Publication Ethics

Duties of Authors

• Report research honestly, without fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism.
• Submit original work not published or under consideration elsewhere.
• Credit all sources and contributions; list only genuine authors.
• Disclose conflicts of interest and all funding sources.
• Obtain ethical approval and informed consent where applicable.
• Notify the editors promptly of significant errors discovered post-publication.

Duties of Reviewers

• Treat manuscripts as confidential documents.
• Review objectively, constructively, and within the agreed time.
• Declare conflicts of interest and decline reviews where impartiality is compromised.
• Alert the editor to substantial similarity with other published work.

Duties of Editors

• Evaluate manuscripts solely on scholarly merit, free from bias.
• Maintain the confidentiality and integrity of the double-blind review process.
• Handle allegations of misconduct fairly, following COPE-aligned procedures.
• Publish corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions where warranted.

Plagiarism & Misconduct

Submissions are screened for plagiarism at the desk stage. Confirmed misconduct — plagiarism, duplicate submission, data fabrication, or authorship manipulation — results in rejection, and in published cases, retraction with notification to the authors' institutions.

Complaints & Appeals

Authors may appeal editorial decisions or raise concerns by writing to [email protected]. Appeals are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and, where appropriate, an independent member of the editorial board.