Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research

Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics

The ethical standards for the Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research (JHMTR) are guided by the best practice principles outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We encourage the Editorial Board, reviewers, and authors to familiarize themselves with these guidelines to ensure adherence to ethical practices in publication.

For detailed information on the publication ethics followed by JHMTR, please refer to our Publication Ethics Guidelines.

Duties of Authors

International Standards for Authors

The Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research adheres to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship. These criteria ensure that all individuals listed as authors meet specific responsibilities and contributions to the manuscript.

Authorship Criteria:

Substantial Contributions: Authors must have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, data acquisition, or analysis/interpretation of the study.
Manuscript Drafting and Revision: Authors should have drafted the manuscript or revised it critically for important intellectual content.
Final Approval: Authors must have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission for publication.
Accountability: Authors are responsible for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are properly investigated and resolved.

Individuals who have contributed substantially to the work but do not meet the above criteria for authorship should not be listed as authors. Instead, they should be acknowledged in the "Acknowledgements" section of the manuscript, with their written permission to be named obtained beforehand.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all appropriate coauthors (as per the criteria above) are included in the author list, and that all coauthors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission.

For detailed guidelines, please refer to the ICMJE criteria for authorship.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest:

Authors are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest as early as possible, ideally at the time of manuscript submission. This disclosure should be made by submitting a disclosure form along with the manuscript and including a statement within the manuscript itself.

Conflicts of interest that must be disclosed include, but are not limited to:

Financial Conflicts: Honoraria, educational grants or other funding, participation in speakers’ bureaus, membership, employment, consultancies, stock ownership or other equity interest, paid expert testimony, or patent-licensing arrangements.
Non-Financial Conflicts: Personal or professional relationships, affiliations, knowledge, or beliefs that may influence the manuscript's results or interpretation.

Additionally, all sources of financial support for the research must be disclosed, including grant numbers or other reference numbers where applicable. The aim is to ensure transparency and maintain the integrity of the research process.

Reporting Standards:

Authors are committed to presenting their findings in a comprehensive and accurate manner. The manuscript should provide sufficient detail and references to allow for the replication of the work by others. All underlying data must be accurately represented in the paper. Any form of fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements is considered unethical and unacceptable.

Data Access and Retention:

Authors may be required to submit the raw data of their study along with the manuscript for editorial review. They should be prepared to make the data publicly available if feasible. In any case, authors must ensure that the data remains accessible to competent professionals for at least 10 years after publication, preferably through an institutional or subject-based data repository or other data center. This is contingent on protecting participant confidentiality and adhering to legal rights concerning proprietary data.

Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism:

Manuscripts must be free from plagiarism, falsification, fabrications, or significant omissions. Authors should ensure their work is entirely original and properly cite any work and/or words of others that are used. Influential publications that have shaped the reported research must also be cited. Plagiarism, in all forms, whether "passing off" another's work as one's own, copying or paraphrasing substantial parts without attribution, or claiming results from others' research is considered unethical and unacceptable.

Multiple, Duplicate, Redundant, or Concurrent Submission/Publication:

Research should not be published more than once in different journals or primary publications. Manuscripts that have already been published elsewhere should not be submitted to this journal. Concurrent submission of a manuscript to more than one journal is unethical and unacceptable.

Peer Review:

Authors are required to participate in the peer review process and respond promptly to editors’ requests for raw data, clarifications, and proof of ethics approval, patient consents, and copyright permissions. When a manuscript requires revision, authors should address reviewers’ comments systematically and timely, and resubmit the revised manuscript by the given deadline.

Acknowledgement:
Authors must explicitly acknowledge all sources of support for the research. Proper recognition should be given to the work of others, and influential publications that have shaped the research should be cited. Information obtained privately, such as through conversation or correspondence, should not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. Confidential information acquired during the review of manuscripts or grant applications must not be used without the explicit written consent of the author(s) involved.

Fundamental Errors in Works:

When authors identify significant errors or inaccuracies in their own published work, they are obligated to promptly inform the journal’s editors or publisher. They must cooperate to either correct the paper through an erratum or retract the paper if necessary. If the editors or publisher are alerted by a third party about a significant error or inaccuracy in a published work, the authors must promptly address the issue by correcting or retracting the article or by providing evidence to demonstrate its accuracy.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Assisted Technology:

Disclosure: At the time of submission, authors must disclose whether they used artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies, such as Large Language Models (LLMs), chatbots, or image generators, in the creation of their work. If AI was used for writing assistance or other tasks, this should be acknowledged in the acknowledgment section of the manuscript.
Authorship: AI tools, including chatbots like ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. They cannot be held responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work; criteria essential for authorship.
Review and Editing: Authors should carefully review and edit the output generated by AI technologies. While AI can produce content that appears authoritative, it may be incorrect, incomplete, or biased.
Plagiarism: Authors are responsible for ensuring that their work is free from plagiarism, including text and images generated by AI. They must assert that their manuscript does not include plagiarized content.

