Policies

Policy Index

Peer Review Policy and Process
Authorship and Contributions Policy
Competing Interests and Conflict of Interest Policy
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy
Copyright, Licensing, and Self-Archiving Policy
Digital Preservation and Archiving Policy
Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) and Persistent Identifier Policy
Post-Publication Amendments: Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern
Plagiarism, Originality, and Text Recycling Policy
Research Data Sharing and Availability Policy
Research and Publication Misconduct Policy
Preprint Policy
Open Access Policy and Licensing
Funding and Financial Support Policy
Revenue Sources and Financial Transparency
Advertising Policy
Direct Marketing and Communications Policy
Privacy and Data Protection Policy
Accessibility Statement
Supplementary Materials Policy
Duties and Responsibilities of Editors
Duplicate and Redundant Publication Policy
Appeals and Complaints Policy
Images, Figures, and Digital Integrity Policy
Standards of Reporting and Academic Transparency

Peer Review Policy and Process

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences is committed to the Core Practices and guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1. Double-Anonymized Peer Review

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences employs a rigorous double-anonymized peer review process for all submitted manuscripts. Following an initial editorial screening by the Editor-in-Chief, eligible submissions are assigned to a Handling Editor and evaluated independently by at least two expert reviewers. Throughout the review process, the identities of the authors are strictly concealed from the reviewers, and the identities of the reviewers are strictly concealed from the authors.

2. Review Timeline

Authors can expect to receive an initial editorial decision within 8–10 weeks of formal submission. The editorial team will proactively communicate any anticipated delays beyond this timeframe. The journal is committed to providing timely, constructive, and fair peer review for all submissions.

3. Reviewer Selection and Qualifications

Reviewers are selected on the basis of their subject expertise, active publication record, and absence of conflicts of interest with the authors or their institutions. The editorial team verifies reviewer credentials via ORCID profiles and institutional affiliations. Reviewers are typically drawn from a pool of international experts spanning multiple countries to ensure geographic diversity and objectivity.

4. Reviewer Confidentiality and AI Restrictions

All submitted manuscripts are privileged, confidential documents. Reviewers must maintain strict confidentiality throughout the review process and may not share, discuss, or retain manuscript content beyond the completion of their assigned review. Reviewers are strictly prohibited from uploading submitted manuscripts, in whole or in part, into any public Generative AI tool (including but not limited to ChatGPT, Gemini, or similar services), as doing so constitutes a breach of author confidentiality and intellectual property rights. Reviewers are expected to follow the COPE guidelines for peer reviewers throughout the review process.

5. Competing Interests for Reviewers

Reviewers must declare any potential conflicts of interest (financial, academic, institutional, or personal) before accepting a review invitation. This includes prior or current collaboration with the authors, competitive academic relationships, or institutional affiliations that may compromise objectivity. Editors will determine whether an identified conflict is sufficiently significant to preclude review.

6. Editorial Decision Making

Although the editorial board values and relies upon the assessments of peer reviewers, the final decision regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection rests solely with the Editor-in-Chief and the Handling Editor. Editorial decisions are based exclusively on the manuscript's scientific merit, originality, and compliance with the journal's aims and ethical standards, entirely independent of commercial, institutional, or political influence.

7. Appeals Against Editorial Decisions

Authors who wish to appeal a rejection or other editorial decision must submit a formal, evidence-based letter to the Editorial Office within 30 days of the decision notice. An appeal will be considered only where the author can demonstrate a material factual error in the review process, or where substantial new evidence is provided that directly addresses the specific concerns raised by reviewers or editors. Disagreement with a reviewer's opinion, without additional evidence, will not constitute grounds for appeal. Appeals are assessed by the Editor-in-Chief or a senior Editorial Board member with no prior involvement in the manuscript. The decision following an appeal is final.

