Ethics Statement

1. Editorial Independence

Anusurja is editorially independent. No government body, corporate entity, advertiser, or religious institution has any role in editorial decisions. Acceptance or rejection of submissions is determined solely by editorial and peer review judgement on the basis of intellectual merit, originality, and fit.

Editors and reviewers must declare any relationship with an author — personal, professional, or financial — that could constitute a conflict of interest. Where a conflict exists, a replacement editor or reviewer will be appointed.

2. Peer Review

Research submissions to the Anusurja Research Journal are subject to double-blind peer review by at least two independent reviewers. Authors should expect a first decision within 90 days of submission acknowledgement.

Reviewers are asked to assess submissions on: originality of argument, soundness of methodology, engagement with relevant scholarship, clarity of writing, and contribution to the field. Reviewers are asked to avoid assessments that engage the prestige of an institution rather than the content of the work.

3. Authorship

Authorship of a submission implies substantive intellectual contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the work. Individuals who contributed to data collection, translation, or administrative support should be acknowledged but not listed as authors unless they meet the above standard.

Guest authorship — listing a name as author when that person did not contribute substantively — is prohibited. Where the editorial team has reason to believe guest or ghost authorship has occurred, the submission will be rejected.

4. Originality & Plagiarism

Submissions must represent original work not previously published in substantially similar form, and not currently under review elsewhere. All submissions are screened for plagiarism prior to peer review.

In cases of post-publication discovery of plagiarism, Anusurja will issue a formal correction or retraction notice and update the archived record accordingly.

5. Data & Reproducibility

Authors of quantitative or data-driven research are encouraged to make their datasets, code, and analysis scripts openly available, either as supplementary files or via a linked repository. Where data cannot be shared due to ethical restrictions, authors should clearly state this.

6. Use of AI Writing Tools

Authors who have used AI language tools in the drafting or revision of their manuscript must disclose this in the submission cover letter and, if published, in the acknowledgements section. AI tools may not be listed as authors.

The responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the published work rests with the human author(s) regardless of what tools were used in its preparation.

7. Corrections & Retractions

Where a published work is found to contain a significant factual error, the editorial team will issue a formal correction notice. Where a published work is found to involve research misconduct, it will be retracted. We follow Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines.