Our Policies

JIRMI does not currently accept advertising or sponsored content of any kind — not on the website, and not within published articles. The journal is funded solely through the Article Processing Fee described on our Article Processing Fee page.

Advertising can create a real or perceived conflict of interest for a journal. We believe readers and authors are better served by knowing exactly where our funding comes from. No advertiser, sponsor, or commercial party has any influence over which papers JIRMI accepts, rejects, or publishes.

Should JIRMI introduce advertising in the future, we commit to the following principles:

• Advertising decisions will be made by the editorial office and kept entirely separate from decisions about which manuscripts to accept or publish.
• Advertisements will be clearly labelled and visually distinct from editorial content.
• No advertisement will be placed next to, or linked to, an article covering the same product, treatment, or subject.
• We will not accept advertising that is misleading, or that promotes anything illegal or harmful.

This page will be updated to reflect any change before any advertising appears on the site.

JIRMI is committed to upholding the highest standards of research integrity, transparency, and ethical publication. This policy establishes clear guidelines for the appropriate and ethical use of AI tools in all stages of scholarly communication involving JIRMI — covering authors, reviewers, and editorial team members.

Authors may use AI tools for language editing, grammar correction, summarisation, image enhancement, or data visualisation, subject to:

• Disclosure Required: Authors must declare any AI use in a dedicated section of the manuscript (e.g., "Acknowledgements" or "Author Contributions").
• Human Oversight: Authors are solely responsible for all content — including the accuracy, originality, and ethical integrity of AI-generated or AI-assisted outputs.
• No AI Authorship: AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Claude) must not be listed as co-authors. Only accountable human contributors qualify for authorship credit.

• Undisclosed AI Use in generating substantive manuscript content (e.g., literature reviews, discussion sections) is prohibited.
• Fabrication or Falsification of data, references, tables, or figures using AI is strictly forbidden.
• AI-Induced Plagiarism must be avoided. Authors must use AI output responsibly and check for inadvertent copying.

• Confidentiality: Manuscript content must not be shared with AI tools that retain or train on input data (e.g., public versions of ChatGPT).
• AI Assistance: Reviewers may use AI tools for grammar enhancement or summarising public information, but must not delegate evaluative judgement to AI.
• Transparency Encouraged: Reviewers should notify the Editor if AI was used to support their assessment.

Editorial members may employ AI tools to assist with plagiarism checks, initial manuscript screening, and language polishing, provided human supervision and discretion are always maintained.

AI must not be used for making acceptance or rejection decisions without human oversight, or for generating editorial commentary without proper review and validation.

• COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines
• ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors) authorship criteria
• UNESCO's Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (2021)

This policy is reviewed annually or as required to stay current with technological and ethical developments.

JIRMI is committed to publishing original scholarship and upholding academic integrity across every discipline. This policy explains how we screen for plagiarism, what authors are responsible for, and how integrity concerns are handled.

Academic publishing depends on trust. JIRMI screens every submission for originality and expects every author, reviewer, and editor to treat proper attribution as non-negotiable, regardless of subject area or career stage. A manuscript found to contain plagiarised material at any stage will not proceed, or will be corrected or retracted if already published.

Every manuscript is checked using plagiarism-detection software before peer review. The software compares submitted text against published journals, theses, preprint repositories, and web content.

• A similarity report is generated for every submission, without exception.
• The editorial team reads the report rather than relying on the percentage alone — a high score from properly quoted material is treated differently from unattributed copying.
• Manuscripts flagged for extensive unattributed overlap are returned for revision or rejected outright.
• Screening is repeated on revised versions before acceptance.

• Ensure the manuscript is your own work and correctly cites all sources.
• Obtain permission before citing unpublished data or personal communications belonging to someone else.
• Confirm, when signing JIRMI's originality declarations, that the manuscript has not been plagiarised from any source.
• Ensure all co-authors have reviewed the final manuscript and can vouch for the originality of their contributed sections.

• Short quotations (up to one or two sentences) must be placed in quotation marks with a citation.
• Longer excerpts — a full paragraph or more — must be clearly formatted, cited, and kept to the minimum necessary. Rights holder permission is required for substantial excerpts.
• Paraphrased material still requires a citation to the original source, even where no words are directly copied.