8. Reviewer Recognition

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences participates in the Web of Science Reviewer Recognition service. Reviewers who complete peer review assignments via the journal's editorial system are eligible to record their reviewing activity on their Web of Science researcher profile. The journal values the contribution of peer reviewers and is committed to acknowledging their service to the academic community.

Authorship and Contributions Policy

1. Criteria for Authorship

Authorship credit is reserved for individuals who have made substantive intellectual contributions to the work. All of the following four ICMJE criteria must be satisfied:

Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; AND
Drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content; AND
Final approval of the version to be published; AND
Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work, including investigating and resolving questions about the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work.

Participation limited solely to funding acquisition, data collection, or general supervision of the research group does not justify authorship. Artificial Intelligence tools and Large Language Models (LLMs) do not meet the criteria for authorship and must not be listed as authors or co-authors under any circumstances.

2. Corresponding Author

One author must be designated as the Corresponding Author prior to submission. The Corresponding Author assumes primary responsibility for all communication with the journal and is responsible for ensuring that all listed co-authors satisfy the authorship criteria, have approved the final version, and have consented to submission. The Corresponding Author's institutional email address and ORCID iD will be published on the article page.

3. Non-Author Contributors

Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet all four authorship criteria should not be listed as authors. Their contributions should be acknowledged in a dedicated Acknowledgements section. The Corresponding Author must obtain explicit permission from all individuals named in the Acknowledgements before submission.

4. Changes to Authorship

Authors are strongly advised to finalise the author list and sequence before the initial submission. Any request to add, remove, or rearrange authors must be submitted before formal acceptance and requires: (1) a clear written justification from the Corresponding Author; and (2) written confirmation from all original authors, including the author being added or removed, of their agreement with the change. Post-acceptance authorship changes are prohibited except in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

5. Authorship Misconduct

Ghost authorship (excluding individuals who qualify for authorship) and guest or gift authorship (including individuals who did not make meaningful contributions) are serious violations of publication ethics and will be investigated in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Competing Interests and Conflict of Interest Policy

To maintain the highest level of transparency and public trust in the scientific process, Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences requires all authors, peer reviewers, and editors to fully disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their work or assessments.

For Authors

Authors must include a "Competing Interests" declaration in the Statements and Declarations section of their manuscript. Interests within the past 36 months that are directly or indirectly related to the submitted work must be disclosed. This includes:

Financial interests: employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership, paid expert testimony, patents held or pending
Non-financial interests: unpaid advisory board memberships, personal or professional relationships with competing researchers, strong political or ideological positions relevant to the research content

Authors may use the ICMJE Disclosure of Interest form to help identify and disclose relevant interests.

For Peer Reviewers

Reviewers must declare any potential conflicts of interest before accepting a review assignment. Editors will determine whether the conflict is sufficiently material to preclude the reviewer's participation.

For Editors

Editors must recuse themselves from handling any manuscript in which they have a competing interest, including co-authorship relationships, institutional affiliations with the submitting authors, or competitive academic interests. Manuscripts submitted by editorial board members are handled by an independent editor designated by the Editor-in-Chief, with the submitting editor excluded from all decision-making processes.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

1. AI Use by Authors: Acceptable Use

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences recognises that Generative AI tools (such as Large Language Models and AI-assisted writing tools) may be used to improve the readability, grammar, and clarity of human-generated academic text. Authors may use AI tools solely for this purpose.

2. AI and Authorship

AI tools do not meet the criteria for authorship. Authorship carries legal and ethical responsibilities that can only be fulfilled by human contributors. Authors must not list any AI tool as an author or co-author. Authors are fully accountable for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of all content, including AI-assisted portions. Because AI can generate incorrect, incomplete, or biased output, authors must carefully review and verify all AI-generated text before submission. This position is consistent with the COPE Position Statement on authorship and AI tools.

