VIRAL: Veritas International Research in Applied Linguistics is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against publication malpractice. The journal follows ethical publishing principles to ensure the integrity, quality, and transparency of scholarly communication. All parties involved in the publication process — including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher — are expected to uphold ethical standards and professional responsibility.

Duties of Authors

Authors must ensure that their submitted manuscripts are original works and have not been published or simultaneously submitted to another journal. Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given through accurate citation and referencing. Authors should present data honestly and avoid fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or inappropriate data manipulation. All authors listed in the manuscript should have made significant contributions to the research and approved the final version of the manuscript. Authors are also expected to disclose any potential conflicts of interest and sources of funding related to the research.

Duties of Editors

Editors are responsible for making publication decisions based on the academic merit, originality, relevance, and clarity of the manuscript without discrimination based on race, gender, institutional affiliation, nationality, or political beliefs. Editors must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and should not disclose any information about the manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and editorial staff. Editors should also ensure a fair and unbiased peer review process and take appropriate action in cases of suspected ethical misconduct.

Duties of Reviewers

Reviewers assist editors in making editorial decisions and help authors improve the quality of their manuscripts through constructive feedback. Reviewers must evaluate manuscripts objectively, professionally, and confidentially. Any information obtained through the review process must not be used for personal advantage. Reviewers should identify relevant published works that have not been cited by the authors and report any suspected plagiarism, duplication, or ethical concerns to the editor. Reviewers should decline the review process if they have conflicts of interest with the authors or research.

Plagiarism Policy

All manuscripts submitted to VIRAL are screened for plagiarism using appropriate similarity detection tools. Manuscripts found to contain plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unethical citation practices will be rejected immediately. The journal does not tolerate any form of academic misconduct.

Ethical Oversight

Research involving human participants, educational settings, interviews, surveys, or other sensitive data should comply with ethical research standards and institutional regulations. Authors may be requested to provide ethical clearance or participant consent documentation when necessary.

Corrections and Retractions

If significant errors, ethical violations, or misconduct are identified after publication, the journal reserves the right to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, or apologies when deemed necessary to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.