Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics

The International Conference on Community Engagement for Sustainability (ICoCES-2026) is committed to maintaining high standards of academic integrity, transparency, and ethical publication practices. All authors, reviewers, editors, and committee members involved in the conference publication process are expected to uphold ethical principles to ensure the quality, originality, and credibility of the published proceedings.

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that their submitted papers are original works and have not been published or submitted elsewhere in the same form. Any ideas, data, figures, tables, or text taken from other sources must be properly cited. Papers that contain plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, or unethical academic practices may be rejected or withdrawn from the publication process.

Authorship and Contribution

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made significant contributions to the research, writing, analysis, or development of the submitted paper. All listed authors must approve the final version of the manuscript and agree to its submission to ICoCES-2026. Any changes in authorship after submission must be approved by all authors and communicated to the conference committee.

Multiple or Duplicate Submission

Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one conference, journal, or publication venue at the same time. Submitting substantially similar work to multiple publication outlets without proper disclosure is considered unethical and may result in rejection.

Conflict of Interest

Authors, reviewers, and committee members must disclose any potential conflict of interest that may influence the review, evaluation, or publication process. Conflicts of interest may include financial, institutional, collaborative, or personal relationships related to the submitted work.

Review Process

All submitted papers will be evaluated based on relevance to the conference scope, originality, clarity, methodological soundness, contribution to community engagement, and alignment with sustainability issues. Reviewers are expected to provide fair, objective, constructive, and confidential feedback. The final decision regarding paper acceptance rests with the conference committee.

Ethical Use of Data and Research Participants

Authors are responsible for ensuring that research involving human participants, communities, institutions, or sensitive data has been conducted ethically. Where applicable, informed consent, confidentiality, and data protection principles must be observed.

Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

The use of artificial intelligence tools for language editing, grammar improvement, or formatting assistance is permitted, provided that the authors remain fully responsible for the content, accuracy, originality, and integrity of the manuscript. AI tools must not be listed as authors and must not be used to fabricate data, references, analysis, or research findings.

Correction and Retraction

If errors, ethical issues, or academic misconduct are identified after publication, the conference committee reserves the right to issue corrections, clarifications, or retractions when necessary. Authors are expected to cooperate with the committee in resolving any publication-related concerns.

By submitting a paper to ICoCES-2026, authors agree to follow this publication ethics policy and accept responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of their submitted work.