Academic Integrity

The Journal of Language Teaching and Learning Today (LTLT) is committed to maintaining high standards of academic integrity, transparency, originality, accountability, and responsible scholarly communication. As a journal published by Researcher Publishers, LTLT follows the Publication Ethics and Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools policies established by Researcher Publishers, together with the principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applicable institutional, national, and international ethical and legal requirements. This Academic Integrity policy sets out the expectations of LTLT for authors, reviewers, and editors. It should be read together with the Ethics Policy and Malpractice Policy of LTLT.

Principles of Academic Integrity

All participants in the publication process are expected to uphold the following principles:

  • honesty and accuracy in research, analysis, and reporting;
  • originality and appropriate attribution of ideas and sources;
  • transparency in methodology, data, authorship, funding, and conflicts of interest;
  • accountability for submitted and published work;
  • ethical treatment of research participants and protection of privacy and confidentiality;
  • accuracy and traceability of citations and references;
  • fairness, independence, and confidentiality in editorial evaluation and peer review; and
  • responsible communication of research findings, including appropriate acknowledgement of limitations and avoidance of misleading or unsupported claims.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for the authenticity, accuracy, originality, and integrity of all submitted content. Manuscripts submitted to LTLT must represent original scholarly work and must not be simultaneously submitted to another journal or publication outlet. Previously disseminated or overlapping material must be appropriately disclosed. Authors must ensure that data, methods, analyses, findings, interpretations, and conclusions are reported accurately and transparently. Fabrication, falsification, inappropriate manipulation of data or findings, selective reporting intended to mislead readers, and other forms of research misconduct are prohibited.

All sources must be properly acknowledged. Citations and references must be genuine, relevant, traceable, and independently verified by the authors against the original sources. Fabricated, non-existent, misleading, or unverified references constitute a serious breach of academic integrity. Authors must ensure that all individuals listed as authors meet appropriate authorship criteria, have made legitimate contributions to the work, and approve the submitted version. Individuals who have contributed to the work but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged where appropriate. Authors must disclose all relevant funding, financial or non-financial conflicts of interest, and other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation. LTLT may request supporting documentation, including research data, analytical materials, ethics approvals, consent documentation, permissions, or other records where clarification or verification is required.

Declaration Requirements

The Declaration must be completed using the prescribed Declaration template and submitted as a separate file. Information that could reveal author or institutional identity must not appear in the anonymized manuscript used for double-blind peer review. Following acceptance, the applicable Declaration information will be incorporated into the final published manuscript. The Declaration includes the following subsections:

  • Ethics Approval and Informed Consent
  • AI Tool Use
  • Funding
  • Conflicts of Interest
  • Data Availability
  • Author Contributions

Each subsection must be completed. Where a particular declaration is not applicable, authors should explicitly state this or, as appropriate, confirm that no funding was received, no conflicts of interest exist, or no AI or AI-assisted tools were used. For research involving human participants, authors must provide information concerning ethics approval and informed consent where applicable. If formal ethics approval was not required, this should be stated and, where necessary, explained.

The Data Availability statement should indicate whether and under what conditions the data supporting the findings are accessible. For manuscripts in which no new data were generated or analyzed, authors should state that data availability is not applicable. The Author Contributions statement should accurately describe the contribution of each author. The CRediT contributor roles may be used where appropriate. In the anonymized manuscript used for double-blind peer review, any information elsewhere in the manuscript that could reveal author or institutional identity must be anonymized or replaced with an appropriate blinded statement in accordance with the Author Guidelines.

Use of Artificial Intelligence and Automated Tools

LTLT follows the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools policy established by Researcher Publishers. AI and automated tools may be used to support the technical and linguistic preparation of manuscripts, including grammar and language checking, improvement of clarity and expression, refinement of the structure and organization of author-generated content, formatting, translation assistance, and other non-substantive technical support. AI assistance must remain supportive rather than generative of the scholarly contribution. AI tools must not replace the intellectual contribution, critical thinking, analysis, interpretation, argumentation, or scholarly judgment of the authors. AI-generated or fabricated research data, findings, citations, references, analyses, interpretations, arguments, or conclusions are not permitted as substitutes for authentic scholarly work.

