01 / EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE

Editorial Independence and Fairness

Editorial decisions are based on the academic merit, originality, methodological appropriateness, quality of argumentation, and relevance of manuscripts to the journal's aims and scope.

Manuscripts are evaluated without discrimination based on authors' nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, political views, institutional affiliation, academic standing, personal relationships, or commercial considerations.

The article processing charge (APC) becomes payable only after a manuscript has completed peer review and received formal acceptance. Payment or non-payment does not influence academic evaluation or acceptance decisions.

Editors must disclose and withdraw from handling manuscripts where actual or potential conflicts of interest could compromise their impartiality.

02 / AUTHORSHIP & CONTRIBUTORSHIP

Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship is reserved for individuals who have made substantial intellectual contributions to the research and accept responsibility for the published work. Listed authors should:

1. Contribute substantially to research conception, design, data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation;
2. Participate in manuscript drafting or critical revision of important intellectual content;
3. Review and approve the final submitted version;
4. Accept responsibility for the accuracy, validity, and integrity of the work.

Administrative assistance, general supervision, funding support, technical services, or language editing alone does not normally establish authorship. Contributors who do not qualify for authorship may be acknowledged with their permission.

The corresponding author must ensure that all authors meet the authorship requirements, agree to the author order, approve the manuscript, and disclose relevant funding and conflicts of interest.

Requests to add, remove, or reorder authors after submission must provide a justification and written agreement from all authors. Post-publication authorship changes will be considered only in exceptional circumstances and documented through a formal correction.

03 / ORIGINALITY & DUPLICATE SUBMISSION

Originality, Prior Publication, and Duplicate Submission

JID accepts original scholarly work only. Manuscripts must not have been formally published in the same or substantially similar form or be simultaneously under consideration by another journal.

Previously published research must not be resubmitted through translation, changes of title, revised wording, or minor modifications intended to conceal redundant publication.

When different manuscripts arise from the same dataset, research materials, or research project, authors must disclose their relationship to earlier work and identify the distinct research questions, analyses, and academic contributions of the new submission.

Any substantial overlap with previously published or submitted work must be declared. Undisclosed duplicate submission, redundant publication, and translated republication are not permitted.

04 / PLAGIARISM & SIMILARITY SCREENING

Plagiarism and Similarity Screening

JID does not tolerate plagiarism, including the use of another person's words, ideas, data, images, tables, research findings, or other intellectual material without appropriate attribution. Improper reuse of an author's own published material may also violate publication standards.

All submissions are subject to routine similarity screening. The overall similarity index should generally not exceed 30%.

This threshold is an initial screening criterion, not definitive evidence of academic integrity. Editors also consider:

• The source, nature, and distribution of matched material;
• Whether appropriate quotations and citations have been provided;
• Normal overlap involving references, methodological descriptions, and established terminology;
• Whether the overlap compromises the originality or integrity of the research.

A similarity index below 30% does not guarantee compliance with publication ethics. Manuscripts may still be rejected for plagiarism, inappropriate paraphrasing, or unacceptable text reuse.

Manuscripts exceeding the threshold may be returned for clarification or revision or rejected before external review. Serious plagiarism confirmed after publication may lead to a correction, expression of concern, or retraction.

05 / RESEARCH & PUBLICATION MISCONDUCT

Research and Publication Misconduct

The journal prohibits conduct that undermines research validity, academic integrity, or the fairness of the publication process, including but not limited to:

• Fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate selection of research data;
• Plagiarism, citation manipulation, or improper image alteration;
• Selective reporting or misleading interpretation of findings;
• Undisclosed redundant publication or substantial overlap;
• Misrepresentation of ethical approval, informed consent, or research participation;
• Unauthorized use of research data or protected materials;
• Fraudulent, honorary, or otherwise inappropriate authorship;
• Peer-review manipulation or submission of false review information.

The editorial team will investigate relevant concerns objectively, carefully, and confidentially where possible. Authors may be asked to provide original data, ethical documentation, authorship statements, similarity reports, or other supporting records.

Authors will normally be given an opportunity to respond. The journal may consult independent experts or appropriate institutions, ethics committees, and funding bodies. Confirmed serious violations may result in manuscript rejection or post-publication action.

06 / CONFLICTS OF INTEREST & FUNDING

Conflicts of Interest and Funding

Authors, editors, and reviewers must disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest that could influence research conduct, scholarly evaluation, or editorial judgment.

Relevant interests may include employment, consulting relationships, research funding, commercial interests, patents, personal or professional relationships, institutional competition, or other circumstances affecting independent judgment.

