Publication Ethics and Research Integrity

Integrity in authorship, peer review, research reporting, and editorial decision-making is fundamental to trustworthy scholarly publication. This policy framework describes responsibilities and how concerns should be addressed.

Responsibilities of authors

• Submit original work that has not previously been published and is not simultaneously under review elsewhere, except where a prior version is transparently disclosed and permitted.
• Present methods, datasets, figures, results, and interpretations accurately; do not fabricate, falsify, manipulate, or selectively conceal material findings.
• Acknowledge sources, software, datasets, permissions, and substantial contributions accurately. Avoid plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and inappropriate duplicate publication.
• List as authors only individuals meeting scholarly authorship requirements; all named authors should approve the submitted manuscript and take responsibility for their contributions.
• Disclose funding, financial or non-financial competing interests, and any approvals needed for research involving human participants, sensitive information, or restricted datasets.
• Respond transparently to legitimate requests for clarification, corrections, research data availability, and post-publication concerns.

Responsibilities of editors

• Assess submissions against journal scope, scientific validity, ethical requirements, and relevant evidence.
• Apply a fair editorial workflow and avoid discrimination based on nationality, affiliation, personal identity, or non-scientific considerations.
• Protect unpublished manuscripts and reviewer comments from unauthorized disclosure.
• Identify and manage conflicts of interest, including circumstances where an editor has a personal or professional relationship with an author.
• Investigate credible allegations of unethical conduct with due process and give relevant parties an opportunity to respond.

Responsibilities of reviewers

• Evaluate the scientific question, novelty, appropriateness of methods, results, discussion, references, and manuscript presentation.
• Maintain confidentiality and refrain from using unpublished research information for personal benefit.
• Disclose any conflict of interest or inability to provide an objective and timely assessment.
• Provide constructive, specific, evidence-based comments and identify relevant omissions or suspected source misuse.

Research ethics and consent

Where relevant, authors should identify the institutional ethics review or other required authorization, explain informed consent and privacy safeguards, and document permissions for the reuse of protected or third-party material. Applicable local law and disciplinary standards remain the responsibility of the research team.

Allegations, corrections, and retractions

Concerns may involve unattributed copying, duplicate publication, image or data manipulation, undisclosed conflicts, authorship disputes, or errors affecting conclusions. The editorial office should document the concern, seek relevant records, assess evidence impartially, and determine whether a clarification, correction, expression of concern, rejection, or retraction is warranted. Retraction is not an automatic response to every error.

Complaints and appeals

Authors and readers may communicate concerns through the official contact details in Contact the Journal. A complaint should identify the manuscript or published article and provide a clear account of the concern and supporting evidence. Editorial decisions and subsequent actions should be recorded consistently.