1. Core Principles

We uphold:

• Integrity: Commitment to truth, accuracy, and intellectual honesty.
• Ubuntu: Decisions guided by communal responsibility, fairness, and respect.
• Transparency: Clear processes for handling submissions, corrections, and disputes.
• Accountability: Authors, reviewers, and editors share responsibility for ethical standards.

2. Author Responsibilities

• Originality: Submissions must be unpublished and free of plagiarism.
• Authorship: Include only those who made significant contributions; obtain consent from all co-authors.
• Conflicts of Interest: Disclose financial, institutional, or personal relationships that may influence work.
• Data & Sources: Provide accurate citations; preserve raw data for verification.
• Generative AI: Declare AI use in methodology/analysis; AI cannot be listed as an author.

3. Reviewer Responsibilities

• Impartiality: Evaluate manuscripts objectively, without bias.
• Confidentiality: Treat submissions as private documents; do not share or misuse content.
• Timeliness: Promptly decline or complete reviews.
• Competence: Only review papers within your expertise.

4. Editorial Responsibilities

• Fairness: Ensure equitable treatment of all submissions.
• Confidentiality: Protect identities of authors/reviewers.
• Vigilance: Screen for plagiarism, dual submission, and ethical violations.
• Corrective Actions: Issue corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when errors/misconduct occur.

5. Handling Ethical Violations

Allegations (e.g., plagiarism, falsification, authorship disputes) will be investigated:

• Initial Assessment: Determine validity using COPE guidelines.
• Investigation: Contact involved parties; request evidence.
• Resolution: Take action proportionate to severity:
  • Correction for minor errors.
  • Retraction for severe misconduct.
  • Reporting to institutions/funders if needed.
• Appeals: Authors may contest decisions with new evidence.

6. Special Considerations

• Cultural Sensitivity: Respect indigenous knowledge and African philosophical traditions.
• Patient/Community Consent: Required for studies involving human subjects or local communities.
• Research Data: Encourage open data sharing where ethically feasible.

7. Resources & Support

• Follow COPE Guidelines for complex cases.
• Use NDJOP's templates for corrections, retractions, and dispute resolution.
• Contact [email protected] for ethics queries.

8. Policy Enforcement

• Violations may result in rejection, retraction, or 3-year submission bans.
• Repeat offenders reported to their institutions.