Allegations of Misconduct

The Iraqi Journal of Agricultural Sciences takes any kind of misconduct seriously and will do all in its power to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record while adhering to COPE principles.

All manuscripts must be original and must not be under consideration elsewhere. Manuscripts must have a similarity index below 20%, as determined by the journal's plagiarism detection software (Turnitin). Simultaneous submission to another journal is prohibited. Manuscripts that do not meet these requirements will be rejected.

Types of Misconduct

Plagiarism: Using others' works without proper credit, including self-plagiarism.
Fabrication and Falsification: Making up or altering data or results.
Image manipulation: Improperly altering or duplicating images in a way that misrepresents the underlying data.
Duplicate Publication: Publishing the same work in more than one journal.
Improper Authorship: Including undeserving authors or omitting rightful ones.
Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest: Hiding financial or personal interests that may bias the research.
Peer Review Manipulation: Faking reviewer identities or abusing the review process.
Ethics Violations: Conducting research without ethical approval or informed consent.
Citation Manipulation: Inserting unnecessary citations to boost metrics.
Misuse of Funding: Spending research grants on unrelated activities.
Failure to Correct the Record: Refusing to fix or retract flawed publications.

Submitting a Concern

Concerns or allegations of misconduct may be submitted confidentially to: [email protected]

The identity of the person reporting an allegation will be kept confidential to the extent possible. The journal will not tolerate retaliation against individuals who report concerns in good faith.

How Allegations Are Handled

All allegations are received confidentially by the Editor-in-Chief or a designated ethics officer.
The editor conducts a preliminary assessment to determine whether the allegation falls within the journal's scope and has sufficient basis to proceed.
If a formal investigation is warranted, the journal follows COPE's flowcharts for the relevant case type.
The accused author(s) are informed of the allegation and given a reasonable opportunity to respond before any decision is made. All parties are presumed innocent until a finding is made.
If the matter involves institutional misconduct, the journal may refer the case to the author's institution, funder, or relevant regulatory body.
A final decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief, with input from the editorial board or external advisers where appropriate.

Actions Taken if Misconduct Is Confirmed

Rejection of the manuscript, if under review.
Retraction or correction of the article, if already published.
Notification of relevant parties, including the author's institution and funders.
Banning the author(s) from future submissions for a defined period, proportionate to the severity of the misconduct.
Other actions as appropriate to the specific case.

Corrections and Retractions Policy

This policy complements the journal's Allegations of Misconduct policy. Where an investigation confirms a significant error, ethical breach, or unreliable findings in a published article, the Iraqi Journal of Agricultural Sciences will issue a formal post-publication notice in accordance with the COPE Retraction Guidelines (2025) and related COPE guidance on post-publication corrections.

The journal is committed to preserving the integrity of the scholarly record. When concerns arise about the accuracy, reliability, or ethical standing of a published article, the journal will take prompt, transparent, and proportionate action to correct the record.

Types of Post-Publication Notices

The journal issues four types of notices, depending on the severity and nature of the issue:

1. Correction (Erratum / Corrigendum)

A correction is issued when an error or omission affects the reader’s understanding of the article but does not invalidate the main findings or conclusions. Examples include:

Mislabeled figures or tables
Incorrect data units or calculation errors that do not change conclusions
Missing or incorrect bibliographic information
Errors in author affiliations or acknowledgements

Erratum refers to errors introduced by the journal during production; Corrigendum refers to errors originating from the authors. Both are published as a formal notice linked to the original article.

2. Expression of Concern

An Expression of Concern is issued when there is credible evidence of a potential problem with an article, but the investigation is ongoing or conclusive evidence is not yet available. It serves as an interim alert to readers that the article’s findings may be unreliable. The Expression of Concern will be updated or replaced once the investigation concludes with either a Correction, a Retraction, or a statement that no further action is warranted.

3. Retraction

A retraction is issued when the findings of an article are no longer reliable or when serious ethical violations have occurred. Grounds for retraction include:

Clear evidence of unreliable findings due to major error, fabrication, or falsification (including image manipulation)
Plagiarism or redundant publication without proper attribution
Unethical research conduct
Compromised or manipulated peer review
Failure to disclose a major conflict of interest that would have affected interpretation
Copyright infringement or serious legal issues

Retraction is a mechanism to correct the literature, not to punish authors. The original article remains in the scholarly record but is clearly marked as retracted.

4. Removal

In rare cases where a retraction is not possible (e.g., legal restrictions, privacy violations), the article may be removed. A removal notice will replace the article, stating the reason.

How Concerns Are Raised and Assessed

Concerns about a published article may be submitted to the journal by email at [email protected]
The Editor-in-Chief conducts an initial assessment to determine whether the concern is credible and falls within the journal’s scope.
If warranted, the journal follows COPE flowcharts for the relevant case type.
The authors are informed of the concern and given a reasonable opportunity to respond.
If the matter involves institutional misconduct, the journal may refer the case to the authors’ institution or relevant authority.
A final decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief, with input from the editorial board or external experts where appropriate.

Content of Notices & Visibility

All post-publication notices will:

Be linked to the original article in all online versions
Clearly identify the original article (title and authors)
Be clearly labelled as a Correction, Expression of Concern, or Retraction
State the reason(s) for the notice
Be freely available to all readers (not behind a paywall)
Be objective and factual, avoiding inflammatory language
State who is issuing the notice

Post-publication corrections and notices will be freely accessible and prominently displayed. The status of the article (e.g., “Retracted” or “Corrected”) will be clearly marked on all versions (HTML, PDF, and print).

Authors’ Obligation to Report Errors & Contact

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and to cooperate with the editor to correct or retract the paper in the form of an erratum, corrigendum, or retraction.

Concerns about published articles, requests for corrections, or reports of potential errors may be submitted to: [email protected]

For details on how the journal issues corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions following a confirmed finding, see Corrections and Retractions.