Global Digital & Print Media Review (GDPMR) is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics and research integrity. The journal follows relevant principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

All participants in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher, are expected to act responsibly, honestly, and ethically.

GDPMR does not tolerate plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, citation manipulation, duplicate publication, authorship misconduct, or other forms of research and publication misconduct.

Originality and Plagiarism

• Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts are original and have not been previously published.
• Manuscripts must not be under consideration by more than one journal at the same time.
• Authors must properly cite and acknowledge all sources used in their research.
• Plagiarism, including substantial unattributed reuse of another person's work and inappropriate reuse of an author's own previously published material, is not acceptable.
• GDPMR's Plagiarism Policy applies to all submitted manuscripts.

Multiple and Redundant Publication

• Authors must not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal.
• Authors should not publish substantially the same research in more than one publication without appropriate disclosure and justification.
• Any substantial overlap with previously published or submitted work must be disclosed to the editorial office.

Research Data and Integrity

• Authors must report their research accurately and honestly.
• Data must not be fabricated, falsified, manipulated, or selectively presented in a misleading manner.
• Authors should retain relevant research data and supporting materials for a reasonable period and should provide them to the journal where appropriate and where legally and ethically permissible.
• Where necessary, the journal may request supporting information to clarify questions concerning the research.

Acknowledgment and Citations

• Authors must appropriately acknowledge the work of others that has contributed to their research.
• Sources should be cited accurately and consistently.
• Authors should not manipulate citations or add references solely to increase citation counts or improperly influence the scholarly record.

Authorship and Contributorship

• Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the conception, design, execution, analysis, or interpretation of the research.
• Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged.
• All listed authors must have made a meaningful contribution to the work.
• All authors must approve the final manuscript and agree to its submission for publication.
• The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the submitted manuscript.
• Any change in authorship after submission should be communicated to the editorial office and approved by all affected authors.

Conflicts of Interest

• Authors must disclose any financial, professional, personal, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation.
• Relevant sources of funding and financial support must be disclosed.
• Authors should disclose any circumstances that could affect the objectivity or interpretation of their work.

Ethical Approval and Research Participants

• Research involving human participants must comply with applicable ethical standards and institutional requirements.
• Where required, authors must obtain approval from an appropriate research ethics committee or institutional review body before conducting the research.
• Manuscripts involving human participants should include an appropriate statement regarding ethical approval and informed consent, where applicable.
• Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international ethical requirements.
• Authors should provide relevant ethical approval information where required.

Corrections and Retractions

• Authors are responsible for notifying the journal promptly if they discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work.
• Authors must cooperate with the journal in investigating the issue and, where necessary, issuing a correction or retraction.
• GDPMR's Corrections and Retractions Policy applies to published articles requiring post-publication action.

Editorial Decisions

• The Editor-in-Chief has overall responsibility for editorial decisions and the academic content of the journal.
• Editorial decisions should be based on the scholarly quality, originality, relevance, methodological soundness, and suitability of the manuscript for the journal.
• Editors should not allow commercial, personal, political, or other external interests to influence editorial decisions.

Fair and Impartial Assessment

• Editors should evaluate manuscripts on their academic and scholarly merits.
• Decisions should not be influenced by an author's race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic origin, citizenship, institutional affiliation, or political philosophy.

Confidentiality

• Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.
• Information about a manuscript should only be shared with individuals directly involved in the editorial and peer-review process or where disclosure is required for legitimate ethical or legal reasons.

Conflicts of Interest

• Editors must not participate in editorial decisions concerning manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest.
• Where an editor has a personal, professional, financial, collaborative, or other relationship that could influence the decision, the manuscript should be assigned to another appropriate editor.
• Editors should not use unpublished information obtained through the editorial process for personal or professional advantage.

Research and Publication Misconduct

• Editors should take reasonable steps to identify and address suspected research and publication misconduct.
• Concerns may include plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, duplicate publication, citation manipulation, authorship disputes, and other ethical violations.
• Where ethical concerns arise, GDPMR will follow relevant COPE guidance and the journal's applicable policies and procedures.
• Appropriate action may include requesting clarification, conducting an investigation, rejecting a manuscript, publishing a correction, issuing an expression of concern, or retracting a published article.

Confidentiality

• Reviewers must treat manuscripts and all related information as confidential.
• Reviewers must not share, copy, discuss, or distribute manuscripts or review materials without permission from the editorial office.

Objectivity

• Reviews must be conducted objectively and professionally.
• Reviewers should provide clear, constructive, and evidence-based comments.
• Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate.

Acknowledgment of Sources

• Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been appropriately cited where they are aware of such work.
• If reviewers identify substantial similarity between a manuscript under review and another published or submitted work, they should inform the editor.

Conflicts of Interest

• Reviewers must disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest before accepting a review.
• Reviewers should decline an assignment where personal, professional, financial, collaborative, or other relationships could affect their impartiality.

Timeliness

• Reviewers should complete reviews within the agreed timeframe.
• Reviewers who cannot complete a review within the required period should inform the editorial office as soon as possible.

Use of Manuscript Information

• Reviewers must not use unpublished information obtained during peer review for personal, professional, or financial advantage.
• Reviewers must not use generative AI or other automated tools to assess or generate comments on confidential manuscripts where doing so would compromise manuscript confidentiality or the journal's review process.

Editorial Independence

• The publisher respects the editorial independence of GDPMR.
• Editorial decisions are made on academic and ethical grounds and should not be influenced by commercial interests or other external pressure.
• The publisher does not interfere with the independent editorial judgment of the Editor-in-Chief and editorial team.

Publication Ethics

• The publisher supports the journal in maintaining appropriate standards of publication ethics and research integrity.
• The publisher provides appropriate support for addressing serious ethical concerns, corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions.

Corrections and Retractions

• Where serious errors or misconduct are established after publication, the publisher will work with the editorial team to ensure that appropriate corrective action is taken.
• Corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions should be clearly identified and linked to the affected article.

Archiving and Access

• The publisher supports the secure preservation of the journal's published content.
• Published articles remain available as part of the scholarly record, including where a correction or retraction has subsequently been issued.
• GDPMR's open-access and archiving arrangements are described in the journal's Open Access Policy and Archiving Policy.

GDPMR takes allegations of research and publication misconduct seriously.

Potential misconduct may include:

• Plagiarism.
• Fabrication or falsification of data.
• Duplicate or redundant publication.
• Citation manipulation.
• Improper authorship or contributorship.
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
• Manipulation of the peer-review process.
• Misrepresentation of research findings.
• Other serious violations of accepted standards of research and publication ethics.

Investigation

• When a credible concern is raised, the Editor-in-Chief or a designated editor will conduct an initial assessment.
• The journal may request an explanation or supporting information from the authors or other relevant parties.
• Where necessary, the journal may contact the relevant institution, research organization, funding body, or other appropriate authority.
• The journal will consider the available evidence before making an editorial decision.
• Relevant COPE guidance may be consulted when determining the appropriate procedure.

Possible Outcomes

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the issue, GDPMR may:

• Request clarification or correction.
• Request additional information or documentation.
• Require revision of a manuscript before further consideration.
• Reject a manuscript before publication.
• Publish a correction.
• Publish an expression of concern.
• Retract a published article.
• Notify an appropriate institution or authority.
• Take other appropriate action consistent with publication ethics principles.

A retracted article will remain part of the scholarly record with a clear retraction notice, rather than being silently removed.

Complaints

• Authors, reviewers, readers, and other parties may raise concerns or complaints regarding the journal's editorial or publication processes.
• Complaints should provide sufficient information and supporting evidence where available.
• Complaints will be handled as fairly and confidentially as reasonably possible.
• The journal will investigate complaints and take appropriate action where a legitimate concern is established.

Appeals

• Authors may appeal an editorial decision where they believe that a significant procedural error, misunderstanding, or other substantive issue affected the decision.
• Appeals should provide clear reasons and supporting information.
• Appeals should not simply repeat the original arguments or disagree with an editor's or reviewer's scholarly judgment.
• The Editor-in-Chief or another appropriately designated editor will consider the appeal.
• Where appropriate, an independent assessment may be obtained.
• The decision following an appeal will be communicated to the corresponding author.

• GDPMR recognizes that errors or ethical concerns may sometimes be identified after publication.
• Authors, readers, and other interested parties may contact the journal regarding substantial errors or concerns about a published article.
• The journal will assess credible concerns and may investigate where necessary.
• Depending on the outcome, GDPMR may publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction.
• Post-publication notices will be clearly identified and linked to the affected article.

• Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, integrity, and appropriate attribution of their manuscripts, including material prepared with the assistance of generative AI or other automated tools.
• AI tools must not be listed as authors.
• Where the use of generative AI materially contributes to manuscript preparation or content, authors should disclose such use in accordance with GDPMR's AI policy.
• Reviewers and editors must protect the confidentiality of manuscripts and should not upload confidential manuscript content into external AI systems where this could compromise confidentiality, intellectual property, or the integrity of the peer-review process.

GDPMR is committed to maintaining an accurate and trustworthy scholarly record. The journal follows relevant principles and guidance of COPE when addressing publication ethics and research-integrity concerns.

GDPMR's publication ethics framework should be read together with its:

• Peer Review Policy
• Plagiarism Policy
• Author Guidelines
• Corrections and Retractions Policy
• Conflict of Interest Policy, where applicable
• AI Policy, where applicable
• Archiving Policy