Research and Publication Ethics and Misconduct Policy

The journal is committed to maintaining high standards of research integrity and publication ethics and to protecting the integrity of the scholarly record. All authors, reviewers, editors, and editorial board members are expected to follow principles of honesty, transparency, accountability, and responsible scholarly publishing.

The journal follows relevant principles and guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and other recognized standards of responsible research and scholarly publishing when assessing and addressing concerns about research and publication ethics.

Research and Publication Misconduct

Research and publication misconduct and other serious ethical violations may include, but is not limited to:

• Plagiarism: Using another person's ideas, words, data, or other intellectual work without appropriate acknowledgment.
• Fabrication: Making up data, results, or other research information.
• Falsification: Manipulating omitting, or misrepresenting research data, methods, materials, or results in a way that may mislead readers.
• Manipulating, omitting, or misrepresenting research data, methods, materials, or results
• Duplicate or redundant publication: Publishing substantially overlapping or previously published work without appropriate disclosure or Justification.
• Simultaneous submission: Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time.
• Improper authorship: Inappropriate inclusion or exclusion of authors, misrepresentation of authorship, or failure to accurately represent authors’ contributions.
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest: Failure to disclose financial, personal, professional, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or publication process.
• Citation manipulation: Inappropriate citation practices intended to artificially increase citations counts, influence citation metrics, or distort the scholarly record.
• Peer-review manipulation: Providing false reviewer information, interfering with the peer-review process, or otherwise compromising the integrity or independence of the peer-review process.
• Image or data manipulation: Inappropriate alteration, enhancement, deletion, or presentation of images or data that may mislead readers or distort the research findings.
• Misuse of artificial intelligence (AI): Use of AI tools in ways that result in fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, misrepresentation of authorship or contributions, violation of confidentiality, or other breaches of research or publication ethics.
• Other ethical violations: Including failure to obtain required ethical approval, informed consent, or necessary permissions, where applicable.

The journal distinguishes between intentional misconduct and honest errors. Honest errors or legitimate differences in interpretation do not, in themselves, constitute research misconduct, although serious errors that affect the reliability of the published record may require corrective action.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

The journal takes allegations of research or publication misconduct seriously, both before and after publication. Allegations may be raised by authors, reviewers, editors, readers, institutions, whistleblowers, or other relevant parties.

Upon receiving an allegation, the editor will conduct an initial assessment to determine whether the concern is sufficiently credible and relevant to warrant further action. Where appropriate, the journal may request explanations, relevant documentation, or clarification from the authors or other parties involved.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of the concern, the journal may seek advice from appropriate experts or refer the matter to the authors' affiliated institution or another responsible authority for formal investigation. The journal recognizes that institutions are generally responsible for conducting formal investigations of allegations of research misconduct involving their researchers.

The journal will consider the available evidence and the circumstances of each case when determining the appropriate editorial action.

Depending on the nature and evidence of the case, the journal may:

• request clarification or additional information
• request a correction to the manuscript or published article
• reject a manuscript before publication
• suspend or discontinue the peer-review process
• refer the matter to the relevant institution or authority
• publish a Correction
• publish an Expression of Concern when substantial concerns about the reliability or integrity of a published article remain unresolved
• retract a published article when its findings, conclusions, or other aspects of the publication are determined to be unreliable or seriously compromised.

The journal will follow relevant COPE guidance when determining the appropriate course of action in cases of suspected misconduct or serious ethical concerns.

Confidentiality and Fairness

Allegations and related communications will be handled confidentially to the extent reasonably possible and consistent with a fair assessment of the concerns. The journal will seek to assess allegations objectively, impartially, and based on available evidence.

Relevant parties will be given an appropriate opportunity to provide information or respond to concerns, as appropriate to the circumstances of the case.

The journal will take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of individuals who raise concerns in good faith, where appropriate and consistent with the need to assess the allegation fairly.

The journal will not make public allegations of misconduct before an appropriate assessment or investigation has been completed, except where disclosure is required by law or is necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Responsibilities of Authors, Reviewers, and Editors

Authors are responsible for the originality, accuracy, and integrity of their work. They must appropriately acknowledge sources, accurately report their methods and findings, disclose relevant conflicts of interest, obtain required ethical approvals and permissions, and provide accurate information concerning authorship and contributions.

Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts, disclose relevant conflicts of interest, evaluate manuscripts objectively and constructively, and avoid using information obtained through peer review for personal or professional advantage.

Editors and editorial board members must maintain confidentiality, disclose relevant conflicts of interest, make editorial decisions fairly and independently, and take appropriate action when ethical concerns arise.

All parties are expected to cooperate with the journal in addressing concerns related to research and publication integrity.

Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

The journal recognizes that errors or concerns may be identified after publication and is committed to correcting the scholarly record when necessary.

When an error does not invalidate the main findings or conclusions of an article, a Correction may be published. When substantial concerns about the reliability or integrity of a published article remain unresolved, an Expression of Concern may be issued while further assessment or investigation is undertaken.

When the findings, conclusions, or other substantive aspects of a published article are determined to be unreliable or seriously compromised, the article may be retracted. Retraction does not necessarily imply research misconduct; an article may be retracted because of either intentional misconduct or an unintentional but serious error or other circumstances that undermine the reliability of the published record.

Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions will be clearly identified and linked to the original article, and the original article will remain accessible where appropriate, in accordance with recognized standards for maintaining the integrity and transparency of the scholarly record.

Cases Not Specifically Addressed

In cases not specifically addressed by this policy, the journal will consider relevant COPE guidance and other recognized standards of research and publication ethics. The journal reserves the right to take appropriate action to protect the integrity of the scholarly record when new or unforeseen ethical concerns arise.

For Authors:

- Upon submission, by checking off predesigned statements, author(s) should certify that neither the submitted manuscript nor another one with substantially similar content under their authorship has been published in any language or being considered for publication elsewhere.

- Author(s) should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to published article

- Author(s) should guarantee that data are available and will be provided if anyone needs them.

- In the event that an author is added or removed from the list of authors, written acceptance, signed by author(s), must be submitted to the editorial office.

- Sources of financial support for the project should be acknowledged.

- If the study involves human beings, the author(s) must include a statement that the study was approved by the local ethical committee and that written informed consent was obtained from the study participants. For those who do not have formal ethics review committees, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki should be followed. Also, the compliance of maintenance and care of experimental animals with National Institutes of Health guidelines for the human use of laboratory animals should be declared in text.

- All relevant permissions to use unpublished observations of others must be obtained by the manuscript author(s) and stated in the text. The names of the original author(s) should be declared. Also, permission must be obtained to reproduce or adapt any figures or tables that have been published previously and declared in the legend/footnote.

- Author(s) should certify that their research study is in agreement with the regulations of their institution(s) and generally accepted guidelines governing such work; contains no violation of any existing copyright or other third party right; and is free of any obscene, indecent, libelous, or otherwise unlawful material.

For Reviewers:

- Reviewers are required to keep manuscripts and their information confidential.

- They must not use knowledge of the manuscript before its publication for their personal interests.

- The reviewers' comments should be constructive, honest, and polite.

- Reviewers should declare their conflicts of interest and decline review if a conflict exists. Knowing the author(s) must not affect their comments and decision.