Journal Policies

Publication Ethics Statement

The Online Learning Journal (OLJ) is committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards in scholarly publishing, OLJ follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applies these principles to its editorial and review processes.

Authorship & Contributorship Policy

Online Learning Journal (OLJ) follows the authorship criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Authorship credit should be based on all of the following:

Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
Final approval of the version to be published.
Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

OLJ encourages use of the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) to identify each author’s contributions (e.g., Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing – Original Draft).

Requests for changes in authorship (addition, removal, or order) after submission must be approved by all authors and justified in writing. Disputes will be handled according to COPE guidance.

Conflict of Interest (COI) Policy

All participants in the publication process (authors, reviewers, and editors) must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could influence, or be perceived to influence, their work.

Authors must include a conflict of interest statement in all submissions. If none exist, authors should state: “The authors declare no conflicts of interest.”
Reviewers must declare any potential conflicts before accepting a review invitation.
Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where conflicts exist.

Undisclosed conflicts identified after publication will be investigated and may result in correction or retraction.

Plagiarism & Text Recycling Policy

OLJ is committed to publishing original work. All submissions are screened by the editorial team.

Text overlap greater than 15% will be flagged for editorial review.
Unattributed copying or text recycling without proper citation may lead to rejection, retraction, or notification of the authors’ institutions.
Authors may be asked to provide documentation for proper permissions if overlap involves copyrighted materials.

Plagiarism and Misuse of Content

We will endeavor to protect the rights of authors and will investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. We also seek to protect the reputation of the journal. Submitted articles may therefore be checked with duplication-checking software. If an article is found to have plagiarized published work we reserve the right to take action including publishing a correction; retracting the article; or pursuing other procedural or legal remedies.

Data Availability and Research Transparency

The Online Learning Journal (OLJ) is committed to advancing openness and reproducibility in educational research. To support transparency and trust, authors are encouraged to provide a Data Availability Statement (DAS) with each manuscript, which describes whether, and how, the data supporting their findings can be accessed.

If data cannot be shared due to ethical, legal, or confidentiality constraints, authors should explain the reason.

The journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of research integrity and publication ethics. All submissions are screened for potential concerns, including—but not limited to—AI-generated or AI-assisted content, plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, ghostwriting, and other forms of unethical authorship practices. We employ both automated tools and editorial review to identify irregularities in manuscripts. Any detected violations will result in rejection or retraction.

Ethics Committee Approval and Research Involving Vulnerable Populations

The Online Learning Journal (OLJ) is committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical research and publication practice in accordance with the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Manuscript submissions that report research involving human participants must receive prior approval from a recognized ethics review body (e.g., Institutional Review Board [IRB] or equivalent) and confirm that it was conducted in compliance with accepted ethical guidelines such as the Declaration of Helsinki. Manuscripts should clearly identify the approving institution and include the approval reference number where applicable.

For studies involving vulnerable or protected populations—including, but not limited to, minors, individuals with disabilities, or groups at risk of coercion—authors must provide assurance that appropriate consent, assent, and safeguarding procedures were implemented. Participation must be voluntary, and confidentiality and participant welfare must be protected throughout all phases of the research.

OLJ reserves the right to request supporting documentation related to ethics approval or consent procedures at any stage of the editorial process. Submissions that do not adhere to established ethical standards may be declined or referred to the author’s institution or relevant oversight body for review.

OLJ encourages transparency and accountability in research practices and affirms the responsibility of authors to ensure that all participants are treated with dignity, respect, and care.

Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

The Online Learning Journal (OLJ) follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and applies rigorous peer review and editorial oversight to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability in all published work. Authors, reviewers and editors are expected to uphold ethical principles including respect for intellectual property, avoidance of plagiarism, accuracy in reporting, and responsible management of conflicts of interest.

Along with alignment of COPE standards, OLJ maintains a clear policy on corrections and retractions.

Corrections are issues only for minor errors that do not affect the overall validity, reliability, or integrity of the research.

Retractions are issued in cases of serious issues such as data falsification, or unethical research practices. Retracted articles remain publicly accessible but are marked with a retraction notice to preserve transparency.

Expressions of Concern may be published when an investigation is ongoing and the potential issues could affect trust in the article's finding.

Through these practices, OLJ ensures that its publications remain credible, trustworthy and aligned with standards of scholarly publishing.

Complaints & Appeals Policy

OLJ welcomes constructive feedback and provides authors and readers with a clear process to raise concerns:

Author appeals regarding editorial decisions must be submitted in writing within 30 days of notification. Appeals will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) and at least one additional editorial board member not previously involved.
Complaints about the editorial process, ethical concerns, or reviewer conduct should be directed to the Managing Editor. If unresolved, concerns may be escalated to the EIC or OLC leadership.

OLJ follows COPE guidelines in investigating all complaints.

Misconduct Policy

OLJ takes research and publication misconduct seriously. This includes plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, ghostwriting, improper authorship, duplicate submission, and undeclared AI use.

When allegations arise:

The editorial team will conduct an initial assessment.
If concerns appear credible, the authors’ institutions will be contacted.
Outcomes may include correction, retraction, or editorial notice, depending on severity.

Investigations and outcomes follow COPE flowcharts for misconduct.

Preprints & Prior Publication Policy

OLJ accepts submissions that have previously been shared as preprints (e.g., on arXiv, SSRN, OSF) provided they have not been formally published elsewhere.

Authors must disclose any preprint posting at the time of submission.
Upon publication, authors should link the final DOI to the preprint version.
Conference papers and theses are eligible if substantially revised.

Duplicate submission or redundant publication without disclosure is considered misconduct.

Repository Policy

Authors are permitted to deposit a copy of their paper in an institutional, subject, or other repository of the author’s choice without embargo. Examples include personal websites, institutional or non-commercial subject-based repositories, and commercial platforms and/or social media. This includes all versions of the author's work, including the: 1) Submitted version, 2) Accepted version (Author Accepted Manuscript), and 3) Published version (Version of Record).

Archiving and Digital Preservation Policy

OLJ uses the LOCKSS system and the PKP Preservation Network (PKP/PLN) for long-term preservation. Authors may deposit submitted, accepted, or published versions in institutional or subject repositories, personal websites, or other platforms without embargo.

Advertising & Marketing Policy

OLJ maintains editorial independence and does not accept advertising that could influence editorial decisions.

Currently, OLJ does not accept commercial advertising.

Direct marketing activities (e.g., calls for papers) are targeted only to appropriate academic audiences.

Peer Review Policy

OLJ uses a double-blind peer review process, following the ethical standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Manuscripts are accessible only to the editorial team and assigned reviewers. All reviewers agree to uphold confidentiality, avoid conflicts of interest, and provide objective, constructive feedback.