Qubahan Engineering Journal (QENGJ) is committed to maintaining the integrity, reliability, transparency, and credibility of the scholarly record.

The journal expects authors, editors, reviewers, and other contributors to follow recognized principles of responsible research and scholarly publishing.

QENGJ considers internationally recognized publication-ethics guidance, including relevant principles developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

The journal does not claim formal membership in any external organization unless such membership has been officially obtained and can be independently verified.

Research Misconduct

QENGJ does not tolerate:

• Plagiarism;

• Data fabrication;

• Data falsification;

• Duplicate publication;

• Redundant publication;

• Simultaneous submission;

• Manipulation of images or research records;

• Citation manipulation;

• Peer-review manipulation;

• Fraudulent reviewer identities;

• Undisclosed conflicts of interest;

• Misrepresentation of institutional affiliations;

• Guest authorship;

• Honorary authorship;

• Purchased authorship;

• Ghost authorship;

• Unauthorized use of confidential information; or

• Other practices that compromise the integrity of research or publication.

Plagiarism

Authors must properly acknowledge ideas, language, data, figures, methods, software, images, and other material derived from external sources.

The journal may use similarity-detection software as part of editorial screening.

A numerical similarity percentage does not, by itself, establish plagiarism.

Potential overlap is evaluated in context by the editorial team.

Fabrication and Falsification

Authors must not fabricate data, results, participants, experiments, citations, images, or other research information.

Authors must not selectively alter, omit, manipulate, or misrepresent research data in a manner that changes the scientific interpretation of the work.

Where serious concerns arise, the journal may request:

• Original data;

• Laboratory records;

• Raw images;

• Computational files;

• Source code;

• Statistical outputs;

• Research protocols; or

• Other supporting documentation.

Image Integrity

Figures and images must accurately represent the underlying research.

The following practices are unacceptable where they alter scientific interpretation:

• Selective removal of image elements;

• Undisclosed duplication;

• Inappropriate enhancement;

• Concealment of relevant information;

• Artificial combination of images;

• Misrepresentation of scale; or

• Manipulation intended to produce misleading findings.

Legitimate technical adjustments must be applied consistently and must not distort the underlying information.

Duplicate and Redundant Publication

A manuscript must not be simultaneously submitted to more than one journal.

Authors must disclose substantial overlap with:

• Previously published work;

• Conference papers;

• Preprints;

• Reports;

• Theses;

• Book chapters; or

• Closely related manuscripts.

Previously published material must be appropriately cited.

Authorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who made substantial scholarly contributions and accept responsibility for the published work.

All authors must approve:

• The submitted version;

• The final version;

• The authorship order; and

• Their individual accountability for the work.

Guest, honorary, fraudulent, purchased, and ghost authorship are prohibited.

Changes in Authorship

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must be clearly justified.

The journal may require written agreement from affected authors before approving an authorship change.

Requests made after acceptance are subject to additional editorial scrutiny.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose relationships or interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their judgment.

Conflicts may include:

• Financial interests;

• Institutional relationships;

• Professional relationships;

• Personal relationships;

• Academic competition;

• Intellectual property interests; or

• Funding arrangements.

Funding Transparency

Authors must disclose all relevant funding sources.

The role of the funding organization should be described where it influenced:

• Study design;

• Data collection;

• Data analysis;

• Interpretation;

• Manuscript preparation; or

• Publication decisions.

Human Participants

Research involving human participants, identifiable information, personal data, surveys requiring ethical oversight, or other human-subject research must comply with applicable institutional and legal requirements.

Where required, manuscripts must provide:

• Name of the approving ethics committee or institutional review board;

• Approval or reference number;

• Approval date where available;

• Information concerning informed consent; and

• Consent for publication where identifiable material is included.

Informed Consent

Where applicable, informed consent must be obtained from research participants.

For minors or individuals unable to provide full legal consent, appropriate parent, guardian, or legally authorized representative consent must be obtained, together with participant assent where applicable.

Animal Research

Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international animal-welfare requirements.

Relevant ethical approval should be reported where required.

Safety-Critical Engineering Research

Research involving structures, construction activities, hazardous materials, electrical systems, autonomous systems, infrastructure, or other safety-critical engineering activities must comply with applicable safety, legal, institutional, and technical requirements.

Authors must not omit material safety information that is necessary to interpret or responsibly reproduce the research.

Data Integrity and Availability

Authors are responsible for preserving appropriate research records.

The journal may request underlying data where necessary to investigate:

• Reliability;

• Reproducibility;

• Ethical concerns; or

• Allegations of misconduct.

Data-sharing restrictions relating to privacy, confidentiality, security, intellectual property, or legal requirements should be explained.

Citation Integrity

References must be selected for scholarly relevance.

The following are unacceptable:

• Fabricated references;

• Citation cartels;

• Citation coercion;

• Excessive citation of irrelevant work;

• Manipulative self-citation; or

• Citation practices designed primarily to influence journal or author metrics.

Peer-Review Manipulation

Attempts to manipulate the peer-review process are prohibited.

Examples include:

• Fabricated reviewer identities;

• False reviewer email accounts;

• Undisclosed relationships with suggested reviewers;

• Attempts to influence reviewers improperly; or

• Interference with editorial independence.

Investigation of Concerns

Allegations of misconduct may be investigated before or after publication.

The journal may:

• Contact authors;

• Request supporting documentation;

• Consult reviewers or editors;

• Contact institutions;

• Contact ethics committees;

• Contact other publishers; or

• Seek independent specialist advice where appropriate.

Investigations should be conducted fairly, objectively, and confidentially.

Possible Editorial Actions

Depending on the seriousness and reliability of the evidence, QENGJ may:

• Request clarification;

• Request additional data;

• Require correction;

• Suspend editorial consideration;

• Reject a manuscript;

• Publish a correction;

• Publish an Expression of Concern;

• Retract an article; or

• Take another appropriate action necessary to protect the scholarly record.

Cooperation with Investigations

Authors are expected to cooperate with legitimate journal inquiries.

Failure to provide reasonable information or documentation may be considered when determining appropriate editorial action.

Post-Publication Integrity

Publication does not end the journal's responsibility for the scholarly record.

Credible concerns raised after publication will be evaluated and, where necessary, addressed through correction, Expression of Concern, retraction, or other appropriate measures.