Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Journal of Central Asian Studies is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics, in alignment with the guidelines and ethical frameworks established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and Elsevier’s Publishing Ethics Resource Kit (PERK). We are dedicated to ensuring the integrity of the academic record by rigorously maintaining transparency, accountability, and fairness throughout the publication process. Under the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (Version 4.0; September 15, 2022), we continuously update our website and editorial policies to reflect the latest best practices in scholarly publishing. 

Authorship and Contributorship

The manuscript's authorship belongs to those researchers who participated directly in its creation, idea formation, article writing, and interpretation, and significantly contributed to obtaining scientific results. When submitting a manuscript, authors are required to identify all co-authors and any other contributors. Authors must specify their contributions using the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT). All authors must also approve the final version of the manuscript before publication. After the manuscript has been submitted, changes to authorship cannot be made unless there is a valid reason to add, remove, or rearrange authors.  

Plagiarism and borrowing checks

When the editorial team of the Journal of Central Asian Studies reviews manuscripts for compliance with formal requirements, they also conduct a plagiarism check using a subscription-based system. Only original manuscripts or those with more than 80% originality according to the plagiarism check system (Antiplagiat.ru) will be submitted for further review.
If a manuscript does not meet the journal's requirements or is deemed not original based on the plagiarism check, it will be declined and returned to the corresponding author. 
Authors must properly cite any works, articles, provisions, quotes, or statements from other researchers that they incorporate into their manuscripts.
It is not allowed to use methods to bypass plagiarism detection, such as using formula words or replacing letters with characters. If such violations are identified, the manuscript will be rejected immediately.

Funding

In the manuscript, all authors should disclose any financial contributions or other support they received from non-authors, as well as any acknowledgments.

The use of AI

Authors are responsible for the content of their work. The AI tools cannot be listed as an author or co-author of a manuscript since they cannot meet the requirements for authorship and take responsibility for the manuscript. Manuscripts generated wholly or primarily by AI tools will not be considered for publication. The maximum ratio of AI contribution identified by the plagiarism detection system Antiplagiat.ru is <16%.
Authors may use AI-assisted technologies (e.g., grammar correction, language polishing, data visualization, reference formatting) if the use is limited, transparent, and non-creative. Any use of AI must be disclosed in the manuscript, preferably in a footnote or a dedicated section (e.g., Acknowledgments or Methods). Authors must verify and take full responsibility for the accuracy of any AI-assisted content, including citations and data summaries.
Reviewers are strictly prohibited from uploading or inputting any part of the manuscript into AI tools during the review process. They must not use AI systems to generate, summarize, or evaluate the content of the manuscript. Reviews found to have been produced by AI without human critical assessment will not be accepted.
Note: As AI continues to evolve, this policy will be reviewed periodically.

Data Fabrication and Falsification

Authors must not engage in data fabrication, falsification, or citation manipulation. All data, facts, citations, names, initials, and other details presented must be accurate and verifiable. Authors are liable for the accuracy of the information provided in the manuscript.  

Data Sharing and Reproducibility

The Journal of Central Asian Studies recommends that authors share their data and analytical materials whenever feasible to support reproducibility. Authors may include a Data Availability Statement to inform readers about access conditions. Sensitive or confidential data may remain unavailable. 

Conflicts of Interest

Authors submitting to the journal shall inform the editorial team of any potential conflicts of interest that could compromise the objectivity or integrity of the publication. A conflict of interest is any situation that may be perceived as influencing the review process or publication of a manuscript. Both authors and reviewers should notify the editorial office if they suspect there is an undisclosed conflict of interest, whether it is financial, professional, contractual, personal, or otherwise.

Ethical oversight 

Research involving human subjects or animals must receive ethical approval, and authors should provide evidence of this during the submission process. For studies involving interviews or questionnaires, participation must be voluntary, and informed consent must be obtained from all participants. Any research that has received approval from an institutional ethics committee must clearly state this and provide supporting documentation. The journal reserves the right to reject a manuscript based on unethical conduct in either human or animal studies.

Intellectual Property

Authors retain full copyright of their published work in this journal. By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that the work is original, that they hold the necessary rights to publish it, and that no third-party rights are infringed.
By accepting publication, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive license to publish and distribute the article under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. This includes the right to publish the article on the journal’s website, deposit and share the article on indexing services, archival repositories, and scholarly platforms, as well as promote the work through academic and social channels.
Authors may present early results from their manuscript at conferences or include parts of the research thesis with proper acknowledgement. Once published, authors may post their article on personal websites, repositories, or academic networking platforms, provided they correctly cite the work and include a link to the journal’s website.

