Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement
Journal: CBN Bullion
Frequency: Quarterly
Primary Reference: Based on the COPE Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (2011)
Introduction
At CBN Bullion, the integrity of our academic content and publishing process is paramount. We uphold rigorous ethical standards for all participants in the publication process—authors, peer reviewers, and editors—to ensure transparency, accountability, and scholarly excellence. This statement outlines the journal’s policies on ethical behaviour and malpractice prevention throughout submission, review, decision-making, publication, and post-publication stages, drawing on established international best practices (COPE, 2011).
Editorial Board
The Editorial Board and Advisory Board comprise experts in economics, finance, monetary policy, development, and related fields. Full listings, including affiliations and roles, are maintained on the journal’s web page in the Editorial Board section. Board members are selected for expertise, diversity of perspectives, and commitment to the journal’s ethical standards and editorial independence.
Authors and Authors’ Responsibilities
Fees and Publication Costs
There is no submission fee for manuscripts, and no publication charges for accepted papers. CBN Bullion does not levy article processing charges (APCs).
Reporting Standards
Authors must present an accurate account of original research performed, including an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data, methods, and results should be described with sufficient detail and clarity to permit replication and verification where feasible. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behaviour and are unacceptable.
Data Access and Retention
Authors should be prepared to provide access to underlying data for editorial and peer review purposes (where ethically and legally permissible). They should retain such data for a reasonable period after publication. Where datasets are subject to confidentiality, legal, or proprietary restrictions, authors must clearly disclose constraints and provide a transparent explanation of methods and summary statistics.
Originality, Plagiarism, and Acknowledgement of Sources
Authors must ensure that the submitted work is entirely original. All use of others’ work—ideas, data, text, figures, code—must be properly cited and acknowledged. The journal screens for plagiarism and text recycling. Submissions found to contain plagiarism, duplicate text, image manipulation, or fraudulent data will be rejected; published articles may be corrected or retracted as appropriate.
Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication
Authors must not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently. Redundant publication (publishing substantially similar work) is prohibited unless transparently disclosed and justified, with proper cross-referencing. Translations, data papers, and follow-up studies must clearly indicate prior publications and must add significant scholarly value.
Authorship of the Article
Authorship should be limited to those who have made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; drafting or critically revising the manuscript; and who approve the final version and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work. Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged. Changes to authorship (additions, removals, reordering) after submission require written consent from all authors.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial interests that could be perceived to influence the work, including funding sources, institutional affiliations, consulting roles, ownership interests, and personal relationships. A transparent Funding Statement and Conflict of Interest Statement must be included in the manuscript.
Fundamental Errors in Published Works
If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must promptly notify the editors and cooperate to retract or correct the article. Where third parties raise credible concerns, authors are obliged to respond with evidence and corrections as needed.
Peer Review Process Requirement
CBN Bullion uses a double blind peer review model (authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other). Manuscripts are evaluated for originality, methodological rigour, clarity, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal’s scope. Reviewers are selected for expertise, impartiality, and absence of conflicts of interest. Editors may seek additional rounds of review when warranted. Editorial decisions are communicated promptly, with constructive feedback where feasible.
Image Manipulation, Falsification, and Fabrication
Authors must not manipulate images (including charts, micrographs, or data visualisations) to misrepresent the content or results. Falsification (manipulating research materials, equipment, or processes) and fabrication (inventing data or results) are severe ethical violations. Legitimate image adjustments (e.g., brightness, contrast) are permitted only if applied to the entire image and do not obscure or misrepresent information. Authors must retain original image/data files and provide them upon request.
References
Authors must ensure references are accurate, complete, and reflect the state of the literature at the time of writing. Citations should be used to contextualise research, credit original ideas, and identify sources of data or methods. Where applicable, authors should cite datasets, software, and preprints responsibly and transparently.
Editorial Process
Contribution to Editorial Decisions
Editors are responsible for assessing submissions’ scholarly merit, novelty, and alignment with the journal’s aims. Decisions are based on the manuscript’s content and reviewer reports, independent of authors’ identity, institutional affiliation, nationality, or seniority. Editorial conflicts of interest are managed by recusal and reassignment to an impartial editor.
Promptness
Editors and reviewers endeavour to provide timely decisions. Review timelines may vary by manuscript complexity and reviewer availability; any significant delays are communicated to authors.
Confidentiality
Editors and reviewers must treat all submissions as confidential. No information about a manuscript under review may be disclosed beyond those directly involved in the evaluation. Unpublished material must not be used in reviewers’ or editors’ own work without explicit written permission from the authors.
