proper citations and attributions must be provided to avoid plagiarism, and authors should disclose all funding sources and potential conflicts of interest. Additionally, while AI-generated content can assist in certain aspects of research, it must not replace human intellectual contributions, and its use should be disclosed when applicable.

Reviewers play a critical role in maintaining the integrity of the journal. They must provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations while maintaining confidentiality and ensuring that manuscript content is not shared, used, or distributed. Any potential ethical concerns, such as plagiarism, data fabrication, or conflicts of interest, should be flagged. If a reviewer has a conflict of interest with the authors or research, they must recuse themselves from the review process.

Editors are responsible for ensuring that editorial decisions are free from bias and based solely on scholarly merit. They must maintain confidentiality regarding submitted manuscripts and reject those that violate plagiarism, research ethics, or AI usage policies. A fair peer review process should be ensured by selecting appropriate reviewers and addressing conflicts of interest. Any allegations of ethical misconduct must be handled transparently and under COPE guidelines.

3. Research Integrity and Misconduct

Plagiarism in any form is strictly prohibited. VELES defines plagiarism as the use of another’s work without proper attribution, including direct copying (word-for-word reproduction without citation), paraphrased plagiarism (rewording content without attribution), self-plagiarism (reusing previously published work without disclosure), and AI-assisted plagiarism (rewording or generating content via AI without citation).

Authors must ensure the integrity and transparency of their research data by accurately reporting findings without falsifying, fabricating, or omitting results. Negative results should also be disclosed to prevent selective reporting. Furthermore, authors are required to retain raw data for at least five years for verification purposes.

4. Ethical Use of Generative AI in Research and Publishing

AI tools may be used in research and publishing for specific, permissible tasks such as grammar and language assistance (e.g., Grammarly, Hemingway Editor), data analysis and statistical support (AI tools for coding and modeling), and reference management (e.g., Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote). However, AI must not be listed as an author and cannot generate original research findings or interpretations. Data fabrication, sources, or references using AI are strictly prohibited. Additionally, AI-assisted plagiarism is considered unethical, where existing content is reworded without citation.

5. Ethical Violations and Retraction Policy

Any individual, including authors, reviewers, or readers, may report ethical concerns to VELES at velesjournal@gmail.com. Violations of ethical standards may lead to serious consequences. If ethical misconduct is identified, the manuscript may be rejected for issues such as plagiarism, AI misuse, or conflicts of interest. If misconduct is discovered post-publication, the article may be retracted. Severe or repeated ethical breaches may result in author bans from future submissions to the journal.