Publication Ethics

The editorial team at the Engineering and Technology Horizons journal is dedicated to maintaining the highest level of integrity and best practices in the content published within its pages. The team is committed to preventing malpractices, and in the event of plagiarism, the COPE guidelines will be followed to ensure the validity and integrity of the published research. If anyone suspects these guidelines have not been followed, they are encouraged to raise their concern with the editor or email kmitl.eng.jnl@gmail.com.

All parties involved in publishing, including editors, authors, and reviewers, must adhere to the ethical behaviors outlined below. The journal expects that editors, authors, and reviewers will maintain these ethical standards and avoid research misconduct, plagiarism, and conflicts of interest.

Roles of Editors

Editors are responsible for evaluating submitted articles to ensure they align with the journal's objectives and scope, as stated on the website.
Editors should use a non-disclosure process for unrelated persons during the article evaluation period.
Editors should make informed decisions, considering factors like importance, novelty, clarity, and alignment with publication policies, while remaining unbiased regarding race, gender, religion, culture, politics, or author affiliation.
Editors should adhere to the journal's processes and procedures. Once the article evaluation process is complete, the author will be notified of the publication status.
Editors should verify that articles were not previously published and check with other journals to confirm non-republishing.
If there is a suspected article, editors should find evidence to support rejection.
Editors should avoid conflicts of interest with publishers, authors, and reviewers, and must not use articles or journals for personal gain or claim them as their own work.
Editors are not allowed to edit, modify, or hide any of the reviewer responses or comments exchanged between authors and reviewers.
Editors should stop evaluation upon discovering plagiarism and contact the corresponding author for clarification before deciding on the article.

Roles of Authors

Authors must verify that their submitted work is original, has never been published before, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
Authors should obtain prior research ethics approval and report factual findings from the research accurately and truthfully.
Authors should not plagiarize other people's works and must always cite their sources and include all citation details in the reference section to avoid plagiarism.
Authors should adhere to the "Author Guidelines" format when writing research or academic articles and correctly cite references.
All authors and co-authors listed in the paper should have participated in the research.
Authors are required to disclose any sponsors or funding sources that have provided support for their research.
Authors should disclose any conflicts of interest or relationships with individuals associated with the journal or the article's reviewers.
Authors should provide affiliations that reflect the institutions where the research was conducted. Providing false information is misconduct and may lead to article retraction.
The corresponding author must sign and submit the copyright transfer agreement. Any changes to the corresponding author after submission will be treated as authorship changes.
Authors are responsible for ensuring scientific accuracy and avoiding plagiarism in their published articles.
Authors should provide complete and accurate information during the peer review process and respond to reviewers' comments with integrity.
Authors should follow the journal's guidelines and revise their work accordingly. If any issues occur during editing, they should promptly inform the editors.
Research involving humans and animals should comply with ethical standards. Authors are required to identify and describe these standards in the article clearly.
Authors should make their data and methods available for the transparency and reproducibility of their findings.
Authors using AI tools or AI-assisted technologies must be cautious and thoroughly review the AI-generated content, as it can sometimes be inaccurate, incomplete, or biased.
Authors must not attribute authorship to AI tools or AI-assisted technologies, as they cannot independently create research designs or ensure the integrity and validity of work.
Authors must disclose any use of AI or AI-assisted technologies in their work, which will be included in the published article. However, disclosure is not required for AI used only for grammar checks, error corrections, or reference verification.

Roles of Reviewers

Reviewers should only assess articles in their area of expertise. If they lack the necessary knowledge, they should inform the editor and suggest another reviewer.
Reviewers should assess the content's significance to the subject area, focusing on the quality of analysis and results while avoiding personal opinions in their evaluations.
Reviewers should keep all submitted information confidential and refrain from disclosing any part of it to unrelated parties.
Reviewers should understand that impersonating another person during the review process is a severe violation of conduct.
If reviewers have a conflict of interest with the authors, they should inform the editors and decline the review to maintain independence and impartiality in the review process.
Reviewers should recommend adding citations for key research findings if the article lacks proper citations. They should also inform the editors if there are overlaps with other works.
Reviewers are required to ensure that the evaluation process is completed within the designated time frame.

Ethics declarations for research studies involving humans and animals

In studies involving human and animal subjects, authors must follow ethical standards and obtain informed consent. In their manuscripts, authors must provide specific details in the "Materials and Methods" section:

The name of the ethical approval committee or institutional Review Board that provided approval, along with an approval number or ID.
If a waiver was obtained, it must be mentioned along with the reason for the waiver.
For studies involving human subjects, the authors must confirm that the study was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration as revised in 2013.
For studies involving animal subjects, the authors must confirm that the study was conducted in accordance with relevant national and international animal welfare guidelines, such as AAALAC or Ethical Principles and Guidelines for the Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes, NRC of Thailand. If possible, the research studies should be approved by an ethics committee. The name of the ethics committee and its approval number should be included, along with the national and international guidelines that were followed.
Written informed consent must be obtained from study participants and stated in the manuscript. Relevant documents must be provided upon request by the journal. If verbal informed consent was obtained, the reason for the absence of written permission must be provided.

