Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Global South Journal of Applied Research (GSJAR) is committed to high standards of publication ethics, editorial integrity and responsible scholarly communication. Authors, reviewers, editors, editorial-board members, staff and the publisher are expected to act honestly, fairly, transparently and professionally.

Authors must submit original work, present methods and findings accurately, cite sources appropriately, disclose related submissions and prior dissemination, identify all genuine contributors, obtain required ethical approvals and permissions, and declare funding and competing interests. Fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed manipulation and misleading reporting are prohibited.

Reviewers must provide objective and constructive assessments, maintain confidentiality, disclose competing interests and refrain from using unpublished material for personal or professional advantage.

Editors must make decisions on the basis of scholarly merit, methodological quality, originality, relevance, ethical integrity and contribution to the journal’s scope. Decisions must not be influenced by nationality, ethnicity, gender, disability, religion, political belief, institutional prestige, commercial considerations or the author’s ability to pay.

An editor who has a relevant conflict must not handle the affected submission. Manuscripts submitted by editors, board members or employees will be managed by an independent editor and will undergo the same standards of review as other submissions.

The journal takes allegations of misconduct seriously. Concerns may involve plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate submission, citation manipulation, unethical research, undisclosed conflicts, inappropriate authorship, peer-review manipulation or misuse of artificial intelligence.

Where concerns arise, GSJAR may request explanations, original data, ethics documentation, contributor records, similarity reports or other evidence. Editorial consideration may be paused while the matter is examined. Depending on the findings, the journal may reject a manuscript, withdraw an acceptance, correct the record, publish an expression of concern, retract an article, notify relevant parties or take other proportionate action.

All allegations will be handled as fairly and confidentially as circumstances permit. The journal will distinguish between honest error and deliberate misconduct while protecting the integrity of the scholarly record.