3. Mandatory Disclosure

If any generative AI tool was used in the writing process, authors must declare this in the "Statements and Declarations" section of the manuscript and in the cover letter. The disclosure must specify the name and version of the tool, and the specific purpose for which it was used. Basic tools used only for spelling and grammar checking do not require disclosure.

4. Restrictions on Data and Visual Content

Generative AI must not be used to fabricate, alter, or misrepresent original research data, findings, or visual materials. AI generation of scientific figures, charts, or research images is prohibited. Exceptions may be considered for manuscripts specifically researching AI technologies, subject to editorial review.

5. AI Use by Peer Reviewers

Reviewers are strictly prohibited from uploading submitted manuscripts, in whole or in part, into any public generative AI tool. Peer review depends on the independent expert judgment of qualified human reviewers, and this obligation may not be delegated to AI systems. If a reviewer uses AI solely to improve the grammar of their review report, without submitting manuscript content to the AI tool, they must disclose this to the handling editor.

6. AI Use by Editors

Editors must not use generative AI tools to evaluate manuscripts or to assist in editorial decision-making. This restriction applies to all stages of the editorial process, from initial screening through to acceptance or rejection decisions.

Copyright, Licensing, and Self-Archiving Policy

1. Copyright Retention

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences operates as a fully Open Access journal. Authors retain copyright and all publishing rights to their work. By submitting a manuscript, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive licence to publish, format, and distribute the article in all media and formats.

2. Open Access Licensing (CC BY 4.0)

All articles published in the journal are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Under this licence, any party may freely share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercially), provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s), a link to the licence is provided, and any changes made are clearly indicated.

3. Embedded Copyright Notice

The following standardised copyright statement will appear in the footer of every published article PDF:

"ISSN: 2518-9263 / © [Year] The Author(s). Published by Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)."

4. Self-Archiving Rights (Sherpa/RoMEO: Green)

Authors are explicitly permitted and encouraged to deposit any version of their article, including the preprint, the accepted manuscript (Author Accepted Manuscript, AAM), and the final published Version of Record (VoR), in institutional repositories, subject repositories, preprint servers, personal websites, and academic social networks (including ResearchGate and Academia.edu) with zero embargo period. Any deposited version must include a full citation to the definitive published article in Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences and a link to the published DOI.

Digital Preservation and Archiving Policy

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences recognises the fundamental importance of ensuring the long-term preservation and perpetual accessibility of its published scholarly record. To this end, the journal has implemented a multi-layer digital preservation strategy.

Preservation Services

Service	Type	Notes
CLOCKSS	Dark archive (triggered access)	Primary preservation service. Content released under open-access CC licence upon trigger event (publisher insolvency, journal discontinuation, catastrophic failure). CLOCKSS entry: https://clockss.org/digital-archive-community/participating-publishers/
Iraqi Academic Scientific Journals	National archive	Supplementary national preservation repository. URL: https://iasj.rdd.edu.iq/journals/journal/view/52

Content is deposited in all preservation services upon publication of each issue. In the event that the journal ceases publication, all preserved content will be released and made freely available to the global scholarly community.

Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) and Persistent Identifier Policy

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences assigns a unique, permanent Digital Object Identifier (DOI), registered through Crossref, to every article accepted for publication. DOIs are registered and activated prior to online publication and are displayed prominently on each article landing page in the format: https://doi.org/[DOI].

Author ORCIDs

The journal collects Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID) iDs for all contributing authors at the time of submission. ORCID iDs are displayed on published article metadata pages and deposited with Crossref to enable automatic updates to author profiles. Authors who do not yet have an ORCID iD are strongly encouraged to register at https://orcid.org. Registration is free and takes less than five minutes.

Crossref Metadata Deposit

The journal deposits complete bibliographic metadata for all published articles through Crossref, including title, authors, affiliations, ORCIDs, abstract, keywords, funding information, and reference lists (where available). This ensures maximum discoverability in Crossref, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science.

