Publication Ethics

1. Roles, Responsibilities and Ethics of Authors

Originality: Authors must guarantee that the submitted manuscript is original, has not been previously published, and is not currently under consideration by any other journal or publication.

Formatting: Authors must strictly adhere to the journal's prescribed format and submission guidelines.

Plagiarism & Citation: Plagiarism in any form is strictly prohibited. Authors must provide proper citations for all ideas, data, statistics, or findings from other sources, both in-text and in the reference list.

Authorship: All individuals listed as authors must have made a substantial and active contribution to the research.

Accountability for Misconduct: Any instance of plagiarism or copyright infringement is the direct and sole responsibility of the authors.

Research Ethics: For studies involving humans or animals, authors must obtain approval from the relevant Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee and explicitly state this approval within the manuscript.

Sanctions: Any breach of publication ethics will result in a minimum 3-year suspension from publishing with the journal. The journal will also notify the author’s affiliated institution.

Ownership of Content: Published articles represent the work of the authors; therefore, the authors and their co-investigators bear full responsibility for the content.

Final Decision: The Editor-in-Chief holds the ultimate authority regarding the acceptance or rejection of a manuscript.

2. Roles, Responsibilities and Ethics of Reviewers

Expertise: Reviewers should only accept manuscripts for which they possess the necessary subject matter expertise.

Objectivity: Reviewers must prioritize the academic quality of the work and provide unbiased evaluations based on scholarly merit, free from personal opinions or prejudice.

Constructive Feedback: Reviewers should provide clear, consistent, and helpful suggestions to assist authors in improving their work.

Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest with the journal, editors, or authors and recuse themselves if necessary.

Confidentiality: Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents and not shared with any unauthorized parties.

Detecting Misconduct: If a reviewer identifies similarities or overlaps between the manuscript and other published works, they must immediately notify the Editor.

Timeliness: Reviewers are expected to submit their evaluations within the timeframe specified by the journal.

3. Roles, Responsibilities and Ethics of Editors

Quality Assurance: Editors are responsible for screening the quality of manuscripts, ensuring they undergo a rigorous peer-review process by qualified experts and align with the journal’s scope.

Plagiarism Detection: Editors must strictly monitor for duplications and plagiarism. If misconduct is detected, the Editor has the right to withdraw the article immediately without the author's consent.

Confidentiality & Anonymity: Editors must protect the confidentiality of both authors and reviewers throughout the review process.

Impartiality: Editors must evaluate manuscripts based on academic merit regardless of the author’s race, religion, gender, culture, political ideology, or institutional affiliation.

Ethical Verification: Editors must verify that all research involving humans or animals has received proper ethical clearance and that this is clearly stated in the article.

Citation Integrity: Editors must not request authors to include unnecessary citations solely to increase the journal’s Impact Factor or to boost the citation counts of the editors or their associates.

No Commercial Use: Editors must not have conflicts of interest with authors or reviewers and must not use submitted manuscripts for commercial gain or personal benefit.

Self-Publishing: Editors should refrain from publishing their own research articles within the journal they edit.

4. Human Research Ethics

Institutional Approval: Any research involving human subjects whether physical, psychological, health-related, or legal that could impact the subject’s reputation or status must receive prior approval from an Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Vulnerable Groups: Research involving vulnerable populations or minors (under 18) must obtain informed consent from legal guardians or representatives in accordance with the law and relevant national regulations.

Ethical Principles: Research must adhere to the principles of Respect for Persons, Beneficence (do no harm), and Justice, while complying with Personal Data Protection Laws.

Training Certification: Authors must provide evidence of having completed Human Research Ethics training within the required period.

Certification Numbers: Authors must submit the formal Certificate of Approval (COA) and include the approval number or code within the manuscript.