Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies

JMRELS's ethical framework is firmly grounded in the principles and best practices outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All stakeholders—readers, authors, reviewers, and editors—are expected to adhere to these ethical standards throughout their interaction with the journal.

For more information, please visit http://publicationethics.org.

Publisher Responsibilities

The publisher must ensure that editorial decisions are based solely on academic merit, not influenced by commercial or personal interests.
The publisher monitors ethical conduct among the Editor-in-Chief, editorial team, reviewers, and authors.
Corrections, retractions, or clarifications will be issued as necessary to maintain the journal's integrity.

Editorial Responsibilities

In accordance with COPE's Code of Conduct:

The editorial team has full authority to accept or reject manuscripts.
Confidentiality of manuscripts must be maintained during the review process.
The double-blind peer-review system ensures anonymity between authors and reviewers.
Conflicts of interest must be declared and managed appropriately.
Cases of plagiarism, falsification, or unethical research will be investigated thoroughly, and corrections or retractions issued when needed.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Following COPE’s Peer Review Guidelines:

Reviewers must maintain confidentiality and assess submissions objectively and promptly.
Reviewers should avoid reviewing manuscripts where conflicts of interest exist.
Constructive feedback should be provided via the designated forms for authors and editors.
Reviewers are expected to uphold the integrity of academic evaluation.

Authorship Criteria and Responsibilities

As per COPE’s Authorship Guidelines:

Authorship Criteria

To qualify for authorship of a manuscript submitted to the Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies, all listed contributors must meet all of the following conditions:

Substantial Contribution: The author must have made a significant intellectual contribution to the research, including at least one of the following: the conception and design of the study; data acquisition; or analysis and interpretation of the data.
Manuscript Preparation: The author must have participated in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for substantial intellectual content.
Final Approval: The author must have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript prior to submission and agrees to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that any questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Each individual listed as an author must have contributed sufficiently to the work to take public responsibility for relevant portions of the content. Individuals who do not meet all of the above criteria should be acknowledged appropriately but not listed as authors.

Authors’ Responsibilities

Manuscripts submitted to the journal must adhere to the fundamental principles of academic writing and research and be formatted by the journal’s submission guidelines.
Before submission, all authors are required to carefully review the Author Guidelines and the journal’s submission policies.
The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining and submitting the consent and acknowledgment of all co-authors through the journal’s Author Commitment Form.
All listed authors must have actively participated in the drafting, compiling, and preparing the manuscript.
The article must clearly state each author's institutional affiliation and acknowledge any individual or organizational support. Potential conflicts of interest among authors or between authors and institutions must also be disclosed.
Authors should disclose any research funding or sponsorship related to the submitted work.
If authors identify a significant error in their published article, they are obliged to inform the editorial office immediately to request a correction or retraction if necessary.
All manuscripts submitted to the journal are screened using plagiarism detection software to prevent scientific misconduct.
Authors must properly and accurately cite all referenced sources, whether used directly or indirectly.
Throughout the submission, peer review, and publication processes, the corresponding author is primarily responsible for all communications with the journal and must ensure that all administrative requirements—including authorship details, ethics approval, trial registration (if applicable), and conflict of interest declarations—are appropriately completed. They are also expected to respond promptly to editorial inquiries and cooperate fully during and after publication.

Changes in Authorship

Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication, no additions or changes to the first or corresponding authors are permitted. If an author wishes to be removed, a formal letter signed by all authors, including the one to be removed, must be submitted. Any change in the authorship order also requires a signed agreement from all listed authors.

Principles of Transparency

Study Design and Ethics

All research should be ethically approved and methodologically sound.
Authors are accountable for the scientific accuracy and proper citation of their work.

Data Analysis and Availability

Data must not be fabricated or falsified.
Authors should provide a clear Data Availability Statement and share data upon request unless restricted by ethical or legal concerns.

Human and Animal Studies

Studies involving humans or animals must have received ethics committee approval and include informed consent statements.

Conflict of Interest

Any financial, academic, or personal relationships that could bias the work must be declared.

Peer Review Process

JMRELS follows a double-blind peer-review policy:

Both authors and reviewers remain anonymous.
Manuscripts must be anonymized before submission.
At least two reviewers evaluate articles before any final decision is made.
Authors may suggest exclusions based on potential conflicts.