Authors must identify funding sources and explain any role played by funders in research design, data processing, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or submission decisions. The absence of conflicts of interest or external funding should also be stated.

Editors and reviewers must report relevant interests promptly and withdraw from manuscript handling when necessary.

07 / ETHICAL OVERSIGHT

Research Ethics and Ethical Approval

Research involving human participants, personal information, interviews, surveys, observations, identifiable records, or sensitive data must comply with applicable laws, institutional regulations, and research ethics requirements.

Depending on the nature of the study and relevant regulations, authors must:

• Obtain required ethical approval or formal exemption;
• Identify the approving body and approval reference in the manuscript;
• Obtain appropriate informed consent from participants;
• Protect participants' privacy, identities, and data security;
• Obtain necessary authorization before publishing identifiable personal information, images, or case details.

Every manuscript must include an Ethics Statement. Where ethical review is not applicable, authors should explain the basis for that determination.

Authors are responsible for the lawful collection, storage, use, and publication of research data. Research involving human subjects should comply with applicable ethical principles, including the Declaration of Helsinki where relevant.

08 / DATA SHARING & REPRODUCIBILITY

Data Sharing and Research Reproducibility

JID encourages transparent research procedures, sufficient methodological reporting, and the responsible sharing of research data and materials where legally and ethically appropriate.

Authors should retain the data, research instruments, analytical procedures, and supporting materials necessary to substantiate their findings and adequately describe their research design and methods.

Where appropriate, authors may deposit data, code, research instruments, or supplementary materials in suitable research repositories. Restrictions on sharing arising from privacy, confidentiality, legal obligations, or ethical requirements are recognized but should be explained.

Where necessary for research integrity assessment or an ethical investigation, the editorial team may request access to original data or supporting documentation under appropriate confidentiality arrangements. Failure to provide reasonable supporting evidence may affect editorial decisions.

09 / PEER REVIEW ETHICS

Peer Review Ethics and Confidentiality

JID operates a single-blind peer-review process. Reviewers know the authors' identities, while reviewers' identities are not disclosed to authors.

Manuscripts passing initial editorial screening are assigned to a handling editor, who normally invites at least two qualified reviewers with expertise relevant to the submission.

Reviewers must:

• Provide independent, objective, and evidence-based assessments;
• Maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts, research data, and review proceedings;
• Disclose potential conflicts of interest;
• Refrain from exploiting unpublished research for personal benefit;
• Report suspected misconduct to the editorial team;
• Complete reviews within the agreed period or promptly explain any inability to do so.

Reviewers must not reproduce, distribute, or discuss submitted materials outside the authorized editorial process.

The Editor-in-Chief or responsible handling editor makes editorial decisions after considering reviewer reports, author responses, manuscript quality, and journal requirements. Reviewer recommendations do not constitute formal acceptance.

10 / EDITORIAL SUBMISSIONS

Submissions from Editors, Board Members, and Reviewers

Editors, editorial board members, advisers, and reviewers may submit manuscripts to JID. Such submissions receive no preferential treatment and must meet the same academic, peer-review, and publication requirements as other submissions.

Individuals who are authors of a submitted manuscript must not participate in assigning the handling editor, selecting reviewers, accessing confidential review information, or making the final decision on that manuscript.

A manuscript submitted by the Editor-in-Chief must be handled by an uninvolved Deputy Editor-in-Chief, independent editor, or qualified external editor. Submissions from other editorial or reviewer team members must similarly be handled without relevant conflicts of interest.

The journal monitors the proportion of papers authored by editorial and reviewer team members to safeguard editorial independence and avoid excessive editorial endogeny.

11 / ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Use by Authors

Artificial intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy, originality, or integrity of scholarly work.

Authors must disclose generative AI use extending beyond routine language correction, editing, or formatting. Such disclosures should identify the tools used, their purposes, and the relevant parts of the research or manuscript.

Authors remain responsible for verifying AI-assisted factual information, references, analyses, translations, and other submitted content. Generative AI cannot be cited as an independent scholarly source.

AI tools must not be used in ways that violate privacy, copyright, confidentiality, or research data protection obligations.

Use by Reviewers and Editors

Reviewers and editors must not substitute generative AI for independent scholarly judgment or use it to generate substantive review reports, editorial assessments, or publication decisions.

Unpublished manuscripts, research data, supplementary files, review reports, and confidential editorial correspondence must not be uploaded to publicly accessible generative AI systems without authorization.

Limited language assistance may be considered only when confidential information remains protected, protected manuscript content is not uploaded, and independent judgment is maintained.

