Publication, Ethics & Malpractice Policies

For the quality standards, International Journal of Technology, Health, and Sustainability (IJTHS) follows the CORE practices that are formulated by Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), (https://publicationethics.org/core-practices). Moreover, IJTHS also follows the guidelines provided by ICMJE (https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/).

Publication Fees

Journal does NOT charge any fee for article publication.  

Assistance Services

Journal provides a variety of Assistance Services. Email us for details.

Copyright and Open Access Policy

The authors retain the copyright on the material of the paper, as well as self-archiving rights. However, the authors transfer the publishing rights to IJTHS.

IJTHS is firmly established as an Open Access journal, and adopts “CC BY-NC 4.0 license” formulated by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). This license allows authors to use all articles, data sets, graphics, and appendices in data mining applications, search engines, websites, blogs, and other platforms, provided the author and the journal are properly credited. All published content is readily available to users everywhere, completely free of charge for non-commercial purposes only.

This straightforward approach allows users to confidently read, download, copy, distribute, print, search for, or link to the full texts of the articles without the need for prior permission from the publisher or the authors. By removing access barriers, IJTHS is committed to creating a vibrant and collaborative academic landscape that promotes the free exchange of knowledge for everyone.

Plagiarism and Manipulation of Data Policy

Plagiarism and the use of misleading data are strictly prohibited in any journal publication. Plagiarism occurs when someone intentionally copies another person’s work or uses content without appropriate citations.

International Journal of Technology, Health and Sustainability (IJTHS) enforces a strict anti-plagiarism policy through three primary methods: author checks, reviewer checks and plagiarism detection technology (Turnitin services). Author(s) to ensure and check that the article is free (or within the similarity limits as per the IJTHS policy) from any plagiarism/self-plagiarism before submission. Before articles are sent to reviewers, all submissions are thoroughly checked and validated by our editorial staff. Authors are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the policies and guidelines on plagiarism provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) for both submitted and post-published articles (https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/plagiarism-submitted-manuscript ; https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/corrections-and-version-control.html ). It is also strictly forbidden to publish the same research paper in multiple journals. If an article contains incorrect information, the authors will be held responsible for issuing retractions or corrections. Additionally, IJTHS adheres to COPE policies regarding the manipulation of data and images, and authors can find more details on the COPE platform (https://publicationethics.org/data ).

The submitted manuscripts in which plagiarism is detected will be managed according to the extent of plagiarism. If more than 30% of the paper is found to be plagiarized, the manuscript will be rejected without review, and the author will be notified. In such cases, authors are advised to revise the manuscript and resubmit it as a new submission.

If plagiarism is identified after publication, the journal will conduct a thorough investigation. Should plagiarism be confirmed, the editorial office will contact the appropriate authorities, including the authors’ institutions, organizations, and funding agencies. The paper in question will be marked for plagiarism on each page of the PDF. Depending on the severity of the plagiarism, the paper may be formally retracted.

AI Policy

The International Journal of Technology, Health and Sustainability recognizes the responsible use of AI in research and publishing. However, to uphold the integrity of academic publications and adherence to COPE guidelines, IJTHS mandates a policy on responsible AI use as hereunder:

AI in Authorship and Content Generation

AI tools do not qualify as authors on research papers. When AI significantly contributes to the content, researchers are required to clearly disclose the specific type of tool used and its role in the methodology. It is imperative to stress that a human author must always oversee AI-generated content. This supervision guarantees the accuracy and relevance of the material to the research while upholding ethical research practices.

Generative AI Images

Researchers using generative AI images must secure copyright or permissions. It’s essential to label images clearly as AI-generated in figure legends and provide a detailed description of the generation process in the methods section if the images are central to the research. AI images should accurately represent the data to avoid misleading readers, and presenting them alongside the original data is encouraged.

AI-Assisted Peer Review

Peer reviewers are encouraged to use AI tools to enhance the review process, like detecting plagiarism or suggesting citations. However, the final decision on a manuscript’s quality lies with the human reviewers. Reviewers should also disclose their use of AI tools to the editor.

Corrections, Retractions and Research Misconduct Policy

IJTHS is responsible for handling corrections, retraction notifications, and other post-publication changes to the published content. Author Corrections may address significant errors by authors that threaten the integrity of the work or the journal. Publisher Corrections rectify substantial mistakes made by the journal itself.

When significant additional data needs to be included, a postscript may be published to aid readers’ understanding. An article may be withdrawn if the integrity is seriously compromised due to design, analysis, reporting flaws, or ethical violations. Although the original article will be retracted, a PDF version will remain accessible with a linked retraction statement. Author opinions may be included in retraction notices, and authors are encouraged to review COPE policies on retractions (https://publicationethics.org/sites/default/files/retraction-guidelines-cope.pdf ).

IJTHS also reserves the right to withdraw content from online platforms under specific circumstances, such as defamation or legal issues, with notes on the reason for removal kept on record. The journal follows COPE Guidelines for article retractions (https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines ) and research misconduct allegations (https://publicationethics.org/misconduct).

Archiving / Sharing Policy

To ensure that the articles published in IJTHS will be permanently preserved and available, all published articles are being digitally archived by the use of the facilities available with the journal and by integration with a reputed international repository – Internet Archive.

Authors of articles published in our journals may self-archive the accepted and published version at any time. Self-archiving means, the authors may place the published version of their paper in an online repository (institutional and public repositories) and/or website (personal and institutional websites). For self-archiving, authors are strongly encouraged to use the final PDF version published on the website of the journal.

Complaints Policy

Authors and readers can send their complaints directly to the Editorial Office at editor.ijths@gmail.com. These complaints will be addressed within a maximum of four weeks. Any complaints about editorial decisions must be addressed by the Editor-in-Chief or the Editorial Board. All issues received by the IJTHS will be handled according to the guidelines set forth by COPE (https://publicationethics.org/).

Advertising & Marketing Policy

IJTHS does not publish any advertisements, whether commercial or non-commercial, on its website.

All information about new issues, published issues, and indexing alerts is sent exclusively to the registered users of our website who have opted to receive updates via email. Additionally, journal promotion is conducted through emails and social networks.