Standards of Objectivity
Reviews should be conducted objectively, with clear reasoning and evidence-based critique. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest and decline review when such conflicts may impair impartiality.
Acknowledgement of Sources
Reviewers should identify relevant published work not cited by the authors and alert editors to any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript and other published or submitted work.
Publication Ethics / Editors / Publishers’ Responsibilities
Publication Decisions
The Editor-in-Chief (or designated editors) makes final decisions on manuscript acceptance or rejection, guided by reviewer comments, editorial assessments, legal requirements, and journal policies. Decisions are unbiased and based solely on the manuscript’s scholarly value and ethical compliance.
Confidentiality
Editorial staff must not disclose information about submissions to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher as appropriate.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Editors and editorial staff must not use unpublished information for personal research and must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where conflicts of interest exist.
Libel, Defamation, and Freedom of Expression
CBN Bullion endeavours to uphold freedom of scholarly expression while avoiding publication of content that is libellous, defamatory, unlawful, or that violates privacy or confidentiality agreements. Legal and ethical considerations inform editorial decisions.
Misconduct
Allegations of misconduct (including plagiarism, data fabrication/falsification, undisclosed conflicts of interest, improper authorship, or manipulation of the peer-review process) are investigated promptly and fairly. The journal follows COPE-recommended procedures to ensure due process and confidentiality.
Dealing with Misconduct
Where misconduct is suspected, the journal may contact authors’ institutions, funders, or relevant authorities to facilitate investigations. Outcomes may include rejection, retraction, corrections, expressions of concern, or sanctions (e.g., review or submission bans for a defined period).
Fraudulent Research and Research Misconduct
Confirmed cases of fraud lead to retraction or other correction mechanisms. Authors may be required to provide raw data, ethics approvals, trial registrations, or other documentation to verify research integrity.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism—text, ideas, data, images, or code—is unacceptable. The journal employs similarity checks during editorial screening and, where necessary, after revisions. Confirmed plagiarism leads to rejection or retraction, in accordance with COPE guidance.
Retracting and Correcting Articles
Corrections (errata/corrigenda), retractions, and expressions of concern follow COPE flowcharts and standards. Notices are linked to the original articles, clearly stating reasons and parties involved (authors/editorial decision). Retractions maintain metadata and a watermark or header indicating retracted status to preserve the scholarly record.
Formal Notices
Formal notices include Errata, Corrigenda, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern. These are citable, indexed, and publicly documented to ensure transparency and integrity of the record.
Copyright and Access
By default, authors grant CBN Bullion a license to publish and distribute the article in all formats. Authors retain moral rights. The journal provides digital access via official channels and may offer print dissemination. Reuse and licensing terms (e.g., all rights reserved or specific Creative Commons licenses) are stated in the acceptance letter and on the article’s landing page. Authors must secure permissions for third-party content used in their manuscripts.
Note: If CBN Bullion is open access, specify the exact license (e.g., CC BY, CC BY NC) and any reuse conditions. If hybrid or subscription-based, describe reader access pathways (institutional, public, or individual).
Publishing Schedule
CBN Bullion is published quarterly (four issues per year). Special issues may be commissioned on thematic areas relevant to monetary policy, macroeconomics, financial stability, and development economics.
Archiving
The journal maintains digital preservation through secure backups and long-term repository storage. Persistent identifiers (e.g., DOIs, where implemented) and metadata are maintained to facilitate discovery and citation. Where feasible, deposits may be made in institutional or national repositories to ensure enduring accessibility. The journal supports self-archiving of accepted manuscripts subject to stated embargo and license terms.
Ownership and Management
CBN Bullion is owned and managed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Editorial independence is respected: editorial decisions are made without influence from the owner or sponsor and are based on scholarly merit, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal’s aims.
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Notes on Alignment with International Best Practices
This statement is principally aligned with:
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (2011) and subsequent COPE flowcharts for handling ethical issues.
• Widely recognised authorship and disclosure norms (e.g., criteria consistent with major editorial standards applied in economics and social sciences).
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Suggested Boilerplate for Article Pages
• Funding: “The authors gratefully acknowledge funding/support from … (if applicable). The funder had no role in study design, data collection/analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.”
• Conflicts of Interest: “The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this manuscript.”
• Data Availability: “Data and materials are available at … (repository link or ‘available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request’).”
• Ethics Approval (if applicable): “This research was approved by … (institutional ethics committee), approval number … .”
