Editorial Policies and Publication Ethics

The editorial board is responsible for ensuring the quality and integrity of all published content. The board adheres to the highest standards of academic integrity, maintaining the journal’s mission to contribute to management, finance, accounting, economics, and public administration research.

Manuscript Handling

Manuscripts are processed through an online editorial management system, ensuring that authors can track the status of their submission.

Editors assign submissions to appropriate reviewers based on the topic and research methodology. All editorial decisions are based on the reviewers’ recommendations and the editorial board's assessment.

Decision Categories

Accept: The manuscript is accepted with no or minimal revisions. All acceptance decisions should be based on a condition of proofreading and format changes (if necessary) by author(s) before article goes to publication.

Minor Revisions: The manuscript is conditionally accepted pending minor revisions.

Major Revisions: Substantial revisions are required before the manuscript can be reconsidered.

Reject: The manuscript is not suitable for publication in the journal.

Ethical Standards

The editorial board ensures that all manuscripts adhere to ethical standards, including:

Plagiarism: Manuscripts must pass a plagiarism check (using standard software). Any instance of plagiarism will result in immediate rejection.

Research Integrity: Authors must declare that their research is original and not under consideration by any other journal.

Transparency: Authors must provide full details of funding sources and any potential conflicts of interest.

Appeals and Complaints

Authors have the right to appeal editorial decisions by submitting a formal letter outlining the reasons for their appeal. Appeals are reviewed by the editor-in-chief and, if necessary, additional external reviewers.

Authorship Criteria
All listed authors should meet the following authorship criteria based on the guidelines provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE):

• Substantial contributions to the conception, design, execution, data acquisition, or analysis of the research.
• Drafting or critically revising the manuscript for important intellectual content.
• Final approval of the version to be published.
• Accountability for all aspects of the work, ensuring that any questions related to the accuracy or integrity of the research are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Anyone who does not meet all of these criteria should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section, rather than listed as an author.

Role of the Corresponding Author
The corresponding author takes primary responsibility for communication with the journal during the manuscript submission, peer review, and publication process. Their specific responsibilities include:

• Ensuring that all listed authors have approved the manuscript’s final version and agreed to its submission.
• Managing all communication between the journal and co-authors.
• Acting as the point of contact for post-publication discussions, including any requests for data or materials.
• Ensuring adherence to ethical guidelines, such as disclosing conflicts of interest and handling ethical issues related to research.

Changes to Authorship
Requests to add, remove, or rearrange author names after submission must be approved by all authors, including any who are being added or removed. Such requests must include the reason for the change and written confirmation (email, letter) from all authors that they agree with the alteration.

Affiliations

All authors must provide accurate affiliations, including:

• Full institutional name and department (if applicable).
• City and country of the institution.
• Current affiliations for all listed authors should be up to date at the time of submission. If an author changes affiliation after the manuscript is submitted but before publication, both the current and previous affiliations should be indicated.

Authors should also ensure that any institutional funding or support received during the research is accurately reflected in the acknowledgments or funding sections.

Authors with more than one institutional affiliation (e.g., academic institutions, research centers, or industry positions) should indicate their primary affiliation and may also include a second affiliation if it is relevant to the research. Both affiliations must be clearly stated on the title page of the manuscript, and the order of affiliations should reflect the author’s institutional priorities at the time of the research.

Corrections
Bulletin of the Karaganda University is committed to publishing high-quality research, and in cases where errors are identified after publication, the journal will take appropriate steps to correct the record. Corrections may include:

• Minor corrections (e.g., typographical errors or small factual inaccuracies) that do not affect the overall findings of the research.
• Major corrections (e.g., significant errors in data, analysis, or conclusions) that may impact the interpretation of the research.

Corrections will be published as a separate note linked to the original article, clearly indicating the nature of the correction.

Retractions
In cases where errors or misconduct are so severe that the findings of the research are invalid, the article may be retracted. Retractions will follow COPE guidelines and may be initiated by the authors or the editorial board in cases of:

• Fabrication or falsification of data.
• Plagiarism or unethical research practices.
• Honest errors that significantly undermine the integrity of the findings.

A retraction notice will be published, explaining the reason for the retraction and linked to the original article.

Advanced Online Publication

Bulletin of the Karaganda University offers Advanced Online Publication (AOP) for accepted articles, allowing research to be available before the print version is released. Articles published under AOP will:

• Be fully citable with a DOI and date of publication.
• Undergo the same rigorous peer review and editorial processes as printed articles.
• Be available online as a pre-publication version until the final version is included in a specific issue.

If errors are discovered in an AOP article before final publication, the editorial team will address these through corrections or, in severe cases, withdrawal.

Data Availability and Transparency

Bulletin of the Karaganda University adheres to COPE’s principles regarding data availability and research transparency. Authors must ensure that their data is available upon reasonable request, and where possible, make datasets publicly accessible.

Data Availability Statement
Each article must include a Data Availability Statement indicating:

• Whether the data supporting the findings of the study are available.
• Where the data can be accessed (e.g., a public repository, institutional database, or upon request from the authors).
• Any restrictions on data access (e.g., privacy concerns, proprietary data).

Data Sharing
Authors are encouraged to deposit datasets in trusted public repositories, following FAIR principles (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, Reusability). The journal encourages open access to data to promote research transparency and replication.

Ethical Use of Data
All authors must ensure that their data collection adheres to ethical guidelines, including informed consent, protection of personal data, and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Authors should also declare the use of secondary data and ensure proper citation of original data sources.

Ethical Guidelines for Authorship and Publication

Bulletin of the Karaganda University follows COPE's guidelines and emphasizes ethical practices in authorship and publication, including:

• Ensuring transparency in authorship roles and contributions.
• Preventing authorship disputes by requiring written confirmation from all authors on the final manuscript.
• Addressing allegations of misconduct following COPE’s flowcharts and procedures for handling complaints.

By implementing these guidelines, the journal fosters a transparent, ethical, and rigorous research environment for all contributors.