Research Integrity

Research Integrity Policy

Paraskevi Journal of Economics and Management Sciences (PJEMS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of research integrity, transparency, accountability, and responsible scholarly practice.

The journal expects authors, editors, reviewers, and other individuals involved in the publication process to uphold the principles of honesty, accuracy, transparency, accountability, and respect for research participants and the scholarly record.

Research submitted to PJEMS must be conducted and reported responsibly, regardless of whether the findings support the authors' original hypotheses.

1. Honesty and Accuracy in Research

Authors must report their research honestly and accurately.

Authors must not:

  • Invent research data or results;
  • Falsify or manipulate research findings;
  • Deliberately misrepresent research procedures;
  • Conceal significant information that would materially affect interpretation of the findings;
  • Present unsupported conclusions as established facts.

Research findings should be reported objectively, including findings that do not support the authors' expectations or hypotheses.

2. Fabrication and Falsification

Fabrication

Fabrication refers to making up data, observations, participants, experiments, results, references, or other research information that did not actually exist.

Fabricated research is unacceptable and constitutes a serious breach of research integrity.

Falsification

Falsification involves manipulating research materials, equipment, procedures, datasets, images, statistical analyses, or results in a manner that misrepresents the research.

PJEMS considers fabrication and falsification serious forms of research misconduct.

3. Data Integrity and Management

Authors are responsible for ensuring that research data are collected, processed, analyzed, stored, and reported appropriately.

Authors should:

  • Maintain accurate research records;
  • Use appropriate data-collection procedures;
  • Apply appropriate analytical methods;
  • Preserve relevant research materials;
  • Report data accurately;
  • Clearly explain data-processing procedures where necessary.

Where appropriate and ethically permissible, authors are encouraged to make supporting datasets, analytical procedures, code, or other research materials available to facilitate verification and reproducibility.

4. Methodological Integrity

Research methods must be appropriate for the research objectives and questions.

Authors should provide sufficient methodological information to enable readers and reviewers to understand how the research was conducted.

Where applicable, manuscripts should clearly describe:

  • Research design;
  • Study population or sample;
  • Data sources;
  • Sampling procedures;
  • Variables and measurements;
  • Research instruments;
  • Statistical or computational methods;
  • Model specifications;
  • Validation procedures;
  • Analytical techniques;
  • Limitations.

Authors should not deliberately select or modify analytical methods solely to obtain a preferred result.

5. Statistical and Computational Integrity

PJEMS expects statistical and computational analyses to be conducted and reported responsibly.

Authors must accurately report:

  • Statistical procedures;
  • Model specifications;
  • Assumptions;
  • Sample sizes;
  • Variables;
  • Evaluation measures;
  • Statistical significance where applicable;
  • Relevant uncertainty;
  • Limitations of the analysis.

For research involving machine learning, artificial intelligence, econometrics, simulation, or computational modelling, authors should provide sufficient information concerning the methodology, datasets, preprocessing, model development, validation, and evaluation procedures to support scholarly assessment.

Results must not be deliberately manipulated to produce artificially favorable performance.

6. Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Where required, authors should obtain approval from an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review body before commencing the research.

Manuscripts should provide relevant information concerning:

  • Ethical approval;
  • Informed consent;
  • Participant confidentiality;
  • Data protection;
  • Protection of vulnerable participants.

Where ethical approval is not required for a particular study, authors should provide an appropriate explanation where relevant.

7. Informed Consent and Confidentiality

Authors must protect the privacy and confidentiality of research participants.

Personally identifiable information should not be published without appropriate authorization or consent.

Where case studies, interviews, photographs, personal records, or other identifiable information are included, authors must ensure that appropriate consent has been obtained where required.

8. Authorship Integrity

Authorship must accurately reflect substantive contributions to the research.

PJEMS does not support:

  • Ghost authorship;
  • Guest authorship;
  • Gift or honorary authorship;
  • Unjustified exclusion of contributors;
  • Manipulation of authorship order.

All listed authors should have made an appropriate contribution to the research and should approve the final manuscript.

Individuals who provided assistance that does not qualify for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged where relevant.

9. Acknowledgement of Sources

Authors must appropriately acknowledge the work of other researchers.

All sources, ideas, data, theories, methods, quotations, and other intellectual contributions obtained from other sources must be appropriately cited.

Authors must not present another person's intellectual contribution as their own.

