Publication Ethics

The Journal of Kyrgyzstan Studies (JKS) adopts international publication ethics standards and follows the Core Practices guidelines published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The responsibilities of editors, reviewers, authors, and the publisher are set out below.

Editors' responsibilities. Editors evaluate submitted manuscripts solely on the basis of scholarly merit, originality, relevance to the journal's scope, and importance to readers. Race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political views of the authors do not influence the evaluation. Editors share information about submitted work only with authors, reviewers, editorial board members, and the publisher. Unpublished material disclosed in a submission may not be used in an editor's own research without the author's express written consent. Editors recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they, or their institutions, have a conflict of interest and ensure that another editorial board member assumes responsibility.

Reviewers' responsibilities. Reviewers assist editors in making scholarly decisions and, where appropriate, help authors improve their work. A reviewer who feels insufficiently qualified to review a manuscript, or who cannot review it in a timely manner, should decline the invitation. Manuscripts under review are confidential documents; they must not be shared with others nor discussed without the editor's consent. Reviews should be conducted objectively; personal criticism of the author is unacceptable. Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Reviewers must not use information obtained from a manuscript under review for their own advantage.

Authors' responsibilities. Authors declare that their work is original, has not been published elsewhere, and is not simultaneously submitted to another journal. Citations to the work of others must be complete and accurate. Plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, and salami slicing are considered ethical violations and are grounds for rejection. All authors listed on a manuscript must have made a substantial scholarly contribution to that work; ghost authorship and gift authorship are not accepted. Authors must disclose any financial or personal conflicts of interest that could influence the evaluation of their work. When an author discovers a significant error in a published work, they are obliged to notify the editor promptly and to cooperate in issuing the necessary correction.

Publisher's responsibilities. JKS guarantees that editors and reviewers carry out their duties independent of commercial considerations. In cases of alleged ethical misconduct, the journal follows the COPE flowcharts and, where necessary, contacts the relevant institutions. The integrity and permanence of published content are safeguarded through digital preservation networks.

This policy is grounded in the COPE Core Practices document (publicationethics.org/core-practices). Reports of ethical misconduct may be sent to editor@kyrgyzstanstudies.com; all communications are treated confidentially.