Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

1. Introduction

The International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics, scholarly integrity, and professional responsibility in academic publishing. The journal expects authors, reviewers, editors, and all participants in the publication process to uphold ethical research and publishing practices consistent with internationally accepted academic standards. All submitted manuscripts must represent original scholarly work conducted in accordance with ethical principles, institutional regulations, and professional research guidelines.

2. Research Integrity

The International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR) promotes responsible research conduct grounded in honesty, transparency, accountability, and academic excellence. Authors are expected to:

  • Maintain honesty and integrity in data collection, analysis, interpretation, and reporting.
  • Ensure accuracy, reliability, and transparency in all research processes.
  • Respect the dignity, rights, privacy, and welfare of research participants.
  • Avoid fabrication, falsification, and misrepresentation of data or findings.
  • Properly acknowledge all sources and intellectual contributions.

3. Editorial and Peer Review Process

The journal operates a rigorous editorial and peer-review system designed to ensure academic quality and fairness.

A. Initial Editorial Screening: Upon submission, manuscripts undergo preliminary assessment to determine whether:

  • The manuscript fits within the scope of the journal.
  • Submission guidelines have been adequately followed.
  • Authorship information is complete and verifiable.
  • Ethical declarations and disclosures are included.
  • The manuscript meets acceptable language and presentation standards.
  • The work passes plagiarism and similarity checks.

Manuscripts failing to satisfy these requirements may be rejected or returned for correction before peer review.

B. Peer Review Evaluation: All eligible manuscripts are subjected to a double-blind peer-review process involving independent experts in the relevant field of study.

C. Editorial Decision: Based on reviewers’ recommendations, the editorial team may:

  • Accept the manuscript,
  • Request minor or major revisions, or
  • Reject the manuscript.

D. Revised Manuscripts: Where revisions are requested, authors must adequately address reviewers’ comments before resubmission. Revised manuscripts may be returned to reviewers for further evaluation.

E. Production Process: Accepted manuscripts proceed to copyediting, proofreading, formatting, typesetting, and final publication preparations.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play a vital role in safeguarding the quality and integrity of academic publishing. Reviewers are expected to:

  • Accept reviews only within their area of expertise.
  • Conduct reviews objectively, fairly, and professionally.
  • Maintain strict confidentiality regarding manuscripts under review.
  • Avoid using unpublished material for personal advantage.
  • Declare any conflicts of interest that may influence their judgment.
  • Submit constructive and respectful feedback within the specified timeframe.
  • Refrain from discriminatory or defamatory comments.

Impersonation of reviewers or submission of false reviewer information constitutes serious ethical misconduct.

5. Editorial Responsibilities

Editors of the International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR) are responsible for ensuring fairness, transparency, confidentiality, and academic integrity throughout the publication process.

Editors shall:

  • Evaluate manuscripts solely on academic merit.
  • Maintain confidentiality of submitted materials.
  • Avoid discriminatory editorial practices.
  • Refrain from using unpublished information for personal benefit.
  • Manage conflicts of interest appropriately.
  • Take appropriate action when ethical concerns or misconduct arise.

Final publication decisions remain the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief.

6. Special Issue Policy

The International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR) may periodically publish special issues dedicated to emerging themes, contemporary debates, interdisciplinary developments, or significant scholarly areas relevant to Sub-Saharan African research and global academic discourse.

To ensure academic quality, transparency, and editorial integrity, the following policies govern all special issues published by the journal:

A. Purpose and Frequency: Special issues are designed to promote focused scholarly discussions on specific themes of academic relevance and contemporary significance. The journal may publish special issues periodically based on editorial consideration, scholarly demand, and the availability of qualified editorial oversight.

B. Appointment of Guest Editors: The Editor-in-Chief may appoint one or more Guest Editors with demonstrated expertise, strong academic credentials, and relevant publication experience in the proposed thematic area. The Editor-in-Chief may also directly oversee a special issue where necessary.

C. Editorial Responsibilities: Guest Editors are responsible for:

  • Proposing and refining the special issue theme,
  • Conducting preliminary manuscript screening,
  • Coordinating the peer-review process,
  • Recommending qualified reviewers, and
  • Providing editorial recommendations on submitted manuscripts.

However, the Editor-in-Chief retains full authority over all editorial decisions, including final acceptance, revision, or rejection of manuscripts.

D. Peer Review Standards: All manuscripts submitted to special issues are subjected to the same rigorous double-blind peer-review process applied to regular journal submissions. Acceptance into a special issue does not guarantee publication without successful peer-review evaluation.

E. Conflict of Interest Management:Guest Editors, reviewers, and editorial personnel must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest related to submitted manuscripts. Where a guest editor has a personal, professional, financial, or institutional relationship with an author, that guest editor shall be excluded entirely from the editorial handling and decision-making process for the affected manuscript.

F. Academic Quality and Scope: All manuscripts considered for special issues must align with the aims, scope, and editorial standards of the International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR).

The journal reserves the right to reject proposals or manuscripts that fail to meet scholarly quality, ethical standards, or thematic relevance.

G. Institutional and Geographic Diversity: The journal encourages broad institutional, disciplinary, and geographic representation within special issues. While contributions from a single institution may occasionally be considered under exceptional academic circumstances, all submissions must undergo independent external peer review to ensure fairness and academic credibility.

H. Ethical Compliance: Special issue manuscripts must comply fully with the journal’s publication ethics, plagiarism policies, authorship requirements, conflict of interest disclosures, and research integrity standards.