Plagiarism and inappropriate reuse of previously published material are considered breaches of research integrity.

10. Citation Integrity

Authors should cite literature that is genuinely relevant to their research.

PJEMS does not support:

  • Fabricated references;
  • Citation manipulation;
  • Excessive self-citation intended primarily to increase citation counts;
  • Coercive citation;
  • Deliberate omission of important relevant research;
  • Citing sources that have not been consulted.

References should accurately support the claims for which they are cited.

11. Research Materials and Reproducibility

Where appropriate, authors should retain relevant research materials, datasets, analytical code, research instruments, and supporting documentation for a reasonable period.

Where legally, ethically, and practically possible, authors are encouraged to make relevant research materials available to facilitate verification and reproducibility.

Restrictions relating to confidentiality, privacy, intellectual property, contractual obligations, or sensitive datasets should be clearly stated where applicable.

12. Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest that could influence their research.

Relevant interests may include:

  • Financial relationships;
  • Employment;
  • Consultancy;
  • Research funding;
  • Commercial interests;
  • Patents;
  • Institutional relationships;
  • Personal relationships;
  • Other relevant professional interests.

Where no conflict exists, authors should provide an appropriate declaration.

13. Funding Transparency

Authors should disclose financial or institutional support received for the research where applicable.

Funding statements should identify the funding organization and, where relevant, indicate whether the funder had any role in:

  • Study design;
  • Data collection;
  • Data analysis;
  • Interpretation;
  • Manuscript preparation;
  • Publication decisions.

14. Image, Figure, and Data Integrity

Images, photographs, figures, tables, graphs, and other visual materials must accurately represent the underlying research.

Authors must not manipulate images or figures in a manner that creates a misleading representation of the research.

Any legitimate image processing that could affect interpretation should be appropriately disclosed where relevant.

15. Generative AI and Research Integrity

AI-assisted tools may be used responsibly in research and manuscript preparation, subject to the journal's Generative AI Policy.

Authors remain fully responsible for AI-assisted content included in their manuscripts.

Authors must independently verify:

  • AI-generated factual claims;
  • References;
  • Statistical information;
  • Research interpretations;
  • Data;
  • Citations;
  • Technical statements.

AI systems must not be used to fabricate data, research results, references, participants, experimental outcomes, or other research information.

AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

16. Research Misconduct

PJEMS considers the following to be potential forms of research or publication misconduct:

  • Fabrication;
  • Falsification;
  • Plagiarism;
  • Duplicate publication;
  • Redundant publication;
  • Data manipulation;
  • Image manipulation;
  • Citation manipulation;
  • Authorship manipulation;
  • Misrepresentation of research;
  • Fraudulent peer review;
  • Forged ethical approval;
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest;
  • Deliberate concealment of significant research information.

The journal may investigate credible allegations of misconduct.

17. Investigation of Research Integrity Concerns

Where a credible concern is raised, PJEMS may:

  1. Conduct an initial assessment;
  2. Request clarification or supporting documentation from the authors;
  3. Seek additional expert assessment where appropriate;
  4. Contact the relevant institution or research organization where necessary;
  5. Take appropriate editorial action based on the evidence.

Authors are expected to cooperate with legitimate research-integrity investigations.

18. Post-Publication Concerns

Research-integrity concerns may be raised after an article has been published.

Where a published article is found to contain a significant error or integrity concern, PJEMS may publish:

  • A Correction;
  • An Erratum;
  • A Corrigendum;
  • An Expression of Concern; or
  • A Retraction.

The action taken will depend on the nature and seriousness of the concern.

19. Responsibilities of Editors and Reviewers

Editors and reviewers also have responsibilities for maintaining research integrity.

They must:

  • Treat submitted manuscripts confidentially;
  • Declare relevant conflicts of interest;
  • Evaluate research objectively;
  • Report suspected misconduct to the appropriate editorial authority;
  • Avoid using unpublished research information for personal or professional advantage;
  • Protect the integrity of the peer-review process.

20. Commitment to Responsible Research

PJEMS recognizes that maintaining research integrity is a shared responsibility.

The journal therefore expects all participants in the publication process to uphold the following principles:

Honesty | Accuracy | Transparency | Accountability | Confidentiality | Reproducibility | Ethical Conduct

PJEMS will take reasonable and proportionate action when credible concerns about research integrity arise and will seek to preserve the accuracy and reliability of the scholarly record.