• Working papers, preprints, conference papers, and thesis chapters generally do not count as self-plagiarism when submitted to JIRMI for the first time as a journal article, provided this prior version is disclosed in the cover letter.
• Reusing sections of your own previously published journal article requires citation to that publication and, where the publisher holds copyright, their permission.
• Submitting substantially the same article to more than one journal simultaneously is not permitted and is treated as a serious integrity breach.

Stage Detected	Typical Outcome
During screening, before review	Manuscript returned to author or rejected
During peer review	Manuscript rejected; reviewers and editor notified
After acceptance, before publication	Publication withheld pending author response
After publication	Correction, Expression of Concern, or Retraction depending on severity

This policy explains what happens if you want to cancel your submission after paying the Article Processing Fee (APC), and when you can get your money back. It does not cover editorial decisions such as acceptance or rejection — those are explained in our Review Process page.

Stage of Your Paper	What You Get if You Cancel
Fee paid, but editing/formatting not yet started	Partial refund
Editing, formatting, or publication preparation already started	No refund
Paper already published	No refund

• Your paper is not published due to a mistake on our part.
• You accidentally paid the fee more than once for the same paper.

In both cases, write to us and we will refund the full amount.

• After your paper has been published.
• If your paper is rejected or retracted because of something you did — for example, plagiarism, fabricated data, or breaking our author rules.

1. Email editor@jirmi.in with the subject line "Cancellation Request — [your Manuscript ID]".
2. Tell us why you want to cancel.
3. We will reply within 3 working days.
4. If a refund is due, we send it to your original payment method within 14 working days.

• No editorial influence: Asking for a refund or a fee waiver never affects whether your paper is accepted, rejected, or published. Editorial decisions are made solely on the quality of the research.
• Fee waivers: If you were given a full fee waiver, you did not pay anything, so there is nothing to refund. See our Article Processing Fee page for waiver eligibility.

JIRMI uses a rigorous double-blind peer review process for every submitted manuscript. This policy describes how that process flows — from initial submission through editorial decision — and the obligations of all parties involved.

1. The author submits a manuscript via the online submission system. An acknowledgement is sent confirming receipt.
2. The Editor-in-Chief conducts initial screening for scope, formatting, and formal requirements. Manuscripts not meeting requirements are desk-rejected.
3. Suitable manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review by a minimum of two independent anonymous experts — neither reviewers nor authors know each other's identities.
4. Reviewers submit their reports and recommendations to the Editor-in-Chief.
5. The Editor-in-Chief makes one of four decisions: Accept / Accept After Revision / Resubmit / Reject.
6. If revision is required, authors incorporate changes in track-changes mode and resubmit. Multiple rounds may occur until the manuscript is deemed suitable.
7. Accepted manuscripts proceed to Copy Editing, Layout, and Proof stages before publication.

Each manuscript is evaluated on:

• Originality of contribution (plagiarism and AI screening via Turnitin)
• Soundness of theory and methodology given the topic
• Coherence of analysis and argument
• Ability to communicate clearly to readers (grammar and style)
• Relevance to JIRMI's scope and readership

• Only agree to review manuscripts within your subject expertise and that you can assess in a timely manner.
• Treat manuscripts as confidential documents — do not share content, during or after review.
• Do not use information from peer review for personal advantage or to disadvantage others.
• Declare all potential conflicts of interest before accepting an assignment.
• Be objective and constructive — personal criticism of the author is inappropriate.
• Do not allow reviews to be influenced by the nationality, religion, gender, or institutional affiliation of the authors.
• Notify the editorial office immediately if you cannot complete your review within the agreed timeframe.

Recommendation	Meaning
Accept without revision	Manuscript is suitable for publication in its current form
Accept after revision	Manuscript will be ready after light revisions
Resubmit	Major changes required; manuscript must be resubmitted for new evaluation
Reject	Manuscript is not suitable for publication in JIRMI

All reviewers act independently and are unaware of each other's identities. If the two reviewers reach conflicting decisions, the Editor-in-Chief may assign additional reviewers. The final decision on acceptance rests solely with the Editor-in-Chief.

