Publication Ethics Statement

The publication of an article in this journal is an essential building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. It is a direct reflection of the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the scientific method. It is therefore important to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the authors, the journal editors, the peer reviewers, the publisher, and the society.

This journal relies on the integrity and honesty of its editors to publish the best manuscript that conforms to ethical standards and meets all the requirements as per the mission of the journal for publication.

The journal implements a rigorous peer-review process while following strict ethical policies and standards to ensure that only high-quality scientific literature is contributed to and added to the field of scholarly publishing. The journal takes publishing ethics issues very seriously and is trained to proceed in such cases with a zero-tolerance policy.

 

Plagiarism

The unethical act of copying known as plagiarism occurs when someone uses someone else’s ideas, processes, results, words, data, or theories as their own without giving appropriate credit. One of the biggest issues affecting scientific communication in journal publications is plagiarism. Self-plagiarism is the act of an author using a significant portion of their own previously published writing without providing the necessary citations. Plagiarism occurs when the same manuscript, with only minor changes to previously published manuscripts and little new information, is published in numerous journals. We have plagiarism check software (iThenticate) available on our Editors and Reviewer’s panel in the manuscript management system. We encourage our editors and reviewers to use the plagiarism check. The manuscript found to have plagiarism is rejected.

Examples of Plagiarism:

• Duplicate submission/publication and redundant publication
• Data fabrication/Data falsification
• Duplication of text and/or figures (plagiarism)
• Citation Manipulation
• Improper Author Contribution or Attribution
• Redundant Publications
• Undeclared conflict of interest (CoI)
• Ethical problems: Research involving humans, Ethical considerations for different human study designs, Participant/patient privacy and informed consent, Research involving animals, plants, and heritage sites, Biosafety, biosecurity, and emerging biotechnology.

Human rights, privacy, and confidentiality

For manuscripts reporting research involving human participants, including but not limited to medical research, journal editors ask authors about patient consent, ethical approval, and confidentiality. However, clinical research must be conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (www.icmje.org) regarding patient consent for human participation in clinical research or research.

Registering clinical trials

The journal asks authors for clinical trial registration numbers. This number should be included in all articles reporting results.