I. Final Authority: The International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR) reserves the right to postpone, modify, or cancel any special issue where concerns arise regarding quality, ethics, editorial management, or compliance with journal policies.

7. Authorship and Contribution

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made substantial scholarly contributions to the research and manuscript preparation. Authors must have contributed significantly to:

  • The conception or design of the study,
  • Data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation,
  • Drafting or revising the manuscript critically, and
  • Approval of the final version for publication.

The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal and ensuring that all co-authors approve the manuscript submission and publication. Individuals who contributed in limited capacities should be acknowledged appropriately rather than listed as authors.

8. Plagiarism and Similarity Policy

The International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR) maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism and unethical copying. All received manuscripts are screened using plagiarism-detection software.

Acceptable Similarity Threshold

  • Manuscripts with excessive similarity may be rejected or returned for revision. The maximum permissible range for similarity is 20% and below.
  • Authors must ensure proper citation, quotation, and acknowledgment of all borrowed materials.

Self-Plagiarism: Authors must not substantially reproduce their previously published works without appropriate citation or disclosure.

9. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

A. Use of AI by Authors:

Authors may use AI-assisted tools only for limited language improvement purposes such as grammar correction, readability enhancement, or language refinement.

However:

  • AI tools must not generate the substantive intellectual content of manuscripts.
  • Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of all submitted work.
  • AI technologies must not be listed as authors or co-authors.

Authors must disclose any significant use of AI-assisted technologies in manuscript preparation.

B. AI Use in Images and Figures

The journal prohibits the use of generative AI for fabricating, altering, or manipulating research images, figures, or graphical data in ways that may mislead readers. Basic image adjustments for clarity are acceptable provided they do not distort research findings.

C. AI Use by Reviewers and Editors

Reviewers and editors must not upload confidential manuscripts or review materials into generative AI systems, as doing so may compromise confidentiality and intellectual property rights. Editorial and peer-review decisions must remain human-driven.

10. Research Involving Human Participants or Animals

Research involving human participants or animals must comply with internationally accepted ethical standards and institutional regulations. Authors must:

  • Obtain approval from an appropriate ethics committee or Institutional Review Board (IRB) where applicable.
  • Obtain informed consent from participants.
  • Protect participant confidentiality and privacy.
  • Clearly state ethical approval and consent procedures in the manuscript.

11. Research Involving Vulnerable Populations

Where research involves children, minors, or vulnerable groups:

  • Consent must be obtained from parents, guardians, or authorized representatives.
  • Participants must receive clear information about the research.
  • Researchers must demonstrate that ethical protections were adequately implemented.

The journal may request documentary evidence of ethical approval and consent.

12. Conflicts of Interest and Funding Disclosure

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, institutional, personal, or professional relationships that could influence the research or publication process. All sources of funding must be clearly disclosed within the manuscript.

13. Retractions, Corrections, and Expressions of Concern

The International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR) is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record. Where significant errors, ethical breaches, or misconduct are identified, the journal may:

  • Publish corrections,
  • Issue expressions of concern, or
  • Retract affected articles.

Retraction decisions may involve authors, editors, institutions, or relevant stakeholders.

14. Fabrication, Falsification, and Misconduct

Research misconduct includes but is not limited to:

  • Data fabrication,
  • Data falsification,
  • Image manipulation,
  • Citation manipulation,
  • Fraudulent authorship claims, and
  • Deliberate misrepresentation of findings.

Cases of suspected misconduct will be investigated thoroughly, and appropriate actions may include manuscript rejection, article retraction, institutional notification, or publication bans.

15. Data Availability and Transparency

Authors are encouraged to maintain accurate research records and preserve supporting data responsibly. Where possible, authors should make datasets, instruments, coding materials, and supporting evidence available through recognised repositories or upon reasonable request.

16. Copyright and Licensing

Authors retain copyright of articles published in the International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR). By submitting a manuscript, authors grant the journal the right to publish, distribute, archive, and identify itself as the original publisher of the work. Authors also permit non-commercial use and distribution of published articles provided appropriate attribution is given.

17. Author Declarations

All manuscripts must include appropriate declarations covering:

  • Ethical approval,
  • AI use disclosure,
  • Data availability,
  • Funding information,
  • Conflict of interest statements, and
  • Authors’ contributions.

Submissions lacking required declarations may be returned during editorial screening.

18. Licensing Framework

All articles published by the International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR) are published under an open-access licensing framework that permits readers to access, read, download, and share published content for lawful academic and non-commercial purposes, provided proper attribution is maintained.

19. Archiving and Repository Policy

The journal supports responsible archiving practices.

Submitted Manuscripts (Preprints)

Authors are advised not to publicly upload submitted manuscripts before editorial evaluation is completed to avoid similarity conflicts during plagiarism screening.

Accepted Manuscripts

Accepted manuscripts may be deposited in institutional or subject repositories following acceptance.

Published Articles

Authors are encouraged to archive and share the final published version with full citation details and links to the journal’s official publication page. The journal supports long-term digital preservation and archiving mechanisms.

20. Publication Timeline

The average publication timeline from submission to publication may vary depending on the review process, revisions, and editorial workflow.

21. Compliance and Enforcement

The International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR) reserves the right to investigate ethical concerns and take appropriate actions where violations of this policy occur.

Submission of a manuscript to the journal implies acceptance of this Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.

Last Updated: May 25, 2026

Journal Identifiers
eISSN: 3043-4459
pISSN: 3043-4467