Archiving and Open Access

The plan for electronic backup and preservation of access to the journal's content is indicated. This policy outlines how the JMRELS authors can archive copies of their work on their web pages, corporate web pages, and various other subject repositories.
JMRELS is an open-access license; articles can be made available immediately according to their specific Creative Commons license terms (Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0). Since the author has published an article under an open-access license, the JMRELS will encourage the author to share the version of the record upon publication instead of the accepted manuscript.
Authors may also reuse the Abstract and Citation information (e.g., Title, Author name, Publication dates) and full text of their article anywhere at any time, including social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook, blogs, and Twitter, providing that, where possible, a link is included back to the article on the JMRELS site. Preferably, the link should include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI), which can be found in the Citation information about the article online. The accepted version may be placed on the author's website and/or the author's company/institutional repository or archive.

JMRELS is now formally archived at:

- National Library and Archives of Iran (NLAI).
- ISC

Publishing Schedule

JMRELS publishes quarterly. All content remains permanently accessible on the journal’s official website.(https://jmrels.journals.ikiu.ac.ir/browse?_action=issue)

Privacy and Confidentiality

Editors and reviewers must not disclose information about submissions beyond what is necessary for review and publication.
Manuscripts and reviews are treated as confidential documents.
Reviewers must not retain or share rejected manuscripts.
Critique or use of unpublished work without consent is strictly prohibited.

Copyright and Licensing

All content is published under Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International (CC-BY 4.0)
Authors retain full rights to their work and may reuse it freely in academic and educational contexts.

Advertising Policy

JMRELS does not accept advertising to preserve editorial independence.

Ownership and management

Imam Khomeini International University

Corrections and Retractions

To uphold the integrity of the academic record, the journal may issue corrections or retractions of previously published articles when necessary. In accordance with academic publishing standards, such actions are carried out by publishing a separate Erratum or Retraction notice that is prominently linked to the original article. The original version remains publicly accessible and is clearly indexed alongside the correction or retraction notice.

In cases where published content infringes rights or is found to be defamatory, the journal reserves the right to remove such material from its website and archives. Authors may also request minor corrections by submitting a formal comment, provided these modifications do not alter the overall results or conclusions of the study.

Corrections

If an article contains errors that affect its clarity or interpretation—but not its overall validity—an Erratum will be issued at the discretion of the editor(s). Corrections to authorship details also require the publication of an Erratum.

Retractions

In exceptional cases where the integrity of the scientific content is severely compromised—such as in instances of data fabrication, plagiarism, or major methodological flaws—a Retraction may be published. Retractions are issued in full compliance with COPE guidelines, with the original article properly indexed and linked to the retraction notice.

Possible Misconducts

The Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies is committed to upholding the highest standards of research integrity. The following practices are considered forms of research and publication misconduct:

1. Data Fabrication and Falsification

Data fabrication involves inventing data or results that were never actually obtained. Falsification refers to the manipulation, alteration, or omission of data to misrepresent research findings.

2. Duplicate Publication

This occurs when two or more publications, without proper cross-referencing, present essentially the same hypotheses, data, discussions, or conclusions.

3. Citation Manipulation

The inclusion of excessive or irrelevant citations—intended solely to boost citation metrics of a particular author or journal—constitutes unethical behavior and distorts the scholarly value of the article.

4. Simultaneous Submission

Submitting the same manuscript, or substantial portions of it, to more than one journal at the same time is considered a serious breach of ethical publishing standards.

5. Redundant Publication

Redundant publication refers to dividing one research study into multiple publications inappropriately, often to artificially inflate academic output.

6. Improper Author Contribution or Attribution

All listed authors must have made a substantial scientific contribution to the work and must approve the final version of the manuscript. All individuals who contributed significantly, including students or lab technicians, must be appropriately credited.

7. Plagiarism

Plagiarism intentionally uses another person’s ideas, text, or data without proper acknowledgment. Copying even a single sentence from another work—or the author’s own previously published material—without citation is considered plagiarism.

All submitted manuscripts are checked for similarity using plagiarism detection software (iThenticate). Manuscripts found to contain plagiarized content during review will be rejected. If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the journal reserves the right to issue a correction or retract the article and inform the authors’ affiliated institutions.

Dealing with Allegations of Research Misconduct

The Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies is committed to safeguarding research integrity. The Editor-in-Chief takes proactive and reasonable measures to identify and prevent the publication of manuscripts involving research misconduct, including but not limited to plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data fabrication or falsification.

Upon receiving a credible allegation, the Editor-in-Chief shall notify the Editorial Office and provide relevant documentation along with a draft letter to be sent to the corresponding author, requesting a response in a non-accusatory manner.

