Aims & Scope

To learn more about the journal, please click here: [Aims & Scope ↗].

Submission Guidelines

To learn about the journal's Submission Guidelines and Manuscript Preparation, please click here: [Submission Guidelines ↗].

APC Charges (fee)

To know about the journal's Article Processing Charge (APC), please click here: [Article Processing Charge (APC) ↗].

Ethics Statement

To know about the journal's Publication Ethics Statement, please click here: [Ethics-Statement ↗].

Editorial and Peer Review Process

To know about the journal's Editorial and Peer Review Process, please click here: [Editorial and Peer Review Process ↗].

The Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies

Authors may use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies only to improve the language, clarity, and readability of their manuscript before submission. Such tools must not be used to generate original scientific content, interpret results, draw conclusions, create research arguments, or replace human judgment. Authors remain fully responsible and accountable for the accuracy, originality, validity, and integrity of the submitted work.

The use of generative AI or AI-assisted technologies during the writing process must be disclosed in a separate section titled “Declaration of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Writing Process.” This declaration should be placed immediately before the References section and should clearly state the name of the tool used and the purpose of its use. AI tools must not be listed as authors or co-authors.

The use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools to create, modify, or manipulate figures, images, graphical abstracts, artwork, or visual materials is not permitted, except where such use forms part of the research methodology and is clearly described in the Methods section.

Editors and reviewers must treat all manuscripts and related editorial communications as confidential. They must not use generative AI or AI-assisted technologies to evaluate manuscripts, prepare peer review reports, or make editorial decisions.

Failure to comply with this policy may result in editorial action in accordance with the journal’s ethics and publishing standards.

For more details, please visit the detailed policy page: Click here ↗.

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Plagiarism Policy

We has a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism. Plagiarism is defined as copying text, ideas, images, data, or other materials from another source, including an author’s own previously published work, without properly crediting the original source.

Text copied from another source must be placed within quotation marks where appropriate, and the original source must be cited. If the design of a study, or the structure or language of the manuscript, was inspired by previous works, these works must be explicitly cited.

JICC is a member of Crossref, and submissions may be checked for plagiarism using industry-standard plagiarism detection software, including iThenticate ↗. The manuscript may be rejected if plagiarism is discovered during the editorial screening or peer review process. If plagiarism is discovered after publication, an investigation will be conducted, and appropriate action will be taken in accordance with the journal’s publication ethics policies.

Authorship and AI Tools

Read more about the COPE position statement on AI and authorship ↗

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT or other Large Language Models, in research publications is expanding rapidly. JICC follows the position of recognised publication ethics organisations, including COPE, WAME ↗, and the JAMA Network ↗, that AI tools cannot be listed as authors of a manuscript.

AI tools cannot meet the requirements for because they cannot take responsibility for the submitted work. As non-legal entities, AI tools cannot assert the presence or absence of conflicts of interest, manage copyright and license agreements, approve the final version of a manuscript, or be held accountable for the accuracy and integrity of the work.

Authors who use AI tools in the writing of a manuscript, the production of images or graphical elements, or in the collection and analysis of data must be transparent in disclosing how the AI tool was used and which tool was used. This disclosure should be included in the Materials and Methods section, Acknowledgments section, or another appropriate section of the manuscript.

Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, including any parts produced or assisted by an AI tool, and are therefore liable for any breach of publication ethics.

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Authorship Policy

We follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) ↗.To be eligible for manuscript authorship, all the authors must have made significant contributions to the conception, writing, and designing of the work, as well as data gathering and analysis. All authors equally accept the responsibility for all aspects of the work, including the investigation and resolution of any questions about the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work. To qualify for authorship, each author should meet the following criteria:

1. Make a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
2. Participate in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
3. Approve the final version of the manuscript before publication.
4. Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work and ensure that any questions related to the accuracy, integrity, or ethical conduct of the research are appropriately investigated and resolved.

If authors contributed to the work but do not meet the authorship requirements, they should be acknowledged appropriately within the text.

