Journal of Information and Technology Ethics

Policies

Peer Review Policy

The Journal of Information and Technology Ethics (JITE) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of scholarly publishing through a rigorous, fair, transparent, and unbiased peer-review process. Peer review plays a central role in ensuring the quality, originality, validity, and integrity of the research published by the journal.

Peer Review Model

JITE follows a Double-Anonymous Peer Review model.

Under this model:

  • Authors do not know the identity of the reviewers.
  • Reviewers do not know the identity of the authors.
  • Editorial decisions are based solely on the scholarly merit of the manuscript.

Initial Editorial Assessment

Every submitted manuscript undergoes an initial assessment by the Editorial Office and the Editor-in-Chief to determine whether it:

  • Falls within the journal's aims and scope.
  • Meets the journal's basic quality standards.
  • Complies with submission requirements.
  • Adheres to publication ethics and research integrity principles.

Manuscripts that do not satisfy these requirements may be returned to the authors for correction or declined before external peer review.

Reviewer Selection

Manuscripts that pass the initial editorial assessment are assigned to independent reviewers with appropriate expertise in the relevant subject area.

Reviewers are selected based on:

  • Subject expertise
  • Research experience
  • Publication record
  • Availability
  • Absence of conflicts of interest

The journal normally invites at least two independent reviewers for each manuscript.

Review Process

Reviewers are requested to assess:

  • Originality and novelty
  • Scientific and scholarly quality
  • Methodological rigor
  • Accuracy of analysis
  • Validity of conclusions
  • Clarity of presentation
  • Relevance to the journal's scope
  • Ethical compliance
  • Quality of references and supporting evidence

Reviewers provide constructive comments intended to improve the quality of the manuscript.

Editorial Decision

Possible editorial decisions include:

  • Accept
  • Minor Revision
  • Major Revision
  • Reject

The final decision regarding acceptance or rejection rests solely with the Editor-in-Chief.

Revision Process

Where revisions are requested, authors should submit:

  • A revised manuscript
  • A detailed response to reviewers explaining how each comment has been addressed

Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers or evaluated by the Editor, depending on the nature of the revisions.

Confidentiality

All manuscripts submitted to JITE are treated as confidential documents. Editors and reviewers must not disclose, distribute, discuss, or use unpublished manuscript content except as necessary for the editorial and peer-review process.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors and reviewers must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could affect the impartiality of the review. Individuals with significant conflicts of interest will not participate in the editorial evaluation of the manuscript.

Ethical Concerns

Ethical concerns identified during peer review are handled in accordance with the journal's Publication Ethics and Research Integrity policies.

Timeliness

The journal strives to complete peer review in a timely manner. Reviewers are expected to submit their evaluations within the requested review period.

Reviewer Recommendations

Reviewer recommendations are advisory in nature and assist the Editor in making an informed editorial decision.

Appeals

Authors who disagree with an editorial decision may submit an appeal in accordance with the journal's Author Appeals Policy.

Policy Updates

The journal reserves the right to revise this Peer Review Policy as necessary to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, publication ethics, and editorial best practices.

Publication Ethics

The Journal of Information and Technology Ethics (JITE) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and ethical conduct throughout the publication process.

Responsibilities of Authors

  • Submit original and unpublished work.
  • Ensure that the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal.
  • Accurately present research methods, data, and findings.
  • Appropriately acknowledge the work of others through proper citation.
  • Obtain all necessary ethical approvals where required.
  • Disclose funding sources and potential conflicts of interest.
  • Correct significant errors identified after publication.

Authors are responsible for the integrity and accuracy of the entire manuscript.

Responsibilities of Editors

  • Make fair and impartial editorial decisions.
  • Evaluate manuscripts solely on their scholarly merit.
  • Maintain confidentiality throughout the editorial process.
  • Manage conflicts of interest appropriately.
  • Protect the integrity of the peer-review process.
  • Address ethical concerns promptly and fairly.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers must comply with the journal's Reviewer Guidelines, including requirements concerning confidentiality, impartiality, conflicts of interest, and responsible use of unpublished material.

Duplicate and Redundant Publication

Submitted manuscripts must represent original scholarly work. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, unattributed use of copyrighted material, and inappropriate text recycling are unacceptable.

The journal may use plagiarism detection software during the editorial process.

Authors must not submit substantially similar manuscripts to more than one journal simultaneously.

Authorship

Authorship should accurately reflect substantial scholarly contributions to the work.

All listed authors should have:

  • Made significant intellectual contributions.
  • Approved the final manuscript.
  • Agreed to its submission and publication.
  • Accepted responsibility for the integrity of the work.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, or personal relationships that could influence the editorial process or interpretation of the research.

Human and Animal Research

Research involving human participants or animals must comply with applicable ethical standards and relevant institutional or national regulations.

Data Integrity

Authors must ensure that research data are accurately presented and have not been fabricated, falsified, manipulated, or selectively reported.

Artificial Intelligence

Any use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies during manuscript preparation must be appropriately disclosed by the authors.

Artificial Intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors and do not assume responsibility for the content of submitted manuscripts.

Corrections and Retractions

Where significant errors or ethical concerns are identified after publication, the journal may publish corrections, expressions of concern, retractions, or other editorial notices as appropriate.

