Publication Ethics and Statement on Combating Publication Misconduct

Editorial Office of Journal of hebei university of engineering

To uphold the highest standards of academic integrity, foster a culture of honesty and impartiality in scholarship, and promote the adherence to academic ethical norms within the academic community, this journal hereby issues the following statement, thus expecting to advance the healthy development of academic exchange.

I. Publication Ethics for Authors

Authors are required to warrant that the academic manuscript submitted to this journal (hereinafter referred to as the “submitted manuscript”) represents an original research (Reviews excepted) and is free of falsification, plagiarism, or other deceptive practices. The submitted manuscript must not contain state secrets or infringement upon any intellectual property rights. Authors must also affirm that the manuscript is not under simultaneous consideration by other publications, and has not been previously published in any other journal or media in any language.  Besides, authors must guarantee that the manuscript should not be submitted to another publication until a formal rejection notice is received from the Editorial Office of Journal of hebei university of engineering.

All cited sources are clearly attributed and listed in the bibliography. Full disclosure has been provided regarding any entities or individuals who contributed scientific funding or consultation to the submitted manuscript. In addition, the authors should duly considered all revisions suggested by peer reviewers and editors; besides, upon acceptance for publication, the authors should agree to grant this journal the copyright of the manuscript, exclusive licensing rights, and sole agency rights for the manuscript.

Authors must consciously avoid the following academic misconduct:

1. Duplicate Submission

Authors must ensure the originality of their submissions and confirm that the work has not been published elsewhere. Intentional republication of previously published content constitutes a serious violation of publishing ethics.

Submitted manuscripts must be original and not under consideration elsewhere. If any version of the work has been previously published—in any form or language—or if a related paper has been published or translated, authors are required to disclose this information upon submission.

2. Plagiarism

Plagiarism constitutes the intentional use of another’s work—including data, texts, concepts, or ideas—without proper attribution or permission. This applies to both direct reproduction and paraphrasing. This journal strictly prohibits all forms of plagiarism. All submitted manuscripts will be screened using the CNKI Academic Misconduct Literature Check (AMLC) system prior to acceptance and publication to detect plagiarism, falsification, data manipulation, inappropriate authorship, duplicate submission, and other forms of academic misconduct.

3. Disputed Authorship/Contributorship

Proper authorship attribution is essential to acknowledge those who have contributed to the research and to assign responsibility for the work. Deliberate misrepresentation of a researcher's relationship to the study constitutes misconduct and compromises the credibility of the findings. The submitting author must obtain the approval and consent of all co-authors prior to submission.

4. Lack of Originality

Authors must not present previously published data as original material. Exceptions are permitted only when the data are explicitly declared and appropriately cited.

5. Research Fabrication and Falsification

The data or conclusions are not produced via experiment and research but fabricated and falsified by authors to distort the findings. Under no circumstances are such practices permissible.

II. Ethical Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

Reviewers must ensure a fair and scientifically rigorous assessment of manuscripts. They must maintain the confidentiality of the review process and respect the intellectual contributions of authors. Reviewers must also rescue themselves from reviewing any manuscript in which they have a conflict of interest.

1. Reviewers are also expected to assess the manuscript's originality, scientific rigor, and practical significance based on their expertise; evaluate the methodology, research design, results, and conclusions to provide impartial judgments that help the editor make decision; provide constructive feedback to help authors improve their manuscript.

2. Manuscript evaluations must not be based on the authors’ personal characteristics or ad hominem arguments but solely on their academic merit. Recommendations must remain unaffected by the authors’ race, gender, religion, status, seniority, and authority, etc. Furthermore, all critiques must be clearly reasoned and supported by sufficient evidence.

3. Besides, reviewers are expected to submit their evaluations by the agreed-upon deadline. In circumstances where meeting this timeline is not feasible, the reviewer must promptly notify the Editorial Office of Journal of hebei university of engineering and recuse themselves from the reviewing process.

4. Reviewers are entrusted with privileged and confidential material and are obligated to maintain strict confidentiality. This includes safeguarding the manuscript's contents from unauthorized access or discussion, and refraining from using any of its data, viewpoints, or conclusions without the author's explicit prior consent.

5. Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of all review comments and related information, and must not use such content for any personal advantage. Furthermore, peer reviewers should recuse themselves from evaluating any manuscript in which a conflict of interest arises from the competition and collaboration or other relationships with the authors, their institutions, or affiliated enterprises.