Authorship Change Correction & Removal Policy

Any change to the author list, including the addition, removal, or rearrangement of authors, must be approved by all authors, including any author who is being removed. The corresponding author is responsible for communicating with the editorial office, keeping all co-authors informed, and ensuring that all authors approve major decisions during the submission, review, and publication process.

JICC reserves the right to request written confirmation that all listed authors meet the journal’s authorship criteria and that all authors have approved the final manuscript.

Role of the Corresponding Author

The corresponding author should act as a liaison between the editor and the other authors, informing and involving co-authors in major publication decisions. We reserve the right to request proof that all authors meet the requirements for authorship.

To add or remove authors after submission, please download and complete the necessary ⬇Change of Authorship Form.

Authorship Change Policy

Authors may request to make changes or remove authorship before and after publication. The Editor-in-Chief will discuss the case with their publishing contact and agree on what action, if any, is required. JICC follows the COPE flowchart ↗ to handle these complaints and requests.

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Relevant Forms for Authorship Changes

For Corrections

A correction provides a forum for communicating critical, scientifically relevant errors or missing information in a published article. Any post-publication changes that impact scientific interpretation — such as changes to a misleading portion, errors in figures, minor data corrections that don't affect conclusions, or missing methodological details — are announced through a formal Correction.

The author must complete the ⬇Correction Submission Form and submit it to the Editorial Office.

For Removal and Addition of Extra Authors

If there are any changes in authorship (addition or removal), the author must complete the following forms:

• ⬇Authorship Change Form
• Authorship Agreement and Disclosure Statements Form ↗

For Corresponding Author Change Request

To change the Corresponding Author after submission or publication, the author must complete the ⬇Corresponding Author Change Request Form and submit it to the Editorial Office.

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Editors and Editorial Staff as Authors

Editorial staff or editors shall not be involved in processing their own submissions. Decisions will be made by other Editorial Board Members who do not have a conflict of interest with the author. Journal staff are not involved in the processing of their work.

Conflict of Interests

All authors are required to disclose any relationships or interests that may improperly influence or bias their work. Financial interests such as:

• Membership
• Employment
• Consultancies
• Stock/share ownership
• Honoraria
• Grants or other funding
• Paid expert testimony
• Patent-licensing arrangements

and non-financial interests such as:

• Personal or professional relationships
• Affiliations
• Personal beliefs

are considered potential conflicts of interest. Authors can disclose potential conflicts of interest through the online submission system.

The corresponding author must include a conflict of interest statement before the reference list. The statement should clearly include all potential conflict-of-interest disclosures.

If no conflicts exist, authors should state clearly:

Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Withdrawal Policy

1. Withdrawal before submission: If an author wishes to withdraw a manuscript before submitting it to a journal, they can do so at any time. They should inform the journal within 5days of submission and provide a reason for their withdrawal.
2. Withdrawal during peer review: If an author wishes to withdraw a manuscript during the peer review process, they should contact the editor and provide a reason for their withdrawal. If the manuscript has already been sent out for review, the editor may ask the reviewers to complete their review, or they may choose to stop the review process. Manuscripts (articles), once processed for the peer review process or published online, shall be withdrawn with a penalty paid (300 GBP) to the Editorial Office of JICC. Withdrawing manuscripts may cause the amount of time wasted in processing the manuscripts by the editors, reviewers, and editorial board members. Authors are requested to decide before submitting the manuscript. Ideally, these should be decided even before beginning to write the manuscript.

3. Replacement: If an author wishes to replace an earlier version of their manuscript with a new version, they should contact the editor and provide the new version along with a detailed explanation of the changes made.

4. Retractions: Retractions are issued when a published manuscript is found to be erroneous or fraudulent. The retraction notice should be published in the journal that originally published the manuscript and clearly states the reason for the retraction.

5. Removal: In some cases, a published manuscript may need to be removed from a journal or publisher's website. This may occur if the manuscript contains confidential information, violates copyright laws, or is found to be defamatory. The journal or publisher will typically issue a notice of removal, which should clearly explain the reason for the removal.

6. Pre-publication withdrawal can occur during the editing process. If an author wishes to withdraw their manuscript at this stage, they should first contact the journal's editorial office and clearly explain their decision. It is important to note that withdrawing a manuscript at this stage can have implications for the journal and the review process. The manuscript may have already been reviewed and sent to the editing process, which has invested its time and effort in reviewing and editing the manuscript. In this case, the payment is not refundable.

