Human Research Ethics Policy

The Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Language Teaching (JLLLT) is committed to ensuring that research involving human participants is conducted ethically, responsibly, and in accordance with applicable laws, institutional requirements, and internationally recognized research ethics principles.

Authors submitting manuscripts to JLLLT must ensure that their research respects the dignity, rights, privacy, safety, and welfare of all participants.

This policy applies to all research involving human participants or identifiable human data.

1. Scope

This policy applies to research involving human participants, including but not limited to:

classroom research;
surveys and questionnaires;
interviews;
focus group discussions;
observations;
experiments involving participants;
educational interventions;
online research and questionnaires;
corpus development involving identifiable participants;
audiovisual recordings;
social media and digital platform research;
mixed-methods studies.

2. Ethical Approval

Where required by applicable laws, national regulations, institutional policies, or the requirements of the relevant research field, research involving human participants must receive approval from an appropriate Research Ethics Committee (REC), Institutional Review Board (IRB), or equivalent ethics committee before data collection begins.

Authors should report the following information in the manuscript where applicable:

name of the approving institution or ethics committee;
ethics approval or protocol number;
date of approval.

Example:

This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of [Institution Name] (Approval No. 2026-015).

If formal ethical approval was not required, authors must clearly explain the reason in the manuscript.

If a study received an ethical exemption or waiver, authors should identify the relevant institution or ethics committee and explain the basis of the exemption or waiver.

3. Informed Consent

Authors must obtain informed consent from participants whenever required by applicable laws, institutional requirements, or the relevant research ethics committee.

Participants should receive sufficient information about:

the purpose of the study;
research procedures;
potential risks and benefits;
voluntary participation;
the right to withdraw where applicable;
confidentiality and data protection;
the intended use of research data.

For participants who are under the legal age or who lack the capacity to provide informed consent, consent must be obtained from a parent, guardian, or other legally authorized representative in accordance with applicable requirements. Where appropriate, participant assent should also be obtained.

Where informed consent has been waived or is not required, the authors must provide an appropriate explanation in the manuscript.

4. Privacy and Confidentiality

Authors must protect participants' privacy throughout the research and publication process.

Personally identifiable information should not be disclosed unless disclosure is ethically and legally justified and the appropriate consent or authorization has been obtained.

Where appropriate, authors should anonymize or de-identify:

participant names;
schools;
institutions;
organizations;
locations;
usernames or account identifiers;
photographs, recordings, or other identifying information.

Authors should take reasonable measures to prevent participants from being identifiable through combinations of information presented in the manuscript.

5. Research Involving Vulnerable Participants

Research involving vulnerable participants requires additional ethical safeguards.

This may include research involving:

children and school students;
persons with disabilities;
older adults;
refugees or displaced persons;
Indigenous communities;
economically or socially vulnerable populations;
persons who lack the capacity to provide informed consent.

Authors should describe the safeguards used to protect participants and demonstrate compliance with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

6. Images, Audio, and Video Recordings

Authors who wish to publish photographs, screenshots, audio recordings, video recordings, or other materials that may identify participants must obtain appropriate consent or permission where required.

Consent for participation in research does not necessarily constitute consent for publication of identifiable images, recordings, or other personal information.

Where publication consent cannot be obtained, identifying information should be removed or adequately obscured, provided that doing so does not compromise the scientific integrity of the research.

7. Online and Social Media Research

Research involving websites, social media platforms, online communities, or other digital environments must comply with applicable ethical requirements, privacy regulations, and relevant platform policies.

The fact that information is publicly accessible does not by itself remove the researchers' responsibility to consider participant privacy, potential harm, and reasonable expectations of privacy.

Authors should consider whether informed consent, anonymization, ethical approval, or other safeguards are required based on the nature and sensitivity of the data.

Personally identifiable information should be removed or anonymized whenever appropriate.

8. Data Protection and Security

Authors must take appropriate measures to protect research data containing personal or sensitive information.

Research data should be collected, stored, processed, and shared in accordance with applicable data protection and privacy requirements.

Authors should not disclose personal information that is unnecessary for understanding or reproducing the research.

9. Editorial Assessment

Editors may request additional documentation concerning:

ethical approval;
informed consent;
ethical exemption or waiver;
participant recruitment;
confidentiality procedures;
data protection measures;
consent for publication of identifiable materials.

The Editorial Office may request supporting documentation from the authors or their institution when necessary.

Failure to provide satisfactory evidence of ethical compliance may result in rejection of the manuscript or further editorial investigation.

10. Research Integrity

JLLLT does not consider acceptable research practices involving:

coercive participation;
unethical or unauthorized data collection;
unjustified deception;
unauthorized disclosure of participant information;
failure to comply with applicable ethical requirements;
fabrication or falsification of participant data;
misuse of personal or sensitive information.

Where ethical concerns arise after publication, the journal may investigate the matter in accordance with its Publication Ethics and Retraction, Withdrawal and Removal Policy.

11. Author Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for ensuring that:

appropriate ethical standards have been observed;
participants have been treated respectfully;
informed consent has been obtained where required;
appropriate consent for publication has been obtained where necessary;
confidential and personal information is adequately protected;
ethical approval or exemption has been obtained and documented whenever required;
research data are handled in accordance with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Submission of a manuscript to JLLLT constitutes an assurance that the authors have complied with this policy.

12. Ethical Statement in the Manuscript

Authors should include an Ethics Statement in the manuscript whenever applicable.

Example:

This study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of [Institution Name]. Ethical approval was granted by the [Name of Ethics Committee] (Approval No. XXXXX). Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection.

For studies for which formal ethical approval was not required:

Formal ethical approval was not required for this study under the regulations of [Institution/Country]. The study complied with applicable ethical requirements, and participant privacy and confidentiality were protected throughout the research process.

For studies receiving an exemption or waiver:

This study received an exemption from formal ethical review from [Institution/Committee] because [brief reason]. The researchers followed appropriate procedures to protect participants' rights, privacy, and confidentiality.

13. Compliance

JLLLT follows internationally recognized principles for ethical research involving human participants.

Authors are expected to comply with applicable institutional regulations, national legislation, research ethics requirements, privacy and data protection standards, and relevant disciplinary guidelines.

Where ethical requirements differ across jurisdictions, authors are responsible for following the requirements applicable to the research setting and for providing sufficient information to allow the Editorial Team to assess ethical compliance.

Contact

Questions regarding research ethics involving human participants may be directed to the JLLLT Editorial Office through the journal's official contact page.