Use by the Journal

The editorial office may employ appropriately selected automated tools to support similarity screening, metadata verification, formatting checks, and the detection of potential research integrity concerns.

Automated findings must be verified by authorized personnel. Acceptance, rejection, retraction, or findings of misconduct will not be based solely on automated or AI-generated output.

12 / COPYRIGHT & LICENSING

Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Licensing

Authors must ensure that submissions do not infringe the copyright, privacy, confidentiality, or other lawful rights of individuals or organizations.

Necessary permissions must be obtained for third-party figures, photographs, research instruments, questionnaires, or other protected materials where required by law or applicable licensing conditions.

Authors retain copyright to articles published in JID and grant the journal non-exclusive rights to publish, distribute, display online, and archive their work.

Published articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Further information is provided in the journal's Copyright and Licensing Policy.

13 / CORRECTIONS

Corrections

The journal will take appropriate corrective action when errors in published articles affect their accuracy, interpretation, authorship attribution, or academic integrity.

Minor typographical or formatting errors that do not alter the meaning of an article may be corrected in the online version.

Substantive corrections require a formal, dated notice explaining the error, the correction made, and any implications for the article's conclusions.

Corrections must not be used to introduce major unreviewed findings or conceal authorship changes or substantial modifications.

14 / RETRACTIONS & EXPRESSIONS OF CONCERN

Retractions and Expressions of Concern

Retraction may be considered where reliable evidence establishes serious data errors, fabrication or falsification, plagiarism, redundant publication, major ethical violations, peer-review manipulation, or other issues that undermine the reliability of published work.

Retracted articles will normally remain part of the scholarly record but must be clearly marked as retracted. A formal notice explaining the reasons will be linked to the original article.

An expression of concern may be issued when significant questions about a published article remain unresolved because an investigation is incomplete, inconclusive, or substantially delayed.

JID refers to relevant COPE guidance when handling corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern.

15 / COMPLAINTS

Complaints

The journal accepts reasonable complaints concerning its policies, editorial procedures, reviewer conduct, processing delays, ethical matters, and the integrity of published content.

Complaints should be submitted in writing through the journal's official editorial contact channel and should identify the manuscript or article, manuscript number or DOI where available, the specific concern, and supporting evidence.

Complaints will be considered objectively and, where appropriate, by individuals not directly involved in the matter. Complaints concerning the Editor-in-Chief will be referred to the publisher or an uninvolved senior editor or independent adviser.

The journal will protect the confidentiality of complainants and relevant records insofar as the investigation permits.

16 / EDITORIAL APPEALS

Appeals against Editorial Decisions

Authors may appeal editorial decisions where they believe a material factual error, procedural irregularity, overlooked evidence, or conflict of interest affected the assessment.

Appeals must specify the grounds for reconsideration and provide relevant evidence addressing the editorial or reviewer comments. Disagreement with the rejection decision alone is not sufficient.

Appeals will normally be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief or a senior editor not directly involved in the original decision. Independent expert advice may be obtained where appropriate. The decision following formal reconsideration will normally be final.

17 / POST-PUBLICATION DISCUSSION

Post-Publication Discussion

JID welcomes evidence-based scholarly discussion concerning research published in the journal.

Readers may submit comments, requests for clarification, or research integrity concerns through the official editorial contact channel, identifying the relevant article and providing supporting information.

The editorial team may seek an author response, consult independent experts, publish a clarification, issue a correction or expression of concern, or initiate an investigation when necessary.

Personal attacks, unsupported accusations, defamatory statements, and complaints unrelated to the scholarly content will not be considered.

18 / POLICY ENFORCEMENT

Policy Enforcement

Violations of the journal's publication ethics and editorial policies may result in appropriate measures according to the seriousness of the concern, available evidence, and implications for the scholarly record, including:

• Requests for clarification or revision;
• Return of manuscripts or suspension of editorial processing;
• Manuscript rejection or withdrawal of acceptance;
• Publication of corrections or expressions of concern;
• Retraction of published articles;
• Restrictions on future submissions;
• Notification of relevant institutions, ethics committees, or funding bodies where necessary.

Decisions will take account of the nature and severity of the issue, the supporting evidence, and the need to preserve procedural fairness and the integrity of the scholarly record.

19 / CONTACT

Contact

For questions about publication ethics, editorial policies, peer review, published content, complaints, appeals, or suspected research misconduct, please contact the editorial office through the journal's Contact page.

Journal: Journal of Innovation and Development
Publisher: Asia-Pacific Social Innovation Research Institute
Location: Hong Kong, China

All concerns raised in good faith will be considered objectively and handled as confidentially as the circumstances of the investigation permit.