Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

• Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in this journal.
• Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
• Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See the Effect of Open Access)
• To prevent plagiarism, iThenticate and Turnitin reports should be uploaded by the authors before publication.

Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

The Journal of Educational Technology and Online Learning (JETOL) is a peer-reviewed academic journal committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. As part of our dedication to maintaining integrity, transparency, and academic excellence, JETOL adheres to the ethical guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). For detailed COPE guidelines, click here.

JETOL ensures that all submitted manuscripts comply with both national and international ethical regulations and adhere to the universal principles of academic professionalism. We strictly prohibit publication malpractice, including plagiarism, data fabrication, and other unethical behaviors. All participants in the publication process—editors, authors, and reviewers—must adhere to the following ethical guidelines:

Responsibility of the Editors

• The primary responsibility of the editor is to ensure that manuscripts are evaluated solely on their academic merit, without bias regarding the authors’ race, gender, religious beliefs, ethnicity, or political views.
• Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts, sharing information only with relevant parties such as the corresponding author, reviewers, and publisher as necessary.
• Editors and editorial board members will not use unpublished information disclosed in a submitted manuscript for their own research purposes without the authors’ explicit written consent.
• Editors should recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where they have conflicts of interest. Such manuscripts should be reassigned to another qualified editor.
• The peer-review process must be fair and impartial, involving independent experts in the relevant field. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for deciding which of the manuscripts submitted to the journal will be published, based on the validation of the work in question, its importance to researchers and readers, the reviewers’ comments, and such legal requirements as are currently in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The Editor-in-Chief may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Responsibility of Reviewers

• The peer-review process is a crucial component in helping the editor and/or editorial board reach editorial or publishing decisions and may also serve the author in improving the quality of the submission.
• Manuscripts for review must be considered confidential documents. Information concerning the manuscripts should not be discussed with others without the approval of the editor.
• A potential reviewer should withdraw from the review process if he/she feels unqualified to assess the contribution or cannot provide an assessment in a timely manner as defined by the editor.
• Reviewers are expected to provide objective and constructive feedback to help improve the quality of manuscripts. Reviewers’ comments should be clearly expressed and supported by data or arguments. Personal criticism of the author(s) is not appropriate. Reviews should be conducted with confidentiality and without personal bias.
• Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest and should recuse themselves if they are unqualified to review a manuscript or if they cannot provide a timely review.
• Reviewers should identify any relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors and report any ethical concerns to the editor.
• Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Responsibility of the Author

• Authors must present an accurate and honest account of their research, ensuring that their work is original and free from fabrication or misrepresentation of data. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
• Manuscripts must not be submitted to multiple journals simultaneously. Proper citation and acknowledgment of sources are required.
• Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest or funding sources. Ethical approval and informed consent are required for studies involving human or animal subjects.
• Authors should retain research data for at least five years and be prepared to provide it upon request, ensuring that participant confidentiality is maintained.
• Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
• All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed. Examples of potential conflicts of interest which should be disclosed include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed to the editor at the earliest stage possible. Readers should be informed about who has funded research and on the role of the funders in the research.
• When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper. If the editor or the publisher learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, it is the obligation of the author to promptly retract or correct the paper or to provide evidence to the editor of the correctness of the original paper.

Plagiarism Policy: JETOL has a strict policy against plagiarism. All submissions are screened using iThenticate or Turnitin. Besides, every manuscript uploaded to the system is automatically checked for plagiarism using the intihal.net platform. Manuscripts found to contain significant plagiarism will be rejected, and the authors’ institutions may be notified. If plagiarism is detected after publication, JETOL will issue a correction and notify the relevant parties.

Data Storage and Sharing: Authors must retain their research data and materials for at least five years after publication and be prepared to provide them to other researchers or editors upon request. All data must be anonymized to protect participant confidentiality before sharing.

Protection of Participants’ Rights and Interests: Authors must ensure the confidentiality of information obtained from research participants. Participation in research must be voluntary, with participants allowed to withdraw at any time. For research involving vulnerable populations, ethical approval must be obtained from an appropriate ethics committee. The rights of participants, as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UNICEF Convention on the Rights of the Child, must be protected at all times.

Research Involving Vulnerable Populations: For studies involving vulnerable populations such as children, authors must obtain ethics committee approval and informed consent from legal representatives. Research must comply with ethical guidelines, including the World Medical Association’s Ethical Principles (Declaration of Helsinki) for human subjects and ARRIVE guidelines for animal studies.

Rules for Requesting an Erratum: If an author discovers a significant error or mistake in their published work, they must promptly inform the journal editor or publisher. The author must collaborate with the editor to correct or retract the article if necessary. If the editor or publisher learns of an error from a third party, the author must cooperate in addressing the issue, including providing evidence if requested.