Publication Ethics

The Journal of Divine Message Research (JDMR) is a peer-reviewed, Open Access journal dedicated exclusively to Common Message Studies. Because our subject is the sacred texts of living traditions, we hold ourselves to the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity. The journal is guided by the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). This statement sets out the ethical responsibilities of everyone involved in publication: authors, reviewers, editors and the publisher.

1. Responsibilities of Authors

Originality and plagiarism: submissions must be original and not published elsewhere or under review elsewhere. Others’ work must be properly attributed. Plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, is prohibited.
Fidelity to sources: quotations, verse references, translations and manuscript readings must be accurate and traceable to a named edition. Fabricating, altering or misattributing a passage of a primary text or of a commentator is research misconduct.
Data accuracy and reproducibility: authors must present accurate and reliable data. Fabrication, falsification or misrepresentation is unacceptable. Authors are encouraged to make supporting data and sources accessible.
Multiple or concurrent submissions: submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time is unethical.
Authorship and contributions: everyone who made a significant contribution should be listed as an author. The corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors have approved the final version and agreed to its submission.
Conflicts of interest: authors must disclose financial or personal relationships that could influence the research or its interpretation.
Acknowledgment of sources: the work of others must always be acknowledged, and publications that shaped the research should be cited.
Respectful scholarship: the journal publishes scholarship, not polemic. Manuscripts must treat every tradition and its sacred texts with academic fairness and must not demean any faith or community.
Use of tools and AI: authors are fully responsible for the content of their papers. The platform’s “Make This a Scholarly Article” tool works only from the author’s own notes and does not add content; the author reviews and confirms the result. Any other use of AI tools in producing the text or analysis must be disclosed to the editors.
Language and style: manuscripts are submitted in English, and authors are responsible for the language quality of their papers.

2. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Confidentiality: manuscripts are confidential documents and must not be shared, or used for personal gain.
Objectivity and constructiveness: reviews must be objective, with no personal criticism of the author, and should give constructive feedback that helps improve the paper.
Timeliness: reviewers should complete their evaluations within the agreed time, and tell the editor promptly if they cannot.
Conflict of interest: reviewers must decline a manuscript if they have a conflict of interest with the authors, their institutions or funders.
Fair treatment of traditions: reviewers must judge a paper on its evidence and argument, not on their own confessional position.

3. Responsibilities of Editors

Fairness and impartiality: editors evaluate manuscripts on intellectual content alone, without regard to the authors’ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnicity, citizenship or political philosophy.
Confidentiality: editors and editorial staff must not disclose information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers and editorial advisers.
Decision-making: editors make the final decision to accept or reject, taking the reviewers’ recommendations and the journal’s policies into account.
Conflict of interest: editors must recuse themselves from manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest.
Transparency and corrections: editors ensure transparency in the publication process and promptly address ethical concerns or errors through corrections, retractions or clarifications.

4. Responsibilities of the Publisher

Support for ethical standards: the publisher, Divine Message Academy, supports the journal in maintaining ethical standards and addressing misconduct.
Accessibility and archiving: the publisher keeps the journal accessible to a wide audience and works to preserve published content.
Open Access: all content is freely available, and there are no fees for authors or readers.
Editorial independence: editorial decisions are made independently by the editors and reviewers. Use of the Divine Message Research platform never guarantees acceptance.

5. Handling Ethical Issues

Allegations of misconduct: allegations of plagiarism, data or source fabrication, or authorship disputes are investigated thoroughly and in line with COPE guidance.
Retractions and corrections: if a violation is confirmed, the journal will retract the article or publish a correction as appropriate.
Appeals: authors may appeal an editorial decision by sending a detailed explanation of their concerns to the editorial office. Appeals are handled fairly and transparently.

6. Compliance

All parties are expected to comply with these guidelines. Failure to do so may lead to sanctions, including rejection of manuscripts, retraction of published articles, or exclusion from future submissions.

7. Submission and Publication Process

Submission: manuscripts are submitted through the journal’s online submission system, or prepared from the author’s notes in the Divine Message Research platform and then submitted. See the Author Guidelines.
Peer review: all research articles and methodological notes undergo double-blind peer review. See the Peer Review Process.
Fees: the journal charges no submission fee and no article processing charge.

8. Open Access and Licensing

The journal is committed to freely disseminating knowledge. Published articles are freely available to read, download, share and cite, with attribution, under the Creative Commons license stated on each article.

9. Contact

To report a concern or ask a question about publication ethics, please contact the editorial office at [email protected].