Where authors have serious and reasonable objections to a review, the Editorial Board will assess whether the review meets academic standards. If objectivity is in doubt, additional reviewers are assigned.

This policy follows the guidance of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics). An appeal is for when you believe there was a clear error in how your manuscript was handled. A complaint is about the conduct of an editor or reviewer, unreasonable delays, or how the journal is being run.

An appeal is not simply a disagreement with a reviewer's scholarly judgement. You can appeal if:

• A reviewer appears to have misunderstood a central part of your paper.
• A conflict of interest affecting the review was not disclosed.
• The review process did not follow JIRMI's own stated procedure.

1. Email editor@jirmi.in within 30 days of the decision, with the subject line "Appeal — [your Manuscript ID]".
2. Explain the specific grounds for your appeal and respond directly to the reviewer comments you are contesting.
3. Your appeal is reviewed by an editor who was not involved in the original decision.
4. We aim to communicate the outcome within 15 working days.

The outcome of an appeal is final. JIRMI does not accept a second appeal on the same manuscript.

1. Email editor@jirmi.in with the subject line "Complaint — [brief description]".
2. If your complaint concerns the Editor-in-Chief personally, say so in your email — it will be reviewed by a different board member.
3. We acknowledge complaints within 3 working days.
4. Your complaint is investigated fairly, confidentially, and without conflict of interest, and you will be told the outcome once resolved.

Open access only means something if the research stays available. This policy explains how JIRMI keeps published articles accessible — now, and in the event the journal ever stopped publishing. Once an article is published, readers and authors should be able to rely on it staying online and citable — not just today, but years from now.

• Regular Backups: The full website and all published content are backed up on a regular schedule and stored separately from the live site.
• Permanent DOIs: Every accepted article is assigned a Crossref DOI, keeping its citation record valid and discoverable independent of any single website.
• Author Self-Archiving: Authors are encouraged to deposit a copy of their accepted article in an institutional repository or an academic network such as ResearchGate or Academia.edu.
• Web Archiving: JIRMI's published content is discoverable to general web archiving services such as the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, providing an independent snapshot outside our own hosting.

Most established open-access journals rely on one or more independent, third-party preservation services:

• CLOCKSS and Portico are "dark archives" — they hold a hidden copy that only becomes public if the journal disappears.
• PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) is a free equivalent, but only works for journals running the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform.
• Institutional repositories and academic networks provide further independent copies at no cost to the journal.

Should this happen, JIRMI is committed to ensuring all already-published articles remain accessible to readers, and will publish clear instructions on this page for how to continue accessing them.

JIRMI is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of every author, reviewer, reader, and editorial board member who interacts with the journal. This policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, and your rights over it.

• Authors: Name, institutional affiliation, email address, ORCID iD, manuscript content, correspondence, and payment information (where applicable).
• Reviewers: Name, institutional affiliation, email address, subject expertise, and review reports.
• Readers & Website Visitors: Usage data collected through analytics tools (page visits, browser type, device type). No personally identifiable data is collected without consent.

• To manage the submission, peer review, and publication process.
• To communicate with authors and reviewers about their manuscripts.
• To issue DOIs and assign publication records via Crossref.
• To comply with legal obligations and publishing standards.
• To improve our editorial workflow and website experience.

JIRMI does not sell, rent, or share personal data with third parties for commercial purposes. Data may be shared with:

• Crossref (for DOI registration) — as part of standard publishing practice.
• Plagiarism screening service providers — manuscript text only, handled under confidentiality agreements.
• Regulatory or legal authorities — only where required by applicable law.

Published article data is retained indefinitely as part of the permanent scholarly record. Unpublished manuscript data and reviewer identities are retained for a minimum of 5 years in accordance with COPE guidelines, then securely deleted.

• The right to access the personal data JIRMI holds about you.
• The right to request correction of inaccurate data.
• The right to request deletion of your data (subject to legal and publication-record obligations).
• The right to withdraw consent for data processing where consent was the legal basis.