Sustainable Education and Digital Transformation

Ethics and Malpractice Statement

1. Ethical Principles

Sustainable Education and Digital Transformation (SEDT) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity. The journal promotes ethical principles that support transparency, fairness, accountability, and trust throughout the scholarly publishing process.

SEDT follows internationally recognized ethical standards and best practices in academic publishing and is guided by the core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). These principles inform all editorial, peer-review, and publication-related decisions.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to SEDT are expected to adhere to the following ethical responsibilities:

  • The submitted work must be original, must not have been published previously, and must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere.

  • All sources must be properly cited, and the manuscript must not contain plagiarism, including self-plagiarism.

  • Data presented in the manuscript must be accurate, honestly reported, and not fabricated, falsified, or inappropriately manipulated.

  • All individuals who have made a significant scholarly contribution must be listed as authors, and all listed authors must approve the final version of the manuscript.

  • Authors accept collective responsibility for the content of the submitted and published work.

  • Any financial, institutional, or personal conflicts of interest must be fully disclosed.

  • Where applicable, all necessary ethical approvals, permissions, or informed consent must be obtained prior to conducting the research.

  • All sources of funding or financial support related to the research must be clearly disclosed, including the role of the funding body, if any.

3. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors of SEDT are responsible for:

  • Evaluating manuscripts solely on the basis of academic merit, originality, methodological rigor, clarity, and relevance to the journal’s aims and scope.

  • Ensuring that the peer-review process is conducted in a fair, unbiased, timely, and confidential manner.

  • Maintaining editorial independence from commercial, institutional, or personal interests.

  • Taking appropriate and timely action in cases of suspected ethical misconduct, including plagiarism, data manipulation, duplicate publication, or unethical research practices.

  • Ensuring that corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern are issued when necessary to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers involved in the evaluation of manuscripts submitted to SEDT are expected to:

  • Conduct reviews objectively, constructively, and within the agreed timeframe.

  • Treat all manuscripts and review materials as confidential.

  • Evaluate submissions based on scholarly quality, methodological soundness, clarity, and relevance.

  • Identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.

  • Inform the editor of any substantial similarity between the manuscript under review and other published or submitted work.

  • Declare any potential conflicts of interest that could influence their evaluation.

  • Refrain from using unpublished material disclosed in a manuscript for personal or professional advantage.

5. Peer Review Integrity

All manuscripts submitted to SEDT undergo a double-blind peer-review process, in which the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other.

Editorial decisions are based on reviewers’ reports, academic standards, and ethical considerations. In cases of conflicting reviewer recommendations, additional reviewers may be consulted. The final decision regarding publication rests with the editorial team.

6. Conflicts of Interest / Competing Interests

SEDT requires all participants in the publication process—including authors, reviewers, and editors—to disclose any financial, institutional, professional, or personal relationships that could be perceived as influencing the research, its interpretation, or the editorial evaluation of a manuscript.

Individuals with identified conflicts of interest may be excluded from the review or decision-making process to ensure impartiality. Failure to disclose relevant conflicts of interest may be considered an ethical concern and may result in editorial action.

7. Ethical Misconduct

SEDT considers ethical misconduct to be any action that undermines the integrity of the scholarly record. The following practices are regarded as serious violations of publication ethics.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, involves presenting another person’s work, ideas, or expressions as one’s own without proper acknowledgment. All submissions may be screened for plagiarism. Manuscripts containing plagiarized material will be rejected.

Data Fabrication and Falsification

The fabrication, falsification, or selective manipulation of research data is considered a severe ethical breach. Manuscripts found to contain unreliable or manipulated data may be rejected or retracted.

Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal or publishing substantially similar content without proper disclosure is unethical and unacceptable.

Fabricated or Unverifiable References

Authors are ethically responsible for ensuring that all cited references are accurate, authentic, and based on sources that genuinely exist and have been consulted. The inclusion of fabricated or unverifiable references constitutes a serious ethical violation.

Undisclosed or Unethical Use of Artificial Intelligence

The use of artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted tools does not exempt authors from responsibility for the originality, accuracy, and integrity of their work. Undisclosed or unethical use of AI tools—including the generation of content, data, or references without verification—is considered ethical misconduct and is handled in accordance with the journal’s AI usage policies.

8. Data Sharing and Reproducibility

SEDT supports transparency and reproducibility in research. Authors may be requested to provide access to data underlying their findings for editorial or review purposes. Where appropriate, authors are encouraged to include data availability statements and to ensure that reported results can be verified and reproduced.

9. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

Post-publication concerns raised by readers or authors are reviewed by the editorial team in line with established ethical procedures. When errors or ethical issues are identified after publication, the journal may issue:

  • Corrections for honest errors,

  • Retractions for invalid or unethical research,

  • Expressions of concern when issues require further investigation.

All actions are taken to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

10. Appeals and Complaints

Authors have the right to submit a reasoned appeal against editorial decisions. Appeals and complaints regarding editorial processes, peer review, or ethical matters are handled confidentially, fairly, and in accordance with ethical standards.

11. Withdrawal of Manuscripts

Authors wishing to withdraw their manuscript during the review process must formally notify the editorial office. Withdrawal requests submitted after acceptance are subject to editorial consideration.

12. Intellectual Property and Licensing

Issues related to copyright ownership, licensing terms, and reuse of published content are governed by the journal’s Copyright and Licensing Policy, as described in the Author Guidelines. Intellectual property matters are handled in accordance with applicable policies.

13. Ethical Oversight

SEDT is committed to continuous ethical oversight and regularly reviews its editorial and ethical policies to align with evolving best practices in scholarly publishing.

14. Compliance Statement

By submitting a manuscript to Sustainable Education and Digital Transformation (SEDT), authors acknowledge that they have read, understood, and agreed to comply with the journal’s ethical policies and publication standards.