Post-Publication Amendments: Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences attaches the highest importance to maintaining the integrity and trustworthiness of the scholarly record. All post-publication amendments are evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief in strict accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

When a post-publication amendment is required, the journal will issue a formal, permanently linked notice. The original article will remain accessible. Three types of notices may be issued:

Corrections (Erratum / Corrigendum)

A Correction notice will be issued to address honest errors of fact that affect the accuracy of the article but do not substantially invalidate the overall results and conclusions. Corrections are published as quickly as possible after the error is identified, bidirectionally linked to the original article via DOI, and dated.

Expressions of Concern

An Expression of Concern is an interim notice used to alert readers to major, credible concerns about the reliability of a publication where an investigation is ongoing or where conclusive evidence cannot yet be obtained. An Expression of Concern may subsequently be superseded by a Correction or Retraction notice.

Retractions

An article will be retracted when there is clear evidence that the findings are fundamentally unreliable, whether due to major scientific error, data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or duplicate publication. The retracted article will remain visible in its original location, permanently watermarked as "Retracted", and bidirectionally linked to a retraction notice explaining the reasons for the decision. Retraction notices are freely available to all readers. This process follows the COPE guidelines on retractions.

Article Removal

In highly exceptional circumstances involving defamatory content, legal rights violations, court orders, or immediate public safety risks, article content may be removed and replaced by a tombstone page containing the bibliographic metadata and a notice explaining the removal.

Plagiarism, Originality, and Text Recycling Policy

1. Core Principle of Originality

All submitted manuscripts must represent the authors' original academic work. Plagiarism in all forms, including presenting another person's work as one's own, copying or closely paraphrasing material without proper attribution, claiming ideas or data produced by others, or inappropriate text recycling (self-plagiarism), is considered a serious violation of publication ethics and is strictly prohibited.

2. Plagiarism Screening

All submitted manuscripts are screened using professional similarity-detection software (Turnitin or iThenticate) before peer review. In accordance with COPE guidelines, the journal does not apply a fixed numerical similarity threshold. Instead, the editorial board qualitatively evaluates the nature, context, and extent of any overlapping material identified in similarity reports. Manuscripts found to contain deliberate plagiarism will be immediately rejected without review.

3. Self-Plagiarism and Secondary Publication

Reusing substantial portions of an author's own previously published work without transparent disclosure and appropriate citation constitutes self-plagiarism and is not acceptable. Authors who previously published related findings, including theses, conference abstracts, or preprints, must disclose this in the cover letter and cite the earlier work appropriately within the manuscript.

4. Post-Publication Discovery

If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the journal will initiate a formal investigation in accordance with COPE flowcharts. This investigation may result in a retraction of the article and formal notification of the authors' affiliated institutions.

1. Mandatory Data Availability Statement

All manuscripts submitted to Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences must include a mandatory Data Availability Statement (DAS), placed before the reference list. This statement must clearly indicate where the supporting research data can be accessed, or provide a valid justification if sharing is not feasible due to privacy, legal, or ethical constraints.

2. Approved Data Repositories

Authors are encouraged to deposit their supporting data in publicly recognised, persistent repositories. Approved repositories include:

Zenodo: https://zenodo.org (multi-disciplinary, free)
Dryad: https://datadryad.org (social and life sciences)
Open Science Framework (OSF): https://osf.io
Mendeley Data: https://data.mendeley.com
Institutional repositories maintained by the authors' universities

3. FAIR Data Principles

The journal supports internationally recognised FAIR data principles. Deposited data should be: Findable (assigned a persistent DOI); Accessible (retrievable via an open protocol); Interoperable (using community-standard formats and vocabularies); and Reusable (accompanied by a clear licence and sufficient metadata for others to understand and reproduce the work).

4. Code and Software Sharing

For research involving computational methods, simulation, or data analysis scripts, authors are strongly encouraged to deposit their analysis code and software in a version-controlled repository (GitHub or GitLab) with a persistent DOI assigned via Zenodo. The software must be cited in the reference list with the tool name, version number, and DOI.

