Publication Ethics

The Sigma Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (SJMSS) is committed to maintaining high standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly communication. The journal follows recognized principles of good publication practice and is committed to following the guidance and core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), where applicable.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts are original, accurate, and not under consideration by another journal or publication. All authors listed on a manuscript must have made a meaningful scholarly contribution to the work, must approve the submitted version, and must agree to its submission and publication.

Authors must appropriately cite the work and ideas of others. Any use of data, text, figures, tables, software, or other materials from third-party sources must be properly acknowledged and, where required, appropriate permission must be obtained.

Authors must disclose relevant funding sources, competing interests, and conflicts of interest. Where applicable, authors should provide information concerning data availability, ethical approval, informed consent, and other ethical considerations relevant to the research.

Research and Publication Misconduct

SJMSS does not tolerate plagiarism, duplicate or redundant publication, simultaneous submission, data fabrication, data falsification, inappropriate authorship, citation manipulation, peer-review manipulation, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or other forms of research or publication misconduct.

Suspected misconduct may be investigated before or after publication. The journal may request clarification, supporting data, documentation, or other relevant information from authors or other parties. Where appropriate, the journal may contact relevant institutions or other journals in accordance with applicable ethical guidance.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to provide objective, constructive, confidential, and timely evaluations. Reviewers must declare any potential conflicts of interest and should decline a review invitation when they cannot provide an impartial assessment.

Manuscripts and information received through the peer-review process must be treated as confidential and must not be used for personal advantage. Reviewers should alert the editor to suspected plagiarism, substantial overlap, ethical concerns, or other possible misconduct identified during review.

SJMSS operates a single-blind peer-review process for research articles, review articles, and short communications. Reviewers have access to the identities and affiliations of authors, while reviewer identities remain confidential and are not disclosed to authors.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are responsible for making fair, independent, and unbiased editorial decisions based on scholarly quality, originality, relevance, methodological soundness, and ethical integrity.

Editorial decisions must not be influenced by an author’s nationality, gender, institutional affiliation, political views, religion, or other personal characteristics unrelated to the scholarly merit of the work.

Editors must declare and appropriately manage conflicts of interest. Where an editor has a conflict of interest concerning a submission, responsibility for handling the manuscript should be assigned to another qualified editor.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, professional, personal, institutional, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their work, review, or editorial decision-making.

Disclosure of a conflict of interest does not necessarily prevent publication or participation in the editorial process, but relevant conflicts must be transparently declared and appropriately managed.

Ethical Oversight and Research Integrity

Where research involves human participants, animals, confidential or sensitive data, or other matters requiring ethical oversight, authors must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international ethical requirements. Evidence of ethical approval or informed consent may be requested where appropriate.

Corrections, Retractions, and Post-Publication Concerns

The journal is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record. Where concerns arise before or after publication, SJMSS may investigate and take appropriate action depending on the nature and seriousness of the issue.

Actions may include correction, editorial notice, expression of concern, withdrawal, or retraction. Retractions and other post-publication actions will be handled transparently and with reference to applicable publication ethics guidance.

Complaints and Appeals

Authors and other parties may raise concerns regarding editorial decisions, peer review, publication ethics, or the journal’s procedures. Complaints and appeals will be considered fairly, confidentially, and without retaliation.

An appeal against an editorial decision should provide a clear explanation and relevant supporting information. Appeals do not guarantee reversal of the original decision.

Commitment to COPE Guidance

When addressing suspected research or publication misconduct and other ethical concerns, SJMSS may refer to the principles, guidance, and resources provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

For further information, visit the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): https://publicationethics.org/