Publishing Ethics

Scientific Misconduct

Definition of Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is the appropriation of the ideas, words, or works of others without proper attribution to the original source. It includes:

1. Literal Copying (Copy-Paste Plagiarism): The researcher copies texts or portions of another research work without clearly and directly citing the source.
2. Paraphrasing without Citation (Paraphrasing Plagiarism): The researcher rephrases an idea or research content taken from another source without referring to it.
3. Self-Plagiarism: The researcher republishes the same research or a substantial part of it in different journals without disclosing the prior publication.
4. Idea Plagiarism: Appropriating ideas or scientific findings belonging to another researcher without acknowledging their intellectual ownership.
5. Incomplete Citation: Referring to a source inaccurately or incompletely in a manner that violates the principle of academic integrity.
6. AI-Generated Content Misuse: Reliance by the researcher on artificial intelligence tools to generate texts, analyze data, or draft parts of the research without explicit disclosure constitutes a breach of academic integrity. This includes:
   • Submitting texts, tables, or figures generated using AI tools without indicating their source.
   • Attributing ideas or findings generated by AI algorithms to the researcher without clarifying the role of the tool.
   • Using tools that generate content infringing upon the intellectual property rights of others.

In this regard, the journal is committed to adopting digital screening practices to detect automatically generated content whenever necessary.

Types of Violations:

• Major Violations: Plagiarism, submitting the research or a substantial part of it for publication in another outlet before or after publication in the journal, or violating the declaration terms and publication policies.
• Minor Violations: Citation errors and a high percentage of unintentional similarity detected by iThenticate or other plagiarism detection software.

Procedures Followed

• The Editorial Board is responsible for verifying scientific misconduct.
• The researcher shall be given the opportunity to clarify their position within a specified period before any formal action is taken.
• Distinction shall be made between intentional and unintentional violations to ensure fairness and justice in applying sanctions.

First: If the Research is Submitted for Publication (Before the Peer-Review Process Begins)

1. In cases of major violations:
   • The research shall be rejected and all procedures related to its review shall be terminated.
   • A formal warning shall be issued to the researcher informing them of the violation and granting them one month to clarify their position.
   • The researcher shall be prohibited from publishing in the journal for two years.
   • The institution employing the researcher shall be officially notified to take appropriate action.
2. In cases of minor violations:
   • A written warning shall be issued to the researcher.
   • The research shall be rejected without imposing future sanctions in cases of unintentional violations.

Second: During the Peer-Review Process:
Since the peer-review process involves financial costs borne by the journal, any researcher found to have committed a major violation after the commencement of the peer-review process shall be held responsible for the resulting financial waste. Accordingly, the following actions shall be taken:

1. The peer-review process shall be immediately terminated and the research withdrawn from the journal.
2. The research shall be removed from all records and archives, with an official note of the violation recorded in the transaction log.
3. The researcher’s employing institution shall be officially notified of the violation committed.
4. The researcher shall be prohibited from publishing in the Journal of Security Research and Studies for five years from the date of the decision.

Third: After Acceptance for Publication:
If scientific misconduct or a substantial error is discovered after the research has been approved for publication and before its final publication (including electronic publication in the form of an “Ahead of Print” version), the following actions shall be taken:

1. The research shall be withdrawn and removed from the journal’s records and official archive, while retaining it as legal evidence.
2. An official notice shall be published in the next issue and on the journal’s website.
3. The researcher’s employing institution shall be officially notified of the violation to take appropriate action.
4. The researcher shall be prohibited from publishing in the Journal of Security Research and Studies for seven years.

Fourth: After Publication:

1. An official correction notice shall be published in the next issue of the journal and on its website.
2. The research shall be removed from all records and archives while retaining an electronic copy as legal evidence.
3. The researcher’s employing institution shall be officially notified and the researcher shall bear academic responsibility.
4. If the researcher is affiliated with Saad Al-Abdullah Academy for Security Sciences, the matter shall be referred to the Director General of the Academy to take the necessary legal measures in accordance with regulations.
5. The researcher shall bear all financial costs resulting from the violation, including publication costs.
6. The researcher shall be permanently prohibited from publishing in the Journal of Security Research and Studies if plagiarism is proven.

Disclosures

The Journal of Security Research and Studies adheres to standards of transparency and academic integrity. All relevant parties (authors, reviewers, and editors) are required to disclose relevant information in accordance with this policy. Disclosures provided by authors shall be included in published research if accepted for publication.