Complaints and Appeals

Any complaints or appeals regarding research ethics, the journal’s staff, editorial board, or publisher should be submitted electronically to ca_journal@kisi.kz or in writing to the following address: Kazakhstan Institute for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Beibitshilik 4, Astana, 010000. Complaints should include detailed information about the issue along with supporting documents. The Managing Editor receives and registers all complaints and appeals. The Editor-in-Chief, Co-Editor-in-Chief, and independent Editorial Board member will review appeals of editorial decisions. Ethical concerns that cannot be resolved at the editorial level will be reviewed by the publisher’s ethical committee. The administrative procedure initiated based on the application will take up to 15 working days from the date of receipt. This timeframe may be extended by a reasoned decision from the head of the publisher, up to a maximum of 30 working days.
In instances of misconduct related to improper behavior or ethical violations by the author, the editorial team will convene to take appropriate measures following the guidelines set by the Committee on Publication Ethics. 

Responsibilities of Reviewers: 

• A reviewer must treat all materials received for review as confidential. They should not discuss unpublished content with third parties or use any information obtained during the review process for personal benefit.
• A reviewer agrees to voluntarily review only those manuscripts that fall within their field of scientific and professional interests within the timeframe set by the editor.
• The reviewer plays a crucial role in the decision-making process and helps improve the quality of the manuscript by providing an objective and timely review of the manuscript. They should refrain from making hostile, inflammatory, defamatory, or derogatory comments.
• The reviews should be expressed clearly and constructively, supported by well-reasoned arguments and, if necessary, appropriate references.
• A reviewer must disclose any potential conflicts of interest.
• If a reviewer identifies any errors in the manuscript, instances of plagiarism, or any unethical behavior by the author, they must promptly inform the editorial team.

Responsibilities of Editors:

• Editors must ensure that manuscripts are evaluated fairly and without discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, or nationality.
• Editors must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts throughout the editorial process and protect the anonymity of both authors and reviewers.
• Editors are responsible for effectively selecting reviewers to assess the manuscripts.
• Editors make decisions about accepting or rejecting manuscripts solely based on their quality, originality, clarity, significance, adherence to editorial policy, and alignment with the journal’s aims and scope.
• Editors will ensure that commercial interests or policies do not influence their publishing decisions.
• Editors are responsible for maintaining the timeliness and frequency of the journal’s publications.
• Editors should disclose potential conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from decision-making when needed.  

Post-Publication Review and Discussion 

The editorial team of the Journal of Central Asian Studies conducts post-publication reviews periodically to ensure the integrity and quality of published research. We also welcome the submission of letters to the editor and commentaries on published articles. These submissions will undergo peer review to ensure their relevance and scholarly value.

Procedure for Correction and Retraction

The editorial team values the integrity and completeness of research data, recognizing its importance to the scientific community. We adhere to high standards to ensure the credibility of the journal’s electronic archive.
If any errors or inaccuracies are identified, the author or any reader should promptly notify the editorial team so that the publication may be corrected or retracted if necessary. After thoroughly reviewing the concerns raised, the editorial team will communicate with the corresponding author of the article before making any editorial decision.
If the editorial team determines that the issue constitutes an erratum, a notice of erratum will be published, and the corresponding correction will be implemented through Crossmark. Only minor errors and typos that do not affect research integrity, data interpretation, or study conclusions will be treated as corrections. 

The editorial team may consider retracting an article in accordance with COPE Guidelines in the following cases:

• Evidence indicates the unreliability of the published data, whether due to misconduct (e.g., fabrication, falsification) or unintentional errors (e.g., flawed calculations or experiments).
• The findings were previously published elsewhere without proper citation, permission, or justification (duplicate publication).
• Copyright violations or plagiarism are identified.
• Reports of unethical research practices are substantiated.
• The article includes classified or restricted materials without the required permission.
• The article was published following a compromised, manipulated, or otherwise invalid peer review process.
• The author failed to disclose a conflict of interest that could have influenced the interpretation of the work or the reviewers’ recommendations.

A retracted article will remain accessible on the journal's website, but the word "[RETRACTED]" will be added at the start of the article's title, along with an explanation of the reasons for retraction. The article's PDF will be replaced with a version watermarked "RETRACTED". A formal Retraction Notice with a new DOI will be published in the subsequent issue to ensure proper print and online documentation.
In exceptional circumstances, an article may be removed from the journal’s website entirely, for example, if the retraction results from violations of intellectual property rights or privacy rights, inclusion of classified content, or a binding court or governmental order. Details of the retraction or removal will be communicated to all databases in which the journal is indexed.
The journal will consider appeals of retraction or correction decisions only if new information or data directly addressing the issues raised is provided. Appeals will be reviewed by the publisher’s ethics committee. All decisions regarding appeals are final, and no further appeals will be considered.

 

 

Last updated 2025-11-10