Responsible Research Assessment (RRA) Policy
United Frontiers Publisher supports the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).
Public Endorsement Statement
This policy serves as United Frontiers Publisher’s public institutional endorsement of the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and our commitment to responsible research assessment.
United Frontiers Publisher supports the responsible evaluation of research based on its scholarly quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical integrity, transparency, and contribution to knowledge. We encourage authors, editors, reviewers, academic institutions, and the broader research community to adopt responsible research assessment practices that promote fairness, academic excellence, and innovation in scholarly publishing.
Policy Code: UFP-RRA-26-01
Applies To: All journals, editors, editorial board members, reviewers, authors, and publishing personnel of United Frontiers Publisher SDN. BHD.
Version: 1.0
Approved By: United Frontiers Publisher
Effective Date: July 2026
Next Review: July 2028
1. Policy Statement
United Frontiers Publisher SDN. BHD. (“UFP”) is dedicated to upholding excellence, integrity, fairness, and transparency in scholarly publishing by advancing responsible research assessment. As an international academic publisher, UFP maintains that research should be evaluated based on scholarly quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical standards, and contribution to knowledge, rather than relying predominantly on journal-based metrics or institutional reputation.
United Frontiers Publisher endorses the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and supports internationally recognized best practices for responsible research assessment. The organization acknowledges that meaningful evaluation of research requires expert academic judgment that considers the complete scholarly contribution of each work.
2. Purpose
This policy outlines the principles governing the evaluation, review, and publication of research submitted to journals published by United Frontiers Publisher.
The policy affirms United Frontiers Publisher’s commitment to responsible research assessment and applies to all stages of the editorial, peer-review, and publication processes.
3. Guiding Principles
United Frontiers Publisher is committed to the following principles of responsible research assessment:
- Assessing manuscripts based on their intrinsic scholarly merit, including originality, methodological rigor, ethical integrity, transparency, and contribution to knowledge, rather than the reputation or perceived prestige of the publication venue.
- Ensuring that editorial decisions are independent, objective, impartial, and evidence-based, free from inappropriate influence by journal-based metrics, institutional prestige, or commercial interests.
- Maintaining fairness, transparency, accountability, and confidentiality throughout the editorial and peer review process.
- Promoting the responsible and appropriate use of research metrics, recognizing that bibliometric indicators should complement, but never replace, expert academic judgment.
- Recognizing and valuing diverse forms of scholarly contributions, including interdisciplinary research, methodological innovation, research data, software, educational resources, policy contributions, and other outputs that advance knowledge and society.
- Upholding the highest standards of research integrity, openness, reproducibility, ethical publishing, and responsible scholarly communication in accordance with internationally recognized best practices.
- Advancing equitable, inclusive, and accessible scholarly publishing by supporting equal opportunities for researchers regardless of geographical location, institutional affiliation, career stage, gender, or disciplinary background.
4. Responsible Research Assessment
United Frontiers Publisher is committed to ensuring that all manuscripts submitted to its journals are evaluated through a fair, objective, transparent, and evidence-based editorial and peer-review process.
Editorial assessment focuses on the intrinsic scholarly quality and contribution of each manuscript, independent of journal-based metrics, institutional reputation, or other inappropriate quantitative indicators.
Editors and reviewers assess manuscripts using, where appropriate, the following criteria:
- Originality, novelty, and innovation of the research.
- Scientific and scholarly significance and its potential contribution to advancing knowledge.
- Methodological quality, rigor, and appropriateness of the research design, methods, and analysis.
- Validity, reliability, and credibility of the research findings and conclusions.
- Compliance with ethical standards, research integrity principles, and applicable regulatory requirements.
- Transparency, clarity, and completeness of research reporting, including sufficient methodological detail to support reproducibility where appropriate.
- Relevance to the journal’s aims, scope, and readership.
- Contribution to theory, practice, policy, education, or society, as appropriate to the discipline.
- Quality of scholarly communication, including logical organization, academic writing, and appropriate citation of relevant literature.
Editorial decisions are made independently and solely on the basis of academic merit, constructive peer-review recommendations, and the journal’s editorial standards. Manuscripts are not evaluated or accepted on the basis of journal-level citation metrics, author reputation, institutional affiliation, nationality, funding source, or other non-scholarly factors.
