ASI Publication Ethics
          Asia Social Issues (ASI) places utmost importance on maintaining rigorous ethical standards throughout the academic publication process. Our commitment to integrity and transparency is underscored by adherence to the guidelines set forth by "The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)" (available at https://publicationethics.org/).

          Plagiarism Detection: In our commitment to ensuring the authenticity of submitted manuscripts, we employ the plagiarism detection tool "CopyCatch". Should a manuscript exhibit a similarity index exceeding 30%, we kindly request authors to revise it. Failure to address this concern may lead to the outright rejection of the manuscript, marking the conclusion of the review process.

          CopyCatch (Copyright, Academic Work, and Thesis Checking System): This system is crafted to automatically identify plagiarism in various electronic documents, including theses, project proposals, academic publications, and web pages. It proficiently analyzes similarities between documents in both Thai and English, comparing them with materials stored in data warehouses or available online by National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), Thailand.

Misconduct and Unethical Behavior
          The editorial board will promptly convene a meeting upon the receipt of any serious concerns regarding misconduct or ethical issues in a submitted manuscript or published paper. These concerns may arise from readers, reviewers, or other sources and may pertain to the integrity, accuracy, or presentation of academic content. Subsequently, the authors will be contacted to provide them with an opportunity to address these concerns. Should the authors' response fail to adequately resolve the issues raised, the affected papers will be retracted. In cases where the article has not yet been published, it will be rejected outright.

Editor Ethics and Duties:

• Accountability: Editors are responsible for overseeing the entire publication process, implementing transparent procedures to guarantee the quality of publications.
• Fair Play and Editorial Independence: Manuscripts undergo evaluation based on academic merit, with editorial decisions uninfluenced by authors' characteristics. The College of Graduate Studies, Walailak University, has no role in content decisions.
• Editorial Confidentiality: Editors safeguard the confidentiality of authors' material, enforcing the double-blind peer review system to protect the identities of both authors and reviewers.
• Editorial Process: Editors conduct peer reviews fairly and responsibly, ensuring all parties understand their roles. A detailed process, from submission to publication, is outlined under the "peer review process" sub-section.
• Misconduct and Inappropriate Behavior: Editors take responsive measures to address any misconduct or ethical concerns raised about a submitted or published manuscript. If necessary, papers may be retracted.

Reviewer Ethics and Duties: Reviewers play a pivotal role in maintaining publication standards and are expected to:

• Decline Unrelated Reviews: Refuse review requests for manuscripts outside their expertise.
• Provide Objective Feedback: Offer comments based on expertise, free from conflicts of interest.
• Maintain Confidentiality: Treat manuscripts confidentially and report suspicions of duplications.
• Contribute to Editorial Decisions: Support editors in making informed decisions and adhere to prompt review timelines.

Author Ethics: Authors are essential contributors to ethical publication practices and must:

• Ensure Originality: Submit entirely original works, properly citing borrowed content.
• Avoid Multiple Publications: Refrain from submitting the same research to multiple journals concurrently.
• Acknowledge Sources: Appropriately credit the work of others, ensuring proper acknowledgment.
• Authorship Responsibilities: Authorship should reflect significant contributions, and authors must disclose conflicts of interest.

          Data Access and Retention: Authors may be asked to provide raw data for review and should be prepared for public access. Data retention after publication is encouraged.

          Fundamental Errors: Authors must promptly notify the editor of significant errors in their published works, cooperating to retract or correct the paper.

Guidelines for the Protection of Human Research Subjects:
          Research involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki. All original research articles must explicitly state the approval number granted by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee, along with the name of the committee and relevant methodological details. In studies involving individual cases or case series, authors are required to obtain informed consent from participants or their legally authorized representatives, particularly when personal information or identifiable images are included. Such consent must be clearly stated within the manuscript.

AI-generated Content Policy:
          Manuscripts prepared with use of generative AI in all steps must be done with caution. The AI generated contents must undergo thorough review and careful editing and are recommended to explicitly disclose in the manuscripts during the peer review process, and will appear in the published version. Full responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the AI generated contents belongs entirely to all authors.