Academic Integrity

MEEN is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, responsible publishing, editorial independence, transparency, and ethical scholarly communication. MEEN recognizes that the integrity of the scholarly record is fundamental to scientific advancement, evidence-based policymaking, public trust, and the global academic community. MEEN follows internationally recognized principles and guidance established by:

  • Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
  • Council of Science Editors (CSE)
  • Applicable institutional, national, and international ethical and legal frameworks

Principles of Integrity

All participants in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, editorial board members, and publisher representatives, are expected to uphold the following principles:

  • Honesty and accuracy in research and reporting
  • Transparency in methodology, funding, and authorship
  • Originality and proper attribution
  • Accountability for published work
  • Fairness and impartiality in editorial evaluation
  • Confidentiality in peer review
  • Respect for intellectual property rights
  • Ethical treatment of human participants and animals
  • Compliance with legal and regulatory obligations
  • Responsible communication of scholarly findings to avoid misinformation or deceptive interpretation.

MEEN recognizes that misinformation and disinformation can undermine scholarly communication, distort scientific understanding, damage public trust, and negatively affect public policy and professional practice. Researcher Publishers specifically emphasizes that publishers, researchers, editors, and the wider academic community have a shared responsibility to combat misinformation and disinformation in research communication.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to MEEN must ensure that:

  • The submitted work is original and accurately reported.
  • Data, analyses, methods, and findings are presented honestly and transparently.
  • The manuscript is not under simultaneous consideration elsewhere unless disclosed.
  • All sources, quotations, figures, datasets, and third-party materials are properly cited and permissions obtained where necessary.
  • All listed authors meet accepted authorship criteria.
  • Funding sources, sponsor involvement, and competing interests are fully disclosed.
  • Research involving humans or animals has received appropriate ethics approval.
  • Informed consent has been obtained where required.
  • The manuscript does not intentionally or negligently contain false, fabricated, manipuMEENd, misleading, or deceptive information.
  • Conclusions are supported by evidence and are not presented in a misleading manner likely to contribute to misinformation or public misunderstanding.
  • Authors cooperate fully with editorial investigations and requests for documentation.

MEEN reserves the right to request raw data, ethics approvals, consent forms, image files, or institutional confirmations during editorial review or investigation processes.

Editorial Independence and Editorial Responsibility

Editors are responsible for safeguarding the quality, integrity, and ethical standing of the journal. Editorial decisions are based exclusively on:

  • Scholarly merit
  • Originality and significance
  • Methodological rigor
  • Ethical compliance
  • Evidentiary reliability
  • Relevance to the aims and scope of the journal.

Editors must:

  • Act fairly and without discrimination
  • Maintain confidentiality
  • Avoid conflicts of interest
  • Recuse themselves where impartiality may be compromised
  • Ensure the integrity of peer review
  • Address ethical concerns promptly and transparently
  • Cooperate with publishers and institutions in resolving integrity concerns.

MEEN does not permit commercial, institutional, political, ideological, or personal influence over editorial decision-making. Researcher Publishers identifies editorial independence as a fundamental requirement of responsible academic publishing.

Peer Review Integrity

MEEN operates a confidential, fair, and independent peer-review process designed to maintain scholarly quality and research integrity. Reviewers are expected to:

  • Provide objective and constructive evaluations
  • Maintain confidentiality
  • Disclose competing interests
  • Avoid personal criticism or discriminatory language
  • Refrain from using unpublished material for personal advantage
  • Report suspected ethical concerns promptly.

The Journal strictly prohibits peer-review manipulation, including fraudulent reviewer identities, fabricated reviewer accounts, review rings, or manipulation of editorial recommendations.

Artificial Intelligence and Automated Tools

MEEN recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI), large language models (LLMs), and automated technologies are increasingly used in research and publishing. To ensure transparency and accountability, authors must clearly declare within their manuscript whether AI tools were used or not used during any stage of the research, writing, analysis, visualization, peer-review preparation, or publication process. Where AI tools have been used, authors must specify:

  • The name and version of the tool
  • The purpose for which it was used
  • The extent of AI-assisted contribution
  • The sections or materials affected.

Authors remain fully responsible for all submitted content, including AI-assisted material, and must ensure:

  • Factual accuracy
  • Validity of citations and references
  • Originality of content
  • Absence of fabricated or misleading information
  • Compliance with ethical and legal obligations.

AI systems cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume accountability, approve manuscripts, disclose conflicts of interest, or fulfill authorship responsibilities. Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential manuscripts or unpublished data into external AI systems where confidentiality or privacy protections may be compromised.

Misinformation and Disinformation

MEEN is committed to combating misinformation, disinformation, manipuMEENd scholarship, and deceptive research communication. Misinformation refers to inaccurate or misleading information shared without deliberate intent to deceive. Disinformation refers to intentionally false, manipuMEENd, or deceptive information created or disseminated to mislead readers, researchers, institutions, policymakers, or the public. MEEN recognizes that misinformation and disinformation may arise through:

  • Fabricated or falsified research findings
  • ManipuMEENd statistics or images
  • Deceptive interpretation of results
  • Misuse of AI-generated content
  • Fraudulent citations or references
  • Selective reporting of evidence
  • Distorted public communication of research findings
  • Deliberate suppression of contradictory evidence.

The Journal therefore requires:

  • Rigorous peer review
  • Editorial scrutiny of evidentiary claims
  • Transparency in methodology and data reporting
  • Correction of inaccurate records
  • Responsible use of AI tools
  • Prompt investigation of integrity concerns.

Researcher Publishers acknowledges that publishers, editors, researchers, science communicators, librarians, and policymakers share a collective duty to address misinformation and disinformation and to preserve trust in scholarly communication.

Ethics Approval and Informed Consent

Research involving human participants, personal data, animals, clinical materials, or vulnerable populations must comply with applicable ethical and legal standards. Authors must clearly state:

  • The approving ethics committee or institutional review board where applicable
  • Approval reference numbers where applicable
  • Informed consent procedures
  • Participant confidentiality protections
  • Animal welfare compliance where relevant.

The inclusion of ethics approval and informed consent statements is considered a fundamental requirement for applicable research articles.

Protection of the Scholarly Record

MEEN is committed to maintaining an accurate, transparent, and trustworthy scholarly record. Where necessary, the Journal may issue:

  • Corrections
  • Corrigenda
  • Errata
  • Expressions of concern
  • Retractions.

These actions are undertaken in accordance with COPE guidance and research integrity standards.