If the explanation provided by the author is deemed insufficient or if serious unethical conduct is suspected, the case is referred to the Journal’s Publication Committee for further investigation. The Committee will assess the severity of the misconduct and determine appropriate actions, which may include a ban on future submissions.

For less serious violations, the Editor may, based on the Committee’s advice, issue a formal letter of reprimand and remind the author of the journal’s ethical standards. If the manuscript has already been published, the author may be asked to publish an apology or correction.

In cases where clear misconduct has occurred, any submissions under review by the same author(s), or those involving them as co-authors, will be immediately rejected. Individuals involved in the violation will be prohibited from serving on the journal’s editorial board or as reviewers.

A Retraction Notice will be published and linked to the original article in serious cases involving confirmed academic fraud. The article's online version will be marked as “Retracted,” along with the date of retraction.

The Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies reserves the right to take further appropriate actions following COPE guidelines.

Procedure for Appeals and Complaints

The Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies respects the right of authors to appeal editorial decisions when supported by substantial reasoning or new evidence. However, authors should be aware that reversals of editorial decisions are rare and require compelling justification.

If your manuscript is rejected, and you believe there are valid grounds for reconsideration, you may submit a formal appeal. Please follow the steps below:

Clearly state your reasons for appealing the decision and identify specific concerns with the editorial or peer review process.
Provide any new data, evidence, or clarifications that address the issues raised by the reviewers or editors.
If you believe the reviewers misunderstood or misjudged the content, explain your position and supply relevant supporting arguments.
If you suspect a conflict of interest during the review process, include evidence supporting your claim.

Each manuscript is allowed only one appeal. Upon receipt of the appeal, the editors may consult with the original reviewers and editorial team before making a final decision.

The decision made by the editorial board after the appeal process is final. It may result in:

Upholding the original rejection,
Requesting further peer review,
Or inviting a revised submission.

Authors are advised not to submit repeated appeals for the same manuscript. Without new or persuasive evidence, rejected manuscripts should be submitted to another journal.

COPE’s Guidelines and Flowcharts

The Journal of Modern Research in English Language Studies is committed to adhering to and implementing the principles, guidelines, and flowcharts provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in all aspects of its editorial and publishing processes. These include procedures for handling research misconduct, ethical authorship practices, and maintaining transparency and integrity in academic publishing.

For more information on COPE’s flowcharts and ethical guidelines, please visit:

🔗 https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts-new/translations

COPE’s Code of Conduct and Best Practices for Editors

The journal follows COPE’s Code of Conduct for Journal Editors, as outlined in the following documents:
🔗 https://publicationethics.org/media/609/download?attachment
🔗 Original Code of Conduct (2008)

The Editor-in-Chief holds full responsibility for the content published in the journal. Editorial duties include the following ethical obligations:

Serving the needs of both authors and readers.
Continuously working to improve the quality of the journal.
Implementing quality assurance mechanisms for published content.
Upholding freedom of expression and academic integrity.
Preventing commercial interests from influencing editorial decisions.
Issuing corrections, retractions, and clarifications when necessary.
Seeking feedback from authors, readers, reviewers, and editorial board members to enhance the journal’s processes.
Supporting ethical publishing initiatives and researcher education regarding publication ethics.
Evaluating the impact of journal policies on author and reviewer conduct and adjusting them as needed.
Clearly disclosing research funding and the role of funders in research and publication, if applicable.
Ensuring proper peer review by qualified experts, including statistical reviewers when appropriate.
Promoting transparent, accurate, and complete reporting through the use of clear guidelines and editorial checks.
Encouraging full transparency regarding the origin of non-research content.
Adopting clear authorship and contributorship policies that reflect actual contributions and discourage unethical practices such as ghost or guest authorship.
Ensuring that manuscripts submitted by journal staff or editorial board members are reviewed impartially.
Basing acceptance or rejection decisions solely on originality, clarity, scholarly value, and relevance to the journal’s scope.
Avoiding reversal of prior acceptance decisions unless serious flaws are identified.
Ensuring that newly appointed editors respect previous publication decisions unless substantial concerns arise.
Maintaining a clear and fair appeals process for rejected submissions.
Publishing clear, regularly updated author and reviewer guidelines that reflect COPE principles.
Requiring reviewers to declare any conflicts of interest before accepting review tasks.
Maintaining reviewer anonymity unless an open review process is clearly communicated and agreed upon.
Providing clear orientation to new editorial board members and keeping all members informed of policy updates.