AMERICAN JOURNAL OF QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Publication Ethics

The American Journal of Qualitative Research (AJQR) is dedicated to promoting and upholding the highest ethical standards in academic publishing. Our Publication Ethics guidelines are developed in-house to ensure clarity, fairness, and integrity throughout the publication process, from submission to post-publication. We believe that ethical publishing is crucial not only for maintaining trust within the academic community but also for ensuring that research can have a positive impact on society. These ethical standards are tailored to the journal’s mission and align with best practices recommended by organizations such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

  1. Misconduct & Plagiarism

The editors and the publisher have the right to alert potential misconduct to appropriate agents (for example, funders, employers or the editorial board). Authors and peer-reviewers have the right to respond to allegations and for investigations to be carried out with diligence. An allegation should be substantiated and proved right or wrong by the editors.

  • When errors affect the interpretation of information, the journal has the right to publish 'corrections' (errata), whatever the cause of the error. Likewise, AJQR has the right to publish 'retractions' if work is proven to be fraudulent or 'expressions of concern' when there is a suspicion of misconduct. Depending on the size of the misconduct, the author's institution may be informed, and the author can be refused for a time to publish in the journal.
  • Plagiarism or duplication of another text is forbidden even if it is an author's previous publication. Plagiarism includes misappropriation or theft of intellectual property by copying another's work. Authors must thereby avoid duplication of another's research and must always make explicit what the source of their information is. The way to refer to sources is set out by the submission guidelines of the journal. Editors have the right to refuse publishing articles that are suspected of duplicating another's work.
  • Duplication is not applicable to the copying of information from a university dissertation or thesis, posters or abstracts or results presented at meetings, provided that it is the author's own work. Results in databases and clinical trials registries can also be duplicated.
  • Authors that translate and publish material that has been published elsewhere should ensure that they have appropriate permission. They should always identify the source of the original material.
  • AJQR reserves the right to reject any manuscript found to contain plagiarized content or that misuses third-party copyrighted material. AJQR uses iThenticate to detect plagiarism.

2. Open Access Policy/ License & Copyright

AJQR promotes the free exchange of knowledge by providing open access to all its published content. This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.

Copyright on any article is retained by the author(s). Regarding copyright usage, please see below.

Authors grant CECS journals a license to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher.

Authors give any third party the right to use the article freely as long as its original authors and citation details are identified.

The article and any associated published material are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0):

Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0)

Under the principles of the ‘Creative Commons’, anyone is free:

  • to Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
  • to Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material
    for any purpose, even commercially.

Under the following conditions:

  • Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

Click https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  to find out more about it.

Copyright Usage

Any usage rights are regulated through the Creative Commons License. As CECS journals is using the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), anyone (the author, his/her institution/company, the publisher, as well as the public) is free to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt the work as long as the original author is credited (see above). Therefore, specific usage rights cannot be reserved by the author or his/her institution/company, and the publisher cannot include a statement "all rights reserved" in any published paper.

This license allows authors to use all articles, data sets, graphics and appendices in data mining applications, search engines, websites, blogs and other platforms by providing appropriate reference.

3. Publication Frequency

AJQR publishes on a quarterly basis in February, May, August, and November. Special issues may also be released during the year based on the volume and relevance of submissions.

4. Publication Fees

The American Journal of Qualitative Research (AJQR) is published by the Center for Ethnic and Cultural Studies (CECS), an independent research LLC center based in Fort Myers, Florida. As a Gold Open Access journal, AJQR ensures that all published articles are freely accessible online immediately upon publication. To sustain high-quality publishing standards—including professional copyediting, typesetting, online hosting, plagiarism and AI-detection software, long-term archiving, DOI assignment, and indexing services—a modest Article Processing Charge (APC), also referred to as a “production fee,” is applied. Beginning August 1, 2025, the APC will be $300. This fee is charged only once, following the final editorial acceptance of a manuscript. This fee is charged only once, upon the final editorial acceptance of your manuscript. We offer waiver or discounts for papers whose corresponding authors are based in HINARI countries (as defined by the World Bank as the world’s lowest-income countries). AJQR is committed to promoting academic development in the world without any financial barrier to knowledge sharing and learning. A waiver policy has been developed especially for authors from low-income countries. Authors who are interested in applying for a waiver may contact the editorial office of the corresponding journal. CECS Publisher reserves the right to approve or reject any waiver application. APC waivers do not influence editorial decisions.

5. Language and Proofreading

Manuscripts must be written in English. Authors who are not native English speakers are encouraged to have their manuscript proofread for clarity and accuracy. AJQR offers copy editing services upon request and for an additional fee.

6. Archiving and Self-Archiving

The American Journal of Qualitative Research (AJQR) utilizes the LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) system to ensure the long-term digital preservation of published content. This system enables participating libraries to create permanent archival copies of the journal for preservation and restoration purposes.

AJQR supports the broad dissemination of research and allows authors to self-archive their work. Authors may deposit the final published version (Version of Record) of their articles in institutional repositories, subject repositories, personal websites, or other scholarly platforms without any embargo period. When depositing their work, authors should include the full citation of the published article and provide a link to the article’s DOI on the AJQR website.