Authors should adhere to these guidelines to maintain the integrity and quality of their submissions and to uphold ethical standards in the research publication process.

For further details and to access specific guidelines, please refer to the Journal's publication ethics document.

Duties of Editors

Publication Decisions:

Editors are responsible for ensuring that all submitted manuscripts undergo a peer-review process involving at least two experts in the relevant field. The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision to accept or reject manuscripts based on the validation of the work, its significance to researchers and readers, reviewers’ comments, and compliance with legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The Editor-in-Chief may consult with other editors or reviewers to inform this decision.

Fair Review:

Editors must provide equitable consideration to all manuscripts, evaluating each on its own merits regardless of the author(s)’ country, race, religion, nationality, sex, seniority, or institutional affiliation. Decisions on editing and publishing should be independent of external influences such as government policies or agency directives. The Editor-in-Chief has full authority over the journal’s editorial content and the timing of publication.

Confidentiality:
Editors are responsible for ensuring that robust systems are in place to maintain the confidentiality of material submitted for review. They must protect the identities of both authors and reviewers and take all reasonable measures to preserve the confidentiality of the review process.

For further details, please refer to the Code of Conduct for Journal Editors.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest:

Editors are tasked with processing submitted manuscripts confidentially and ensuring that manuscript content is disclosed only to the corresponding author and relevant reviewers. Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where they have real or potential conflicts of interest, including those arising from competitive, collaborative, financial, or other relationships with authors, companies, or institutions related to the manuscript. In such cases, another editorial board member will be assigned to manage the manuscript.

Involvement and Cooperation in Investigations:

Editors are responsible for addressing ethical concerns related to submitted manuscripts or published papers. They must investigate every reported instance of unethical publishing behavior, regardless of when it is discovered. Editors adhere to the COPE Flowcharts for managing suspected misconduct. If an ethical concern is confirmed, the journal will publish a relevant correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other appropriate notice.

Duties of Reviewers

Fair Reviews:

Peer review is central to scholarly communication and scientific advancement. Reviewers are expected to evaluate manuscripts with objectivity, fairness, and professionalism. They should avoid personal biases and provide clear, well-supported comments. Reviewers must offer constructive feedback to aid the editor in making informed decisions and assist authors in improving their manuscripts through editorial communications.

Right of Refusal:

Reviewers who believe they are not qualified to review a manuscript or are unable to provide a prompt review should inform the editor and withdraw from the review process. They may suggest alternative expert reviewers to the Editor-in-Chief. Reviewers should also decline to review manuscripts if they have previously commented on the manuscript or an earlier version or if they have conflicts of interest due to collaborative, financial, institutional, personal, or other relationships with entities connected to the manuscript.

Confidentiality:
Reviewers must keep all information about manuscripts confidential and treat it as privileged. They should not discuss the manuscript with anyone other than the Editor-in-Chief or disclose any information from the manuscript without permission. This confidentiality obligation extends to reviewers who decline the review invitation.

Standards of Objectivity:

Reviews should be conducted objectively, with observations clearly formulated and supported by evidence, allowing authors to use them for manuscript improvement. Personal criticism of the authors is considered inappropriate.

Acknowledgement of Sources:

Reviewers should identify any relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors and ensure that any previously reported statements are properly cited. They should also inform the Editor-in-Chief of any significant similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and other published papers of which they have personal knowledge.

Conflict of Interest:

Reviewers with conflicts of interest, such as those arising from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with the authors, companies, or institutions involved, should immediately notify the editors, declare these conflicts, and decline the review invitation. This ensures the selection of alternative reviewers without conflicts of interest.

Unpublished Material:

Unpublished material disclosed in a manuscript should not be used in a reviewer’s own research without explicit written consent from the authors. Reviewers must not use privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review for personal advantage. This confidentiality requirement also applies to reviewers who decline the review invitation.

For further guidelines, please refer to the COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.

