Research Ethics

The Journal of Information and Learning (JIL) is committed to honest, transparent, and responsible research that respects the dignity, rights, and well-being of research participants. Authors must adhere to the following ethical requirements.

  1. Research integrity. Authors must report research methods and findings accurately. Fabrication, falsification of data or images, plagiarism, and misleading selective reporting are unacceptable. Sources must be appropriately acknowledged, and research records must be retained to support verification while safeguarding confidentiality.

  2. Ethical review of human research. Research involving human participants, including the use of identifiable personal data, must receive approval from a competent research ethics committee before recruitment or data collection begins, in accordance with applicable requirements. Research eligible for exemption must follow institutional procedures and have documentary confirmation from the responsible committee or authorized body.

  3. Protection of research participants. Authors must uphold respect for persons, beneficence, and justice by obtaining voluntary informed consent, respecting the right to decline or withdraw, minimizing risks, protecting privacy and confidentiality, and providing additional safeguards for vulnerable groups. Any waiver of informed consent must be approved by the research ethics committee. Specific consent for publication must be obtained for identifiable personal information or images.

  4. Ethics reporting and disclosure. Manuscripts must state the ethics committee’s name, approval number and date, and the consent procedures used. Where research is exempt or falls outside the scope of ethics review, authors must explain the reasons and applicable criteria and identify the determining authority and supporting documentation, where available. Generative AI, funding, conflicts of interest, and author contributions must also be transparently disclosed.

  5. Addressing ethical concerns. The journal may request supporting documents or explanations when ethical concerns arise. Actions will be guided by the evidence and relevant Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance and may include rejection, correction, an expression of concern, or retraction. Authors will be given a fair opportunity to respond.

Related policies and guidance