Journal of Decision Support Systems and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (JODESMA) requires submitted research to comply with applicable ethical standards and regulations relevant to the study design, research participants, data, and research setting.

Research involving human participants, personal information, sensitive datasets, animals, or other ethically regulated activities must comply with applicable ethical standards, institutional requirements, and relevant laws or regulations.

Authors are responsible for identifying and complying with the ethical requirements applicable to their research before submission.

• Obtain approval from an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review body when required.
• Provide the name of the approving institution where applicable.
• Include an approval number or reference when available.
• Describe relevant ethical procedures in the manuscript.

• Obtain informed consent where required.
• Protect participant identity and confidentiality.
• Minimize unnecessary collection of personal information.
• Store and process sensitive information responsibly.
• Ensure that participants are not exposed to avoidable risks.

The journal may request evidence of ethical approval, exemption, informed consent, data-use authorization, or other relevant documentation.

Where ethical approval is required, authors should provide the name of the approving committee or institution and the relevant approval or reference number where applicable.

Authors should clearly indicate whether ethical approval, informed consent, or other ethical oversight was required. When such approval is not applicable, the manuscript should state this where appropriate and explain the basis for the determination when necessary.

Editors may request additional information when the ethical basis of a study is unclear.

If a study appears to have been conducted without required ethical oversight, the editor may request clarification or documentation and may take further action where appropriate.

Ethical oversight also applies to the responsible use of personal data, confidential information, proprietary datasets, and research materials obtained from third parties.

Journal of Decision Support Systems and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (JODESMA) expects authors to protect research participants from unnecessary harm and to respect applicable requirements concerning privacy, confidentiality, informed consent, and responsible data handling.

Where concerns arise during or after publication, the journal may investigate the matter and take appropriate corrective action.

The ethical-oversight policy forms part of the broader publication-ethics framework of Journal of Decision Support Systems and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (JODESMA). The journal publicly describes its ethical-oversight requirements as part of its commitment to transparency and responsible scholarly publishing.