Publication Ethics & Editorial Policy

NexGen Journal is committed to maintaining high standards of academic integrity, responsible research, fair editorial review, and transparency.

As a journal dedicated to publishing research by high school students, we recognize that many authors are participating in scholarly publishing for the first time. Our goal is to uphold meaningful academic standards while providing a fair and educational review process for emerging researchers.

1. Editorial Independence

Editorial decisions are based on the academic quality, originality, relevance, methodology, clarity, ethical standards, and suitability of submitted work.

Acceptance decisions are made independently of an author's ability to pay any applicable publication fee.

Payment of a publication fee does not guarantee acceptance, favorable peer review, or publication.

NexGen Foundation, Inc., sponsors, donors, schools, mentors, parents, or other outside parties may not purchase or otherwise obtain favorable editorial decisions.

2. Originality

NexGen Journal considers original scholarly work.

Authors must appropriately acknowledge ideas, language, data, images, figures, methods, and other material derived from other sources. Plagiarism is not permitted. This includes, but is not limited to:

• copying another person's words without appropriate attribution;
• presenting another person's ideas or research as one's own;
• using figures, tables, images, or data without appropriate attribution or permission;
• substantially reproducing previously published material without disclosure; and
• submitting work substantially created by another person as the student's own research.

NexGen Journal may use plagiarism-detection or other integrity-screening methods when evaluating submissions.

3. Prior Publication and Simultaneous Submission

Manuscripts should not have been previously published as substantially the same scholarly article.

Authors should not submit substantially the same manuscript simultaneously to NexGen Journal and another journal for publication consideration.

Authors must disclose relevant prior dissemination of the research, including conference presentations, research competitions, repositories, preprints, or other public versions when applicable.

NexGen Journal will determine whether prior dissemination affects eligibility for publication.

4. Authorship

Authorship should accurately reflect meaningful intellectual contributions to the research and manuscript.

Individuals should be listed as authors only when they have made substantial contributions to the work and accept responsibility for their contributions.

Teachers, mentors, parents, research advisors, consultants, or others should not be listed as authors solely because they supervised, advised, edited, funded, or supported a student.

Individuals who provided meaningful assistance but do not qualify for authorship may be recognized in an acknowledgment.

All listed authors must approve the submitted manuscript and agree to its publication.

5. Mentors and Outside Assistance

NexGen Journal recognizes that high school researchers may receive guidance from teachers, mentors, laboratories, academic programs, research organizations, or other advisors.

Such guidance is permitted and should be appropriately acknowledged when significant.

However, the submitted manuscript must genuinely represent the student's intellectual and academic work.

Authors may be asked to describe the role of a mentor or other contributor when necessary to evaluate authorship or research integrity.

6. Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence tools may not be listed as authors.

Authors remain fully responsible for everything contained in their manuscripts, including accuracy, originality, reasoning, analysis, citations, references, and compliance with Journal policies.

Use of generative AI or similar technologies to create substantive manuscript content, analysis, images, data, or other research material must be disclosed when required by NexGen Journal's submission guidelines.

AI-generated citations or factual claims must be independently verified by the authors.

The use of AI to fabricate research, data, sources, citations, findings, or authorship is prohibited.

NexGen Journal may request additional information regarding AI use when necessary to evaluate the integrity or authorship of a submission.

7. Research Integrity

Authors must report their research honestly and accurately.

Fabrication, falsification, manipulation, or intentional misrepresentation of research data, methods, results, sources, images, or findings is prohibited.

Authors should maintain appropriate underlying research materials and records when reasonably possible.

NexGen Journal may request supporting information when questions arise concerning the validity or integrity of submitted work.

8. Human Participants

Research involving human participants, including surveys, interviews, experiments, observations, or the collection of identifiable personal information, must be conducted responsibly and in accordance with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Where appropriate, authors should obtain informed consent from participants and, for minors, any required parent or guardian permission.

Research requiring institutional or ethics-board review should receive the appropriate approval before the research is conducted.

Authors must state relevant approvals or consent procedures in the manuscript when applicable.

NexGen Journal may decline to publish research if adequate ethical safeguards cannot be demonstrated.

9. Animal Research

Research involving animals must comply with applicable ethical, institutional, and legal requirements.

Where formal approval is required, authors must obtain that approval before conducting the research and should identify the approval in the manuscript.

NexGen Journal may request supporting documentation when appropriate.

10. Conflicts of Interest

Authors, editors, and reviewers should disclose financial, personal, professional, academic, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their work or judgment.

A conflict of interest does not necessarily prevent publication or participation in peer review.

Disclosure allows NexGen Journal to determine whether additional safeguards or a different editor or reviewer are appropriate.

