Policy version 1.0 · Effective date 2026-10-20
Unacceptable practices
Plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data/images, invented references, duplicate or simultaneous submission, undisclosed reuse, purchased authorship and manipulated review are prohibited. Related abstracts, preprints and earlier work must be disclosed at submission; the editor assesses the new contribution.
Ethical oversight
Research involving people, personal data or animals must disclose relevant ethics approvals, consent and permits. Identifiable personal information requires appropriate publication consent. Do not invent an approval number where approval is not applicable; explain why. Disclose relevant permissions, copyright restrictions and controls on sensitive dual-use research.
Reporting and investigation
Send substantiated concerns to editor@rum-journal.com with the paper identifier, a specific allegation and verifiable evidence. A conflicted editor is replaced by another authorized handler. Explanations are sought, records preserved and institutions contacted where necessary. Similarity or AI-detector scores alone are not proof of misconduct. Outcomes may include rejection, correction, retraction or a finding that the allegation is unsupported.
Publisher responsibility
The publisher supports editorial independence, protection of confidential records and correction of the published record. Revenue, sponsorship, paper counts and indexing ambitions do not justify bypassing quality criteria. Referring to COPE guidance does not imply membership or certification.
Official references
References informed this policy; a link does not imply membership, accreditation or confirmed indexing.