Publications Ethics

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Avishkaran Journal of Young Researchers (AJYR) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. As a journal dedicated to publishing research conducted by high-school students, AJYR recognizes its special responsibility to protect young researchers, research participants, parents, educators, and the scientific record.

AJYR follows the principles and best-practice guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and adopts a zero-tolerance approach toward research and publication misconduct. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that all manuscripts submitted to and published in AJYR meet internationally accepted ethical standards of honesty, transparency, accountability, and respect for human and animal subjects.

More information on COPE guidelines is available at: https://publicationethics.org/

Publication Ethics Statement

AJYR is founded on the principle that scholarly publishing must be guided by honesty, transparency, and academic integrity. Authors are required to:

  • report their research truthfully without fabrication, falsification, or selective reporting
  • describe research methods, analyses, and conclusions accurately and reproducibly
  • properly acknowledge and cite prior work

Because AJYR primarily serves high-school researchers, additional ethical safeguards apply to minors. All research involving human participants must respect dignity, privacy, voluntary participation, and informed consent, and must include mandatory parental or guardian approval when minors are involved.

All editorial decisions are made solely on academic merit and are free from discrimination, prejudice, or bias.

Handling of Ethical Misconduct

AJYR takes all allegations of ethical misconduct seriously, including:

  • plagiarism
  • data fabrication or falsification
  • duplicate or redundant submission
  • unethical experimentation
  • misuse of artificial intelligence tools
  • undisclosed conflicts of interest
  • improper authorship practices

Complaints are handled confidentially and impartially. The process includes:

  • initial editorial assessment
  • formal investigation if warranted
  • opportunity for authors to respond and submit documentation
  • consultation with experts or institutions when needed
  • decisions made according to COPE guidelines

Possible outcomes include:

  • manuscript rejection
  • publication of corrections
  • retraction of published work
  • formal warnings
  • notification of schools or institutions
  • restrictions on future submissions

Retraction and Correction Policy

AJYR is committed to preserving the integrity of the scientific record.

  • Corrections / Errata are issued for minor errors that do not change interpretation
  • Retractions are issued when major errors or ethical violations invalidate findings

Retracted articles remain accessible with clear labels to ensure transparency and prevent misuse.

Data Fabrication and Falsification

AJYR strictly prohibits:

  • fabricating data, results, or experiments
  • manipulating research materials or data
  • omitting or altering results to mislead
  • misreporting sample sizes or statistics

Manuscripts containing fabricated or falsified data will be rejected, and published articles will be retracted. In serious cases, schools, guardians, or institutions may be informed.

Image Manipulation Policy

Images must accurately represent original data. Only minimal adjustments (brightness, contrast, clarity) are allowed and must not alter meaning.

Unacceptable practices include:

  • adding or removing image features
  • splicing images without disclosure
  • reusing images to represent different experiments
  • altering images to mislead interpretation

Improper image manipulation is treated as serious misconduct and may result in rejection or retraction.