Publication Ethics

Purpose: This policy aims to uphold the highest standards of publication ethics and to prevent any malpractices. It is aligned with the principles set by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The policy ensures that all parties involved in the act of publishing (the publisher, editors, authors, and reviewers) adhere to ethical standards, with a strong commitment to integrity.

1. Editor Responsibilities:

  • Fair Play: Editors should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
  • Confidentiality: Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher.
  • Decision-Making: The acceptance of a paper should be based on the manuscript's importance, originality, clarity, and relevance to the journal's scope.
  • Conflict of Interest: Editors should recuse themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

2. Reviewer Responsibilities:

  • Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper.
  • Promptness: Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse themselves from the review process.
  • Confidentiality: Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.
  • Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

3. Author Responsibilities:

  • Reporting Standards: Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance.
  • Data Access and Retention: Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data.
  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.
  • Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: An author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication.
  • Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given.

4. Publisher Responsibilities:

  • Supporting Ethical Guidelines: The publisher has a supporting, investing, and nurturing role in the scholarly communication process and is also ultimately responsible for ensuring that best practices are followed.
  • Access and Retention: The publisher guarantees the accessibility of published content by archiving and enforcing a digital preservation strategy.

5. Handling of Unethical Publishing Behavior:

  • In cases of alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication, or plagiarism, the publisher, in close collaboration with the editors, will take all appropriate measures to clarify the situation and to amend the article in question. This includes the prompt publication of an erratum, clarification, or, in the most severe cases, the retraction of the affected work.