Duties of the Publisher

(https://publicationethics.org/core-practices)

Handling of Unethical Publishing Behavior:

The publisher, in collaboration with the editors, is responsible for addressing allegations of scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication, or plagiarism. This includes taking appropriate measures to investigate the issue, and if necessary, issuing an erratum, clarification, or retraction of the affected article. The publisher, together with the editors, will make reasonable efforts to prevent the publication of manuscripts involving research misconduct and will not endorse or allow such misconduct to occur.

Access to Journal Content:

The publisher is committed to ensuring the permanent availability and preservation of scholarly research. This commitment is fulfilled through partnerships with relevant organizations and the maintenance of a robust digital archive.

Publisher Business Model:

"Semnan University" supports the journal financially based on its published annual rank in the Portal of Scientific Journals of the Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology. The funding covers various aspects, including the setup and maintenance of publication infrastructure, manuscript processing, peer review, editing, publishing, record-keeping, and archiving.

Identification of and Dealing with Allegations of Misconduct:

The publisher and editor take reasonable steps to detect and prevent the publication of papers involving research misconduct, such as plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification or fabrication. If misconduct is identified, the publisher will promptly issue an erratum, clarification, or retraction, as appropriate.

Policy on Complaints and Appeals:

Authors who wish to appeal an editorial decision should contact the Editor-in-Chief. The Editor-in-Chief will review the manuscript, comments from the editorial and peer reviewers, and make a final decision. If necessary, the manuscript may be reassigned to a new handling editor and reviewers for further evaluation. The final decision will be made by the journal’s Editorial Board.

How to Make a Complaint Against Staff, Editorial Board, or Publisher:

Complaints can be submitted via email to jhmtr@semnan.ac.ir. All complaints will be acknowledged within three working days.

Post-Publication Discussions:

The journal permits post-publication discussion through the "Send Letter to the Editor" feature on its site. Corrections, revisions, or retractions following publication depend on the relevance and applicability of the received comments.

Correction and Retraction Policy:

Corrections should be made by the author during the revision phase. Requests to add or remove authors must be made before acceptance and publication and must be approved by all authors. After acceptance and publication, changes to the author list are not permitted. If an author passes away, their name can be removed before acceptance with agreement from all authors and the editor’s approval. If the deceased author is the corresponding author, a new corresponding author must be chosen with all authors' consent. The name of the deceased author should be mentioned in a footnote of the paper.

Please bear in mind that:

Adding or Removing a new author to manuscript is possible before acceptance and publication.

Adding or Removing a new author to manuscript is impossible after acceptance and publication.

Retraction Guidelines:

The journal may retract a publication if it meets the following criteria:

There is clear evidence of unreliable findings due to major errors, data fabrication, or image manipulation.
The publication constitutes plagiarism.
Findings have been published elsewhere without proper attribution or authorization.
The publication includes unauthorized material or data.
There is a serious legal issue, such as copyright infringement, libel, or privacy violation.
The research reported is unethical.
The publication was based on a compromised or manipulated peer review process.
A major competing interest was not disclosed, affecting the interpretation of the work.

For further details on retraction guidelines, please refer to the COPE Retraction Guidelines.

Publishing Schedule

The Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research is an international journal, available in both print and online formats, and is published biannually by Semnan University.

Open Access Policy

The Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research is a fully open-access journal. All articles are immediately available online to all users at no cost upon publication. The journal operates under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. Authors may choose to make their articles available under this license, which permits others to copy, distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the work, provided that appropriate credit is given and the use is non-commercial.

License Terms

The Creative Commons CC BY-NC 4.0 License allows others to copy, distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon your work as long as they credit you for the original creation and use the work for non-commercial purposes.

Copyright Policy

Copyright for articles published in the Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license is retained by the author(s). This policy allows others to download, reuse, reprint, distribute, and copy the content, provided that the original authors and source are properly cited. Authors maintain full control over their work, including the rights to reuse, distribute, and republish it.

Article Processing Charge (APCs)

There are no author charges (commonly known as APCs), and all accepted papers are published in the journal without any publication fee.

Paper Plagiarism Checker

To prevent plagiarism, the Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research utilizes the iThenticate system for identifying potential instances of plagiarism in submitted articles.

Advertisements
The Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research does not accept or publish advertisements on its website or within its articles.