5. Data Citation

Deposited datasets are recognised as citable academic resources. Authors must formally cite any deposited dataset in the manuscript's reference list in addition to referencing it in the Data Availability Statement. Citations should include the dataset title, authors, year, repository name, and persistent DOI.

Research and Publication Misconduct Policy

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity. All forms of research and publication misconduct are taken seriously and will be investigated in accordance with COPE guidelines and flowcharts.

Categories of Misconduct

Fabrication: Invention or creation of research findings or data that did not actually occur.
Falsification: Misleading alteration, omission, or selective presentation of research materials or findings.
Plagiarism: Presenting others' work, ideas, or data as one's own without proper attribution.
Duplicate and Redundant Publication: Submitting the same work to multiple journals simultaneously, or fragmenting one study into multiple publications without justification.
Authorship Misconduct: Ghost authorship (excluding qualifying contributors) or gift authorship (including non-contributing names).
Citation Manipulation: Excessive self-citation, citation cartels, or reviewer-coerced citation.
Image Manipulation: Altering, removing, or artificially enhancing visual research materials in a misleading manner.
Peer Review Manipulation: Attempting to influence the peer review process through false reviewer identities, coercion, or undisclosed conflicts of interest.

Consequences of Confirmed Misconduct

If misconduct is confirmed, the journal may take one or more of the following actions in accordance with COPE recommendations: rejection of the manuscript; publication of a correction or retraction; notification of the authors' affiliated institutions; notification of relevant funding bodies; and reporting to relevant professional organisations.

Preprint Policy

1. Definition and General Policy

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences supports open academic communication and the early dissemination of research findings. Authors are permitted to post preprint versions of their manuscripts on recognised preprint platforms, institutional repositories, or personal academic websites before, during, or after submission to the journal. Posting a preprint does not constitute prior publication and does not prevent consideration for publication.

2. Acceptable Preprint Platforms

Recognised non-commercial preprint platforms include: SSRN (social sciences), OSF Preprints (multi-disciplinary), EarthArXiv (earth sciences), PsyArXiv (psychology), Humanities Commons (humanities), SocArXiv (social sciences), and institutional repositories. Authors submitting to the journal must disclose the existence of any preprint version in the cover letter, providing the preprint URL or DOI.

3. Updating the Preprint Record

Upon formal publication of the article, authors are responsible for updating the preprint record with the published DOI and a link to the final published version. Authors may also update the preprint to reflect the accepted manuscript, in accordance with the journal's CC BY 4.0 open access policy (zero embargo).

4. Media Communication of Preprints

Authors who discuss posted preprints publicly or through media channels must clearly indicate that the manuscript has not yet completed formal peer review and that the conclusions presented are preliminary and may change following the editorial process.

Open Access Policy and Licensing

1. Immediate Open Access

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences is a fully Open Access journal. All published articles are freely and permanently accessible online immediately upon publication. Readers are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, and link to the full texts of all articles without subscription, paywall, or registration barriers.

2. Creative Commons Licensing (CC BY 4.0)

All published content is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). Authors retain copyright. Readers and users are granted the right to share and adapt the material for any purpose, including commercial use, provided appropriate credit is given to the original authors and the journal.

3. Article Processing Charges

To sustain Open Access dissemination, the journal applies an Article Processing Charge (APC) upon formal acceptance of manuscripts. There are no submission fees or screening charges. APC structure: International authors (outside Iraq): USD 172 · Authors affiliated with Iraqi institutions: IQD 250,000. Full waivers are available for authors based in World Bank-classified low-income countries. Waiver requests should be indicated during the submission process. APC payment has no influence on editorial decisions.

