Submissions

Privacy Statement

Privacy Statement:

The names and email addresses submitted on the (TJ) site will be utilized solely for the specified objectives of this journal and will not be disclosed for any other reason or to any third party.
 
Open Access Statement:
TEFL Journal (TJ) is an open access journal, all of its content is freely accessible to users and their institutions at no cost. Without first requesting permission from the publisher or the author, users are free to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the entire texts of the articles, or use them for any other legitimate purpose. This is consistent with the definition of open access provided by the Budapest Open Access Initiative (BOAI). Click here to learn more about BOAI. (https://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/)
 
Plagiarism Policy

The TEFL Journal (TJ) takes the required steps to assess incoming papers for originality, accuracy of the information they include, and proper citation usage.

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement:

The TEFL Journal (TJ) is dedicated to upholding the highest moral standards. TJ adheres to publication ethics norms to guarantee that our readers receive a high-caliber academic journal.

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

In recent years, integrity in research publications has become a hotly debated topic. The rise in plagiarism and other types of fraud and misconduct in academic writing is a major worry for the editors of the TEFL Journal (TJ). We see it as a crucial component of our ethical duties as editors to recognize these difficulties, address them, and devise coping mechanisms. We anticipate that our journal's peer reviewers will be equally conscious. Every research manuscript undergoes editorial internal review and double-blind peer review by a minimum of two reviewers.Similarly, TJ's editorial policy demonstrates its dedication to moral principles. The TJ editors make every effort to guarantee impartial, transparent, and equitable peer review procedures and editorial choices. We will actively pursue any instances of wrongdoing that are found, whether they involve authors, reviewers, or editors.The TEFL Journal (TJ) is dedicated to upholding the highest moral standards. The next section is a comprehensive policy on TJ publication ethics (for authors, editors, and reviewers) and a malpractice statement based on the ethical standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Duties of Authors:

a) Reporting Principles
The authors of the original work should provide a detailed description of the work done as well as an unbiased analysis on the significance of the study. To enable other researchers to duplicate the study, the researcher has a crucial duty to methodically report on all information pertaining to the data and participants in the study (including the population, sample, and sampling methodology). It is unacceptable to make false or misleading claims that indicate unethical activity.

b) Data Admission and Maintenance
Before or after publication, the raw data for the paper should be ready to be sent to editorial review upon reasonable request. Data should be deposited in a suitable storage area for sharing and further use by others, if permitted by the employer or authors.

c) Novelty, Plagiarism and Concurrent Publication

In order to safeguard the rights of the authors and the journal's reputation against malpractice, TJ takes copyright violations and plagiarism issues extremely seriously and looks for instances of plagiarism or abuse of published papers. Therefore, authors should ensure that their pieces are wholly unique, and if they have used someone else's words or work, they should properly cite or quote that person. Additionally, since TJ does not permit submitting a paper that is being considered or has been published in whole or in part by another journal, authors should verify that the submitted work is not being considered or accepted for publication elsewhere. The TJ has the authority to retract an article, discuss the issue with the head of the department or the dean of the author's institution, or take appropriate legal action if it is discovered that a paper contains plagiarism, uses third-party material without permission or proper acknowledgment, and the authorship of the work is questioned.

d) Acknowledgment of Sources
It is always necessary to properly credit and acknowledge the works of others. Furthermore, confidential services data (such as reviewing manuscripts or grant applications) and private collected data (such as conversations, letters, and discussions with third parties) must be disclosed with accurate written consent from the source.

e) Paper’s Authorship
Only individuals who have contributed significantly to the article—whether by conception, design, execution, or interpretation—may be considered authors. An acknowledgments section should include a list of all other individuals who have contributed significantly to the research effort but do not fit the authorship requirements. The corresponding author and all co-authors must approve the final draft of the work before it is submitted for publication.

f) Hazards, Informed Consent
Manuscripts involving substances, processes, or instruments that could pose any exceptional risks or dangers must specify and identify such hazards. Every document that reports on human research must declare that all procedures were carried out in accordance with applicable laws and institutional rules, and that approval was obtained from the relevant Ethics or suitable Institutional Committee or Committees. When conducting experiments on human beings, the authors must specify in the manuscript whether or not participants gave written or verbal informed consent.

g) Declaration of Conflicting Interest
The Editor must be informed as soon as possible of any financial, commercial, or other fundamental conflicts of interest (such as employment, consulting fees, payments, grants, paid expert testimony, applications/registrations, or other funding) that could influence the article's outcomes or interpretation.

h) Published Works’ Significant Errors
In order to amend the article, significant flaws or inaccuracies in published work should be reported as soon as the author becomes aware of them. If the editor or a third party discovers a serious flaw in a published work, it is also the author's duty to quickly retract or amend the work. Additionally, if an erratum, addendum, corrigendum notice, or retraction of the article is judged essential, the authors should collaborate with the editor and publisher.

