Publication Ethics

To maintain the publication ethics we strongly believe in strictly following the set guidelines at four different levels to achieve transparency at our level.

1. AUTHORS :   The authors should ensure that their work is entirely original work, and if the work of others have been used, this has been appropriately acknowledged at respective places. Plagiarism in all its forms is unacceptable. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical behavior which should be avoided. The corresponding author should ensure that there is a full consensus of all co-authors in approving the final version of the submitted research paper and its onward submission to journal for publication. 

Responsibilities of Authors:

  • Authors should present an accurate account of their data. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to the work. Fraudulent or inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
  • The authors should ensure that they have submitted their original works, and if the authors have used the work of other’s then that has been appropriately cited. Plagiarism in all its forms is totally unacceptable.
  • An author should not publish manuscripts describing same research work in more than one journal. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal constitutes unethical behavior which is unacceptable.
  • Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must be given. Authors should cite publications with written permission from the source. Information obtained in the course of confidential services, such as refereeing manuscripts or grant applications, must not be used without the written permission of the author of the work involved.
  • Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be reported as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research should be acknowledged as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
  • If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with standard prescribed guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) has approved them. Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that consent was taken for performing experimentation.
  • All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed. Potential conflicts of interest should be disclosed at the earliest stage possible.
  • When an author notices inaccuracy in his own published work, it is the author’s duty to promptly notify the editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

    2. EDITORS
    :  An editor must not use unpublished information in the editor’s own research without the written consent of the author. Editors should take reasonable responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper.

DUTIES OF EDITORS:

The editor is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published.  The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal’s editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism.  An editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, citizenship, or political connections of the authors.

The editor must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and the publisher.

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s own research without the consent of the author information obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.  If needed, other appropriate action should be taken, such as the publication of a retraction or expression of concern. It should be ensured that the peer-review process for sponsored supplements is the same as that used for the main journal. Items in sponsored supplements should be accepted solely on the basis of academic merit and interest to readers and not be influenced by commercial considerations.

An editor should take measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper, in conjunction with the publisher. Such measures will generally include contacting the author of the manuscript or paper and giving due consideration of the respective complaint or claims made, but may also include further communications to the relevant institutions and research bodies, and if the complaint is upheld, the publication of a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other note, as may be relevant. Every reported act of unethical publishing must be looked into, even if it is discovered years after publication.

3. REVIEWERS: Reviews should be conducted objectively, and observations should be formulated clearly with supporting arguments, so that authors can use them for improving the paper. Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

DUTIES OF REVIEWERS:

Peer review process assists the editor in making their final decisions and through the editorial communications with the author also assists in improving the paper.

Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.

All the manuscripts received for peer review process must be treated as confidential.

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting things.

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research without the express written consent of the author. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

 4. PUBLISHER:   Plagiarism is considered to be a serious breach of scientific ethics by the entire scientific community. Incidents of plagiarism in a manuscript whether detected, will be dealt seriously. We constantly advise and take suggestions from our editorial Board/Reviewers for avoiding any malpractice of publication ethics.