Funding and Financial Support Policy

All authors are required to transparently declare all sources of financial support that facilitated the conduct of the research and the preparation of the manuscript. The Funding Statement must appear in the Statements and Declarations section and must include:

The full name of the funding organisation(s)
The specific grant number(s) or unique funder identifier(s)
The name of the author(s) who received the funding
An explicit statement describing the role of the funder in study design, data collection, analysis, reporting, and the decision to publish, or a statement that the funder had no such role

If the research received no external funding, the statement must still be included with the declaration: "This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors."

Revenue Sources and Financial Transparency

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences is published with the institutional support of the College of Education (Ibn Rushd) for Human Sciences, University of Baghdad, Republic of Iraq. The journal's operational costs are partially offset by Article Processing Charges (APCs) levied upon acceptance of peer-reviewed manuscripts, in accordance with the APC structure detailed in the Open Access Policy.

The journal does not receive revenue from commercial advertising, sponsored content, reprint sales, or third-party commercial arrangements. There are no submission fees, review fees, or page charges. The University of Baghdad provides institutional infrastructure support, including editorial management systems and administrative resources. All sources of revenue are disclosed in the interests of full transparency to authors, readers, and indexing databases.

Advertising Policy

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences does not currently carry third-party commercial advertising in any form, print, digital, or otherwise. All editorial decisions regarding the acceptance, rejection, revision, or retraction of manuscripts are made exclusively on academic merit and are entirely independent of any commercial, financial, or institutional interests.

Should the journal elect to carry advertising in the future, the following policy will apply: (1) all advertising will be clearly distinguished from editorial and research content; (2) advertising decisions will be subject to editorial approval to ensure alignment with the journal's academic mission and values; (3) the journal will not carry advertising for products or services inconsistent with its mission or professional standards; (4) all advertising revenue will be disclosed in the journal's annual revenue transparency statement; (5) advertisers will have no influence whatsoever on editorial decision-making.

Direct Marketing and Communications Policy

All communications issued by or on behalf of Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences, including manuscript solicitations, promotional emails, calls for reviewers, and announcements of special issues, will accurately and honestly describe the journal, its scope, editorial standards, peer review process, and current indexation status.

The journal will not make false or misleading claims regarding its Impact Factor, citation metrics, acceptance rates, or indexation in databases in which it is not currently listed. Any claims regarding indexation must be verified and current at the time of publication. All bulk electronic communications will be conducted in compliance with applicable data protection legislation and will provide recipients with a clear, functional option to unsubscribe from future communications.

Privacy and Data Protection Policy

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of all individuals who interact with the journal, including authors, peer reviewers, editorial board members, and website visitors.

Data Collected

The journal collects and processes the following categories of personal data: names and academic titles; institutional affiliations; email addresses; ORCID iDs; telephone numbers (for editorial communication only); manuscript content and peer review reports; payment information (for APC transactions only, processed securely by the payment provider).

Legal Basis for Processing

Personal data is processed on the following legal bases: (a) Performance of a contract: to manage the submission, peer review, and publication process; (b) Legitimate interests: to maintain the integrity of the scientific record and the peer review system; (c) Consent: for inclusion in reviewer and author communications databases.

Data Retention

Personal data associated with published articles is retained for a minimum of 10 years following publication. Data associated with rejected manuscripts is retained for a maximum of 5 years. Peer review data is retained for a minimum of 10 years to support any future misconduct investigations.

Your Rights

Data subjects whose data is processed by the journal have the right to: access their personal data; request correction of inaccurate data; request restriction of processing; object to processing based on legitimate interests; and request erasure of data, subject to overriding legitimate interests of the academic record. Requests regarding personal data should be directed to the Editorial Office at .

Third Parties

The journal does not sell or share personal data with third parties for commercial purposes. Third-party service providers (including the manuscript management system and payment processors) are engaged under appropriate data processing agreements that ensure personal data is protected to the same standard as the journal's own practices.

Accessibility Statement

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences is committed to ensuring that its website and published content are accessible to all readers, including those with disabilities, in accordance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA.

