Complaint Handling Procedure

Editorial Integrity & Accountability

Complaints may be submitted by authors, reviewers, editors, readers, institutions, educators, students, research participants, or other stakeholders concerning:

• Editorial decisions or peer-review procedures;
• Plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, authorship disputes, or other research misconduct;
• Errors or inaccuracies in published articles, educational datasets, assessment results, tables, figures, research instruments, or supplementary materials;
• Concerns involving student or teacher data, participant confidentiality, informed consent, educational records, institutional data, or research ethics; or
• Breaches of journal policy or accepted publishing practices.

Complaints must be submitted in writing to [email protected] with the subject: Complaint – [Manuscript ID / Article DOI].

Please include:

• Name and contact details, or a request for anonymity where appropriate;
• Manuscript ID, DOI, article title, or other relevant reference;
• A clear and factual description of the issue and supporting evidence;
• Relevant datasets, screenshots, correspondence, research documents, ethical approvals, or other supporting materials where applicable; and
• Your relationship to the manuscript, article, authors, institution, or journal.

Receipt of a complaint will normally be acknowledged within 5 business days. The journal will conduct an initial assessment to determine whether further investigation is required and whether the matter falls within the journal's editorial or publication-ethics responsibilities.

Where appropriate, the case will be handled by an independent editor or panel not involved in the original decision. Additional information may be requested from authors, reviewers, institutions, schools, universities, research participants, data providers, or other relevant parties. Where complaints involve educational datasets, student or teacher records, assessment results, research instruments, informed consent, or research-integrity concerns, supporting documentation may also be requested. COPE guidance will be followed where applicable.

The journal aims to reach an outcome within 6 weeks, although complex cases involving multiple institutions, educational data, research participants, ethical review, or formal investigations may require additional time.

The complainant will be informed in writing of the outcome and, where relevant, any corrective action, such as a correction, expression of concern, retraction, editorial reassessment, or procedural improvement. Confidentiality will be maintained unless disclosure is required by law, institutional investigation, participant-protection requirements, or formal publication-ethics procedures.

If the complainant is dissatisfied with the outcome, a request for reconsideration may be submitted with clear reasons and, where possible, additional evidence. The appeal may be referred to a senior Editorial Board member, an independent editor, or the publisher who was not directly involved in the original decision. Where appropriate, guidance may also be sought from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).