Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement
International Journal Research on Metaverse is a peer-reviewed open-access journal. This statement clarifies the ethical behavior of all parties involved in the act of publishing an article in this journal, including the author, the chief editor, the Editorial Board, the peer-reviewer, and the publisher (Department of Information Management, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, and Bright Publisher). This statement is based on the previous COPE’s Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors and the current COPE's Core Practices.
Ethical Guideline for Journal Publication
The publication of an article in a peer-reviewed International Journal of Research on Metaverse is an essential building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. It is a direct reflection of the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the scientific method. It is, therefore, important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, the publisher, and the society.
Publisher and Editor
Bright Publisher as the publisher of the International Journal Research on Metaverse takes its duties of guardianship over all stages of publishing extremely seriously and we recognize our ethical and other responsibilities. We are committed to ensuring that advertising, reprint, or other commercial revenue has no impact or influence on editorial decisions. In addition, the Department of Information Management, National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan and the Editorial Board will assist in communications with other journals and/or publishers where this is useful and necessary.
Publication Decisions: The editor of the International Journal Research on Metaverse is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always drive such decisions. The editors may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editors may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.
Fair Play: An editor at any time evaluates manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
Confidentiality: The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.
Complaints Policy: We aim to respond to and resolve all complaints quickly and constructively. The procedures to investigate and resolve complaints followed by the International Journal Research on Metaverse aim to be fair and balanced for those making complaints and for those being complained about. The complaint can be made by writing an email. All complaints will be acknowledged within five working days.
Research Involving Human Participants: International Journal Research on Metaverse (IJRM) requires that all research involving human participants complies with internationally accepted ethical standards, including the Declaration of Helsinki, and adheres to applicable institutional and national regulations.
Informed Consent: Authors must include a statement confirming that informed consent was obtained from all participants and specify the format (written or verbal). If verbal consent was obtained, authors must provide a justification and confirm that the procedure received approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB) or equivalent ethics committee.
Anonymity and Privacy: Identifying information (e.g., names, photographs, personal data, avatars, digital identities, or interaction traces within virtual or metaverse environments) must not be published unless explicit consent has been obtained. The anonymity and privacy of participants must be strictly preserved throughout the manuscript.
Ethics Approval: Studies involving human participants must clearly state the name of the approving ethics committee or Institutional Review Board (IRB), including the approval reference number. If ethical approval was not required, authors must provide a clear and justified rationale in accordance with applicable institutional or national regulations.
Sensitive Data Handling: Data containing sensitive personal, behavioral, biometric, or immersive interaction data must be securely stored and appropriately de-identified. Authors must comply with relevant data protection and privacy regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or applicable national data protection laws.
Duties of Reviewers
- Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper.
- Promptness: Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.
- Confidentiality: Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.
- Standards of Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
- Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation.
- Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
Duties of Authors
- Reporting Standards: Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance.
- Data Access and Retention: Authors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review.
- Originality and Plagiarism: The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works.
- Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication: Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
- Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given.
- Authorship of the Paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study.
- Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest.
- Fundamental Errors in Published Works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, they must promptly notify the journal editor.
- The Journal’s Policies Intellectual Property: Based on the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). According to the COPE, policies on intellectual property should include copyright, license, and cost associated with the journal publication.