Archiving (Digital Preservation Plan)

Website Archiving: All electronic content (including the website and manuscripts) is stored on two separate servers. One server is online and accessible to readers, while a backup copy is maintained on another server. In the event of a server failure, the backup server can be made online, ensuring that the website remains accessible within 24-36 hours.
Abstracting/Indexing Services: Essential information about the articles is stored by various abstracting and indexing services. The Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC) and the Iran Scientific Journals System archive both the metadata and electronic versions of the articles, providing alternative access to the scientific community.
Self-Archiving: Authors are permitted to archive the final published version of their articles in personal or institutional repositories immediately after publication.

Policy Against Plagiarism

The Editorial Board of the Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research enforces strict measures to ensure the originality and proper citation of submitted manuscripts. Plagiarism, including the unacknowledged use of quotations or paraphrased content, "passing off" another's work as one's own, or claiming others' research results, is deemed unethical and unacceptable.

Pre-Publication: Manuscripts must be original and free from plagiarism. Authors are encouraged to use plagiarism detection software to verify the originality of their work. Manuscripts previously published or simultaneously submitted to other journals will not be accepted.
Detection and Action: If plagiarism is detected by the Editorial Office or reviewers, the manuscript will be immediately rejected. The Editorial Board will request an explanation and correction from the authors. Failure to respond or rectify the issues will result in notifying other journals (in case of multiple submissions) and the authors’ institution, and the authors will be blacklisted from future submissions.
Post-Publication: If plagiarism is reported after publication, the Editorial Board will investigate the claim. If plagiarism is confirmed, the article will be retracted from the journal's archive, and the authors’ institution will be notified. The authors will also be blacklisted from future submissions. The authors are of such a publication will be responsible for all administration and publication fee associated with the entire process including pre- and post-publication activities.

Peer Review Process in the Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research

All papers submitted to the Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Research (JHMTR) undergo a single-blind peer-review process. The editorial decision for each article is based on an initial review by the editor and evaluation by expert reviewers. Review times may vary depending on the subject matter of the paper. Manuscripts must be original contributions, not under consideration elsewhere, and not previously published in any form. The journal's decision-making process involves the following steps:

1.Registration and Submission

The corresponding author must register on the journal’s website and provide full affiliation details for all authors. The manuscript should then be submitted in the format specified by the journal.

2. Structural Assessment

The journal director reviews the submission to ensure compliance with journal guidelines and completeness of required data and files. If necessary, the manuscript may be returned to the authors for additional information or adjustments.

3. Editor-in-Chief Assessment and Processing

The Editor-in-Chief evaluates the manuscript's alignment with the journal’s scope, originality, and impact. This initial quality assessment may result in rejection or suggestions for revisions before proceeding further.

4. Check for Plagiarism

The manuscript is checked for plagiarism using iThenticate. If the similarity percentage exceeds 30%, the manuscript may be rejected. Otherwise, it progresses to the review phase.

5. Reviewers Suggestion and Invitation

The Editor-in-Chief invites experts in the field to review the manuscript. This may involve consulting with specialized associated editors to identify suitable reviewers. The invitation process continues until at least two reviewers agree to review the manuscript, at which point its status is updated to "under review." In certain cases, especially for complex methods or sensitive studies, additional reviewers may be invited.

Peer Review Process: Decision Phases

1. First Decision after Review

Based on the reviewers' evaluations, the journal board will make one of the following decisions:

Acceptance: The manuscript is accepted as is, pending final editorial checks.
Minor Revision Required: The manuscript requires minor changes before it can be accepted. Reviewers’ comments will be provided to guide the author.
Major Revision Required: Significant revisions are needed. The manuscript will be returned to the author for substantial changes based on reviewers’ feedback. Additional reviewers may be invited if there is a conflict in the feedback.
Rejection: The manuscript is not suitable for publication. The decision will be accompanied by reviewers' comments explaining the reasons for rejection.

2. Revision and Re-submission

Once authors receive the decision, they must revise the manuscript according to the feedback provided:

Resubmission: Authors must resubmit the revised manuscript along with any additional data requested.
Response to Reviewers: A detailed report addressing the reviewers' comments and questions must be provided. Authors have the right to reject any revision requests, but must offer a justification or suggest alternative changes.

3. Final Decision

After resubmission, the journal board will review the revisions:

Satisfactory Revisions: If the revisions are deemed satisfactory, the manuscript will be accepted and sent to the publisher.
Further Revisions: If further changes are needed, the manuscript may be sent back to the author for additional revisions.
Final Rejection: If the revised manuscript still does not meet the journal’s standards, it may be rejected.