Editorial Policy

The International Journal for Development of Science and Technology (IJDST) is committed to maintaining editorial independence, academic integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly publishing. Editorial decisions are based on the originality, quality, relevance, and scholarly merit of submitted manuscripts and are made without inappropriate commercial, personal, or external influence.

1. Editorial Independence

The Editorial Board is responsible for making independent and impartial editorial decisions. Editorial decisions shall not be influenced by commercial interests, advertising, publication fees, personal relationships, or other factors unrelated to the academic quality of the manuscript.

2. Editorial Decision-Making

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board are responsible for evaluating manuscripts and determining their suitability for publication. Decisions may take into consideration the recommendations of peer reviewers and editorial board members. The journal aims to ensure fair, consistent, transparent, and timely editorial decision-making.

3. Peer Review

Manuscripts are evaluated through the journal's established peer review process. Reviewers are selected based on relevant academic expertise and are expected to provide objective, constructive, confidential, and unbiased assessments. Detailed procedures are provided in the Peer Review Policy.

4. Research Integrity and Publication Ethics

IJDST expects authors, editors, and reviewers to follow high standards of research integrity and publication ethics. Issues including plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication, inappropriate authorship, citation manipulation, and other forms of academic misconduct will be investigated in accordance with the journal's Publication Ethics Policy and relevant international publishing standards.

5. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors should disclose any financial, professional, personal, or other interests that could reasonably influence their judgment or create a potential conflict of interest. Editors and reviewers should not participate in decisions where a conflict could compromise impartiality.

6. Confidentiality

Information relating to submitted manuscripts, peer review reports, editorial discussions, and author communications shall be treated confidentially. Unpublished information obtained through the editorial or review process must not be used for personal or professional advantage without appropriate authorization.

7. Appeals and Complaints

Authors may appeal an editorial decision when they believe that a significant procedural error, misunderstanding, or relevant information may have affected the decision. Appeals should provide clear and specific reasons and will be considered by the Editorial Board in accordance with the journal's editorial procedures.

8. Corrections and Retractions

IJDST is committed to maintaining an accurate and reliable scholarly record. Where significant errors, ethical concerns, or research misconduct are identified after publication, the journal may publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction as appropriate. Such actions will be undertaken in accordance with the journal's Withdrawal & Retraction Policy.

9. Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies

Authors must disclose the use of artificial intelligence or AI-assisted technologies where such use materially contributes to the preparation of a manuscript, in accordance with the journal's applicable guidelines. AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Editors and reviewers must maintain confidentiality and should not upload unpublished manuscripts or confidential material into AI systems that may compromise the security of the submitted work.

10. Editorial Review and Policy Updates

IJDST periodically reviews its editorial policies to ensure that they remain consistent with developments in scholarly publishing, research integrity, and internationally recognized publishing practices. The journal reserves the right to revise its policies when necessary and will publish updated policies on its official website.