Accessibility Commitments

All images, figures, and charts published in articles include descriptive alternative text to support screen reader users.
The journal website maintains a minimum colour contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for all body text, in compliance with WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.4.3.
The journal website is navigable using a keyboard alone, without requiring a mouse or pointing device.
All published PDF articles are produced as tagged, accessible PDFs in accordance with the PDF/UA standard, ensuring compatibility with screen readers and assistive technologies.
Video or audio content hosted on the journal platform is accompanied by captions or written transcripts.

Feedback and Reasonable Accommodations

We are actively working to improve the accessibility of our website and published content. If you encounter an accessibility barrier, or if you require content in an alternative accessible format, please contact the Editorial Office at . We are committed to responding to accessibility requests within 5 working days.

Supplementary Materials Policy

Authors may submit supplementary materials that support the findings of their manuscript but are not essential to the main narrative and would interrupt the flow of the main article. Supplementary materials are published online alongside the article and are subject to the same peer review as the main manuscript.

Accepted Supplementary File Types

Additional data tables (in Excel or CSV format)
Extended methods descriptions or protocols
Additional figures, charts, or images
Research instruments (questionnaires, survey forms, coding schemes)
Analysis code and scripts (with a persistent DOI from Zenodo or GitHub)

Requirements for Supplementary Materials

Each supplementary item must be referenced within the main manuscript (e.g., "see Supplementary Table S1").
Supplementary materials must be clearly labelled (S1, S2, S3, etc.).
Datasets submitted as supplementary materials should also be formally deposited in an approved data repository and cited in the reference list with a persistent DOI.
Supplementary materials containing data essential for replication of the main findings should be deposited in a public data repository rather than submitted as supplementary files.

Duties and Responsibilities of Editors

1. Editorial Independence

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board hold full and independent responsibility for determining which submitted manuscripts are accepted for publication. Editorial decisions are based solely on the manuscript's academic merit, originality, clarity, and relevance to the journal's scope. No commercial, financial, institutional, or political interests may influence editorial decisions. In accordance with principles of fairness and inclusion, editorial decisions must not be influenced by the authors' nationality, gender, religious beliefs, cultural background, institutional affiliation, or political views.

2. Confidentiality

Submitted manuscripts are confidential academic documents. Editors must not disclose information regarding submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the corresponding author, designated peer reviewers, and the publisher. Unpublished materials or ideas disclosed in submitted manuscripts must not be used in an editor's own academic research without the explicit written permission of the authors. Editors are prohibited from uploading submitted manuscripts into generative AI tools at any stage of the editorial process.

3. Conflicts of Interest and Recusal

Editors must disclose any competing interests, including financial, professional, institutional, or personal relationships, that may affect their objectivity in evaluating a submission. Editors must recuse themselves from handling any manuscript in which a conflict of interest exists. To maintain impartiality, manuscripts submitted by editorial board members are assigned to an independent editor with no conflict of interest; the submitting editor is excluded from all decision-making processes related to their own submission.

4. Editor-as-Author Policy

The journal welcomes high-quality contributions from editorial board members. To maintain objectivity and public trust, the following protocols apply: the board member must explicitly declare their journal affiliation in the Competing Interests section; the manuscript is immediately reassigned to an independent handling editor; the submitting editor is entirely excluded from the peer review process and all related decisions; the manuscript receives standard double-anonymous peer review by at least two external reviewers; and if accepted, a disclosure note is published with the article identifying the independent editor who oversaw the review.

Duplicate and Redundant Publication Policy

1. Core Policy

By submitting a manuscript to Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences, authors formally confirm that the submitted work is original and is not currently under consideration for publication in any other journal in any language. Duplicate publication, submitting substantially similar work to multiple journals simultaneously or publishing results that have already appeared elsewhere without appropriate disclosure, is strictly prohibited and constitutes a serious violation of publication ethics.