7. Manuscript Withdrawal (After Acceptance): Withdrawing a manuscript after it has been accepted for publication can have serious consequences for both the author and the journal. If an author wishes to withdraw their manuscript at this stage, they should first contact the journal's editorial office and clearly explain their decision. If the manuscript has already been scheduled for publication or has been published online or in print, the journal may require the author to submit a formal request for withdrawal, which should be accompanied by a clear explanation of the decision. The journal will then consider the request and may consult with the authors, reviewers, and editors involved in the review and publication process. In some cases, the journal may allow the withdrawal but may still require the author to pay any costs (if not paid) that have been incurred up to that point, such as editorial or production expenses. If paid, then the payment is not refundable. 

Withdrawal Stages Summary

Withdrawal Stage	Allowed/Not allowed with Timeframe	Refundable Payment
After Submission	Within 5 days	Refundable if any
During or After Peer Review	Not allowed/Allowed with  £300 penalty	Not refundable
After Acceptance	Not allowed	Not refundable
In Editing Process	Not allowed	Not refundable
After Publication	Not allowed	Not refundable

Withdrawal Email Templatet:

Subject: Withdrawal Request for Manuscript [Manuscript Title]

Dear [Editor's Name],

I am writing to request the withdrawal of my manuscript titled [Manuscript Title] from consideration for publication in [Journal Name]. The manuscript ID is XXXX and the date of submission was XXXX.

[Mention the reason here]

Please confirm receipt of this request and let me know if there are any additional steps that I need to take to ensure the manuscript's withdrawal.

Thank you for your understanding.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

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Manipulated and Misinterpreted Information

Image Manipulation

Image files must not be altered in any way that might cause the information provided by the original image to be misinterpreted. The following are examples of irregular manipulation:

• Adding, enhancing, moving, or removing features from the original image.
• Grouping images that should be presented separately (e.g., different regions of the same gel or from different gels).
• Altering contrast, brightness, or color balance to hide, cover up, or enhance specific information.

If questionable image manipulation is found and verified during peer review, the manuscript may be rejected. If discovered after publication, the article may be updated or retracted accordingly.

Citation Policy

Proper Attribution: Where material is taken from other sources (including the authors’ own published work), the original source must be clearly cited, and appropriate permission must be obtained.

• Authors should avoid excessive self-citation.
• Authors should only cite works they have personally read.
• Preferential citation of friends, peers, or institutions should be avoided.
• Advertisements or advertorial material should not be cited.

Self-Citation Policy

We are committed to maintaining the highest ethical standards in scholarly publishing. This policy ensures that self-citations are appropriate and ethical.

Author Self-Citation Guidelines

• Relevance and Necessity: Authors may cite their own previous work if it is directly relevant to the current manuscript and contributes meaningfully to the research discussion.
• Avoid Excessive Self-Citation: The proportion of self-citations should generally not exceed 20% of the total references unless justified by the nature of the research.
• No Artificial Citation Boosting: Authors should not cite their own work to increase citation metrics or journal impact factors artificially.
• Cite What You Have Read: Authors should only cite works they have personally reviewed. Copying references from other sources without verification is not permitted.

Reviewer and Editor Citation Ethics

• Fair Citation Recommendations: Reviewers should not pressure authors to cite their own work unless it significantly enhances the manuscript’s academic quality.
• Editorial Integrity: Editors should ensure that articles do not include unnecessary self-citations and that all suggested citations are relevant and unbiased.
• No Preferential Citations: Editors and reviewers must not require authors to cite specific journals, including JICC, unless the citations are genuinely relevant to the research.

Citations in Peer Review and Copy Editing

• Authors should not cite the peer review or copy-editing process in their references.
• Acknowledgements of reviewers or editors can be included in a dedicated acknowledgement section if necessary.
• If referring to general best practices in peer review or academic editing, authors should cite relevant published literature on editorial standards, not specific peer review feedback.

