Publication Ethics

ETERNAL (English, Teaching, Learning and Research) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly communication. As an international, peer-reviewed journal, ETERNAL recognizes that the integrity of the scholarly record depends on the responsible conduct of authors, editors, reviewers, and all other individuals involved in the publication process.

The journal expects all participants in the publication process to act with honesty, fairness, accountability, confidentiality, and respect for established principles of responsible research and scholarly publishing. ETERNAL is committed to ensuring that editorial and publication decisions are based on academic quality, originality, methodological rigor, relevance, and contribution to the field rather than personal, institutional, commercial, or other inappropriate considerations.

This Publication Ethics policy should be read together with ETERNAL's policies on Peer Review, Publishing Malpractice, Competing Interests, Artificial Intelligence, Corrections and Retractions, and Copyright.

1. General Ethical Principles

ETERNAL expects all manuscripts submitted to the journal to represent genuine scholarly work and to contribute meaningfully to research and knowledge in English language education and related fields.

Authors, editors, and reviewers are expected to:

  • act honestly and responsibly throughout the publication process;
  • respect the principles of academic integrity;
  • provide accurate and transparent information;
  • acknowledge the contributions and sources of others appropriately;
  • protect confidential information obtained through the publication process;
  • disclose relevant competing interests;
  • respect the independence and integrity of peer review;
  • comply with applicable research ethics requirements; and
  • cooperate appropriately when questions concerning research or publication integrity arise.

ETERNAL does not tolerate practices that intentionally or seriously undermine the reliability, transparency, or integrity of the scholarly record.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are primarily responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts meet appropriate standards of academic and research integrity.

Authors must ensure that:

  • the submitted manuscript is original and represents their own scholarly work;
  • the manuscript has not been published previously, except where appropriately disclosed and permitted;
  • the manuscript is not simultaneously under consideration by another journal;
  • all sources, ideas, quotations, data, materials, and other intellectual contributions from previous work are appropriately acknowledged;
  • the reported research has been conducted responsibly and in accordance with applicable ethical requirements;
  • research procedures, data, analysis, and findings are reported accurately and transparently;
  • all individuals listed as authors have made meaningful contributions to the work;
  • all individuals who made substantial contributions and meet the journal's authorship requirements are appropriately recognized;
  • all authors have approved the submitted and final versions of the manuscript;
  • relevant funding and support are disclosed;
  • relevant competing interests are declared; and
  • necessary permissions and informed consent have been obtained where applicable.

Authors should not knowingly provide false, misleading, or incomplete information concerning the research, authorship, affiliation, ethical approval, funding, data, or publication history.

Authors remain responsible for the content of their manuscript even when they have received assistance from editors, translators, language professionals, software, or artificial intelligence tools.

3. Authorship and Contribution

ETERNAL considers authorship an important matter of academic responsibility. Authorship should reflect meaningful intellectual or scholarly contribution to the research and manuscript.

Individuals should not be listed as authors merely because of their position, institutional status, supervisory role, administrative authority, or other non-substantive relationship with the research.

Similarly, individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions should not be excluded from authorship without appropriate justification.

All listed authors should:

  • have made a meaningful contribution to the research or manuscript;
  • participate sufficiently in the work to take responsibility for their contribution;
  • approve the final version of the manuscript; and
  • agree to be accountable for the integrity of the work.

Changes to authorship after submission should be made only for legitimate reasons and with the agreement of all affected authors. The journal may request an explanation or supporting documentation before approving a change in authorship.

4. Originality and Responsible Use of Sources

ETERNAL expects authors to acknowledge previous scholarship accurately and appropriately. Authors must distinguish clearly between their own contributions and ideas, findings, language, data, or materials derived from other sources.

Appropriate citation is required when authors:

  • use another researcher's ideas or arguments;
  • reproduce or closely paraphrase published text;
  • use previously reported data or findings;
  • use figures, tables, images, instruments, or other materials created by others; or
  • build substantially on previous research.

Authors should avoid excessive self-citation or citation practices intended primarily to influence citation metrics rather than to provide relevant scholarly support.

ETERNAL may conduct similarity or research-integrity checks as part of the editorial process. A similarity result is not, by itself, a determination of plagiarism; the editorial team will consider the nature, extent, location, and context of any identified overlap.

