Publication Ethics

ORA Mathematics is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and is fully committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. All policies and procedures of ORA Mathematics adhere to the ethical guidelines and recommendations outlined by COPE. Authors, editors, and reviewers are all expected to comply with these standards at every stage of the publication process.

1. Publication Misconduct

ORA Mathematics makes all reasonable efforts to investigate and address all forms of publication misconduct. The following are considered serious violations of publication ethics:

1.1 Fabrication

Fabrication refers to the act of inventing or making up data, results, or findings and presenting or reporting them as if they were real. This is a fundamental breach of research integrity.

1.2 Falsification

Falsification refers to the manipulation of research materials, equipment, processes, data, or results in such a way that the research is not accurately or honestly represented. This includes changing or omitting data to misrepresent findings.

1.3 Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the unauthorized use of another person's ideas, methods, results, or written work without giving appropriate credit to the original source. This includes both direct copying and paraphrasing without proper attribution.

1.4 Redundant Publication

Authors must confirm that their submitted manuscript:

  • Has not been previously published in any language or format
  • Is not currently under consideration for publication in any other journal
  • Will not be submitted elsewhere while under review at ORA Mathematics

Violation of this policy will result in:

  • ❌ Immediate rejection of the manuscript if still under review
  • ❌ Retraction of the published paper if already published
  • ❌ Formal report to the authors' home institutions
  • ❌ Recovery of review costs from the authors

ORA Mathematics is a member of CrossCheck and uses plagiarism detection software to screen all submitted manuscripts for originality. If misconduct is suspected the editorial team will act in full accordance with the relevant COPE guidelines available at: http://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines

ORA Mathematics reserves the right to contact the institutions of the authors to investigate any suspected cases of publication misconduct whether discovered before or after publication.

2. Responsibilities of Reviewers and Editors

Reviewer Responsibilities

All manuscripts submitted to ORA Mathematics are subject to rigorous peer review. Reviewers are expected to:

  • Evaluate manuscripts fairly, thoroughly, and objectively
  • Focus on both the mathematical quality and the clarity of presentation of the manuscript
  • Provide constructive and detailed comments to help authors improve the quality of their work
  • Complete reviews in a timely manner to support rapid publication
  • Declare any conflicts of interest before agreeing to review a manuscript
  • Treat all manuscripts and related information as strictly confidential
  • Not use any information obtained during the review process for personal advantage before the manuscript is published

ORA Mathematics provides reviewers with a structured review report template to ensure that all assessments are systematic, fair, comprehensive, and consistent.

Editor Responsibilities

Editors of ORA Mathematics are expected to:

  • Evaluate all manuscripts without discrimination with regard to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political views
  • Base all editorial decisions solely on the manuscript's mathematical importance, originality, clarity, validity, and relevance to the aims and scope of ORA Mathematics
  • Consider all applicable legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism
  • Maintain the confidentiality of the review process at all times
  • Disclose and manage any conflicts of interest appropriately
  • Act in accordance with COPE guidelines in all cases of suspected misconduct

ORA Mathematics firmly believes that a fair and efficient editorial process resulting in timely publication provides a valuable service to both authors and the global mathematical community.

3. Authorship Policy

The list of authors on any manuscript submitted to ORA Mathematics must accurately reflect all individuals who genuinely contributed to the research and the writing of the article.

Criteria for Authorship

To qualify as an author on a manuscript submitted to ORA Mathematics an individual must have made a meaningful contribution in at least one of the following areas:

  1. Conception and design of the study, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of results
  2. Drafting the manuscript or critically revising its important intellectual content
  3. Final approval of the version submitted for publication

All authors must meet these criteria and no individual who meets these criteria should be omitted from the author list. ORA Mathematics follows the ICMJE definitions for authorship.

Author Contributions Section

All multi-authored papers must include an Author Contributions section at the end of the manuscript clearly describing each author's specific role using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) system.

Changes to Authorship

Any request to add, remove, or rearrange authors before acceptance must include:

  • A clear written explanation of the reason for the proposed change
  • Written confirmation by email from all authors including those being added or removed that they agree with the proposed change

⚠️ Changes to authorship after publication are not permitted under any circumstances.

