Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

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Ethical standards for publication exist to ensure high-quality scientific publications, public trust in scientific findings, and that people receive credit for their ideas.

 

DUTIES OF THE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF AND THE ASSOCIATE EDITOR

 Decision on the Publication of Article 

The Editor-in-Chief and the Associate Editor responsible for deciding which of the articles accepted for publication after undergoing peer review should be published. The Editor-in-Chief and the Associate Editor may be guided by the policies of the journal's Editorial Board and subjected to such legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. However, neither the Chief Editor nor the Associate Editor have the authority to influence the reviewers.

 

Fair play 

Submitted manuscripts are evaluated for their intellectual and scientific content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

 

Confidentiality 

The Editor-in-Chief, the Associate Editor and any 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.

 

Disclosure and conflicts of interest 

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an Editor's own research without the explicit written consent of the author(s).

 

Publication decisions 

The Editor-in-Chief of the journal or the handling Associate Editor is responsible for deciding which of the submitted articles should be published. The Editor-in-Chief and the handling Associate Editor may be guided by the policies of the journal's Editorial Board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The Editor-in-Chief may confer with the handling Associate Editor, other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

 

DUTIES OF REVIEWERS

Contribution to editorial decisions 

Peer review assists the Editor-in-Chief and the handling Associate Editor in making editorial decisions and, through the editorial communication with the author, may also assist the author in improving the manuscript.

 

Promptness

 Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the assigned manuscript or unable to provide a prompt review should notify the Chief Editor and the Associate Editor and excuse himself/herself from the review process.

 

Confidentiality 

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 Chief Editor and the Associate Editor. Privileged information or ideas obtained through double blind peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.

 

Standards of Objectivity 

Reviews should be conducted objectively. There shall be no personal criticism of the author. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

 

Acknowledgment of Sources 

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that had been previously reported elsewhere should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the Chief Editor/Associate Editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

 

Conflict of Interest 

Reviewers should not review 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

 

DUTIES OF AUTHORS 

Reporting standards 

Authors reporting results of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

 

Originality and Plagiarism 

The 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. The originality of the article must be at least 75%.

 

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. Parallel submission of the same manuscript to more than

one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

 

Acknowledgement of sources 

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should also cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.

·         no more than one manuscript from one author or the same author as part of a group of co-authors is allowed in the issue;

·         the number of co-authors of one article is no more than 5.