The publication of an article in a peer-reviewed journal is an essential contribution to the development and dissemination of scientific knowledge. It is therefore important to establish clear standards of ethical conduct and to ensure that all parties involved in the publication process adhere to them in order to prevent publication malpractice. For this purpose, publishing in Decision Intelligence and Complex Computing (DICC) is governed by the principles set out in this Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement. These guidelines are aligned with the principles, recommendations, and best practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Further information is available on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) website.

• The submitted manuscript must represent original work.
• The submitted manuscript must not contain any statement, information, or data that are intentionally misleading, inaccurate, or falsified.
• All authors must be aware of and approve the full content of the manuscript prior to submission. The manuscript must accurately represent their contributions, and authorship must be limited to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the work.
• The submitted manuscript must not have been previously published. An exception may be made for work previously published by the authors in conference proceedings, provided that the submitted manuscript contains substantial modifications, extensions, and original scientific contributions sufficient to justify publication in Decision Intelligence and Complex Computing (DICC).
• The manuscript must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere in any form and must not be submitted to another journal while it is under review by Decision Intelligence and Complex Computing (DICC).
• The submitted manuscript must not violate privacy rights, infringe intellectual property rights or other rights of any person or entity, or breach any duty of confidentiality owed by the author(s) to a third party. The manuscript must not contain material or instructions that could cause unlawful or unjustified harm or injury.
• Where any part of the submitted work is owned or controlled by a third party, the authors must obtain all permissions required for its use and publication in both print and electronic formats and provide evidence of such permission when required.
• Authors must disclose all actual or potential conflicts of interest relevant to the submitted manuscript or explicitly declare that no conflict of interest exists.

The Editor, together with the members of the Editorial Board, is responsible for:

• Ensuring a fair and unbiased double-blind peer-review process for submitted manuscripts, irrespective of the authors’ race, citizenship, age, gender, political views, or other personal characteristics unrelated to the scientific merit of the work.
• Selecting appropriately qualified reviewers and evaluating submitted manuscripts exclusively on the basis of their academic and intellectual merit, scientific quality, methodological rigor, relevance, and clarity of presentation.
• Making final editorial decisions regarding the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts submitted to the journal.
• Ensuring that new Editorial Board members and Guest Editors receive appropriate guidance regarding manuscript handling procedures, editorial responsibilities, and the standards expected by the journal.
• Ensuring that unpublished information or materials disclosed in submitted manuscripts are treated confidentially and are not used for the Editor’s own research or for the benefit of any third party without the authors’ explicit permission.
• Responding appropriately to ethical complaints, allegations of misconduct, and other concerns relating to submitted or published work, and taking reasonable steps to ensure that such matters are investigated and resolved appropriately.
• Publishing corrections, retractions, expressions of concern, or other appropriate notices when necessary to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

Guest Editors are responsible for:

• Defining the scope and topic of special or thematic issues and ensuring that submitted manuscripts are relevant to the stated scope of the issue.
• Ensuring that appropriately qualified and independent reviewers are selected for manuscripts submitted to special or thematic issues.
• Establishing and managing appropriate time frames for manuscript submission, peer review, revision, editorial decision-making, and publication.

Reviewers are expected to ensure that:

• They possess the appropriate expertise to provide an objective and informed assessment of the submitted manuscript and, where the manuscript has merit for publication, provide constructive recommendations that may assist the authors in improving their work.
• If they do not consider themselves sufficiently qualified to review a manuscript, or are unable to complete the review within the required time frame, they promptly inform the Editor.
• Reviews are conducted objectively and focus on the scientific content, methodological quality, originality, relevance, and technical aspects of the submitted manuscript.
• The Editor is informed of any suspected copyright infringement, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other form of publication misconduct identified during the review process.
• Any actual or potential conflict of interest that could affect their ability to provide an impartial review is disclosed to the Editor.
• All manuscripts, data, and other information received as part of the peer-review process are treated as confidential and are not disclosed or used for personal advantage.

The Publisher provides practical and administrative support to the Editor and Editorial Board while respecting and safeguarding their editorial independence. The Publisher supports the protection of intellectual property and copyright, promotes adherence to recognized standards of publication ethics, and works with the editorial team to ensure that the publishing standards and good practices described above are consistently maintained.