Research misconduct fundamentally involves Fabrication (inventing data, sources, or results), Falsification (manipulating or selectively omitting research materials), or Plagiarism (using another’s ideas, words, or data without attribution, including translation plagiarism). Honest errors or genuine differences of opinion do not constitute misconduct.

Other strictly prohibited practices include duplicate/redundant publication (salami slicing), simultaneous submissions, authorship manipulation (ghost or gift authorship), undisclosed conflicts of interest, citation stacking, paper-mill involvement, and the unethical or undisclosed use of generative AI tools.

To safeguard the scholarly record, authors must formally declare originality, conflict of interest, and any AI usage upon submission. Every manuscript undergoes a rigorous similarity check and editorial scrutiny to detect data anomalies, implausible references, "tortured phrases," and potential peer-review manipulation before proceeding to the review stage.

Upon receiving a credible report, the Editorial Team will suspend the review or production process, document the evidence, and contact the corresponding author to request an explanation within a designated timeframe. We protect whistle-blower confidentiality. If unresolved, cases may be escalated to the authors' affiliated institutions for further investigation.

Sanctions are proportionate to the severity of the offense. Actions may range from required manuscript revisions and educational warnings to immediate rejection, formal article retraction, submission bans, and institutional notification. Authors retain the right to appeal editorial decisions within 30 days by presenting new, substantive evidence.