5. Research Integrity

Authors are expected to conduct and report research responsibly. Research findings must be presented accurately, and authors must not deliberately manipulate research procedures, evidence, analysis, or results.

Authors should provide sufficient methodological information to allow readers to understand how the research was conducted and, where appropriate, evaluate or reproduce the research.

Where relevant, authors should clearly report:

  • research design and procedures;
  • participants or data sources;
  • instruments and materials;
  • analytical procedures;
  • relevant ethical approvals;
  • limitations of the study; and
  • sources of funding or other support.

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical requirements. Where required, authors should obtain appropriate ethical approval and informed consent and provide relevant information in the manuscript.

6. Data and Research Materials

Authors are responsible for the integrity of the data and research materials underlying their manuscript.

Data should not be fabricated, falsified, selectively manipulated, or presented in a misleading manner. Authors should retain appropriate research records and supporting materials in accordance with applicable institutional, legal, ethical, and disciplinary requirements.

Where data or research materials can be shared ethically and legally, authors are encouraged to provide sufficient information to support transparency and scholarly verification.

However, the protection of participants' privacy and confidentiality takes priority. Personally identifiable or sensitive information must not be disclosed without appropriate authorization and ethical justification.

7. Editorial Responsibilities

Editors of ETERNAL are responsible for maintaining a fair, transparent, and academically rigorous editorial process.

Editors should:

  • evaluate submissions on the basis of academic merit, relevance, originality, methodological quality, and contribution;
  • make editorial decisions independently and fairly;
  • avoid discrimination based on authors' personal or institutional characteristics;
  • protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts;
  • select appropriate reviewers based on expertise and suitability;
  • manage competing interests appropriately;
  • maintain the integrity of the peer-review process;
  • respond appropriately to credible ethical concerns; and
  • take reasonable steps to correct the scholarly record when necessary.

Editors should not use unpublished information obtained from submitted manuscripts for personal, professional, commercial, or other purposes.

Editorial decisions should not be influenced by commercial relationships, personal interests, political considerations, institutional pressure, or other factors unrelated to the academic quality and suitability of the manuscript.

8. Editorial Independence

ETERNAL maintains editorial independence in its academic decision-making.

Editorial decisions concerning whether a manuscript is reviewed, revised, accepted, rejected, corrected, or otherwise handled should be based on scholarly considerations and the journal's policies.

The journal's owners, publisher, sponsoring institutions, or other parties should not improperly interfere with editorial decisions.

Where an editor has a significant personal, professional, institutional, or academic interest in a manuscript, the editor should withdraw from handling the manuscript and ensure that it is managed independently by another qualified editor.

9. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play an important role in maintaining the quality and integrity of ETERNAL.

Reviewers are expected to:

  • provide objective, fair, and constructive evaluations;
  • assess manuscripts based on scholarly merit rather than personal preferences;
  • maintain confidentiality throughout the review process;
  • identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately acknowledged where reasonably possible;
  • identify substantial methodological, interpretive, or ethical concerns;
  • disclose relevant competing interests;
  • decline a review when they cannot provide an impartial assessment;
  • complete reviews within the agreed timeframe where possible; and
  • avoid using information obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage.

Reviewers should not contact authors directly about a manuscript under review unless authorized by the journal.

The detailed procedures governing peer review are provided in ETERNAL's Peer Review Process policy.

10. Confidentiality

Confidentiality is an essential component of responsible scholarly publishing.

Information contained in submitted manuscripts, reviewer reports, editorial correspondence, and other materials obtained through the publication process should be treated as confidential.

Editors and reviewers must not:

  • share unpublished manuscripts with unauthorized individuals;
  • disclose the identity of reviewers or authors in a double-blind review process;
  • use unpublished information for personal or professional purposes; or
  • discuss the substance of a manuscript outside the authorized editorial process.

Exceptions may be made when disclosure is necessary to investigate a credible research-integrity or publication-ethics concern.

11. Peer Review Integrity

ETERNAL is committed to maintaining an independent and rigorous peer-review process.

The journal uses double-blind peer review, in which the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other during the review process as far as reasonably practicable.

