Complaint Handling Procedure

Editorial Integrity & Accountability

Complaints may be submitted by authors, reviewers, editors, readers, institutions, or other stakeholders concerning:

• Editorial decisions or peer-review procedures;
• Plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, manipulated datasets, authorship disputes, or other research misconduct;
• Errors or inaccuracies in published articles, datasets, analyses, system models, algorithms, tables, figures, or supplementary materials;
• Concerns involving research data, privacy, confidentiality, cybersecurity, software, information systems, or organizational records; or
• Breaches of journal policy or accepted publishing practices.

Complaints must be submitted in writing to [email protected] with the subject: Complaint – [Manuscript ID / Article DOI].

Please include:

• Name and contact details, or a request for anonymity where appropriate;
• Manuscript ID, DOI, article title, or other relevant reference;
• A clear and factual description of the issue and supporting evidence;
• Relevant data, screenshots, correspondence, system records, or documentation where applicable; and
• Your relationship to the manuscript, article, authors, or journal.

Receipt of a complaint will normally be acknowledged within 5 business days. The journal will conduct an initial assessment to determine whether further investigation is required and whether the matter falls within the journal's editorial or publication-ethics responsibilities.

Where appropriate, the case will be handled by an independent editor or panel not involved in the original decision. Additional information may be requested from authors, reviewers, institutions, data providers, research organizations, or other relevant parties. Where complaints involve datasets, software, computational analyses, information systems, organizational records, or research-integrity concerns, supporting materials may also be requested. COPE guidance will be followed where applicable.

The journal aims to reach an outcome within 6 weeks, although complex cases involving multiple institutions, technical verification, research data, software, or formal investigations may require additional time.

The complainant will be informed in writing of the outcome and, where relevant, any corrective action, such as a correction, expression of concern, retraction, editorial reassessment, or procedural improvement. Confidentiality will be maintained unless disclosure is required by law, institutional investigation, or formal publication-ethics procedures.

If the complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome, a request for reconsideration may be submitted with clear reasons and, where possible, additional evidence. The appeal may be referred to a senior Editorial Board member, an independent editor, or the publisher who was not directly involved in the original decision. Where appropriate, guidance may also be sought from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).