Monitoring and Compliance

• Manuscripts with excessive self-citations may be flagged for editorial review.
• The editorial board reserves the right to request citation modifications during the peer review process.
• Repeated violations of this policy may result in manuscript rejection or further investigation into citation practices.

Ethical Oversight and Transparency

This citation and self-citation policy aligns with Committee on Publication Ethics ↗ guidelines. We promotes responsible and transparent citation practices to safeguard the integrity of intercultural communication research.

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Appeals and Complaints

Authors may file complaints or appeals regarding the following issues:

• Editorial decisions
• Failure of the process
• Long delay in handling papers
• Publication ethics
• Journal policies

In the first instance, all complaints will be handled by the Editor-in-Chief or Managing Editor. If they are unavailable, the author can contact the in-house publishing team via publications[at]icrp.org.uk.

The Editor-in-Chief or the in-house contact will investigate the matter and provide appropriate feedback.

Complaints related to publication ethics will be handled following the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) ↗. Please note that JICC or its in-house publishing team are not members of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

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Corrections and Retractions and Removal of Published Content

Corrections and Retractions

If improper behaviour or fraud is suspected, the journal and/or publisher will investigate according to COPE guidelines ↗. If an investigation reveals legitimate concerns, the authors will be contacted via their provided email address and given a chance to respond. Depending on the situation, the journal and/or publisher may implement the following measures:

• The manuscript may be rejected and returned if it is still under consideration.
• If the article is already online, depending on the infraction, an erratum or correction may be added.
• The article may include an editor's note or concern.
• In severe cases, retraction of the paper may occur.

The reason will be clearly stated in a correction, editor's note, editorial concern, or retraction notice. In cases of retraction, the article will be watermarked "retracted," and the explanation will be linked to the article.

Removal of Published Content

The Journal of Intercultural Communication (JICC) may remove an article or other content from its online platforms under certain circumstances:

• Content that violates intellectual property rights, privacy rights, or any other legal right of a third party.
• Content deemed unlawful or illegal based on court or government orders.
• Discovery of conflict of interest during investigation.
• Evidence of unethical behaviour from the author.
• Content that poses an immediate and serious health risk if acted upon.
• Submitting falsified or fabricated data.
• Fake authorship or impersonation of individuals.
• Manuscripts submitted through unauthorized third parties.
• Manipulation of the peer review process.
• Use of forged or misleading acceptance letters.

If content is removed, the removal may be permanent. However, the bibliographic metadata will be preserved along with a statement explaining why the content was removed.

For full details, please refer to our Misconduct & Fraud Prevention Policy ↗.

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Language Editing Policy

It is important that your manuscript is submitted in grammatically correct English to ensure proper peer-reviewing. Advice on specific linguistic issues can be found here ↗.

If you are not a native English speaker, we recommend that you have your manuscript professionally edited or reviewed by a native English-speaking colleague before submitting it. Professional editing will make it easier for reviewers and future readers to read and assess the content of submitted manuscripts.

Note: All accepted manuscripts are subjected to language editing; however, authors will be charged an additional fee if the Editorial Office is required to make extensive English corrections.

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CrossMark Policy

CrossMark is a multi-publisher initiative that aims to provide a standardized method for readers to find the most recent version of a piece of content. By using the CrossMark logo, the publisher commits to maintaining the content it publishes and notifying readers of changes as they occur. Clicking on the CrossMark logo will display the document's current status as well as additional publication record information.

Clicking the CrossMark logo on a document will tell you its current status and may also give you additional publication-record information about the document. The ICRP content that will have the CrossMark logo is restricted to current and future journal content and is limited to specific publication types. For more information on CrossMark, please visit the CrossMark site.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36923/jicc/CrossMark ↗

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Retraction Policy

The publisher, ICR Publications Ltd, UK, and the Journal of Intercultural Communication adhere strictly to the COPE Guidelines ↗ for Retractions. Any necessary retractions will follow these best practices to ensure integrity and transparency.

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Correction Policy

To maintain trust with readers, the publisher replaces original articles with corrected versions whenever necessary. This ensures that the audience has access to the most recent and accurate version of a published paper, avoiding misunderstandings and misinformation.

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