Editorial Policies

BJET Editorial Policy 

Journal: Branna Journal of Engineering and Technology (BJET), published by the Ethiopian Institute of Technology–Mekelle (EiT-M), Mekelle University. Established September 2017. Biannual, Diamond Open Access, double-blind peer review. ISSN 2664-0791 (print) / 2664-0716 (online).

Scope and content. Multidisciplinary engineering and technology research — civil, mechanical, electrical, chemical, computing/ICT, environmental, biomedical, agricultural, industrial, materials, energy, robotics, AI, and interdisciplinary work. Four manuscript types are accepted: Original Research Articles (≤8,000 words), Review Articles (≤12,000 words), Technical Communications/Short Papers (≤6 pages), and Case Studies. Out-of-scope submissions are not normally considered.

Editorial independence. Decisions rest solely on scholarly quality, originality, methodology, ethics, and technical merit. Affiliation, nationality, gender, religion, politics, personal characteristics, and financial or commercial interests play no part — and institutional ownership does not dictate editorial conclusions.

Editorial structure. The Editor-in-Chief holds overall responsibility for integrity, policy, confidentiality, conflict management, and final decisions. Associate/Section Editors handle manuscripts in their fields, select reviewers, and recommend decisions. The Editorial Board provides scholarly guidance, supports review, and promotes ethical publishing.

Peer review. Every submission undergoes initial editorial screening (scope, originality, completeness, ethics, similarity, presentation); manuscripts may be desk-rejected without external review, which does not by itself imply misconduct. Accepted-for-review papers normally go to at least two independent expert reviewers who are not the deciding editors. Author-suggested reviewers may be considered, but selection stays with the editorial team. Decisions are Accept, Minor Revision, Major Revision, or Reject; reviewer reports are advisory, with the final call resting with the Editor-in-Chief. Revisions require a revised manuscript plus a point-by-point response. No acceptance or review time is guaranteed.

Reviewer duties. Strict confidentiality, objective and constructive comments, disclosure of conflicts, declining when expertise or time is lacking, no personal use of unpublished material, and prompt reporting of suspected misconduct. Manuscripts must not be uploaded to external AI systems.

Authorship. Authors must have made a substantial contribution, helped draft or critically revise the work, approved the final version, and accept accountability. Ghost, gift, and honorary authorship are prohibited; other contributors are acknowledged. Post-submission authorship changes need justification and the agreement of all affected authors, handled under COPE guidance.

Ethics and integrity. Ethical approval, informed consent (including for identifiable images or data, and guardian consent where applicable), and animal-research compliance are the authors' responsibility. Misconduct covered includes fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, substantial self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, image and citation manipulation, authorship and peer-review manipulation, and undisclosed conflicts. Allegations are investigated proportionately, with institutions contacted where needed.

Similarity screening. iThenticate/Crossref Similarity Check or equivalent is used as a screening tool, not a verdict. Internal guidance: up to 15% normally acceptable; 16–25% may require clarification or revision before review; above 25% triggers detailed investigation.

Disclosure. Financial and non-financial competing interests must be declared by authors, editors, and reviewers, with a positive "no competing interests" statement where none exist. Funding sources, grant numbers, and funder roles are disclosed but never influence decisions. Data Availability Statements are encouraged wherever sharing is legally and ethically possible.

AI use. Authors may use AI for language, formatting, or coding support, but AI cannot be an author; authors remain fully responsible for accuracy and must verify all AI-generated content, and substantive use must be disclosed. Routine grammar or formatting use need not be reported. Reviewers and editors must not compromise confidentiality through external AI tools, and all automated editorial tools stay under human oversight.

Post-publication. Corrections are issued for errors that don't invalidate findings; minor typos may be fixed through production. Retractions apply to unreliable findings or serious misconduct, with the original article kept in the archive and clearly marked. Expressions of Concern cover unresolved investigations. Post-publication concerns go to the Editorial Office and may lead to clarification, correction, commentary, investigation, or retraction.

Appeals and complaints. Appeals on procedural or factual grounds go to the Editor-in-Chief within 30 days; mere disagreement with scientific judgment is not grounds, and the appeal outcome is normally final. Complaints go to bjet.journal@mu.edu.et and are handled confidentially.

Access, copyright, and preservation. Authors retain copyright; articles are published under CC BY 4.0. There are no submission, processing, publication, or page charges of any kind. Self-archiving in institutional or subject repositories is supported. Content is preserved via LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, and the PKP Preservation Network, with DOIs and ORCID iDs used for persistent identification.

Governance safeguards. Advertising and commercial relationships are kept separate from editorial decisions; editors recuse themselves from manuscripts where they are authors or hold close personal, financial, or supervisory ties. Special issues follow the same standards under Editor-in-Chief oversight. Editorial-board authorship is permitted but independently handled and monitored to avoid endogeny. An annual editorial performance audit tracks submissions, desk rejection and acceptance rates, decision times, reviewer turnaround, author and reviewer geography, corrections, and retractions. Policies are reviewed periodically by the Editorial Board.