Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics

A.    Authors

  1. The research/review  being reported should have been conducted in an ethical and responsible manner and should comply with all relevant legislation.
  2. Authors should present their results clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation.
  3. Authors should strive to describe their methods clearly and unambiguously so that their findings can be confirmed by others.
  4. Authors should adhere to publication requirements that submitted work is original, is not plagiarised, and has not been published elsewhere.
  5. Authors should take collective responsibility for submitted and published work.
  6. The authorship of research publications should accurately reflect individuals’ contributions to the work and its reporting.
  7. Funding sources and relevant conflicts of interest should be disclosed

 B.   Editors

  1. Editors are accountable and should take responsibility for everything  they publish
  2. Editors should make fair and unbiased decisions independent from commercial consideration and ensure a fair and appropriate peer review process
  3. Editors should adopt editorial policies that encourage maximum transparency and complete, honest reporting
  4. Editors should guard the integrity of the published record by issuing corrections and retractions when needed and pursuing suspected or alleged research and publication misconduct
  5. Editors should pursue reviewer and editorial misconduct
  6. Editors should critically assess the ethical conduct of studies in humans and animals
  7. Peer reviewers and authors should be told what is expected of them
  8. Editors should have appropriate policies in place for handling editorial conflicts of interest

 C.   Peer Reviewers

  1. Only agree to review manuscripts for which they have the subject expertise required to carry out a proper assessment and which they can assess in a timely manner
  2. Respect the confidentiality of peer review and not reveal any details of a manuscript or its review, during or after the peer-review process, beyond those that are released by the journal
  3. Not use information obtained during the peer-review process for their own or any other person’s or organization’s advantage, or to disadvantage or discredit others
  4. Declare all potential conflicting interests, seeking advice from the journal if they are unsure whether something constitutes a relevant interest
  5. Not allow their reviews to be influenced by the origins of a manuscript, by the nationality, religious or political beliefs, gender or other characteristics of the authors, or by commercial considerations
  6. Be objective and constructive in their reviews, refraining from being hostile or inflammatory and from making libellous or derogatory personal comments
  7. Acknowledge that peer review is largely a reciprocal endeavour and undertake to carry out their fair share of reviewing and in a timely manner
  8. Provide journals with personal and professional information that is accurate and a true representation of their expertise
  9. Recognize that impersonation of another individual during the review process is considered serious misconduct

Based on  COPE’s Ethical Guidelines