Publication Ethics

The Journal of Tropical Animal Bioscience (JTAB) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and scientific integrity. The journal follows the principles and best practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and promotes responsible research, transparent reporting, and the ethical treatment of animals in accordance with applicable regulations and recognized scientific standards.

All parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher, are expected to uphold these ethical principles.

1. Responsibilities of Editors
Editors are responsible for ensuring a fair, objective, confidential, and scientifically sound editorial process. Editors shall:

  • Evaluate manuscripts based on scientific merit, originality, methodological rigor, significance, and relevance to the journal's scope.
  • Ensure that editorial decisions are independent of authors' nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, or personal characteristics.
  • Manage peer review fairly and impartially.
  • Declare and appropriately manage conflicts of interest.
  • Investigate suspected publication misconduct in accordance with COPE recommendations.
  • Take appropriate action when ethical concerns arise, including issuing corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions when warranted.

2. Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers assist editors in evaluating manuscripts and improving their quality. Reviewers should:

  • Provide objective, constructive, and evidence-based assessments.
  • Treat manuscripts as confidential documents.
  • Notify the editor of suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, falsification, or other ethical concerns.
  • Identify relevant published works not cited by the authors.
  • Decline review assignments outside their expertise or when they cannot complete the review within the required timeframe.

3. Responsibilities of Authors
Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts meet appropriate standards of scientific integrity and responsible research. Authors shall:

  • Submit original work that has not been published previously, except where secondary publication is explicitly permitted and transparently disclosed.
  • Ensure that the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal at the same time.
  • Present research methods, results, and conclusions accurately and completely.
  • Avoid fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, inappropriate data manipulation, and misleading reporting.
  • Properly acknowledge and cite all sources, data, methods, and relevant contributions.
  • Obtain approval from all co-authors before submission.
  • Disclose funding sources and relevant competing interests.
  • Respond to editorial queries and cooperate with investigations of potential misconduct.

Notify the journal promptly if significant errors are identified after publication.

4. Authorship and Contributorship

  • Authorship must reflect substantial intellectual or scientific contributions to the research. Authors should have contributed to the conception or design of the study, data acquisition, analysis or interpretation, and the drafting or critical revision of the manuscript.
  • All listed authors must approve the final version and agree to be accountable for the integrity of the work. Individuals who contributed to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged appropriately.
  • Changes to authorship after submission must be justified and approved by all affected authors, subject to editorial approval. Honorary, guest, or ghost authorship is not acceptable.

5. Originality, Plagiarism, and Redundant Publication

  • JTAB accepts manuscripts that demonstrate originality and provide a meaningful contribution to animal bioscience and related fields.
  • Plagiarism, including the unattributed use of text, ideas, data, or images, is unacceptable. Self-plagiarism, redundant publication, and inappropriate republication of previously published material are also considered ethical concerns.
  • Submitted manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism detection software. Similarity scores will be evaluated in context rather than against an arbitrary percentage alone. Suspected cases will be assessed by the editorial team, and appropriate action will be taken in accordance with COPE guidance.

6. Research Involving Animals and Animal Welfare
JTAB is committed to promoting responsible animal research and the highest practicable standards of animal welfare. Research involving livestock, companion animals, laboratory animals, wildlife, or other animal species must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international requirements.

Authors must ensure that:

  • Animals are handled and managed humanely, with unnecessary pain, distress, injury, and suffering minimized.
  • Experimental procedures are scientifically justified and proportionate to the objectives of the study.
  • The principles of Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement (the 3Rs) are considered where applicable.
  • Required animal ethics approval is obtained from an appropriate institutional or recognized ethics committee before the research is conducted.
  • The name of the approving committee and the approval number are reported in the manuscript when applicable.
  • Relevant permits and authorizations are obtained for research involving wildlife, protected species, or animal genetic resources where required.

For studies involving experimental animals, authors are encouraged to follow the ARRIVE Guidelines 2.0 (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments), as applicable to the study design.

For observational studies, field surveys, animal production research, and other studies that do not involve regulated experimental procedures, authors must comply with applicable animal welfare requirements and clearly describe relevant animal handling and management procedures. Where formal ethical approval is not required, authors should provide an appropriate statement explaining this, where applicable.

The editor may request additional information regarding animal welfare, ethical approval, permits, or research procedures before making a publication decision.

7. Research Involving Human Participants

  • Authors must obtain approval from an appropriate research ethics committee and informed consent from participants. Participant privacy and confidentiality must be protected.
  • Studies involving farmer interviews, questionnaires, or other human-participant activities must report relevant ethical approval or exemption and consent procedures, as applicable.

8. Data Integrity, Availability, and Reproducibility

  • Authors are responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and reliability of the data presented in their manuscripts.
  • Research data must not be fabricated, falsified, selectively altered, or manipulated in ways that misrepresent the findings. Images, figures, and other visual materials must accurately represent the original observations.
  • Authors should retain original research records and underlying data for a reasonable period and make them available to the journal for verification when legitimately requested, subject to legal, ethical, privacy, and confidentiality restrictions.

9. Conflicts of Interest

  • Authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose financial, institutional, professional, or personal relationships that could reasonably influence, or be perceived to influence, their work or decisions.
  • Authors must provide a competing interests statement in their manuscripts. Where no competing interests exist, an explicit declaration should be included.

10. Funding and Acknowledgements

  • All sources of financial support, institutional assistance, and research grants must be disclosed, including grant numbers where applicable.
  • The role of funding organizations in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and manuscript preparation should be stated where relevant.
  • Contributions that do not qualify for authorship should be acknowledged with the permission of the individuals concerned.

11. Peer Review and Confidentiality

  • JTAB uses peer review to assess the scientific quality, validity, originality, and relevance of submitted manuscripts. The journal will communicate its applicable peer-review model and procedures to authors and reviewers.
  • Editors and reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and must not disclose or use unpublished information without appropriate authorization.

12. Complaints and Appeals

  • Authors may submit reasoned appeals against editorial decisions or raise concerns regarding peer review, authorship, conflicts of interest, or publication ethics.
  • Complaints and appeals will be assessed fairly, confidentially, and impartially by the editor or an appropriate editorial representative. Where necessary, the journal will follow relevant COPE guidance and seek independent advice.

13. Corrections and Retractions

If significant errors or ethical issues are identified after publication, JIBR may publish:

  • Corrections (Erratum);
  • Expressions of Concern;
  • Retractions

Such actions will be conducted to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

14. Research Misconduct

Research and publication misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

  • Plagiarism and inappropriate self-plagiarism.
  • Duplicate submission or redundant publication.
  • Fabrication or falsification of data.
  • Inappropriate manipulation of images or research results.
  • Undisclosed or inappropriate authorship practices.
  • Citation manipulation.
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest.
  • Unethical treatment of animals or human participants.
  • Misrepresentation of ethical approval, research permits, or experimental procedures.

Cases of misconduct will be investigated by the editorial board following the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).