Social Intervention Journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against publication malpractice. This statement outlines the ethical responsibilities of all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, editorial board members, and the publisher. The journal follows recognized principles of ethical publishing and is guided by the COPE Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors and Journal Publishers.

Ethical Guidelines for Journal Publication

The publication of articles in Social Intervention Journal contributes to the development of credible and responsible scholarly knowledge in the field of Social Welfare and social intervention. Peer-reviewed publication requires all parties involved in the editorial and publishing process to uphold ethical standards, academic integrity, transparency, and professionalism.

As the publisher of Social Intervention Journal, Ahad Media Digital is committed to ensuring that editorial decisions are made independently and are not influenced by advertising, commercial interests, or other external pressures. The journal upholds the principles of neutrality, fairness, and integrity in all publishing activities. Neutrality means avoiding conflicts of interest. Fairness means evaluating submissions solely on academic merit. Integrity means rejecting plagiarism, duplication, fabrication, and falsification.

Duties of Editors

Publication Decisions: The editor is responsible for deciding which submitted manuscripts should be published. Editorial decisions are based on the manuscript's originality, academic quality, clarity, relevance to the journal's focus and scope, and scholarly contribution. Editors may consult reviewers and members of the editorial board when making decisions. Legal requirements related to copyright infringement, defamation, and plagiarism must also be considered.

Fair Play: Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on their intellectual and academic merit, without regard to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political views.

Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, prospective reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

Conflicts of Interest: Editors and members of the editorial team must not use unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript for their own research without the author's explicit written consent. Editors must also avoid handling manuscripts where conflicts of interest may affect their judgment.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer reviewers assist editors in making editorial decisions and may also help authors improve the quality of their manuscripts through constructive feedback.

Promptness: Any invited reviewer who feels unqualified to review the manuscript, or who knows that timely review will not be possible, should notify the editor and decline the review invitation.

Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shared with or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively and expressed clearly with supporting arguments. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate.

Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. They should also alert the editor to any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and other published works known to them.

Conflicts of Interest: Reviewers must not review manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest arising from competitive, collaborative, institutional, or other relationships with any of the authors or institutions connected to the manuscript.

Duties of Authors

Reporting Standards: Authors must present an accurate account of the work performed and an objective discussion of its significance. Manuscripts should contain sufficient detail and references to allow others to understand and evaluate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements are unethical and unacceptable.

Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their manuscripts are entirely original. If the work or words of others are used, these must be properly cited or quoted. Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: Authors should not submit the same manuscript, or manuscripts describing substantially the same research, to more than one journal at the same time. Such practices constitute unethical publishing behavior.

Acknowledgment of Sources: Authors must properly acknowledge the work of others. All sources that have influenced the reported research should be appropriately cited.

Authorship: Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the study. All those who have made substantial contributions should be listed as co-authors. Others who contributed to specific aspects of the work should be acknowledged appropriately. The corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors have approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that may influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of research funding must also be disclosed.

Fundamental Errors in Published Works: If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in a published article, the author must promptly notify the editor or publisher and cooperate in correcting or retracting the article.

Corrections, Retractions, and Editorial Expressions of Concern

The journal may publish corrections, retractions, or editorial expressions of concern when ethical breaches, major errors, or unreliable findings are identified after publication.

Complaints and Appeals

Authors may submit complaints or appeals regarding editorial decisions, peer review, or publication ethics to the editorial office. All complaints and appeals will be reviewed objectively by the editorial team.

Duties of the Publisher

The publisher is committed to supporting editors and reviewers in maintaining the integrity of the academic record. The publisher works to ensure that editorial independence is protected and that ethical concerns, including plagiarism, duplicate publication, and conflicts of interest, are handled appropriately and transparently.

Plagiarism Notice

Social Intervention Journal treats plagiarism as a serious violation of publication ethics. All submitted manuscripts are screened using plagiarism detection software (e.g., Turnitin or comparable tools). The acceptable similarity index is below 20% (excluding bibliography and common phrases).

Plagiarism includes:

• Verbatim copying of text from another source without quotation marks and citation.
• Paraphrasing without proper attribution.
• Self-plagiarism: Reusing significant portions of the author's own previously published work without citation.

If plagiarism is detected before publication, the manuscript will be rejected immediately. If detected after publication, the journal will issue a retraction or correction depending on severity. The author may be banned from future submission for a period determined by the editorial board.

Retraction

Social Intervention Journal follows COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines for retractions. Articles may be retracted if clear evidence indicates that the findings are unreliable (due to major error, fabrication, or falsification), if the article constitutes plagiarism or duplicate publication, or if the research involved unethical practices.

Decisions to retract are made by the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with the editorial board and, where appropriate, the author's institution. The retraction notice will clearly state the reason(s) for retraction. The original article remains accessible but will be clearly marked as "RETRACTED" on all online pages. Minor errors that do not affect scientific integrity will be addressed through a correction notice rather than retraction.