Research Misconduct

How allegations of misconduct are investigated.

The journal takes every allegation of research or publication misconduct seriously, whether it concerns a submitted manuscript or a published article, and follows the guidance and flowcharts of COPE.

What Counts as Misconduct

PlagiarismUsing others' text, ideas, data, or figures without attribution, including self-plagiarism and translation plagiarism.
Fabrication and falsificationInventing data or results, or manipulating data, images, or analysis to misrepresent findings.
Duplicate or redundant publicationPublishing the same results more than once, or splitting one study into several articles without justification.
Authorship misconductGhost, gift, or purchased authorship, and manuscripts produced by paper mills.
Citation manipulationExcessive self-citation, citation cartels, or coercive citation by editors or reviewers.
Peer-review manipulationFake reviewer accounts or suggested reviewers with undisclosed relationships.
Undisclosed conflicts of interestFailing to disclose funding or relationships that could influence the work.
Unethical researchResearch with human participants without consent or approval, or that breaches privacy or law.

How Concerns Are Handled

  1. Send the concern to [dimensia@resincen.org] with as much evidence as possible. Anonymous concerns are considered if the evidence is specific.
  2. The Editor-in-Chief acknowledges the report within [five working days] and keeps the identity of the person raising it confidential.
  3. The editor assesses the evidence, if necessary with an independent expert, and asks the authors for an explanation.
  4. If the explanation is unsatisfactory, the authors' institution or funder may be asked to investigate.
  5. The journal decides on the outcome and informs everyone involved.

Possible Outcomes

  • No action, when the concern is not substantiated.
  • A letter of explanation or education to the authors, for minor issues.
  • Rejection of the manuscript, if it is still under review.
  • A correction, expression of concern, or retraction of a published article.
  • A ban on submissions from the authors involved for [three years], and notification of their institution, in serious cases.

Published outcomes follow the Corrections and Retractions policy.

Dimensia (DIMENSIA) · Last updated: [DD Month 2026]