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Section default policy

Publication Ethics

Truth in Research (TIR) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and follows the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). This policy sets out the responsibilities of editors, authors, and reviewers, and explains how the journal handles plagiarism, misconduct, corrections, and retractions. All parties involved in the act of publishing, the author, the editor, the peer reviewers, and the journal, agree to abide by these standards.

Responsibilities of Editors

Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on their scholarly merit, that is, the quality of the argument, the strength of the evidence, the clarity of the writing, and the relevance to the journal's scope. Editorial decisions are not influenced by the author's nationality, ethnicity, race, gender, religious belief, political view, or institutional standing.

Editors keep all information about submitted manuscripts confidential and do not disclose it to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and the editorial team. Unpublished material from a submission is never used by an editor in their own work without the author's written consent. An editor who has a conflict of interest with a submission will recuse themselves and ask another editor to handle the manuscript.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must present an accurate account of the work performed and an objective discussion of its significance. The underlying data should be represented honestly. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

• Originality: Work that has been published elsewhere must be clearly cited and quoted where appropriate.

• Acknowledgement of sources: Authors must properly cite all sources that influenced the work.

• Authorship: Authorship is limited to those who made a significant contribution. The corresponding author ensures that all contributing authors are listed, that no inappropriate authors are included, and that all co-authors have approved the final version.

• Data and reproducibility: Authors should be prepared to provide the data and methods underlying their conclusions so that their reasoning can be examined and, where applicable, reproduced.

• Disclosure: Authors must disclose any financial or other conflict of interest that could be construed to influence the results or their interpretation.

• Fundamental errors: If an author discovers a significant error in published work, they must promptly notify the editor and cooperate to correct or retract the work.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Peer review assists editors in making decisions and helps authors improve their work. Reviewers agree to the following:

• Confidentiality: Manuscripts under review are confidential documents and must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

• Objectivity: Reviews are conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers express their views clearly and support them with reasoning.

• Conflict of interest: A reviewer who feels unqualified, who cannot meet the timeline, or who has a conflict of interest with the work or its authors should decline the assignment and notify the editor.

• Acknowledgement of sources: Reviewers should identify relevant published work that the authors have not cited and should alert the editor to any substantial similarity between the manuscript and other published material.

Plagiarism, Fabrication, and Falsification

Truth in Research does not tolerate plagiarism in any form, including verbatim copying, paraphrasing without attribution. Fabrication (inventing data or results) and falsification (manipulating data, images, or methods) are serious forms of misconduct. Submissions may be screened for originality, and any manuscript found to contain plagiarized, fabricated, or falsified content will be rejected. If such content is discovered after publication, the article will be corrected or retracted.

Duplicate and Redundant Submission

Authorized translations and legitimate secondary publications are permitted when the original publication is clearly identified and cited, the necessary rights or permissions are held, and the secondary publication is clearly disclosed as such.

Corrections and Retractions

When a published article is found to contain an error that affects the interpretation but not the central findings, the journal will publish a correction linked to the original article. When findings are found to be unreliable, whether through honest error or misconduct, or when the work is plagiarized or constitutes redundant publication, the journal will issue a retraction. Retraction notices will state the reason and will be linked to the retracted article, which will remain available and clearly marked as retracted to preserve the scholarly record.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

Concerns about possible misconduct, whether by authors, reviewers, or editors, should be sent to the Editor-in-Chief at the contact address on the Contact page. The journal will examine each allegation fairly and confidentially, give the person concerned an opportunity to respond, and follow COPE guidance in reaching a resolution. Outcomes may range from a correction or retraction to a notification of the author's institution in serious cases.

Digital Preservation and Archiving Policy

Truth in Research (TIR) is committed to the permanent preservation, accessibility, and integrity of the scholarly record. Because long-term access to published research should not depend solely upon the continued operation of a journal website, TIR seeks to maintain multiple avenues through which its published content can remain available to researchers, authors, libraries, and the public.

Long-Term Digital Preservation

TIR's long-term preservation strategy is designed to include participation in recognized digital preservation services appropriate for scholarly journals published through the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform.

