Publication Ethics

FOCI adheres to the highest standards of academic integrity in computer science publishing. Any breach of these ethical guidelines will result in immediate rejection or retraction.

1. Plagiarism and Self-Plagiarism

We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism. Submissions must be entirely original. "Salami-slicing" (publishing multiple minor papers from a single research project) or redundantly publishing the same architecture in different journals is strictly prohibited.

2. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage

The use of Large Language Models (LLMs) or AI tools to assist with coding or grammar correction is permitted. However, AI tools cannot be listed as authors. Furthermore, papers consisting purely of AI-generated theoretical text without verifiable human experimentation, benchmarks, or mathematical proofs will be permanently banned from the journal.

3. Authorship Disputes

All listed authors must have made a significant, quantifiable contribution to the software engineering, data analysis, or manuscript drafting. Ghost authorship and gift authorship are unethical.

4. Conflicts of Interest

Authors must declare any financial or personal relationships with commercial entities (e.g., tech companies, patent holders) that could be viewed as influencing their research results.

5. Retractions and Corrections

If critical errors in code, logic, or data are discovered post-publication, the Editorial Board will issue a formal Erratum or Retraction, maintaining the transparent historical record of the journal.