Disclosure Requirements

1. Conflict of Interest
   • Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any conflict of interest that may affect the integrity of the research or the peer-review process. All reviewers and Editorial Board members are required to complete an electronic conflict of interest form before commencing the review or evaluation process. The form shall be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief and retained in the journal’s records.
   • Whenever the Editorial Board becomes aware of a conflict of interest involving any author, reviewer, or editor, it shall notify them in writing of the obligation to disclose and eliminate such conflict.
     The disclosure shall include:
     • Financial relationships such as funding, grants, employment, consultancy fees, or stock ownership.
     • Institutional affiliations.
     • Close personal or professional relationships.
     • Direct scientific competition.
     • Family relationships.
2. Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence
   • Authors must disclose any use of generative AI tools in:
     • Writing texts, preparing tables, creating figures and charts, or translation.
     • Analyzing data using artificial intelligence or machine learning techniques.
     • Summarizing literature or automatically suggesting references. Any uses other than linguistic review, which is considered an acceptable use of these
     • tools.
   • AI Usage Statement:
     The author(s) acknowledge(s) that (name of the AI tool/software) was used exclusively for the purpose of (specified purpose), such as linguistic editing or improving clarity. The author(s) bear full responsibility for the manuscript content, its originality, and scientific integrity.
3. Previous Versions and Derivative Works
   Authors must disclose any previous versions of the research:
   • Presented at a scientific conference, specifying the form of publication (abstract, conference proceedings, or scientific poster) and clarifying the percentage of difference.
   • Published on preprint platforms such as arXiv, SSRN, or ResearchGate.
   • Derived from a Master’s or PhD thesis.
4. Funding and Financial Support
   Authors must disclose information related to funding sources and financial support, including:
   • The funding entity and whether it is governmental, academic, or commercial.
   • Grant numbers and identifying information.
   • Any role of the funding entity in study design, data collection, analysis of results, or publication decisions.

Violation of the Disclosure Policy
The Journal of Security Research and Studies reserves the right to take appropriate action in the event of a violation of the disclosure policy, as follows:

1. Violations of the disclosure policy by authors shall be handled in accordance with the provisions stated under scientific misconduct.
2. Violations of the disclosure policy by Editorial Board members or reviewers.

If the disclosure policy is violated by Editorial Board members or reviewers, whether through failure to disclose conflicts of interest, misuse of confidential information, or breach of peer-review standards and academic integrity, the following actions shall be taken:

• The reviewer shall be relieved of their duties if found to have violated standards of academic integrity.
• The reviewer shall be excluded from future review processes and prohibited from participating in article evaluations.
• Administrative measures shall be taken against any Editorial Board member who breaches their editorial responsibilities.
• Serious violations shall be reported to the Director General of Saad Al-Abdullah Academy for Security Sciences where necessary.

Cases of Conflict of Interest

Upon disclosure of conflict of interest cases at the time of submission for publication:

1. No member of the Editorial Board may supervise or participate in the peer-review or initial evaluation of articles if they have a conflict of interest with the researcher or the research topic, whether academic, professional, or personal. In such cases, another Editorial Board member, the Editor-in-Chief, or an independent external editor shall be assigned to oversee the review process to ensure impartiality and transparency.
2. A reviewer may not evaluate any research in which they have a direct interest or conflict of interest with one of the authors or the subject matter of the research. If such conflict is established, the reviewer shall be immediately excluded and replaced by another reviewer selected by the Editor-in-Chief or the Editorial Board to ensure integrity and transparency in the peer-review process. The Editorial Board shall examine conflict of interest cases in submitted articles, determine the extent of their impact on research outcomes, and decide whether to:
   • Accept the research while including disclosure of the conflict of interest within the manuscript.
   • Reject the research if the conflict affects the integrity of the scientific findings.
3. Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence:
   • Acceptable Uses that Do Not Require Disclosure:
     • Artificial intelligence may be used in supportive tasks related to research writing that do not affect the scientific content or research integrity, including:
       • Improving linguistic phrasing and grammatical proofreading.
       • Converting texts into different formats such as reference formatting without altering the content created by the researcher.
   • Acceptable Uses that Require Disclosure:
     • Certain uses of artificial intelligence require disclosure in the research due to issues related to intellectual property, transparency, verification of validity, potential impact on research results, and reproducibility. These include:
       • Using artificial intelligence in data analysis or statistical modeling.
       • Generating programs used in data analysis.
       • Using assisted translation tools, where it must be clarified whether the translation concerns certain words, complete sections of the research, or survey instruments, as this may affect research results in some cases.
       • Creating graphs or visual figures.
   • Unacceptable Uses:
     • The use of artificial intelligence is prohibited in any of the following cases where AI-generated work is presented as the work of the authors, as this constitutes a violation of research ethics:
       • Generating complete texts or substantial parts of the research.
       • Using artificial intelligence to create or modify research data, whether quantitative or qualitative, except where the subject of the study concerns generative AI models, in which case disclosure is mandatory.
       • Listing artificial intelligence as an author, as the researcher bears full responsibility for the accuracy and originality of the content.

 For more information, you may download a PDF copy of the editorial policies and guidelines of the Journal of Security Research and Studies at Saad Al-Abdullah Academy for Security Sciences through this link.