JYRU Publication Ethics
          The  Journal of Yala Rajabhat University (JYRU) is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards throughout the publication process. The journal follows the guidelines and principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://publicationethics.org/).

Plagiarism Detection
          To ensure the originality of submitted manuscripts, JYRU checks all submissions for similarity using CopyCatch before peer review. CopyCatch (Copyright, Academic Work, and Thesis Checking System), developed by the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), Thailand, automatically identifies similarities between documents in Thai and English by comparing them with materials in its databases and online sources. Manuscripts with a similarity index exceeding 25% (excluding references) are returned to the authors for revision and are re-checked before being sent for peer review. Where there is evidence of plagiarism, the case is referred to the editor-in-chief, and the manuscript is rejected. If plagiarism is identified after publication, the article will be retracted in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Handling of Misconduct
          When the journal receives a concern regarding possible research or publication misconduct in a submitted manuscript or published article, whether from readers, reviewers, or other sources, the editor-in-chief and the editorial board will investigate the concern promptly, following the relevant COPE flowcharts. The authors will be contacted and given an opportunity to respond. Depending on the outcome, the journal may reject the manuscript, or for published articles, issue a correction, publish an expression of concern, or retract the article. Where appropriate, the journal may also inform the authors' institutions or funding agencies.

Roles and Duties of Editors

• Editors are responsible for evaluating the quality, originality, significance, and relevance of submitted manuscripts and have the authority to make the final decision to accept, request revision, or reject a manuscript based solely on academic merit and the journal's editorial policies.
• Editors must not consider manuscripts that have been previously published or are simultaneously under consideration by another journal, except where the journal's policies explicitly permit.
• Editors must make editorial decisions fairly, objectively, and without discrimination based on the authors' race, gender, nationality, ethnicity, religion, institutional affiliation, seniority, or political beliefs.
• Editors must ensure that all manuscripts undergo a fair, unbiased, and timely peer-review process conducted by qualified reviewers with appropriate expertise.
• Editors are responsible for selecting qualified reviewers and should avoid assigning reviewers who have conflicts of interest with the authors or the submitted work.
• Editors must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts and must not disclose any information about a manuscript, its authors, or reviewers to anyone other than those directly involved in the editorial and peer-review process.
• Editors must not use unpublished information, ideas, or data obtained through submitted manuscripts for their own research or personal advantage without the authors' explicit written consent.
• Editors must avoid all conflicts of interest. If an editor has any personal, professional, financial, or institutional conflict of interest regarding a manuscript, the editor must withdraw from handling the manuscript and assign it to another qualified editor.
• Editors must not seek or accept any personal benefit, financial gain, or other inappropriate advantage from authors, reviewers, or any other parties involved in the publication process.
• Editors who submit manuscripts to their own journal must not participate in any stage of the editorial handling or decision-making process for those manuscripts. Such manuscripts must be managed independently by another editor to ensure an impartial review process.
• Editors must communicate acceptance decisions only after the peer-review and editorial evaluation processes have been completed in accordance with the journal's established procedures.
• Editors must treat all authors equally and consistently, regardless of their academic position, institutional affiliation, reputation, or any other personal characteristics.
• Editors should take appropriate action when there is evidence or suspicion of research or publication misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, duplicate publication, unethical research practices, or inappropriate authorship, following internationally accepted ethical guidelines.
• Editors are responsible for issuing corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions whenever necessary to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.
• Editors must preserve the editorial independence of the journal and ensure that editorial decisions are free from commercial, institutional, political, or personal influence.
• Editors should continuously promote high standards of publication ethics and comply with internationally recognized ethical guidelines, including the principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

 

