Ethical Statement

Ethical Statement of the Bulletin of Language and Literature Studies (BLLS)

1. Research Conduct The Bulletin of Language and Literature Studies (BLLS) expects authors to conduct their research according to the highest ethical standards while adhering to relevant laws and regulations. This includes:

  • Informed Consent: Authors must obtain informed consent from participants involved in their studies.

  • Privacy and Confidentiality: Researchers must protect participants' privacy and maintain confidentiality.

  • Non-Harmful Research: Research activities should not cause harm to participants in any form.

2. Plagiarism and Duplicate Submission BLLS strictly prohibits plagiarism and duplicate submissions. Manuscripts containing plagiarized content or previously published material will be rejected or retracted.

All submissions undergo plagiarism checks using iThenticate and are further evaluated by expert reviewers to ensure originality.

3. Data Fabrication and Falsification BLLS will not accept manuscripts containing fabricated or falsified data. Such unethical practices will lead to rejection or retraction.

4. Conflicts of Interest Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest (financial, personal, or professional) in their cover letters during the submission process. BLLS reserves the right to reject or request revisions for articles with undisclosed conflicts of interest.

5. Authorship and Contributorship BLLS follows COPE guidelines on authorship and contributorship. Authors should meet all criteria for authorship and properly acknowledge contributions.

  • Criteria for Authorship: Authors must have made significant contributions to the research's conception, design, execution, or interpretation.

  • Acknowledgment of Contributors: Individuals who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.

6. Complaints and Appeals BLLS takes complaints and appeals seriously and handles them per COPE guidelines.

  • Handling Complaints: Allegations of ethical misconduct will be thoroughly investigated.

  • Appeals Process: Authors may appeal editorial decisions following established procedures.

7. Allegations of Research Misconduct BLLS investigates allegations of research misconduct such as plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification in accordance with COPE standards. Proven misconduct will result in appropriate actions, including article retraction.

8. Data Sharing and Reproducibility BLLS encourages data sharing and reproducibility. Authors should ensure data availability for verification and reuse.

  • Data Availability: Authors are encouraged to deposit their data in publicly accessible repositories.

  • Reproducibility: Authors should provide sufficient details to enable replication of their research.

9. Ethical Oversight BLLS is committed to ethical oversight and adheres to established ethical standards.

  • Ethical Approval: Studies involving human or animal subjects must have prior ethical approval.

  • Oversight Mechanisms: BLLS follows COPE guidelines for maintaining ethical oversight.

10. Intellectual Property BLLS respects intellectual property rights and adheres to COPE guidelines.

  • Copyright: Authors retain the copyright of their work.

  • Licensing: Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.

11. Post-Publication Discussions BLLS encourages post-publication discussions and engagement.

  • Commenting: Readers can provide feedback on published articles.

  • Responses: Authors are encouraged to respond constructively to comments and critiques.

12. Corrections and Retractions BLLS handles corrections and retractions according to COPE guidelines.

  • Corrections: Minor errors not affecting study conclusions will be corrected.

  • Retractions: Serious errors or cases of misconduct will result in retraction.

13. Contact Information For inquiries regarding ethical practices or conflict-of-interest policies, please contact the Bulletin of Language and Literature Studies (BLLS) editorial office at:

  • E-mail: editor@blls.com

  • Phone: +442045770747

  • Address: 128 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX, UNITED KINGDOM

For additional details, refer to COPE’s Core Practice guidance on: