Publication Ethics
The editorial board of Kawalu is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. This statement outlines the ethical conduct expected from all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher.
Authors' Responsibilities
Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their works are entirely original and properly attribute the work and/or words of others.
Data Access and Retention: Authors may be asked to provide the raw data of their study for editorial review and should be prepared to make such data publicly accessible if feasible.
Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.
Acknowledgement of Sources: Proper acknowledgement of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have influenced the nature of their work.
Authorship of the Paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors should disclose any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript.
Fundamental Errors in Published Works: When an author discovers a significant error in their published work, it is their obligation to promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate with any necessary corrections or retractions.
Editors' Responsibilities
Publication Decisions: The editor is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published, based on the work's importance, originality, clarity, and relevance.
Fair Play: An editor evaluates manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to the race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, or other editorial advisers.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used by editors or others for their own research purposes without the author's explicit written consent.
Reviewers' Responsibilities
Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions, and through editorial communication with the author may aid in improving the paper.
Promptness: Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that timely review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse themselves from the review process.
Confidentiality: Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorised by the editor.
Standards of Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively, with clear supporting arguments. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate.
Acknowledgement of Sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any significant similarity between the manuscript and any other published paper should be reported to the editor.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
Publisher's Responsibilities
Monitoring of Ethical Standards: The publisher, in collaboration with the editors, shall ensure that good practice is maintained according to the highest ethical standards.
Handling of Unethical Publishing Behaviour: The publisher will take appropriate measures when ethical complaints are raised, including conducting investigations and possibly retracting or correcting articles.