Roles and Duties of Reviewers

• Reviewers must possess appropriate expertise in the subject area of the submitted manuscript and accept review assignments only when they have sufficient knowledge and competence to provide a fair and rigorous evaluation.
• Reviewers must familiarize themselves with the journal's aims, scope, editorial policies, ethical guidelines, and review criteria before conducting the peer review.
• All manuscripts and related materials received for review are confidential documents. Reviewers must not disclose, discuss, copy, distribute, or use any part of the manuscript or its unpublished data, ideas, or findings for personal, professional, or financial benefit.
• Reviewers must conduct the peer review personally and independently. They are strictly prohibited from uploading, submitting, disclosing, or inputting any part of a manuscript, including text, figures, tables, data, supplementary materials, or peer-review reports, into any generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems, large language models (LLMs), machine learning tools, or any other external services. The use of AI-assisted technologies to evaluate, interpret, summarize, edit, draft, or generate any part of the peer-review report is strictly prohibited.
• Reviewers must decline the review assignment and promptly inform the Editor if any financial, professional, institutional, or personal conflict of interest exists or if any circumstance may compromise their objectivity or impartiality.
• Reviews must be conducted objectively, impartially, and constructively, based solely on the academic merit, originality, methodology, validity, and significance of the manuscript, without discrimination or personal bias.
• Reviewers should identify and report any suspected plagiarism, duplicate or redundant publication, data fabrication, data falsification, image manipulation, unethical research practices, inappropriate citations, or other forms of publication misconduct, and immediately notify the Editor when such concerns arise.
• Reviewers must respect the journal's double-blind peer-review process and must not attempt to identify the authors or disclose their own identity during the review process.
• Reviewers should provide clear, evidence-based, and constructive comments and recommendations to assist the authors in improving the scientific quality, clarity, and presentation of the manuscript. Where appropriate, reviewers may recommend relevant literature that has been omitted.
• Reviewers should complete and submit their reviews within the specified timeframe. If they are unable to complete the review on time, they should promptly notify the Editor and, where appropriate, decline the review assignment.
• Reviewers are solely responsible for the content, accuracy, and integrity of their review reports and must perform their duties honestly, ethically, professionally, and in accordance with the journal's publication ethics.
• Any breach of confidentiality, undisclosed conflict of interest, misuse of manuscript content, unauthorized use of artificial intelligence, or other violations of the journal's publication ethics may result in termination of the review assignment, removal from the journal's reviewer database, and any other actions deemed appropriate by the Editor-in-Chief.

 

Roles and Duties of Authors

• Authors must ensure that the submitted manuscript is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration for publication by another journal simultaneously.
• Authors must prepare and submit their manuscripts in accordance with the journal's aims, scope, ethical standards, formatting requirements, and submission guidelines.
• Authors must present research findings accurately, honestly, and transparently. Fabrication, falsification, manipulation, or selective reporting of data is strictly prohibited.
• Authors must appropriately acknowledge and cite all sources of information, data, figures, tables, and ideas obtained from other works. Plagiarism in any form, including self-plagiarism, is unacceptable.
• All listed authors must have made substantial scholarly contributions to the research and manuscript preparation. Individuals who did not contribute significantly should not be listed as authors, and all contributors should approve the final version of the manuscript before submission.
• The corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors have reviewed, approved, and agreed to the submission of the manuscript.
• Authors must disclose any financial, personal, institutional, or other conflicts of interest that could influence or appear to influence the research or its interpretation.
• Research involving human participants, animals, or sensitive data must comply with relevant ethical standards and receive approval from the appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board, where applicable. Informed consent must be obtained when required.
• Authors should retain the original research data and be prepared to provide the data, supporting documents, or additional information if requested by the editors or reviewers, in accordance with the journal's data-sharing policy.
• Authors must disclose the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation when required by the journal's policy. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the submitted work.
• Authors must respect the confidentiality of the peer review process and must not attempt to identify, contact, or improperly influence reviewers or editors, particularly under the journal's double-blind peer review system.
• If authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their submitted or published work, they must promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate in issuing a correction, retraction, or other appropriate action.
• Authors should respond to editorial comments and reviewers' suggestions professionally, provide revisions within the specified timeframe, and cooperate throughout the editorial and peer review process.
• Authors must respect the editorial decision of the journal. Where applicable, authors may follow the journal's established procedures for revisions, appeals, corrections, or retractions.
• Authors must comply with the journal's publication ethics policies and internationally accepted ethical standards throughout the submission, review, and publication process.

