STATEMENT OF ETHICS

This is a statement of ethics for International Journal of Infrastructure Research and Management (IJIRM) which is published for Infrastructure University Kuala Lumpur (IUKL) by IKRAM Education Sdn. Bhd. This statement is adapted from the Principles of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (January, 2018) and covers the code of ethics for Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editors, reviewers, authors and the publisher.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

• Evaluates submitted manuscripts exclusively on the basis of academic merit and its relevance to the journal's scope regardless of the authors' ethnic origin, gender, citizenship, religious belief, political philosophy or institutional affiliation
• Has full authority over the entire editorial content of the journal and the timing of publication of that content
• Will not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, editorial board members and the publisher
• Will not use unpublished information disclosed in a submitted manuscript for his/her own research purposes without the authors' explicit written consent
• Recuse him/herself from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships/connections with any of the authors, companies or institutions connected to the papers; instead he/she should ask another member of the editorial board to handle the manuscript
• Ensures that all submitted manuscripts being considered for publication undergo peer-review by at least two (2) reviewers who are expert in the field
• Is responsible for deciding which of the manuscripts submitted to the journal will be published, based on the validation of the work, its importance to researchers and readers, the reviewers' comments and such legal requirements as copyright infringement and plagiarism
• Takes responsive measures when ethical concerns are raised with regard to a submitted manuscript or published paper
• Shall take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication, among others.
• In the event that a journal’s publisher or editors are made aware of any allegation of research misconduct relating to a published article in their journal, the publisher or editor shall follow COPE’s guidelines (or equivalent) in dealing with allegations.

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

• Adopt peer-review methods best suited for the journal and the research community it serves.
• Ensure all published reports of research have been reviewed by suitably qualified reviewers.
• Ensure language, style of writing and format are appropriate for the journal.
• Ensure citation format is adhered.
• Ensure that non-peer-reviewed sections (Title page) of the journal are clearly identified.
• Encourage reviewers to ensure the originality of submissions and be alert to redundant publication and plagiarism.
• Shall take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication, among others.

INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD

• Recommend high quality papers for publication in International Journal of Infrastructure Research and Management
• Recommend reviewers to International Journal of Infrastructure Research and Management

REVIEWERS

• Inform editors of possible fabrication, falsification, misconduct or inappropriate data manipulation.
• Explain accurately the reasons for a submission if declined.
• Conduct reviews objectively and personal criticism of the author is inappropriate.
• Identify and suggest key research publications not cited by the authors, if this is the case.
• Refuse to review a manuscript if there is a potential conflict of interest.
• If asked to review a manuscript they have previously reviewed, reviewers should make that prior review known to the IJIRM, unless it is clear that they are being asked to provide a reappraisal.
• Be prompt with reviews. If a reviewer cannot meet the deadline given, the reviewer should contact the IJIRM as soon as possible to determine whether a longer time period or a new Reviewer should be chosen.

AUTHORS

• Research reported should have been conducted in an ethical and responsible manner and should comply with all relevant procedures and legislation.
• Presented results should be clear, honest and without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation.
• Research methods should be clear and unambiguous so that findings can be confirmed by others.
• Adhere to IJIRM requirements that submitted work is original, is not plagiarised, and has not been published elsewhere.
• Take individual and collective responsibility for submitted and published work.
• Accurately reflect individuals’ contributions to the work and its reporting.
• Disclose biodata, funding sources, acknowledgement, and conflicts of interest in the Title page, when and if it exist.
• Check manuscripts for possible breaches of copyright law (e.g. where permissions are needed for quotations, artwork or tables taken from other publications) and secure the necessary permissions before submission.
• Avoid anything in the text of the manuscript that might be legally actionable, such as defamation.
• Avoid sexist and biased language that could be interpreted as denigrating to others; e.g. use plural rather than single pronouns ("they" rather than "he") are recommended.
• Be prompt with manuscript revisions. If the author cannot meet the deadline given, the author should contact IJIRM as soon as possible to determine whether a longer time period or withdrawal from the review process should be chosen.

POST PUBLICATION

IJIRM holds the copyright to all published articles.

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSING

• The policy for copyright shall be clearly stated in the author guidelines and the copyright holder named on all published articles.
• Licensing information shall be clearly described in guidelines on the website, and licensing terms shall be indicated on all published articles, both HTML and PDFs.
• Any policies on posting of final accepted versions or published articles on third party repositories shall be clearly stated.

PUBLISHER

• Shall take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication, among others.
• Is committed to the permanent availability and preservation of scholarly research
• Ensures accessibility by partnering with organisations and maintaining our own digital archive
• In the event that a journal’s publisher or editors are made aware of any allegation of research misconduct relating to a published article in their journal, the publisher or editor shall follow COPE’s guidelines (or equivalent) in dealing with allegations.

PROTOCOL OF PUBLICATION PROCESS