Publication Ethics and Malpractice Policy

Publishing in the Journal of Agricultural Extension, (JAE) involves the author, the journal editor, the reviewer, the Agricultural Extension Society of Nigeria and other key stakeholders and service providers. Each actor plays an important role in meeting the expected ethical standards at all stages from submission to publication of an article.  

The Journal of Agricultural Extension is committed to meeting and upholding standards of ethical behaviour at all stages of the publication process. The Journal follows closely the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) that sets standards and provides guidelines for best practices in order to meet these requirements.  The Journal subscribes to COPE’s Code of conduct and best practice guidelines for journal editors.  Below is a summary of the Journal's key expectations of editors, peer-reviewers, authors, and Society.

Ethical Expectations

Editors’ responsibilities

  • To act in a balanced, objective and fair way while carrying out their expected duties, without discrimination on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, ethnic or geographical origin of the authors.
  • To handle submissions for sponsored supplements or special issues in the same way as other submissions, so that articles are considered and accepted solely on their academic merit and without commercial influence.
  • To adopt and follow reasonable procedures in the event of complaints of an ethical or conflicting nature, in accordance with the policies and procedures of the Society where appropriate. To give authors a reasonable opportunity to respond to any complaints. All complaints should be investigated no matter when the original publication was approved. Documentation associated with any such complaints should be retained.

 Reviewers’ responsibilities

  • To contribute to the decision-making process, and to assist in improving the quality of the published paper by reviewing the manuscript objectively, and in a timely manner
  • To maintain the confidentiality of any information supplied by the editor or author. To not retain or copy the manuscript.
  • To alert the editor to any published or submitted content that is substantially similar to that under review. 
  • To be aware of any potential conflicts of interest (financial, institutional, collaborative or other relationships between the reviewer and author) and to alert the editor to these, if necessary withdrawing their services for that manuscript.

Authors’ responsibilities

  • To maintain accurate records of data associated with their submitted manuscript, and to supply or provide access to these data, on reasonable request. Where appropriate and where allowed by employer, funding body and others who might have an interest, to deposit data in a suitable repository or storage location, for sharing and further use by others.
  • To confirm/assert that the manuscript as submitted is not under consideration or accepted for publication elsewhere. Where portions of the content overlap with published or submitted content, to acknowledge and cite those sources. Additionally, to provide the editor with a copy of any submitted manuscript that might contain overlapping or closely related content. 
  • To confirm that all the work in the submitted manuscript is original and to acknowledge and cite content reproduced from other sources. To obtain permission to reproduce any content from other sources.
  • Submission of an article to the Journal of Agricultural Extension is taken as a declaration and implies that the publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out.
  •  The Journal holds authors responsible for keeping to the highest ethics in publishing, particularly with fabrication, falsification and plagiarism.
  • Authors should screen their articles for similarity and plagiarism indicating the programme used and the score.
  • To declare any potential conflicts of interest (e.g where the author has a competing interest (real or apparent) that could be considered or viewed as exerting an undue influence on his or her duties at any stage during the publication process).
  • To notify promptly the journal editor if a significant error in their publication is identified. To cooperate with the editor to publish an erratum, addendum, or corrigendum notice, or to retract the paper, where this is deemed necessary. 

Publisher's or Society’s responsibilities

  • The Agricultural Extension Society shall ensure that good practice is maintained to the standards outlined under the ethical responsibilities above.
  • The Agricultural Extension Society assures subscription to the principles outlined under ethical responsibilities above.

Procedures For Dealing with Unethical Behaviour

 Identification of unethical behaviour

  • Misconduct and unethical behaviour may be identified and brought to the attention of the editor and publisher at any time, by anyone.
  • Misconduct and unethical behaviour may include, but need not be limited to, examples as outlined above. 
  • Whoever informs the editor or publisher of such conduct should provide sufficient information and evidence in order for an investigation to be initiated. All allegations shall be taken seriously and treated in the same way, until a successful decision or conclusion is reached.

Investigation

  • An initial decision should be taken by the editor, who shall consult with or seek advice from the publisher, if appropriate.
  • Evidence should be gathered while avoiding spreading any allegations beyond those who need to know.

 Minor breaches

  • Minor misconduct might be dealt with without the need to consult more widely. In any event, the author shall be given the opportunity to respond to any allegations.

Serious breaches

  • Serious misconduct might require that the employers of the accused be notified. The editor, in consultation with the Society, shall make the decision whether or not to involve the employers, either by examining the available evidence themselves or by further consultation with a limited number of experts.  

 Outcomes (in increasing order of severity; may be applied separately or in conjunction)

  • Informing or educating the author or reviewer where there appears to be a misunderstanding or misapplication of acceptable standards.
  • A more strongly worded letter to the author or reviewer covering the misconduct and as a warning to future behaviour.
  • Publication of a formal notice detailing the misconduct.
  • Publication of an editorial detailing the misconduct.
  • A formal letter to the head of the author’s or reviewer’s department or funding agency.
  • Formal retraction or withdrawal of a publication from the journal, in conjunction with informing the head of the author or reviewer’s department, Abstracting & Indexing services and the readership of the publication.
  • Imposition of a formal embargo on contributions from an individual for a defined period.
  • Reporting the case and outcome to a professional organization or higher authority for further investigation and action.