Duties of Reviewers:

a) Contribution to Editorial Decisions
The core of the scientific method and an important component of scholarly communication is peer review, which helps the editor and authors make timely editorial judgments and improve the manuscript through editorial communications, respectively.

b) Punctuality
Referees or reviewers should inform the editor and withdraw from the review process if they are unable to evaluate a manuscript promptly or do not think they are qualified to do so.

c) Confidentiality
Any manuscripts that are received for review must be handled as confidential papers and cannot be shown, kept, copied, or discussed with others without the head editor's accurate authorization.

d) Objectivity Standards
Reviewers should conduct the review fairly and objectively, and they should clearly state their conclusions without imposing their own.

e) Sources Acknowledgement
The reviewers should identify the proper and appropriate reference of any published work (observation, derivation, argument, discussion, etc.). Additionally, it is the reviewers' duty to notify the editor of any similarities between the article being reviewed and any other known published materials.

f) Disclosure and conflict of interest
The reviewers cannot use any portion of the received materials (published or unpublished) or other information obtained through peer review in their own research or for personal gain without the author's consent to publish the pertinent contribution because all manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Additionally, reviewers should refrain from reviewing submissions in which they have financial, competitive, or collaborative conflicts of interest because of their relationships with the authors or institutions.

Duties of Editors:

a) Publication Decisions
The editor of a peer-reviewed journal must promptly determine which of the submitted articles should be considered for publication, working with the editorial board and other relevant societies. The choice is typically based on the work's validation, its significance to readers and scholars, and ethical factors including plagiarism and copyright infringement.

b) Fair Play
The intellectual substance of manuscripts should be the basis for a fair, impartial, and balanced evaluation; the author's origin, nationality, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, commercial influence, or political ideology should not be taken into consideration.

c) Confidentiality
The corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisers, and the publisher are the only parties to whom information on submitted articles may be disclosed, retained, or copied.

d) Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
The Editors are prohibited from using any portion of accepted materials (published or unpublished) or other information obtained through peer review in their own study or for personal gain because all papers received for evaluation must be treated as confidential documents. The editors should invite a co-editor or another member of the editorial board to study and consider any article in which they have conflicts of interest because of affiliations with the authors or institutions, or because of competitive or collaborative issues. Editors must also request that all contributors disclose any pertinent interests, and if any conflicting interests are found after publication, they must publicize any changes, retractions, or expressions of concern. Editors should make sure that sponsored submissions go through the same peer-review procedure as normal manuscripts and in accordance with journal guidelines. Only academic merit and reader interest should be taken into account when accepting sponsored papers; commercial motives should not be taken into account.

e) Complaints
When it comes to ethical or conflict-related complaints, the Journal adheres to rational, equitable, and impartial procedures based on the Journal's and Society's policies, when applicable. The editor gets in touch with the author who has been the subject of a complaint. Any objections will have a fair chance to be addressed by the authors. In addition to drawing conclusions from the opposing viewpoint, the editor may make a decision based on the author's response (e.g., if the author is responsive, articulates a significant stance).

f) Involvement and Collaboration in Investigations
The editor should evaluate the ethical issues of a submitted article or published work using suitable and responsive means, such as corresponding with the paper's author or contacting relevant research bodies or institutions. Even if the unethical publishing act is discovered years after publication, every unethical publishing conduct should be taken into consideration and thoroughly investigated (by correction, retraction, expression of concern, etc.).

Duties of Publisher:
The TJ makes sure that the aforementioned requirements for good practice are upheld.
 
COPE’s Guidelines & Flowcharts
TJ is dedicated to adhering to and using the Committee on Publication Ethics' (COPE) rules and flowcharts when reviewing and publishing issues. For additional details, see:https://publicationethics.org/

Procedures for dealing with unethical behavior

Identification of unethical behavior
Anybody should report malpractice and unethical behavior to the editor/publisher at any time.
For an investigation to be started, those who alert the editor or publisher about such unethical activity must present sufficient proof.
Investigation
It is the editor's responsibility to start the inquiry and make a decision (consulting or asking the publisher for help, if necessary) without disseminating any accusations to anyone who shouldn't know.
 