11. Editorial Screening

Submission does not automatically result in peer review. Each manuscript may first undergo editorial screening to determine whether it:

• falls within the scope of NexGen Journal;
• meets basic submission requirements;
• demonstrates sufficient academic quality and originality;
• complies with research-integrity and ethical standards; and
• is suitable to proceed to peer review.

Manuscripts that do not satisfy these requirements may be declined without external peer review.

12. Peer Review

Manuscripts selected for peer review are evaluated by qualified reviewers with relevant academic or professional expertise. Reviewers are asked to evaluate factors such as:

• originality;
• quality of the research question;
• methodology;
• reasoning and analysis;
• use of evidence;
• clarity;
• academic significance; and
• overall scholarly quality.

Peer review is intended to help NexGen Journal evaluate the manuscript and, where appropriate, help authors strengthen their work.

A recommendation from a reviewer does not by itself determine whether a manuscript will be accepted.

Final publication decisions remain with NexGen Journal's editorial team.

13. Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers should:

• evaluate manuscripts fairly and objectively;
• provide constructive scholarly feedback;
• maintain the confidentiality of unpublished work;
• disclose relevant conflicts of interest;
• avoid using unpublished ideas or information for personal advantage; and
• notify the Journal of significant ethical or integrity concerns they identify.

Reviewers should decline an assignment when they cannot provide an appropriately independent or knowledgeable review.

14. Editorial Responsibilities

Editors should evaluate submissions based on academic merit and Journal standards. Editors should:

• act fairly and independently;
• protect the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts;
• avoid inappropriate conflicts of interest;
• select qualified reviewers;
• consider allegations of misconduct responsibly; and
• protect the integrity of the publication record.

An editor with a significant conflict concerning a manuscript should not make the editorial decision on that manuscript.

15. Revisions

Authors may be invited to revise a manuscript in response to editorial or reviewer feedback.

An invitation to revise does not guarantee eventual acceptance.

Authors are responsible for addressing reviewer comments thoughtfully and identifying substantive changes made to the manuscript when requested.

16. Publication Fees

NexGen Journal does not charge a fee to submit a manuscript for consideration.

If a publication fee applies to an accepted manuscript, the applicable amount and payment requirements will be disclosed to the author before publication.

Publication fees are charged only after acceptance and do not influence editorial or peer-review decisions.

An author's ability to pay does not determine whether a manuscript is academically suitable for publication.

17. Corrections

Authors should promptly notify NexGen Journal if they discover a significant error in a submitted or published article.

When an error affects the accuracy or interpretation of a published article but does not invalidate the work as a whole, NexGen Journal may publish or otherwise clearly identify a correction.

Minor typographical or formatting errors may be corrected without a formal correction notice when they do not materially affect the scholarly record.

18. Retractions and Editorial Notices

NexGen Journal may retract an article when there is substantial reason to conclude that the published work is unreliable or seriously violates academic or publication ethics. Reasons may include:

• fabricated or falsified data;
• substantial plagiarism;
• serious research-ethics violations;
• fraudulent authorship;
• duplicate publication;
• fundamental errors that invalidate the article's conclusions; or
• other serious threats to the integrity of the scholarly record.

When appropriate, the Journal may issue a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other editorial notice.

Retractions are intended to protect the accuracy and integrity of the academic record, not to punish authors.

19. Allegations of Misconduct

Concerns regarding plagiarism, authorship, research ethics, data integrity, conflicts of interest, peer review, or other publication misconduct may be reported to NexGen Journal.

The Journal will review credible concerns fairly and may request information from authors, reviewers, mentors, schools, research institutions, or other relevant parties when reasonably necessary.

Authors will ordinarily be given an opportunity to respond to significant concerns before final action is taken.

NexGen Journal reserves the right to reject, withdraw, correct, or retract work when supported by the available evidence.

20. Appeals and Complaints

Authors may contact NexGen Journal if they believe a significant procedural or ethical error occurred during the editorial process.

An appeal should explain the basis for the concern and provide relevant supporting information.

Disagreement with a reviewer's academic judgment alone does not necessarily constitute grounds for reconsideration.

Appeals and complaints will be reviewed by an appropriate member of the editorial team who was not materially conflicted in the matter whenever reasonably possible.

21. Responsibility of Authors

Publication in NexGen Journal represents the work and conclusions of the authors.

Authors remain responsible for the accuracy, integrity, ethical conduct, citations, data, analysis, and conclusions of their published research.

Publication does not mean that NexGen Journal, NexGen Foundation, Inc., its editors, reviewers, or advisors endorse every conclusion or opinion expressed in an article.

22. Policy Updates

NexGen Journal may update this policy as standards for academic publishing, research ethics, technology, and Journal practices evolve.

The current version will be posted on the NexGen Journal Website.

23. Contact

Questions, concerns, or allegations relating to publication ethics may be directed to NexGen Foundation, Inc., New Jersey, United States, at contact@nexgenjournal.org.