Citation Ethics and Citation Manipulation Policy

Authors are responsible for ensuring that citations accurately represent the sources, evidence, and scholarly arguments supporting their research.

References must be selected based on academic relevance, reliability, and their contribution to the manuscript rather than personal, institutional, or editorial interests.

Authors are expected to:

  • Acknowledge original sources of ideas, theories, data, and research findings.

  • Accurately represent the arguments and conclusions of cited publications.

  • Provide complete and verifiable bibliographic information.

  • Cite relevant literature representing appropriate scholarly perspectives.

  • Avoid misleading, fabricated, irrelevant, or unnecessary references.

  • Verify references and DOIs before submitting manuscripts.

Where possible, authors should consult and cite original sources rather than relying exclusively on secondary citations.

For research involving Islamic law, Sharia, and legal ethics, authors should accurately identify relevant primary legal sources, including legislation, judicial decisions, classical Islamic legal texts, and other authoritative materials.

Citations to the Qur'an, Hadith, classical jurisprudential literature, and legal documents must be presented accurately and with sufficient information to enable scholarly verification.

The journal encourages the use of relevant and credible research from diverse scholarly perspectives without imposing unnecessary restrictions based on the source's institutional or geographical origin.

Prohibited Citation Manipulation

Antmind Review does not tolerate practices intended to distort scholarly citation records or artificially influence bibliometric indicators.

Prohibited practices include:

Excessive Self-Citation

Inserting unnecessary references to an author's own publications primarily to increase personal citation counts rather than to support the research.

Coercive Citation

Requiring authors to cite particular articles, authors, reviewers, editors, or journals without clear academic justification as a condition of manuscript acceptance or publication.

Citation Stacking and Citation Cartels

Coordinated citation exchanges between authors, research groups, institutions, or journals intended to artificially increase citation metrics.

Journal Citation Manipulation

Requiring or encouraging authors to include irrelevant references to previously published articles in Antmind Review for the purpose of increasing the journal's citation performance.

Citation Padding

Adding numerous unnecessary or marginally relevant references to increase the length of the reference list or create a misleading impression of scholarly support.

Fabricated or Misleading Citations

Including nonexistent publications, fabricated bibliographic details, inaccurate DOIs, or references that do not support the statements attributed to them.

The journal recognizes that self-citation and citations to articles published in the same journal may be academically legitimate when directly relevant to the research.

The appropriateness of citations will therefore be evaluated according to their scholarly relevance and context, rather than through a fixed numerical self-citation threshold.

Responsibilities of Authors, Reviewers, and Editors

Authors

Authors must ensure that all references are accurate, necessary, and appropriately acknowledged.

Authors must not participate in coordinated citation arrangements or intentionally manipulate citation patterns.

Requests to add references during manuscript revision should be evaluated according to their relevance and scholarly contribution.

Authors may provide a reasoned explanation when they consider a suggested reference academically unnecessary.

Reviewers

Reviewers must evaluate the adequacy and relevance of cited literature objectively.

Reviewers may recommend additional references when necessary to strengthen theoretical arguments, address significant gaps, or improve the academic quality of a manuscript.

However, reviewers must not pressure authors to cite their own publications, their colleagues' research, or articles from particular journals for personal or institutional benefit.

All recommendations for additional citations must be supported by clear academic justification.

Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors must ensure that reviewer recommendations concerning references are academically justified and free from improper influence.

Editors must not require authors to cite Antmind Review articles merely to improve journal citation metrics.

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board are responsible for identifying and addressing potentially coercive or manipulative citation practices.

Editorial decisions must remain independent of citation targets, impact indicators, personal relationships, institutional interests, and financial considerations.

Detection and Handling of Citation Manipulation

The Editorial Office may evaluate unusual citation patterns or questionable reference recommendations identified during editorial screening, peer review, or post-publication assessment.

Potential concerns may include excessive concentration of irrelevant references, repeated citation exchanges, fabricated sources, or inappropriate demands from reviewers or editors.

When suspected citation manipulation is identified, the journal will assess the available evidence fairly and objectively.

Depending on the circumstances, appropriate actions may include:

  • Requesting clarification or correction from the authors.

  • Removing unjustified citation requirements from reviewer recommendations.

  • Reassigning a manuscript to an independent reviewer or editor.

  • Rejecting a manuscript when serious or deliberate manipulation is established.

  • Investigating coordinated or repeated unethical citation practices.

  • Issuing a correction, expression of concern, or retraction when necessary to protect the integrity of the published record.

Authors and other individuals involved will be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to allegations before a determination is made.

Concerns involving editors or the Editor-in-Chief must be referred to an independent individual without a relevant conflict of interest, in accordance with the journal's Conflict of Interest and Editorial Independence Policy.

Post-publication concerns will be addressed through the journal's Publication Ethics Policy and Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern Policy.

Citation Integrity and Editorial Independence

Antmind Review is committed to ensuring that citation practices serve scholarly communication rather than bibliometric manipulation.

The journal does not establish mandatory citation quotas, require authors to cite a minimum number of Antmind Review articles, or condition manuscript acceptance on citations intended to improve journal metrics.

Authors are encouraged to engage critically with relevant scholarship and to include references necessary to support their research questions, methods, interpretations, and conclusions.

The journal's editorial leadership will periodically review citation practices and relevant publication-integrity concerns to maintain scholarly quality and transparency.

All suspected violations will be managed in accordance with internationally recognized principles of research and publication ethics.