Breaches and Outcomes (in increasing order of severity; may be applied separately or in conjunction)
By educating the author or reviewer about misinterpretation or improper application of permissible norms, minor wrongdoing will be addressed without broader consultation.
A formal retraction or withdrawal of a publication from the journal may be granted to the authors.
For a predetermined amount of time, the authors may not be allowed to contribute.
If there is serious misconduct, the accused's employers may be informed or a formal notice outlining the misconduct may be published.
The head of the author's or reviewer's department or funding organization may receive a formal letter.
Reporting the case and outcome to a professional organization or higher authority for further investigation and action.
In any case, the author ought to have a chance to address any accusations. TJ regulations concerning:

Article withdrawal
Articles that represent violations of professional ethical codes, such as multiple submissions, false claims of authorship, plagiarism, falsified data, or are found to be unintentional duplicates of other published articles, are considered in press. These articles have been accepted for publication but have not yet been formally published and will not yet have the full volume, issue, or page information.
Allegations about authorship of contributions
Giving each author credit for their work as a "author" is crucial. Each author must have contributed significantly to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the work in order to be considered an author. This is because each author must be accountable for particular aspects of the research. It should be possible for each of the research's authors to openly defend their work. All co-authors must be identified by the author submitting an article.
Concurrent publication or simultaneous submission of duplicates
Articles that are submitted for publication must be unique and have never been submitted to another journal.It is not acceptable to submit multiple works to the TJ at the same time.

TJ recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to produce valuable content for submissions submitted to the journal for possible publication. The publication does acknowledge the necessity of ensuring the ethical and responsible usage of AI-generated content, though. The journal's rules for using AI-generated content in published articles are outlined in this policy.

Definition of AI-generated content
Any content produced or significantly altered by an AI system is considered AI-generated content for the purposes of this policy. This covers both content that an AI system creates from scratch and content that was first written by a human author but was later significantly altered by an AI system.
When authors employ generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies throughout the writing process, they should only do so to enhance language quality and readability. Because AI can produce output that seems authoritative but may be inaccurate, incomplete, or prejudiced, the application of such technology should be done under human supervision and control, and authors should carefully review and revise the outcome.

Principles
After reviewing the AI-generated content, TJ will determine whether it is appropriate for publication if: -The article accurately describes the AI system utilized to generate the content.
-The content produced by AI must be unique and free of plagiarism.
-The stuff produced by AI should be trustworthy and accurate.
-The content produced by AI does not deceive or mislead readers.

The following details must be submitted to TJ by authors who want to submit manuscripts with AI-generated content:

-A thorough explanation of the AI algorithm that produced the content.
-A duplicate of the initial input data that was used to create the content.
-A copy of the content produced by AI.

The use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process must be disclosed by authors by including a statement at the conclusion of their work in the core manuscript file, prior to the References list. A new section named "Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process" should contain the declaration. Please be aware that the substance of the work is ultimately the responsibility and accountability of the authors.
Statement: The author or authors used [NAME TOOL / SERVICE] to [REASON] while preparing this work. Following the use of this tool or service, the author or authors took full responsibility for the publication's content and reviewed and edited it as necessary.

Enforcement

Any article that violates this guideline may be rejected or retracted by TJ. Authors who disobey this policy may also face disciplinary action from the journal. The paper will be rejected at any point during the review or publication process, including after publication, if such infractions are found.

Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism and other types of fraud and misconduct in academic publishing are major concerns for the editorial board of TEFL Journal (TJ). For this kind of plagiarism screening, TJ uses Grammarly software. When plagiarism is found in an article that is submitted for publication in TJ, the following policy is established because TJ recognizes that plagiarism is intolerable:
 
Definition:
According to the Cambridge Dictionary (2020), plagiarism is the "process or practice of using another person's ideas or work and pretending that it is one's own original work."
Policy:
Papers must be unique, unpublished, and not being considered for publication anywhere else. The TJ has the authority to retract a paper and take appropriate legal action if it is discovered to include plagiarism or to use third-party content without permission or proper acknowledgment, and if the work's authorship is in doubt. When plagiarism is found, the TJ Editor-in-Chief is in charge of reviewing the work and deciding on actions based on the degree of plagiarism found in the work in accordance with the following levels of plagiarism:
 
Level 1: Minor Plagiarism
Without any substantial information or concepts borrowed from the other papers or publications, a brief line or paragraph from another article is considered plagiarism.
Punishment: The authors receive a warning and are asked to make changes to the article and correctly credit the original sources.
 
Level 2: Intermediate Plagiarism
A substantial piece of information, a paragraph, or a sentence in a paper is plagiarized if the original source is not properly cited.
Penalty: The manuscript that was submitted is immediately rejected.
 
Level 3: Severe Plagiarism
A significant amount of a study is plagiarized, which includes a variety of elements such copying ideas, methodologies, and original results (data, formulation, declaration, etc.) from other publications.
Penalty: The authors are prohibited from submitting any more publications to the Journal after the work is automatically rejected.

TEFL Journal (TJ) is dedicated to upholding the highest moral standards. TJ is governed by the publication ethics rules to guarantee that our readers receive a high-caliber academic journal.

Copyright & Licensing 

The copyright of papers published in TEFL Journal (TJ) is retained by the authors, who are also free to replicate and distribute their work.
The authors give TJ permission to publish the work and claim to be the original publisher.
Authors also grant any third party the right to use the article freely as long as its integrity is maintained and its original authors, citation details and publisher are identified.
TEFL Journal (TJ)  is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License  (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)(CC BY-NC 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/