The journal's preferred preservation system is the Public Knowledge Project Preservation Network (PKP PN), which provides distributed preservation for eligible OJS journals using LOCKSS-based preservation technology. Truth in Research participates in the Public Knowledge Project Preservation Network (PKP PN), through which eligible journal content is deposited for distributed long-term preservation. Once papers are published they are also found within days on Research Gate independently preserved. 

As the journal develops, TIR may also deposit or preserve its published content through additional recognized preservation services, including LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, the Internet Archive, national-library preservation programs, or other services recognized by the Keepers Registry.

Participation in additional preservation systems may be adopted whenever doing so improves the redundancy, security, accessibility, or permanence of the journal's scholarly record.

Redundant Copies and Journal Backups

TIR recognizes that preservation should not depend upon a single copy, server, domain, or organization. The journal therefore seeks to maintain redundant copies of published material and associated metadata independent of the primary public-facing journal website.

Preservation efforts may include copies of:

• Published article PDFs and other Versions of Record

• Article metadata

• Issue and volume information

• Supplementary files

• Figures, tables, and supporting materials where applicable

• DOI and bibliographic information

• Editorial and publication records necessary to identify the scholarly Version of Record

Routine website or server backups are considered an important component of operational security but are not regarded by TIR as a substitute for independent long-term digital preservation.

Persistent Identification

Where applicable, TIR assigns Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) to published scholarly articles. DOI registration provides persistent identification and bibliographic linking even if the location of an article changes.

TIR endeavors to maintain accurate DOI metadata and update destination URLs when journal content is relocated.

Persistent identifiers supplement, but do not replace, independent archival preservation of the published full text.

Author Self-Archiving

TIR supports preservation through distributed scholarly access and permits authors to archive copies of their work in appropriate institutional, disciplinary, personal, or other scholarly repositories.

Unless otherwise restricted by third-party copyright applicable to particular material, authors may archive:

• The submitted manuscript

• The accepted manuscript

• The final published Version of Record

Authors may also link to or distribute the DOI and official TIR publication page.

TIR does not require an embargo period for the self-archiving of articles published under the journal's open-access license.

Open-Access Preservation

Truth in Research is an open-access journal. Authors retain copyright in their work. Unless otherwise indicated in an individual article's license information, articles published in Truth in Research are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Where an article displays a different Creative Commons license, that article is governed by the license specifically identified on its article page.

Preservation in the Event of Journal Closure

If Truth in Research permanently ceases publication or the journal's primary website becomes unavailable, TIR's objective is that published scholarly content remain recoverable and accessible through independent preservation systems, repositories, archived copies, and persistent identifiers.

Where a preservation service provides a mechanism for making archived material publicly accessible following the loss of the original publisher or website, TIR authorizes preservation consistent with the terms of the applicable open-access license and preservation service.

The discontinuation of the journal itself should not result in the disappearance of research already incorporated into the scholarly record.

Migration and Technological Change

TIR recognizes that digital formats, publishing platforms, domains, and storage technologies change over time. When necessary, journal content and metadata may be migrated to newer platforms, file formats, storage systems, or preservation services to maintain accessibility and integrity.

Where migration occurs, reasonable efforts will be made to preserve:

• The content of the Version of Record

• Article authorship and citation information

• Publication dates

• Volume, issue, and pagination or article-number information

• DOI identifiers

• Licensing and copyright information

• Supplementary materials associated with the publication

Preservation Review

TIR will periodically review its digital preservation arrangements as the journal develops and may add additional preservation partners or technologies when appropriate.

The journal favors distributed preservation so that the continued existence of its published scholarship is not dependent upon a single website, hosting provider, publisher, or archival institution.

Last updated: September 2026

Appeals

Authors who believe an editorial decision was made in error may appeal by writing to the Editor-in-Chief and explaining the grounds for the appeal. The Editor-in-Chief will review the matter and may seek additional review. The decision reached on appeal is final.

Published by Jeremy James O. Tan.

Quezon City, National Capital Region, Philippines

+63 976 420 6470

editor@truthinresearch.pw