Ethical Principles

Ethical principles of the journal

IJMKL journal is committed to the highest ethical standards in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We strictly adhere to the principles of research integrity and ensure a thorough peer-review process that contributes to the high quality and credibility of published articles.

Editorial Board

The Editorial Board, in conjunction with the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, is responsible for ensuring a fair, unbiased, and transparent process of reviewing manuscripts and is guided solely by academic and scientific criteria in making publication decisions. The duties of the Editorial Board include:

• To ensure a fair peer-review process without discrimination on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or worldview affiliation of the authors.
• To protect the confidentiality of authors' manuscripts until their publication.
• To deal appropriately with cases of plagiarism, falsification of data, or inappropriate authorship. 

Reviewers

Reviewers play a key role in ensuring the quality and credibility of published papers. In their work, they are responsible for the following:

• To carry out an impartial and objective evaluation of the s and to provide constructive comments and suggestions for the improvement of the manuscripts.
• Respect the confidentiality of the peer review process and not disclose information contained in the manuscript to third parties or use it in their own research or for their own benefit.
• To bring to the attention of the editorial board any ethical irregularities such as plagiarism, duplication of research, incorrect or incomplete citation of sources, inaccurate data, or other forms of unethical research.
• Refuse to review if they perceive a potential conflict of interest.

Authors

Authors are responsible for ensuring the scientific and academic integrity of their manuscripts. Key responsibilities include:

• To present the findings of their research or teaching experience objectively and clearly, without falsifying or modifying information.
• Properly cite all sources and obtain permission to publish materials for which they do not hold copyright (e.g., photographs, drawings, or other content).
• Publication of the article must be approved by all authors as well as by the competent authorities of the institution where the work was carried out.
• Obtain written consent from parents or legal guardians for the publication of photographs of underage research participants, and obtain permissions to take photographs of persons, objects, or protected areas if required by Slovenian or foreign regulations.
• Obtain written permission from the Ethics Committee to conduct the research, if required by Slovenian or foreign regulations.
• Ensure that the paper has not already been published or simultaneously submitted for peer review to another journal and disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may affect their research.
• Provide all necessary data and information to enable the verifiability of the research findings and participate in the review process and any corrections based on editorial and referee recommendations.
• To inform the Editorial Board immediately of any errors or inaccuracies in the published article and to cooperate in their correction or retraction, if necessary. If the Editorial Board receives notification from a third party of a material error, the authors must ensure that their findings are corrected, retracted or demonstrated to be correct.

The publisher (ToKnowPress) is responsible for ensuring and strictly observing the above ethical principles of the journal. The publisher has zero tolerance for breaches of ethical standards by the editorial board, reviewers, or authors, and takes appropriate action in the event of any irregularities found, in accordance with COPE guidelines.