International Journal of Applied and Behavioral Sciences (IJABS)

The International Journal of Applied and Behavioral Sciences (IJABS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, research transparency, and long-term scholarly preservation. The following journal policies govern ethical publishing practices, research reproducibility, and digital archiving to ensure trust, accountability, and accessibility in scholarly communication.

1. Publication Ethics, Plagiarism & AI-Generated Content Policy

1.1 Research Integrity and Originality

IJABS publishes only original, unpublished work that has not been submitted simultaneously to another journal or publisher. All manuscripts must be the authors’ own intellectual contribution and must properly acknowledge all sources through appropriate citation.

1.2 Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Direct copying without citation
• Mosaic or patchwork plagiarism
• Self-plagiarism (redundant or duplicate publication)
• Data fabrication or falsification

All submitted manuscripts are screened using plagiarism detection software (Turnitin) prior to peer review. Manuscripts with excessive similarity, unethical reuse, or manipulated content will be rejected outright. In confirmed cases of misconduct, the journal reserves the right to retract published articles and notify authors’ institutions where necessary.

1.3 AI-Generated Content Policy

The responsible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools is permitted under strict conditions:

• AI tools may be used only for language improvement, grammar correction, or formatting assistance.
• AI tools must not be used to generate original research ideas, data, analyses, results, or interpretations.
• AI tools cannot be listed as authors.
• Authors must disclose any use of AI tools in the manuscript (Methods or Acknowledgements section).

Undisclosed or inappropriate use of AI for content generation constitutes ethical misconduct and may result in rejection or retraction.

2. Data Sharing & Research Reproducibility Policy

2.1 Commitment to Transparency and Reproducibility

IJABS supports open science principles and encourages authors to make research data, materials, and methods available to enable verification, replication, and reuse of published research.

2.2 Data Availability Statement

All manuscripts must include a Data Availability Statement, clearly indicating how supporting data can be accessed. Authors may use one of the following formats:

• “Data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.”
• “All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in the article and its supplementary files.”
• “Data are openly available in [Repository Name] at https://doi.org/[DOI].”

2.3 Data Repositories

Where possible, authors are encouraged to deposit datasets in recognized repositories such as:

• Zenodo
• Figshare
• Dryad
• Mendeley Data
• OSF

Sensitive, confidential, or restricted data must comply with ethical, legal, and institutional regulations.

2.4 Code, Software, and Methodological Transparency

If custom software, code, or analytical scripts are used, authors should deposit them in a public repository (e.g., GitHub, GitLab, Zenodo) and provide persistent links or DOIs within the manuscript.

3. Archiving & Digital Preservation Policy

3.1 Long-Term Accessibility

IJABS is committed to ensuring the permanent availability and preservation of its published content. All articles are published online and remain accessible without temporal restrictions.

3.2 Digital Archiving

The journal supports long-term digital preservation through:

• Institutional archiving at NIILM University
• Inclusion in scholarly databases and indexing services
• Preservation via trusted third-party repositories and digital libraries

3.3 Author Self-Archiving

Authors are permitted to archive different versions of their manuscripts as follows:

• Preprint (submitted version): May be deposited anytime in preprint servers or institutional repositories.
• Accepted manuscript: May be deposited after publication with proper citation and link to the journal.
• Published version: May be shared in accordance with the journal’s copyright and licensing terms, with a link to the official version of record.

3.4 Version Control and Citation

All archived versions must clearly indicate:

• The article title
• Author(s)
• Journal name (IJABS)
• Publication year
• DOI or permanent URL to the published version

4. Policy Compliance and Updates

Compliance with these journal policies is mandatory for all authors, reviewers, and editors. IJABS reserves the right to update or revise its policies periodically in line with international publishing standards and best practices. Any changes will be reflected on the journal website.