The legitimate use of AI as part of a research design or methodology is permitted. Where AI technologies form part of the research method, their use must be academically justified and described transparently in the methodology, including sufficient information about the tool, procedures, inputs, validation, and human oversight where applicable. Every submission must include an AI Tool Use statement in the Declaration file. Where AI tools were used during manuscript preparation, authors must identify the tool and version where available, explain the purpose and extent of use, indicate the sections or materials affected where appropriate, and confirm that all AI-assisted output was reviewed, edited, and verified. Where no AI or AI-assisted tools were used, authors must state: No AI or AI-assisted tools were used in the preparation of this manuscript. Authors remain fully responsible for all submitted content regardless of whether AI tools were used. Authors, reviewers, and editors must also comply with requirements concerning confidentiality, privacy, copyright, intellectual property, and protected research data when using external AI systems.

Research Ethics and Participant Protection

Research involving human participants, personal or sensitive data, minors, vulnerable populations, or other ethically sensitive contexts must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international ethical requirements. Authors must obtain ethics approval and informed consent where required and must protect participant privacy, anonymity, and confidentiality. Identifiable information must not be published without appropriate authorization and consent. Where formal ethics review is not required under applicable institutional or national requirements, authors should provide an appropriate statement explaining the status of ethics approval. Further requirements are provided in the Ethics Policy of LTLT.

Data Integrity and Transparency

Authors should maintain accurate and complete research records and retain supporting data and documentation for an appropriate period following publication. Where ethically and legally possible, authors are encouraged to make research data, instruments, analytical materials, or other supporting resources available to facilitate transparency and further scholarly inquiry. Restrictions arising from participant confidentiality, informed consent, intellectual property, contractual obligations, or data-protection requirements should be clearly stated in the Data Availability declaration. Data must not be fabricated, falsified, deceptively manipulated, or presented in a manner that materially misrepresents the research.

Editorial and Peer Review Integrity

Editorial decisions are based on scholarly quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, relevance to language education, and alignment with the aims and scope of LTLT. Editors and reviewers must act fairly, objectively, independently, and confidentially. Potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed, and individuals should recuse themselves from editorial or review responsibilities where impartiality could reasonably be questioned. Submitted manuscripts, unpublished data, review reports, and other confidential materials must not be used for personal or professional advantage or disclosed to unauthorized parties. Peer-review manipulation, including fabricated reviewer identities, review rings, coercive reviewing practices, manipulation of editorial recommendations, or misuse of confidential manuscript information, is prohibited.

Responsible Reporting and Scholarly Communication

Authors must present findings and interpretations responsibly and in proportion to the evidence available. Limitations and relevant contradictory evidence should be acknowledged where appropriate. LTLT does not accept fabricated, deceptive, intentionally misleading, or materially distorted scholarly claims. Findings should not be exaggerated or communicated in ways that knowingly misrepresent the evidence or create misleading conclusions.

Concerns, Investigations, and the Scholarly Record

Suspected breaches of academic integrity may be investigated in accordance with the Malpractice Policy of LTLT and the publication ethics framework of Researcher Publishers. Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to cooperate with reasonable requests for explanations, source materials, research records, ethics documentation, or other evidence required to evaluate an integrity concern. Where errors or breaches are identified, appropriate editorial action may be taken to protect the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record. Depending on the circumstances, such action may include correction, clarification, expression of concern, rejection, withdrawal, retraction, or other measures described in the Malpractice Policy. Honest errors will be distinguished from deliberate misconduct wherever reasonably possible. The primary purpose of corrective action is to maintain an accurate, transparent, and trustworthy scholarly record.