Transparency Statement for “Issues in Language Teaching (ILT)”
Issues in Language Teaching (ILT), owned and published by Allameh Tabataba’i University, is committed to maintaining the high standards of publication ethics and scholarly integrity. This Transparency Statement articulates our core principles and operational procedures to ensure a fair, rigorous, and open publication process for all stakeholders. We adhere to the guidelines and best practices set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
1. Editorial Independence and Decision-Making
- Editorial Autonomy: The Editorial Board and the Editor-in-Chief retain full and independent authority over all editorial decisions, including the selection of reviewers, the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts, and the timing of publication.
- Peer-Review Process: ILT employs a rigorous “double-anonymized peer-review” process. All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial screening by the Executive Director. Those that satisfy the preliminary in-house review criteria are subsequently forwarded to the Editor-in-Chief for further consideration regarding scope, originality, and adherence to the journal’s guidelines. Those deemed appropriate for the journal are then assigned to at least two independent, qualified external reviewers with relevant expertise in a blinded format. If the reviewers suggest minor or major revisions, we provide authors with clear, constructive feedback to guide revisions. The revised manuscripts are then reassigned to the reviewers who recommended Major Revisions to verify whether or not the authors have addressed the comments appropriately. The final acceptance or rejection decision is made based on the reviewers’ reports and the editorial assessment.
- Conflict of Interest Management: All editors, reviewers, and authors are required to declare any potential conflicts of interest that could compromise the impartiality of the review or publication process.
2. Author Responsibilities and Publication Ethics
- Originality and Ethical Consideration: Authors must submit only original work that has not been previously published or is not under consideration elsewhere. All sources, including the work and ideas of others, must be properly cited and acknowledged. We strictly prohibit plagiarism, data fabrication, and data falsification. All submissions are screened for potential plagiarism using plagiarism-detection software (i.e., iThenticate) prior to peer review. Authors must confirm that appropriate institutional ethics approval was obtained and report the approving body and reference number. Likewise, they must state that informed consent was obtained from all participants (or their legal guardians), including consent for the use of any identifiable data, quotations, or images.
- Authorship and Contributorship: Authorship must be based on a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All people who meet these criteria should be listed as co-authors. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript and have agreed to its submission for publication. Any changes to the authorship list during the review or production process must be approved by all authors and communicated to the editorial office.
- Data Sharing and Reproducibility: To foster transparency and reproducibility, ILT encourages authors to make their data, materials, and analysis scripts available in a recognized public repository or to provide a detailed data availability statement in the manuscript. While data sharing is not mandatory, we strongly encourage it.
- Funding Disclosure: Authors are required to disclose all sources of financial support for their research and preparation of the manuscript. This information should be included in a dedicated “Funding” section in the “Declarations” section.
- AI Disclosure: International guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) is very clear on two key points: Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools cannot be authors. They cannot be listed as an author of a paper because they cannot take responsibility for the submitted work, declare any conflicts of interest, or manage copyright and licensing agreements. Authors who use AI tools in the writing of a manuscript, production of images, or in the collection and analysis of data must be transparent in disclosing this use. In brief, Authors should disclose in their manuscript the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process by adding a statement at the end of their manuscript in the core manuscript file before the References list. The statement should be placed in a new section entitled “Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process”. In addition to this sentence, one of the mandatory files that has to be signed and uploaded while submitting a manuscript is the AI Use Declaration form.
3. Review Process: Roles and Responsibilities
- Reviewer Roles: Reviewers serve a vital function in maintaining the quality of ILT. Their role is to provide a fair, objective, and critical assessment of the manuscript’s theoretical framework, methodology, results, and contribution to the field. They must also identify any concerns related to research ethics or publication integrity.
- Reviewer Confidentiality: All review materials, including the manuscript and the content of the review, are considered privileged and confidential. Reviewers must not share the manuscript or its contents with anyone without prior authorization from the editorial office.
- Reviewer Standards: Reviews must be conducted in a constructive and timely manner. Reviewers must inform the editor of any potential conflicts of interest and recuse themselves if one exists. They must also alert the editor to any suspected cases of plagiarism, duplicate submission, or other ethical breaches.
4. Post-Publication and Corrections
- Corrections: ILT is committed to maintaining the accuracy of the scholarly record. If an error is identified in a published article that does not affect the validity of the findings (e.g., a small error in a date, an equation, or an author’s name), we will publish a formal Correction notice.
- Retractions: In cases of significant errors that invalidate the findings, confirmed research misconduct (e.g., data fabrication), or unethical publishing practices, the article will be retracted. A Retraction notice will be published prominently on the electronic version of the article, explaining the reason for the retraction and linking back to the original article.
5. Privacy and Confidentiality
- Protection of Personal Data: ILT is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of our authors, reviewers, and editors. Personal information supplied during the submission, review, and publication processes will be used solely for the purposes of the journal and will not be shared or used for any other purposes. This complies with all relevant data protection regulations.
6. Article Processing Charges and Fees
ILT is committed to maintaining a clear and fair financial policy. Any article processing charges (APCs), submission fees, or other fees are disclosed clearly on the journal’s website prior to submission. To support the costs of peer review, editing, and publication, the journal charges an Article Processing Charge (APC) only to Iranian authors.
· Fee Structure for Iranian Authors: The total APC is 15,000,000 Rials. This consists of a 5,000,000 Rial fee for the review and processing of the manuscript, and a 10,000,000 Rial fee for publication, which is charged upon acceptance.
· Fee Waiver for International Authors: To support global scholarship and remove financial barriers, Non-Iranian authors are exempt from all charges.
· Waiver Policy: At this time, the journal does not have a formal waiver policy for other categories of authors.
For any questions regarding the journal policy or a potential ethical concern, please contact the Editor-in-Chief at estaji@atu.ac.ir or the Editorial Office at ilt@atu.ac.ir.