In case the research studies involve human or animal subjects, the authors must declare that "This study was ethically approved by [name of the ethical approval committee/Institutional Review Board they have obtained consent from] together with approval number/ID (case/permission number). If a waiver was obtained, the authors should declare that "All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 2013 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards".

AI Tool Policy

AI tools should not be credited with authorship because they cannot independently create a research design and lack accountability for the integrity, originality, and validity of published work. Therefore, AI should neither be listed as an author nor cited as one; authorship should be solely attributed to human contributions.

Authors are encouraged to use generative AI primarily to enhance readability and language. However, since AI can produce outputs that may be incorrect, incomplete, or biased, it is essential for authors to review and edit the results thoroughly. Additionally, authors must include a statement in their manuscript disclosing the use of AI (an example of such a statement is provided below). This disclosure will be included in their published article.

Statement: This manuscript was prepared using (NAME OF TOOL/SERVICE) for the purpose of (REASON). It has been reviewed and edited as necessary by (AUTHOR(S)' NAME(S)). The authors take full responsibility for the content of this publication.

Note: If the authors only utilized AI for grammar checks, error corrections, or reference verification, disclosure is not required.

Publication Malpractice

Plagiarism

The journal places great importance on intellectual property and originality of content. To ensure this, any manuscript submitted to the journal will be screened using Turnitin software, which is supported by King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang. If the software detects a similarity of over 30%, indicating plagiarism, the editors will immediately reject the manuscript. If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the article will be retracted from the journal. The editors will then contact the authors' institutions to explain the retraction and the authors’ behavior. The event of retraction will also be officially announced on the journal website as soon as possible.

Publication Malpractice Declaration

Our journal maintains the highest ethical standards and takes any misconduct allegations seriously. To ensure our publication operates within these ethical principles, we have established a malpractice declaration outlining key principles:

Plagiarism: Any instances of plagiarism will result in the immediate rejection of the manuscript, and the appropriate actions will be taken.
Fabrication and falsification: Fabricating or falsifying data is strictly prohibited. Authors must present accurate and reliable results; any manipulation or misrepresentation will be deemed a serious ethical violation.
Multiple submissions: Submitted manuscripts must not be under consideration by any other journal or conference proceedings. Simultaneous submission of the same work to multiple publications is unethical and will result in immediate decline.
Authorship disputes: Any disputes related to authorship or misrepresentation of authorship must be settled before submitting the manuscript.
Peer review integrity: Attempts to manipulate the review process, such as coercing reviewers or providing false recommendations, are strictly prohibited.
Retraction and corrections: If significant errors or misconduct are found in a published article, the journal will issue a retraction or publish necessary corrections promptly and transparently, following established guidelines.
Reporting misconduct: We encourage authors, reviewers, and readers to report any suspected misconduct or ethical violations regarding published articles. We will investigate and take appropriate action based on the findings.

If misconduct is suspected, the editors will conduct a thorough investigation and take appropriate actions, which may include retracting or correcting published articles. The investigation will be impartial, ensuring that all relevant parties have the opportunity to provide their input. It begins with an inquiry to determine whether there is enough evidence to warrant a formal investigation. If there is not enough evidence, the investigation will be concluded. However, if the evidence is deemed sufficient, a formal investigation will take place.

The formal investigation involves a thorough review of research records, a letter of explanation from the respondent, or interviews with all relevant parties, such as the complainant, the respondent, and any witnesses. Finally, a draft report will be provided to the respondent for their comments before the final report is issued. Actions will be determined based on the severity of the misconduct, including:

Retraction and notification to relevant authorities if serious violations, such as data fabrication or plagiarism, are discovered.
Corrections or clarifications if minor infractions are found.

To prevent misconduct, the journal adheres to ethical guidelines and utilizes plagiarism detection software.

Post-Publication Corrections and Retractions

In the event of suspected misconduct, we will undertake a comprehensive investigation that may lead to the retraction or correction of published articles.

To uphold our commitment to high ethical standards in scholarly publishing, we invite authors, reviewers, and readers to share any ethical concerns or misconduct. Your insights are crucial for preserving the integrity of our journal.

Please provide a description of the concern, relevant manuscript details, and any supporting evidence. Rest assured, all reports will be kept confidential and managed with the utmost professionalism.

Appeals

Appeals of editorial decisions are allowed if there is a significant factual error, a major misunderstanding of the manuscript, or a compromise in the editorial process. Only one appeal per manuscript is permitted.

Retraction Procedure

Articles that contain the aforementioned malpractices will be retracted following the established retraction procedures.

Conflict of interest

It’s essential for authors, reviewers, and editors to transparently share any potential conflicts of interest, such as funding sources or affiliations, to uphold the integrity of research and its publication.

Errors and Corrections

Authors should ethically notify the journal editor promptly if significant errors or inaccuracies are found in a published article, and they should also cooperate in issuing corrections or retractions if necessary.

Data and reproducibility

Authors should share their data and methods to ensure transparency and reproducibility of findings.