 

Corrections and Retractions
          If authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must promptly notify the editor and cooperate with the journal to correct or retract the article. Corrections are published when an error affects part of an article but does not invalidate its findings. Retractions are published when the findings are unreliable or when the article involves misconduct such as plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, or duplicate publication. Retracted articles remain available online and are clearly marked as retracted, together with a retraction notice explaining the reason.

Data Access and Retention
          Authors may be asked to provide the raw data supporting their findings during peer review and should be prepared to make the data publicly available where possible. Authors are encouraged to retain their research data for a reasonable period after publication.

Research Involving Human Participants
          Research involving human participants, human data, or human samples must be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and all applicable institutional and national regulations. Manuscripts must include a statement confirming that the study was approved by the relevant human research ethics committee, together with the name of the committee and the approval number. Informed consent must be obtained from all participants, and the manuscript must state how consent was obtained. If ethical approval was not required, the manuscript must clearly state the reason for the exemption.

Research Involving Animals
          Research involving animals must be conducted in accordance with internationally accepted guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals and comply with all applicable institutional, national, and international regulations. Manuscripts reporting animal studies must include a statement confirming that the experimental protocol was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or an equivalent animal ethics committee, together with the name of the committee and the approval number. Authors should ensure that all procedures were designed to minimize animal suffering and reduce the number of animals used, in accordance with the principles of Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement (the 3Rs). If ethical approval was not required, the manuscript must clearly state the reason for the exemption.

Use of Generative AI
          JYRU recognizes that generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, can assist authors in preparing manuscripts. However, their use must be appropriate, transparent, and subject to full human oversight. 

1. Scope of Use
Acceptable uses, which must still be disclosed:

• Checking grammar and spelling
• Improving the clarity and readability of the language
• Assisting with translation of text written by the authors
• Formatting references and the manuscript according to the journal's requirements

Uses requiring particular caution: AI tools may be used to help summarize or organize previously published literature only if the authors have read and verified all original sources and have rewritten the content in their own words. Text generated by AI must not be copied into the manuscript without substantial revision, and all cited sources must be verified against the originals.

Unacceptable uses:

• Generating the core content of the manuscript, including research ideas, hypotheses, results, discussion, or conclusions
• Generating, fabricating, or manipulating research data, including statistical results
• Generating or altering images, figures, or other visual data, except where this is part of the research methodology and is described in the Materials and Methods section
• Generating references or citations that have not been verified by the authors

2. Author Accountability
          Authors are fully responsible for the entire content of their manuscripts, including any part produced with the assistance of AI. Authors must review, verify, and edit all AI-assisted content, and must be aware that AI tools can produce content that appears credible but is incorrect, incomplete, or biased. Authors are also responsible for the accuracy of every reference in the manuscript.

3. Authorship and Citation
          AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors, because they cannot take responsibility for the work, approve the final manuscript, or be held accountable for its integrity. AI tools must not be cited as sources in the reference list.

4. Disclosure Requirement
          All manuscripts must include an AI Use Declaration stating whether AI tools were used in the preparation of the manuscript. If AI tools were used, the declaration must specify the names and versions of the tools, the stages or sections of the manuscript in which they were used, and the purpose of their use, and must confirm that the authors take full responsibility for the content. The declaration will appear in the published article. If no AI tools were used, this must also be stated.

5. Violations
          Undisclosed or inappropriate use of AI identified at any stage, including after publication, will be handled in accordance with COPE guidelines and may result in rejection of the manuscript or retraction of the published article.

Appeals and Complaints
          Authors who disagree with an editorial decision may submit an appeal to the editor-in-chief by email (ejournal@yru.ac.th) within 30 days of receiving the decision. The appeal must clearly explain the reasons for disagreement and provide supporting evidence. The editor-in-chief will review the appeal, where necessary with the assistance of an editor or reviewer who was not involved in the original decision, and will inform the author of the outcome within 4 weeks. The decision on an appeal is final, and only one appeal per manuscript will be considered.
          Complaints regarding the journal's editorial process, publication ethics, or the conduct of editors, reviewers, or staff may be sent to the same email address. All complaints will be handled promptly, fairly, and confidentially in accordance with COPE guidelines.