Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics

Our publication ethics are based on the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

Publication Decisions
The editor is responsible for deciding which articles submitted to the journal will be published. The editor's decision is guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by applicable legal requirements regarding defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. Editors may consult with other editors or reviewers in making such decisions.

Fairness
Editors evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, or political philosophy.

Confidentiality
Editors 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 advisors, and the publisher, as appropriate. Any manuscripts under review must be treated as confidential. They must not be shown to or discussed with others without authorization from the editor.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Unpublished materials disclosed in a submission must not be used by editors for their research without the written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts where they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the papers. All authors must disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should also be disclosed.

Responsibilities of Reviewers
Contribution to Editorial Decisions
Peer review assists editors in making editorial decisions and helps authors improve their papers through editorial communication.

Timeliness
Any reviewer or editor who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.

Objectivity
Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. 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 an observation, derivation, or argument has been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. Reviewers should also inform the editor of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and other published papers they know personally.

Responsibilities of Authors
Reporting Standards
Authors of reports of original research should accurately present the work performed and discuss its significance objectively. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. 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
Authors must ensure that their work is entirely original and, if they have used the work and/or words of others, these have 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. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

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
Authorship should be limited to those who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All significant contributors should be listed as co-authors. Others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors are included and no inappropriate co-authors are listed. All co-authors must have seen and approved the final version of the paper and agreed to its submission for publication.

Fundamental Errors in Published Work
When authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their published work, they are obliged to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.