United Frontiers Publisher is committed to ensuring that all editorial decisions are impartial, consistent, and aligned with internationally recognized principles of responsible research assessment, publication ethics, and scholarly integrity.
5. Responsible Use of Research Metrics
United Frontiers Publisher recognizes that bibliometric indicators, including citation counts, journal-based metrics, and other quantitative measures, may provide useful contextual information when interpreted responsibly and in conjunction with expert academic judgement. However, these indicators should complement not replace—qualitative assessment of research quality.
In accordance with the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), United Frontiers Publisher does not use journal-based metrics, including the Journal Impact Factor, as a primary criterion for evaluating individual research outputs or scholarly contributions.
Accordingly, such metrics shall not be used as the primary basis for:
- Editorial decisions regarding manuscript acceptance or rejection.
- Evaluation of the quality, originality, or significance of individual research outputs.
- Assessment of individual researchers, authors, reviewers, or editors.
- Judging academic merit, scientific contribution, or research excellence.
- Determining eligibility for publication or editorial consideration.
Editorial and peer-review decisions are based on expert academic judgement and a comprehensive qualitative assessment of each manuscript, taking into account its originality, methodological rigor, ethical integrity, transparency, reproducibility, relevance, and overall contribution to advancing knowledge.
United Frontiers Publisher encourages the responsible interpretation of research metrics and supports evaluation practices that recognize the diverse nature of scholarly contributions across disciplines.
6. Editorial Independence
United Frontiers Publisher safeguards the independence and integrity of its Editors-in-Chief, Editorial Board members, and peer reviewers. Editorial decisions are made solely on the scholarly merit of submitted manuscripts and are free from undue influence.
Editorial decisions shall not be influenced by:
- Journal-based metrics, including the Journal Impact Factor.
- Citation counts or institutional rankings.
- Author affiliation, nationality, gender, or career stage.
- Commercial, financial, or political interests.
- Any non-scholarly considerations unrelated to editorial quality.
United Frontiers Publisher is committed to ensuring that all editorial decisions are impartial, transparent, and based exclusively on academic merit and the principles of responsible research assessment.
7. Commitment to Authors and Researchers
United Frontiers Publisher is committed to providing:
- Fair, impartial, and unbiased manuscript evaluation.
- Transparent and accountable editorial processes.
- Constructive, timely, and confidential peer review.
- Equal opportunity and non-discriminatory treatment for all authors.
- Ethical, responsible, and high-quality scholarly publishing practices.
Authors are encouraged to communicate the significance and impact of their research through the quality, originality, and scholarly contribution of their work, rather than relying solely on quantitative research metrics.
8. Continuous Improvement
United Frontiers Publisher continually reviews its editorial policies and governance framework to ensure alignment with internationally recognized standards in scholarly publishing, research integrity, and responsible research assessment.
We remain committed to improving our editorial processes in support of the global research community.
9. DORA Commitment
United Frontiers Publisher endorses the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and fully supports responsible research assessment.
Through this commitment, United Frontiers Publisher affirms that research should be evaluated on its own merits rather than primarily on journal-based metrics such as the Journal Impact Factor. Our editorial policies, peer-review procedures, and publication decisions are guided by scholarly quality, originality, methodological rigor, ethical integrity, transparency, and contribution to knowledge.
United Frontiers Publisher encourages authors, editors, reviewers, academic institutions, funding organizations, and the wider research community to adopt responsible research assessment practices that promote fairness, excellence, and innovation in scholarly publishing
10. Scope
This policy applies to:
- United Frontiers Publisher Sdn. Bhd.
- All journals published by UFP.
- Editors-in-Chief.
- Editorial Board Members.
- Guest Editors.
- Reviewers.
- Authors.
- Editorial Office Staff.
11. Review of Policy
This policy shall be reviewed periodically to ensure continued alignment with international developments in responsible research assessment, scholarly publishing, and publication ethics.
Related Policies
- Publication Ethics Policy
- Peer Review Policy
- Editorial Independence Policy
- Research Integrity Policy
- AI and Generative AI Policy
- Open Access Policy
- Corrections and Retractions Policy
External References
- San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) — https://sfdora.org/
- Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) — https://publicationethics.org/
- Crossref — https://www.crossref.org/
Copyright
© 2026 United Frontiers Publisher Sdn. Bhd. All Rights Reserved.
This policy may be updated periodically to reflect developments in responsible research assessment, publication ethics, and international scholarly publishing standards.