Journal of Contemporary Studies on Religion and Science (JCSRS)

The Journal of Contemporary Studies on Religion and Science (JCSRS) is not yet an official member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) but intends to obtain membership in the near future. Nevertheless, until formal membership is achieved, the journal fully adheres to COPE’s principles and guidelines for ethical publishing and considers compliance with ethical standards essential to the integrity of academic publishing.

1. General Ethical Responsibilities

All authors are required to avoid any form of research misconduct that could undermine confidence in the journal, damage the integrity of academic work, or harm the credibility of the scientific community. Upholding ethical standards ensures the integrity of both research and its publication. Authors must therefore observe the following principles:

• Manuscripts must not be submitted simultaneously to more than one journal.
• Authors must not divide a single study into multiple parts for separate publication (“salami publication”); such submissions will be rejected.
• Submitted manuscripts must be original and not previously published in any form or language (including Persian or English), in whole or in part, unless the new article substantially extends a previous study. Otherwise, this constitutes self-plagiarism.
• Authors must not present data, text, or ideas of others as their own. Any directly quoted text must be enclosed in quotation marks (“ ” or « ») and properly cited.
• The journal may employ plagiarism detection software (such as Samim Noor or similar tools) to screen all submissions.

2. Citation and Reference Ethics

• Research articles must include appropriate and relevant references supporting all claims.
• Excessive or inappropriate self-citation and coordinated citation manipulation between authors are strictly prohibited and will lead to rejection.

3. Responsible and Respectful Writing

Authors must avoid false, defamatory, or offensive statements about individuals, organizations, or companies. Descriptions of others’ behavior or actions must not include personal attacks or accusations.

If the research has potential for dual use (i.e., misuse posing threats to public health or national security), such as biological hazards, vaccine interference, or weaponization risks, this must be explicitly disclosed in the manuscript.

4. Handling Misconduct

If misconduct or a suspicious claim is detected during review:

• The editorial office will contact the corresponding author via email.
• If the issue is resolved, peer review will continue.
• If unresolved, the manuscript will be withdrawn from consideration.

If a case of serious misconduct is discovered after publication, the editorial board will decide on appropriate corrective actions depending on the severity of the issue (which may include correction, retraction, or notice of concern).

5. Confidentiality

The editor-in-chief and editorial board members must not disclose any information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisors, or the publisher, as appropriate.

6. Error Correction

Authors must promptly notify the journal upon discovering a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work and explain its impact. The type of correction (minor correction, corrigendum, or retraction) will depend on the nature of the error. The author must submit an official written request via email.

7. Reviewer Recommendation

Authors may propose qualified reviewers for their manuscript by providing the reviewer’s full details, including institutional affiliation, email address, and phone number. The editorial board reserves the right to accept or decline suggested reviewers.

8. Manuscript Preparation

Authors are required to prepare manuscripts strictly according to the journal’s submission guidelines and formatting requirements. Non-compliant manuscripts will be returned to authors for revision before peer review proceeds.

9. Copyright Policy

All intellectual property and publication rights of articles published in The Journal of Contemporary Studies on Religion and Science (JCSRS) are reserved by the journal. Authors wishing to republish their work or parts thereof (e.g., in edited volumes or books) must obtain formal written permission from the journal.

10. Advertising Policy

This journal does not accept responsibility for, nor engage in, any advertising or promotional activity on behalf of any individual, organization, or institution.