Privacy Statement

Privacy and Ethics Policy

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The Iraqi Journal of Applied Physics (IJAP) and its publisher, American Quality for Scientific Publishing, Inc. (AQSP), fully comply with the principles and best practices outlined in the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors) and the Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers.

All authors, reviewers, and editors are required to follow these ethical principles and maintain the highest standards of integrity and professionalism. The main responsibilities are summarized below; however, users are encouraged to consult the complete COPE guidelines for comprehensive details.

 

Editorial Responsibilities

Impartiality and Independence

Editors assess all submitted manuscripts based solely on their scholarly merit—such as originality, significance, and clarity—without discrimination based on authors’ identity, background, or institutional affiliation. Editorial decisions are made independently of any external or political influence. The Editor-in-Chief has full responsibility for all editorial content and final decisions regarding publication timing.

Confidentiality

All manuscripts under review are handled confidentially. Editorial staff and reviewers are prohibited from sharing details about a submission with anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, or individuals directly involved in the editorial process.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors must not use unpublished materials from submitted manuscripts for their personal research without the author’s explicit permission. In cases of potential conflict of interest, editors will withdraw from the evaluation process and assign another qualified editorial board member to handle the manuscript.

Publication Decisions

Each manuscript is evaluated by at least two qualified reviewers. Final publication decisions are made by the Editor-in-Chief, taking into account the reviewers’ reports, journal policies, and applicable legal and ethical considerations.

Ethical Investigations

Editors, in coordination with the publisher, will investigate all ethical concerns related to submitted or published work. When necessary, appropriate actions—including corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern—will be implemented in accordance with COPE procedures.

 

Reviewer Responsibilities

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

As IJAP follows a double-blind peer review process, reviewers play a key role in maintaining the integrity of scholarly evaluation. They assist the editors in decision-making and support authors in enhancing the quality of their work.

Timeliness

Reviewers who are unable to complete a review within the requested time frame or who lack sufficient expertise must promptly inform the editors and decline the invitation, allowing the editorial office to assign an alternative reviewer.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts assigned for review are confidential documents. They may not be discussed or shared with others without prior authorization from the Editor-in-Chief.

Objectivity and Constructive Criticism

Reviews should be conducted objectively and provide clear, evidence-based, and constructive feedback aimed at improving the manuscript. Personal remarks or criticism directed at authors are strictly inappropriate.

Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest—financial, academic, or personal—and recuse themselves from the review process if such conflicts exist. Unpublished data or ideas obtained through peer review must not be used for personal benefit.

 

Author Responsibilities

Reporting Standards

Authors must present their research accurately and in sufficient detail to allow replication. Fabricated, falsified, or deliberately misleading statements constitute unethical behavior.

Data Access and Retention

Authors should retain and, if required, provide access to their raw data for editorial examination. Such data must be preserved for at least ten years after publication, respecting confidentiality and legal limitations.

Originality and Plagiarism

All manuscripts must represent original work. Proper acknowledgment of others’ contributions and accurate citation of prior research are mandatory. Plagiarism in any form is considered unethical and unacceptable.

Avoiding Multiple Submissions

Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously. Secondary publication may be considered only under special circumstances and with appropriate permissions.

Authorship Criteria

Authorship is limited to individuals who made a significant intellectual contribution to the research and manuscript preparation. Others who assisted but do not meet authorship criteria should be listed in the acknowledgments section.

Conflict of Interest and Funding Disclosure

Authors are obligated to disclose any potential conflicts of interest—financial or otherwise—and to identify all sources of financial or institutional support.

Ethical Compliance

Authors must ensure full compliance with ethical requirements for studies involving hazardous materials, human participants, or animals. Manuscripts must include clear statements of informed consent, institutional approval, and adherence to national and international ethical standards.

Researchers must handle and dispose of chemicals, biological materials, and radioactive substances safely, in accordance with institutional and governmental regulations. For studies involving humans, participants must provide informed consent after being informed of the study’s objectives, procedures, and risks. Animal research must follow humane standards to minimize discomfort and be approved by relevant oversight committees.

Examples of acceptable ethical statements include:

“All procedures involving human participants were conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee.”

“Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.”

“All animal experiments were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).”

Responsiveness to Peer Review

Authors are expected to respond constructively to reviewers’ comments and revise their manuscripts accordingly before resubmission.

Correction of Errors

If authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must promptly notify the editor and cooperate in issuing corrections, retractions, or clarifications as needed.

 

Publisher Responsibilities

Handling Misconduct

In instances of scientific misconduct, such as plagiarism or data fabrication, the publisher will work with editors to investigate and address the issue. Actions may include publishing corrections, issuing retractions, or taking other necessary measures to uphold ethical integrity.

Content Preservation

The publisher is committed to ensuring the long-term accessibility and preservation of all published content through digital archiving and repository partnerships.

Data Privacy

Personal information collected by the journal, including names, emails, and affiliations, is used exclusively for academic and administrative purposes and will not be disclosed to third parties.

 

Exceptional Publishing Policy

Due to the strong trust gained by the Iraqi Journal of Applied Physics (IJAP) from the scientific research community in Iraq in general, and from the physics community and its applications in particular, especially after its inclusion in Scopus database starting from 2021, the journal has received numerous invitations from scientific conferences specialized in physics and its applications—organized by academic and research institutions in Iraq—to publish the proceedings of those conferences within its issues. The journal has stipulated that all papers submitted to conferences must be reviewed according to the same standards and procedures applied to manuscripts submitted directly to the journal. This requirement ensures that all published research maintains a high and rigorous scientific quality.

As a result of the large number of manuscripts submitted to the journal after 2021, the Editorial Board decided to maintain the regular publication schedule of the journal’s ordinary issues, while publishing the proceedings of scientific conferences in separate, non-regular issues within a period not exceeding two months from the date of the conference, in order to ensure authors’ publishing entitlements.

In 2023, the journal published an issue containing the proceedings of a scientific conference during the third quarter (July–August–September), one month after the release of the regular issue. It also published another issue including the proceedings of a second scientific conference one month after the regular issue released in October 2023 (i.e., in November), followed by a third conference proceedings issue published one month later (in December).

A similar pattern continued in 2024. The journal issued a conference proceedings volume in the second quarter, one month after the release of the regular issue published in April 2024. Another conference proceedings issue was published in the third quarter, one month after the regular issue released in July 2024.

In October 2024, the Editorial Board decided that future conference proceedings would be published only as regular issues, aligned with the journal’s standard publication schedule of four issues per year. Nevertheless, the journal continues to enjoy the confidence of institutions organizing physics-related scientific conferences in Iraq, as evidenced by the large number of requests it receives to sponsor such conferences and to publish their proceedings within its issues.