III. Publication Ethics for Editors

Editors are expected to uphold the highest standards of publication ethics in strict compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. They must handle all submissions in a timely, fair, and confidential manner, respecting the intellectual contributions of authors and peer reviewers alike. Editors must fully disclose and recuse themselves from decisions where they have a conflict of interest.

1. Editors bear responsibility for all phases of the editorial process, including the ongoing development of the journal and the timely publication of high-quality manuscripts. All editorial decisions must align with policies set forth by the editorial board and conform to applicable legal standards pertaining to defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.

2. Editors and editorial staff are responsible for maintaining accurate and confidential records of the entire reviewing process. Except for necessary communications with authors, reviewers, and editorial board members, no information about submitted manuscripts may be disclosed to any other party.

3. Editorial decisions must be made impartially, based exclusively on the manuscript's adherence to the journal's stated aims and scope.

4. Editors must consult with authors and secure their explicit approval prior to implementing substantial revisions to the manuscript.

5. This journal strictly prohibits any form of commercial arrangement or benefit exchange that undermines academic ethics.

6. Editors are responsible for investigating allegations of academic misconduct. Upon receiving an ethical complaint about a submitted or published manuscript, the editor must initiate a formal investigation and take appropriate countermeasures. This may include the prompt publication of corrections, clarifications, retractions, or apologies. Editors are also obligated to address any misconduct by authors or reviewers in accordance with established procedures.

7. Editors must safeguard information contained in submitted manuscripts and must not appropriate it for their own research or share it with others for research purposes. The confidentiality of peer reviewers and all editorial personnel must be strictly maintained throughout the blind review process.

8. Editors should encourage constructive academic contending and are obliged to address authors' disagreements regarding peer review feedback.

9. Editors are responsible for safeguarding the impartiality of the reviewing process. In any instance where a conflict of interest arises — whether through competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with the reviewers, their institutions, or affiliated entities — the editor must immediately reassign the manuscript to the alternative reviewers.

IV. Publication Ethics for Readers

Readers may report concerns regarding editorial misconduct or failures in the journal's quality control that compromise academic integrity. Such complaints should be directed to the Journal's Editorial Office, Editorial Board, Hebei University of Engineering, or relevant overseeing institutions. All complaints will be duly investigated; if they are verified, appropriate disciplinary actions will be taken or an public notification will be issued.

V. Advertising Policy

This journal does not publish or accept any commercial advertising. All editorial decisions regarding the review or acceptance of any manuscript are entirely independent of any commercial or financial interests.

VI. Author Fees

This journal charges no submission, processing, or publication fees.

VII. Academic Misconduct: Identification and Sanctions

The Editorial Board of this journal holds the authority for determining cases of academic misconduct, including duplicate submission, plagiarism, and fabrication. Upon confirmation of violations, submitted manuscripts will be immediately rejected. For published articles, a formal retraction notice will be issued and the author's institution will also be notified. All the consequences arising therefrom will be borne by the offending author. Other forms of academic misconduct, once confirmed, will be addressed pursuant to applicable national standards and international guidelines.

The authors are required to warrant that the manuscript represents their original work and is free of issues such as duplicate submission, breaches of confidentiality, or other forms of academic misconduct. The authors should also assume full responsibility for any infringement or disclosures of confidential information.

VIII. Intellectual Property Protection

This journal respects and upholds the highest standards of intellectual property protection and requires all involved parties—editors, authors, and peer reviewers—to adhere to this principle. All participants must avoid any potential infringement of intellectual property rights. Third-party organizations are likewise expected to respect the journal's intellectual property and refrain from infringement.

IX. Conflicts of Interest and Funding Disclosure

All authors must disclose all sources of financial support for the research and declare any potential conflicts of interest at the time of submission. This includes but is not limited to financial relationships, academic collaborations, competition, and personal connections that could be perceived as influencing the research.

X. Article Access

Full-text articles published from 2008 onward can be freely accessible at the journal's website, and the articles published prior to 2008 can be downloaded at CNKI (https://cnki.net/).

XI. Corrections and Retractions

This journal will issue formal correction statements for appropriate revisions to the published articles; the statements will be published in subsequent issues and distributed to all indexing databases. If the revisions compromise the scientific validity, integrity, or conclusions of an article, or violate research or publication ethics, a formal investigation will be initiated and may result in retraction. Author-initiated retractions require a signed statement from all authors detailing the reasons and implications. The journal reserves the right to make all final decisions regarding corrections or retractions.

To uphold academic morality and safeguard this journal’s academic reputation, all parties, including authors, peer reviewers, and readers, are deemed to have accepted the policies in this statement and are expected to adhere to these academic ethical standards.