1. Scope of This Policy

This statement applies to all manuscripts submitted to JBMA and to all individuals involved in editorial assessment, peer review, revision, production and publication.

Ethical concerns may arise before, during or after publication. JBMA may investigate concerns relating to:

2. Responsibilities of Editors

Editorial Accountability

Editors are responsible for determining which manuscripts are suitable for publication in JBMA. Decisions are based on scholarly merit, originality, methodological quality, contribution, relevance to the journal and compliance with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Reviewer recommendations inform editorial decisions but do not determine them automatically. Final responsibility for acceptance, revision or rejection rests with the Editor.

Fair and Impartial Evaluation

Manuscripts are evaluated on their intellectual and scholarly merit without inappropriate discrimination based on authors' race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, citizenship, institutional affiliation, nationality, disability, political philosophy, seniority or other characteristics unrelated to the scholarly quality of the work.

Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must protect confidential information relating to submitted manuscripts. Information should be disclosed only to individuals who legitimately require access for editorial, peer-review, ethical, technical or publication purposes.

Unpublished material obtained through the editorial process must not be used for personal, professional or competitive advantage.

Editorial Conflicts of Interest

Editors must disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest. Where an Editor has a relationship with an author, institution, organisation or subject matter that could reasonably compromise impartiality, responsibility for the manuscript will be transferred to another suitably qualified editor.

Manuscripts submitted by members of the Editorial Board are subject to the same standards and review procedures as other submissions and must be handled independently of the submitting editor.

3. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play an essential role in safeguarding the scholarly quality and integrity of JBMA. Reviews should be impartial, constructive, evidence-based and professionally expressed.

Reviewers are expected to:

• evaluate manuscripts objectively and on scholarly merit;
• provide clear and sufficiently supported reasons for their recommendations;
• maintain strict confidentiality regarding manuscripts and review materials;
• disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest;
• decline a review where independence or impartiality may reasonably be questioned;
• notify the Editor of suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated evidence or other serious ethical concerns;
• avoid using unpublished information obtained through review for personal or professional advantage; and
• complete reviews within the agreed timeframe or promptly inform the Editorial Office when this is not possible.

4. Peer-Review Integrity

All submissions undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts considered suitable for further evaluation are normally reviewed by at least two suitably qualified independent reviewers under a double-blind peer-review process.

Authors must not attempt to manipulate the peer-review process through fabricated reviewer identities, false contact information, undisclosed relationships, coercion, inappropriate communication or any other means intended to compromise independent assessment.

Reviewer suggestions provided by authors are considered only as recommendations. JBMA retains full discretion over reviewer selection.

5. Responsibilities of Authors

Accurate and Honest Reporting

Authors must report research accurately, honestly and transparently. Data, findings, methods, interpretations and conclusions must not be fabricated, falsified, manipulated or deliberately misrepresented.

Research methods should be described with sufficient clarity to allow readers to understand how the study was conducted and, where relevant, assess its credibility or reproducibility.

Originality and Plagiarism

Manuscripts must represent original work. Where authors use the words, ideas, data, figures, arguments or other intellectual contributions of others, the source must be appropriately acknowledged.

JBMA screens submissions for textual similarity. Similarity results are interpreted editorially rather than solely through a numerical threshold. Plagiarism, inappropriate copying and substantial unattributed overlap are grounds for rejection and may result in further action where necessary.

Multiple, Redundant and Concurrent Submission

A manuscript submitted to JBMA must not simultaneously be under consideration by another journal. Authors should not publish substantially the same research in more than one primary publication without legitimate justification, transparent disclosure and appropriate acknowledgement.

Appropriate Acknowledgement of Sources

Authors must cite sources accurately and only where they are relevant to the manuscript. References should support scholarly arguments rather than artificially increase citation counts.

Citation manipulation, including excessive or inappropriate self-citation, coercive citation or coordinated attempts to inflate citations to authors, journals or institutions, is not acceptable.

6. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made meaningful scholarly contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, interpretation or preparation of the work and who accept responsibility for the submitted manuscript.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that:

• all individuals who qualify for authorship are appropriately included;
• individuals who do not qualify are not listed as authors;
• all authors have reviewed and approved the submitted version;
• all authors agree to submission to JBMA; and
• relevant acknowledgements and contribution statements are complete.

Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately. JBMA may request author-contribution information and encourages use of recognised contributor-role classifications where appropriate.

8. Data, Evidence and Research Records

Authors should retain research data and supporting documentation for an appropriate period and, where reasonably required, be prepared to provide relevant information to the Editor for the purpose of verifying research integrity.

JBMA encourages responsible research transparency and appropriate data availability, subject to ethical, legal, contractual, privacy and commercial restrictions.

Where data cannot be shared, authors should state the legitimate reason for the restriction where appropriate.

9. Research Ethics and Informed Consent

Research involving human participants, personal information, confidential organisational data or other ethically sensitive material must be conducted in accordance with applicable institutional, professional and legal requirements.

Where applicable, authors should provide information concerning:

• ethics committee or institutional approval;
• approval or reference number;
• informed consent procedures;
• organisational permission;
• confidentiality and anonymisation procedures; and
• other relevant ethical safeguards.

The Editorial Office may request supporting documentation where necessary.

10. Ethical Requirements for Teaching Cases and Case-Based Research

Authors of Teaching Cases and case-based research are responsible for ensuring that organisational, personal and confidential information is used appropriately.

Where identifiable individuals, organisations or non-public information are included, authors must obtain appropriate consent or organisational permission where required.

Teaching Cases developed solely from publicly available sources should clearly identify and accurately reference the sources used. Authors must not present speculation, unsupported allegations or invented events as factual organisational evidence.

11. Funding and Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose financial, professional, institutional or personal interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research, interpretation or reporting of the manuscript.

All relevant sources of funding should be identified, including funding bodies and grant numbers where applicable.

Reviewers and editors are likewise required to disclose conflicts that could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, independent editorial or peer-review judgement.

12. Image, Figure and Data Integrity

Figures, images, tables and other research outputs must accurately represent the underlying evidence. Manipulation that changes, obscures, removes or introduces information in a manner that could mislead readers is not permitted.

Legitimate adjustments undertaken for clarity should be applied consistently and should not alter the substantive meaning of the evidence.

Authors must obtain appropriate permission for copyrighted or third-party material included in the manuscript.

13. Suspected Research or Publication Misconduct

JBMA takes credible allegations of research or publication misconduct seriously, regardless of whether concerns arise before or after publication.

Where a concern is raised, the Editorial Office may:

1. conduct an initial assessment of the concern;
2. request clarification or supporting evidence from the authors;
3. seek advice from reviewers, editors or relevant experts where appropriate;
4. suspend consideration or publication while an investigation is ongoing;
5. contact the relevant institution or other appropriate body where a formal investigation is required; and
6. take appropriate editorial action based on the available evidence.

All parties should be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to allegations before a final decision is made, except where immediate action is necessary to protect the scholarly record.

14. Corrections, Retractions and Expressions of Concern

JBMA is committed to preserving an accurate and trustworthy scholarly record.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of an issue identified after publication, the journal may issue:

Retraction and correction notices should remain linked to the original scholarly record whenever appropriate.

15. Author Responsibility for Errors After Publication

If authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they should notify the Editorial Office promptly and cooperate in determining whether a correction, clarification, retraction or other action is necessary.

16. Complaints and Appeals

Authors may raise concerns about editorial procedures or appeal an editorial decision where they believe a substantive error has occurred in the assessment of the manuscript.

Appeals should provide clear scholarly or procedural grounds rather than simply disagreement with reviewer comments or an editorial decision. Appeals will normally be considered by an editor who was not directly responsible for the disputed decision where practicable.

Complaints relating to editorial conduct, publication ethics or journal procedures should be submitted through the journal's official contact channel with sufficient information to permit appropriate assessment.

17. Confidentiality and Protection of the Scholarly Process

Manuscripts, review reports, editorial correspondence and information obtained during peer review should be treated as confidential except where disclosure is necessary for legitimate editorial, ethical or legal purposes.

Confidentiality obligations continue after completion of the review process.