Complaints and Appeals

The journal provides fair procedures for handling complaints and appeals relating to editorial decisions or publication ethics.

Ethical Misconduct

Potential misconduct may include:

  • Plagiarism
  • Duplicate publication
  • Data fabrication
  • Data falsification
  • Image manipulation
  • Citation manipulation
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest
  • Authorship disputes
  • Peer-review manipulation

All allegations are assessed fairly, confidentially, and in accordance with the journal's editorial procedures.

Policy Review

The journal periodically reviews and updates its publication ethics policies to reflect developments in scholarly publishing and internationally recognized best practices.

Editorial Policies

The Journal of Information and Technology Ethics (JITE) is committed to maintaining an independent, transparent, fair, and accountable editorial process.

Manuscripts submitted by editors or Editorial Board members are subject to the same editorial and peer-review standards as other submissions. The submitting editor or board member will have no involvement in the handling, reviewer selection, peer review, or decision-making process for their manuscript.

Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are made independently by the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board without interference from the publisher, sponsors, advertisers, funding organizations, or any external party.

The publisher does not determine the acceptance or rejection of individual manuscripts and does not interfere with peer-review outcomes or final editorial decisions.

Editorial Decision-Making

Editorial decisions are based on:

  • Relevance to the journal's aims and scope
  • Originality and scholarly contribution
  • Scientific and methodological quality
  • Peer-review reports
  • Compliance with publication ethics
  • Overall suitability for publication

Editorial Confidentiality

Editors and Editorial Board members shall maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts and related communications.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors must declare any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest. Editors with a conflict of interest shall not participate in the editorial handling or decision-making process for the affected manuscript.

Editorial Corrections

Where minor errors are identified after publication that do not affect the validity or interpretation of the research, the journal may publish a correction to maintain the accuracy of the scholarly record.

Retractions

The journal may retract published articles where there is clear evidence of:

  • Research misconduct
  • Plagiarism
  • Duplicate publication
  • Data fabrication or falsification
  • Unethical research
  • Serious errors that invalidate the findings

Expressions of Concern

Where significant concerns arise but sufficient evidence is not yet available to support correction or retraction, the journal may publish an Expression of Concern while an investigation is underway.

Article Withdrawal

Manuscripts may be withdrawn before publication upon request by the authors or by the Editor where justified.

Complaints and Appeals

The journal provides a fair and transparent procedure for handling complaints relating to editorial decisions, peer review, publication ethics, or journal administration.

Policy Revisions

The journal reserves the right to revise its editorial policies to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, editorial best practices, and publication ethics.

Contact

Editorial Office
Journal of Information and Technology Ethics (JITE)
editor.jite@scholarvista.in

Transparency Policies

The Journal of Information and Technology Ethics (JITE) is committed to transparency, accountability, and responsible scholarly publishing.

The journal publicly provides information on:

  • Journal aims and scope
  • Editorial Board and Editorial Office
  • Peer review model
  • Publication ethics and research integrity
  • Open Access policy
  • Copyright and licensing
  • Publication fees
  • Author and reviewer guidelines
  • Editorial policies
  • Contact information

The journal encourages authors to provide appropriate disclosures relating to authorship, funding, conflicts of interest, data availability, and ethical approvals where applicable.

Any updates to journal policies or publication practices will be published on the journal website.

Research Integrity

The Journal of Information and Technology Ethics (JITE) is committed to promoting honesty, transparency, accountability, and responsibility in research and scholarly publishing.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy, authenticity, traceability, and honest reporting of their research.

Practices that compromise the reliability or integrity of the scholarly record are not acceptable.

Where concerns regarding research integrity arise before or after publication, the journal may request additional information, supporting documentation, or institutional clarification.

Appropriate editorial actions may include manuscript rejection, publication of corrections, expressions of concern, or article retraction where justified.

The journal encourages the responsible reporting of suspected research misconduct and evaluates all concerns fairly, confidentially, and objectively.

Open Access Policy

The Journal of Information and Technology Ethics (JITE) follows a Gold Open Access publishing model, providing immediate and unrestricted access to all published articles.

All published articles are immediately and freely accessible online without subscription or access barriers.

Reuse of published content is governed by the journal's Copyright & Licensing Policy.

The journal believes that open access promotes the wider dissemination of scholarly knowledge, increases research visibility, and supports the global exchange of scientific information.

Privacy Policy

The Journal of Information and Technology Ethics (JITE) respects the privacy of authors, reviewers, editors, and readers.

Personal information collected through the journal's website and manuscript submission system is used solely for the administration and operation of the journal.

Information such as names, institutional affiliations, email addresses, and other contact details is collected only for purposes related to manuscript submission, peer review, editorial communication, publication, and journal administration.

Personal information will be retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for journal administration, scholarly record-keeping, legal obligations, and publishing operations.

The journal takes reasonable administrative and technical measures to protect personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or misuse.

Users are responsible for ensuring that the personal information they provide is accurate and up to date.

The journal may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any revisions will be published on the journal website.

For questions regarding this Privacy Policy or the handling of personal information, please contact the Editorial Office at editor.jite@scholarvista.in .