All articles published in AJQR are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction, and adaptation of the work in any medium, including use in data mining applications, search engines, websites, and other platforms, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and the source.

7. Competing Interests

To maintain transparency and integrity, authors must disclose any competing interests—personal, financial, or professional—that could influence the objectivity of their research. All disclosures must be made during submission, and the editorial team will review them to ensure they do not compromise the work’s integrity.

8. Editorial Board and Responsibilities

The AJQR editorial board consists of recognized experts in qualitative research who actively contribute to manuscript review and policy development. Contact information for the editorial office is provided on the journal’s website to facilitate communication with authors.

9. Authors' Responsibilities

AJQR holds authors accountable for upholding high ethical standards. Authors are expected to:

  • Certify that their manuscript is original and has not been previously published elsewhere.
  • Participate in the peer review process and respond promptly to reviewer comments.
  • Ensure that all data included in the manuscript are accurate and verifiable.
  • Provide appropriate citations for all referenced materials.
  • Disclose any conflicts of interest.
  • Obtain ethical approval for research involving human participants, including a statement confirming compliance with relevant ethical guidelines.
  • Notify the editorial board of any errors found post-publication, so corrections or retractions can be issued if necessary.

10. Reviewers' Responsibilities

Reviewers play a key role in maintaining the quality of AJQR. They are expected to:

  • Treat submitted manuscripts confidentially and not disclose information without editor approval.
  • Provide objective and constructive feedback to improve the manuscript, avoiding personal criticism of the author.
  • Disclose any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from the review process if necessary.
  • Notify the editorial team if they detect overlap between the submitted manuscript and other published works.
  • Reviewers should not share the content of the manuscript, including the abstract, with someone else. Double blind peer review is a confidential process in which both the author and reviewer should be careful to keep the content confidential. Reviewers are requested to inform the editorial office if they prefer a colleague to write the review on their behalf.

11. Editors' Responsibilities

Editors are responsible for ensuring the overall integrity and quality of AJQR. They must:

  • Base publication decisions on the manuscript’s scholarly merit, originality, and relevance to the journal’s scope.
  • Ensure that the peer review process is fair, transparent, and unbiased.
  • Address any ethical concerns or conflicts that arise before or after publication.
  • Publish corrections or retractions as needed, following COPE’s ethical guidelines.
  • Maintain confidentiality regarding the identities of authors and reviewers.

12. Addressing Ethical Misconduct

AJQR takes allegations of ethical misconduct seriously, whether it involves authors, reviewers, or editors. When misconduct is suspected, AJQR follows a thorough and fair process, including:

  • Initial Investigation: The editor will investigate the misconduct claim by gathering evidence and contacting those involved.
  • Resolution and Sanctions: Depending on the findings, AJQR may take actions such as:
    • Issuing corrections or retractions.
    • Notifying the authors’ institution.
    • Imposing bans on future submissions.
    • Reporting to relevant organizations like COPE.

13. Confidentiality

It is important that authors and peer-reviewers handle all information carefully and that informants and research subjects are protected in respect of confidentiality.

Across the scholarly disciplines, there are variations in practice and standards around privacy and confidentiality. In educational sciences, written consent of subjects or their parents/caretakers is important. This must be obtained where relevant, such as in questionnaire, observation or intervention studies, and must be available for the journal to see if requested. Authors should strive to treat the privacy of research subjects with as much care as possible and anonymize the data unless otherwise requested by the participant.

The journal's policy requires that authors who discuss a clinical trial, demonstrate that the clinical trial is registered in a publicly accessible database. Authors should include the name of the trial register and their clinical trial registration number at the end of their abstract. If you wish the editor[s] to consider an unregistered trial, please explain briefly why the trial has not been registered.

14. Funding

Readers should know who funded the research project or the publication of a document. This can be public or private funding through a charity or government department, university or commercial company. And so:

  • Funders of a paper, in the form of persons, organizations, research institutions, companies or any other form should be mentioned.
  • The role of the research funders or any other research contributors in the design or preparation of the article should be mentioned, if they are not mentioned in the list of authors. They can, for example, be mentioned in acknowledgment.
  • If a funder wants to publish a supplement or separate section in an alternative publication within 2 years of publication in AJQR, they should ask for the permission of Center for Ethnic and Cultural Studies. Applications will be handled on a case by case basis.

15. Ethical Research Involving Vulnerable Populations

Special care must be taken when conducting research involving vulnerable populations, including children, elderly individuals, and refugees. Researchers must:

  • Obtain informed consent from participants or legal guardians.
  • Minimize the risk of emotional, psychological, or physical harm.
  • Ensure confidentiality by anonymizing data and safeguarding participant identities.

16. Disclaimer

The views, opinions, and content expressed in articles published by AJQR are solely the responsibility of the individual authors. AJQR does not assume responsibility for the accuracy or originality of the content. Authors are responsible for proofreading and ensuring the validity of their research data.