2. Permitted Prior Dissemination

The following forms of prior dissemination do not constitute duplicate publication, provided they are disclosed in the cover letter: posting of early manuscript versions on non-peer-reviewed preprint platforms; inclusion of work in academic theses or dissertations (with appropriate citation); presentation of findings in abstract form at academic conferences (up to 400 words).

3. Enforcement

The journal screens all submissions using professional similarity-detection software. If duplicate submission or publication is identified after publication, the journal will initiate a formal investigation in accordance with COPE guidelines, which may result in retraction of the article and formal notification of the authors' affiliated institutions.

Appeals and Complaints Policy

1. Appeals Against Editorial Decisions

Authors who wish to appeal an editorial decision must submit a formal, evidence-based letter to the Editorial Office within 30 days of receiving the decision. An appeal will only be considered if the author can demonstrate a significant factual error in the review process, or if substantial new evidence is provided that directly addresses the specific concerns of the reviewers or editors. Disagreement alone will not constitute grounds for appeal. Appeals are assessed independently by the Editor-in-Chief or a designated senior Editorial Board member with no prior involvement in the manuscript. The decision following an appeal is final.

2. Complaints Regarding Journal Processes

Complaints regarding journal operations, editorial management, communication, or administrative delays should be submitted in writing to the Editorial Office. The Handling Editor or Editorial Manager will investigate the matter and respond within 10 working days.

3. Complaints Regarding Publication Ethics

Complaints concerning potential research or publication misconduct (including plagiarism, reviewer bias, undisclosed conflicts of interest, data manipulation, or editorial misconduct) will be investigated in strict accordance with COPE flowcharts and guidelines and the COPE Guidelines on Appeals and Complaints. If a complainant remains unsatisfied with the initial handling of their complaint, the matter will be escalated to the Editor-in-Chief and ultimately to the publisher's senior management at the University of Baghdad.

Images, Figures, and Digital Integrity Policy

All images, figures, tables, charts, and other visual materials included in manuscripts must accurately represent the original research content. The following standards apply:

Specific elements within images must not be selectively altered, hidden, removed, relocated, or artificially introduced.
Minor adjustments to brightness, contrast, size, or colour balance are permissible only when applied uniformly to the entire image and when they do not distort or misrepresent the original content.
Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies must not be used to create or manipulate visual materials in a misleading manner that affects the authenticity or credibility of the submitted research.
If authors include third-party copyrighted visual materials, they are solely responsible for obtaining written permission from the copyright holder before submission.

Authors may be requested to provide original image files or supporting documentation during the editorial review process. Failure to provide requested materials may result in rejection of the manuscript.

Standards of Reporting and Academic Transparency

Alustath Journal for Human and Social Sciences supports clear, accurate, and transparent academic reporting. Authors are required to provide sufficient methodological detail to allow readers and researchers to understand, evaluate, and (where applicable) reproduce the reported findings.

1. Clarity of Research Presentation

Manuscripts must present research objectives, theoretical frameworks, methods, analytical approaches, and interpretations in a clear, structured, and logically sequenced manner. All claims must be directly supported by the evidence presented in the manuscript.

2. Methodological Transparency

The Methods section must provide a comprehensive description of the study design, population and sample, instruments, data collection procedures, and analytical methods, with sufficient detail to allow independent replication. Authors must report study limitations honestly and discuss how these limitations affect the interpretation and generalisability of the findings.

3. Reporting Guideline Compliance

See Section 3 (Reporting Guidelines (EQUATOR Network)) on the Authors' Guidelines page for mandatory checklist requirements by study type.

4. Inclusive Research Practices

The journal encourages research designs and reporting practices that consider social, cultural, and demographic diversity where relevant to the study topic. Authors should use terminology related to identity, gender, culture, and social groups carefully, respectfully, and consistently within the context of their research, in accordance with current scholarly and professional standards.

This page was last updated on September 10, 2026.