Authors, reviewers, and editors must not attempt to manipulate the review process. Reviewers should provide their own scholarly assessment and should not improperly influence authors to cite particular individuals, journals, or publications for personal or professional advantage.

The journal may take appropriate action when there is evidence that the peer-review process has been compromised.

12. Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Tools

ETERNAL recognizes that artificial intelligence and other AI-assisted tools are increasingly used in research and scholarly communication.

Authors may use AI-assisted tools responsibly where such use is consistent with the journal's policies and applicable ethical standards. However, authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, and final content of their manuscripts.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot take responsibility for the research, respond to editorial queries, disclose competing interests, or accept accountability for the published work.

Authors should disclose substantive use of AI-assisted tools when required by the journal's AI policy, particularly when such tools have contributed to the generation, transformation, analysis, or presentation of scholarly content.

AI tools should not be used to fabricate references, data, quotations, research findings, or other scholarly information.

Reviewers and editors must also protect manuscript confidentiality when using AI-assisted tools. Confidential manuscript content should not be entered into external generative AI systems where doing so could compromise confidentiality, copyright, or the integrity of the review process.

13. Competing Interests

ETERNAL requires authors, reviewers, and editors to disclose relevant financial and non-financial competing interests.

A competing interest may arise when a personal, professional, institutional, financial, academic, or other relationship could influence, or could reasonably be perceived to influence, research, peer review, or editorial decision-making.

Disclosure does not automatically mean that a manuscript or individual is unsuitable for publication or participation in the editorial process. Rather, transparent disclosure enables the journal to assess and manage the situation appropriately.

Detailed requirements are provided in ETERNAL's Competing Interests policy.

14. Corrections and Integrity of the Published Record

ETERNAL recognizes that errors may occasionally occur despite careful editorial and peer-review procedures.

When a published article contains a significant error, the journal will assess the matter and, where appropriate, publish a correction or other editorial notice.

If a published article contains serious problems that substantially affect the reliability, integrity, or validity of the scholarly record, the journal may consider retraction or another appropriate editorial action.

Post-publication concerns will be assessed carefully and fairly. The journal will seek to preserve the integrity and reliability of the published record while avoiding unnecessary or disproportionate intervention.

15. Allegations and Ethical Concerns

ETERNAL welcomes credible concerns regarding research or publication ethics.

Concerns may be raised by authors, reviewers, readers, editors, institutions, or other relevant parties. The journal will assess credible concerns in a fair, confidential, and proportionate manner.

Depending on the nature of the concern, the journal may request clarification or supporting documentation, consult relevant editors or reviewers, contact an author's institution or other appropriate authority, suspend editorial processing, or take corrective action.

Where an investigation indicates that the integrity of a manuscript or published article has been compromised, ETERNAL may take action in accordance with its Publishing Malpractice policy.

16. Fairness and Non-Discrimination

ETERNAL is committed to a fair and respectful scholarly environment.

Manuscripts are evaluated according to their academic and scholarly qualities. Editorial decisions should not be influenced by an author's gender, nationality, ethnicity, institutional affiliation, academic status, personal background, political views, religion, or other characteristics unrelated to the scholarly merits of the work.

The journal expects all participants in the publication process to communicate professionally and respectfully.

17. Transparency and Accountability

ETERNAL is committed to transparency in its editorial and publishing practices.

The journal provides publicly accessible information concerning:

  • its aims and scope;
  • manuscript types;
  • author guidelines;
  • peer-review procedures;
  • publication ethics;
  • publishing malpractice;
  • competing interests;
  • artificial intelligence;
  • copyright and licensing;
  • publication processes; and
  • procedures for addressing corrections and ethical concerns.

The journal may update its policies when developments in scholarly publishing, research ethics, technology, or international publishing standards require clarification or improvement.

18. Commitment to the Scholarly Record

ETERNAL recognizes that published articles form part of the permanent scholarly record. The journal therefore seeks not only to publish high-quality research but also to maintain the reliability, transparency, and credibility of the research it publishes.

Authors, reviewers, editors, and other participants share responsibility for protecting the integrity of this record.

Through these principles, ETERNAL seeks to promote a publication environment characterized by academic integrity, editorial independence, responsible research, transparent communication, rigorous peer review, confidentiality, and accountability.