Publication Ethics

Ethical guidelines for publishing articles in a scientific journal are necessary to standardize the ethical conduct of all parties involved in the publication process, namely: authors, editors, and reviewers.

AUTHORS

• Reporting Standards: Authors must present an accurate account and data of the research conducted. The manuscript should contain sufficient detail and references. Deliberate misrepresentation of the contents of a manuscript constitutes unethical behavior and is unacceptable.

• Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure the originality of their work and provide clear acknowledgment of sources when using the work of others. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently is unethical and unacceptable, as it constitutes duplicate publication.

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

• Authorship of the Manuscript: 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. Individuals who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors are appropriately included and that all authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript before submission.

• Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors must disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript.

• Fundamental Errors in Published Works: If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

EDITORS

• Publication Decisions: The editor of a journal is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by applicable legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

• Fair Play: An editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy.

• Confidentiality: The 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, as appropriate.

• Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.

REVIEWERS

• Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and, through editorial communications with the author, may also assist the author in improving the manuscript. Reviewers are expected to provide constructive feedback and suggestions for improvement.

• Promptness: Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that their prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and decline to participate in the review process. Invited reviewers should promptly confirm their availability or unavailability to review.

• 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 Standards: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees 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 an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also alert the editor to any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

• Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider 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.