Ensuring the quality and integrity of published research is paramount. This journal adheres to strict publication ethics guidelines based on COPE’s Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors. All parties involved—authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher—are expected to uphold these standards.

Duties of Editors

  • Publication Decisions: The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision on manuscript acceptance, consulting with other editors or reviewers as needed, based on the work’s quality, originality, and relevance.
  • Fairness: Editors evaluate manuscripts based solely on intellectual content, without bias regarding authors’ personal characteristics or affiliations.
  • Confidentiality: Editors and staff must keep all information about submitted manuscripts confidential, sharing it only with those essential to the review and publication process.
  • Conflict of Interest: Editors must not use unpublished manuscript information for personal gain and must decline involvement in manuscripts where they have competing interests.

Duties of Reviewers

  • Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Reviewers provide expert assessment and feedback to assist editors in manuscript evaluation and facilitate author revisions.
  • Timeliness: Reviewers should accept invitations only if qualified and able to complete the review promptly. Otherwise, they should notify the editor immediately.
  • Confidentiality: Manuscripts under review are confidential. Reviewers must not share or discuss them and must not use information obtained during review for personal advantage.
  • Objectivity: Reviews must be objective and constructive, avoiding personal criticism. Feedback should be clear and substantiated.
  • Referencing: Reviewers should point out relevant uncited work and provide citations for previously reported findings or arguments.
  • Conflict of Interest & Similarity: Reviewers should report any potential conflicts of interest and alert the editor to any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript and other known work.

Responsibilities of Researchers in Publishing Original Work:

  1. Accuracy and Objectivity: Researchers must accurately report their findings and provide an objective evaluation of their significance. Adequate detail and references should be included to enable others to replicate the work. Fabrication or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute misconduct and are unacceptable.
  2. Originality and Proper Citation: Authors should ensure that their work is original and built upon previous work appropriately. Any use of others’ work should be properly cited or quoted, and author copyright must be respected.
  3. Multiple Publications: Researchers should not publish the same manuscript in more than one journal or primary publication. Concurrent submission of the same manuscript to multiple journals is considered unethical.
  4. Acknowledgment of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given.
  5. Authorship: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Others who have participated in certain aspects of the research project should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author must ensure that all appropriate co-authors are included in the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and agreed to its submission for publication.
  6. Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors must disclose any substantive financial conflict of interest that may influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.
  7. Errata and Retractions: If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must promptly notify the journal editor to retract or correct the paper.