By submitting a manuscript to ORA Mathematics the corresponding author confirms that:

  • All listed authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript
  • All responsible authorities at the institutions where the work was carried out have approved its publication

4. Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

ORA Mathematics follows the COPE guidelines and policies regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence tools in research and manuscript preparation. Authors must declare any use of Generative AI tools in the preparation of their manuscript in the designated Use of Generative AI Tools Declaration section before the Acknowledgments.

Please note that:

  • AI tools cannot be listed as authors under any circumstances
  • Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of all content
  • Assistive AI tools such as Grammarly and LanguageTool do not require declaration
  • Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT must be declared

5. Conflict of Interest

All authors, reviewers, and editors of ORA Mathematics are required to disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Potential conflicts of interest include but are not limited to:

  • Employment — current, recent, or anticipated employment by any organization with an interest in the manuscript
  • Funding Sources — research support or grants received from any organization
  • Personal Financial Interests — stocks or shares in companies that may be financially affected by publication; consultation fees or other forms of remuneration; patents or patent applications whose value may be affected by publication
  • Organizational Membership — membership of relevant professional or commercial organizations
  • Institutional Relationships — working or having recently worked in the same institution or department as the authors
  • Personal Relationships — having recently been a supervisor, mentor, mentee, close collaborator, or joint grant holder with any of the authors
  • Personal Relationships — having a close personal relationship with any of the authors

All manuscripts must include a Conflict of Interest statement. If no conflicts of interest exist authors must include the following statement:

All authors declare no conflicts of interest in this paper.

6. Post-Publication Corrections and Retractions

6.1 Corrections

ORA Mathematics will publish a formal Correction notice if a significant error is discovered in a published article. Authors may contact the editorial office to request a correction in the following cases:

  1. Errors that could affect the scientific or mathematical interpretation of the results
  2. Addition or removal of an author from the authorship list
  3. Addition or removal of a reference from the reference list
  4. Addition or removal of significant text within the back matter of the article

Once the correction request is reviewed and approved by the Editor-in-Chief the article will be updated and re-published on the ORA Mathematics website along with a formal Correction notice. All relevant indexing databases will be notified to ensure that updated versions are reflected across all platforms.

6.2 Retractions

Articles may be withdrawn, retracted, removed, or replaced after publication in cases where:

  • The article contains substantial errors that cannot be adequately addressed through a correction notice
  • Serious ethical violations are discovered after publication
  • Evidence of fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism comes to light after publication

The Editor-in-Chief will lead the Editorial Board in investigating any retraction request and making the final decision. Once a retraction is approved:

  • The original publication will be marked with a prominent "RETRACTED" watermark
  • The retracted article will remain accessible on the ORA Mathematics website for transparency and future reference
  • All relevant indexing databases will be notified of the retraction

ORA Mathematics follows the recommendations of COPE for all retraction decisions and procedures.

6.3 Post-Publication Comments

If a critique or concern is received regarding the results or methods reported in a published article the editorial office may invite the comment for publication if it is deemed reasonable and scientifically valid. The procedure is as follows:

  • The Editorial Office will contact the authors of the original paper and invite them to prepare a formal response
  • Both the critique and the response will undergo peer review
  • If the concerns raised are found to be valid and the authors are unable to provide an adequate response a Correction may be published or the article may be retracted

Note: Comments should address the scientific content and methodology of the work. Personal criticism of the authors is not acceptable and will not be published.

7. Funding Disclosure

All authors are required to clearly identify and disclose all sources of financial support for their research at the time of submission. Funding information must be included in the Acknowledgments section of the manuscript and should cover:

  • Research funding — the name of the funding organization and any associated grant numbers
  • APC funding — if the Article Processing Charge was funded by an organization or institution this must be disclosed
  • Writing and editing assistance funding — if any financial support was received for writing, language editing, or editorial assistance this must also be disclosed

Note: Full and transparent disclosure of all funding sources is a fundamental requirement of publication ethics at ORA Mathematics. Failure to disclose funding sources may result in rejection of the manuscript or retraction of a published article.