Editorial Policies and Publication Ethics Duties and Responsibilities of Editors
Chief Responsibilities of Editors
i. The Chief Editors and/or Editors hold the responsibility of making final decisions on all manuscripts submitted to the journal. These decisions are based on the research's validity, originality, novelty, and its relevance to the journal’s scope. Editors must also ensure that all published materials are appropriately archived, with digital support from the publisher when required.
ii. The Chief Editors and/or Editors must assess manuscripts impartially, prioritizing their intellectual merit, and uphold confidentiality throughout the review process. Additionally, they are responsible for selecting which articles to publish and determining the timing of their publication.
Editors with the Publisher
i. Editors work closely with the Publisher to continually improve the journal, update policies as necessary, and ensure the quality of published content. They make independent decisions regarding the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts, based on their quality and relevance to the journal’s scope.
ii. The Chief Editors, Editors, and editorial board members are responsible for establishing procedures to resolve any disagreements or conflicts among stakeholders. They assist the Publisher in investigating suspected misconduct related to both published and unpublished papers, ensuring an impartial investigation by considering the perspectives of all parties involved. Additionally, they collaborate with the Publisher to address any issues related to intellectual property violations and legal concerns.
Editors with Authors
i. Editors should actively engage with authors to address their needs and incorporate their feedback in order to enhance the journal’s processes and management.
ii. Editors must vigilantly check for any instances of research or publication misconduct by authors. They should also ensure that all submitted and accepted manuscripts undergo plagiarism checks using plagiarism-detection software to identify any fabricated or plagiarized content.
iii. Editors are responsible for ensuring that authors properly acknowledge any research funding, grants, written informed consent for publication involving human data, and obtain all necessary permissions (such as animal ethics or research permits) in their submitted articles.
iv. Editors must ensure that publishing guidelines and author instructions are readily accessible to authors. They should provide authors with complete peer reviewer reports, unless the reports contain offensive or inappropriate content, and allow authors to respond to reviewers’ comments.
Editors with Reviewers
i. Editors are responsible for ensuring that all published articles are reviewed quickly by qualified and impartial reviewers who have the relevant expertise and no conflicts of interest. They maintain a list of suitable reviewers and exclude those who consistently submit low-quality reports.
ii. Editors may provide guidance to reviewers in preparing their reports. Reviewers should treat the manuscript as confidential and avoid sharing it with others. They must also disclose any potential conflicts of interest. Editors ensure that reviewers are able to freely express their views, especially regarding publication ethics, manuscript validity, and originality.
iii. Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest before agreeing to review a manuscript and may choose not to review a submission if they have a conflict of interest or lack the necessary expertise.
iv. Reviewers should evaluate submissions in a fair, objective, and professional manner. They are expected to report any ethical issues to the Chief Editor and remain vigilant for plagiarism or redundant publication.
v. Reviewers must maintain confidentiality about the manuscript's content and adhere to the review timeline. If necessary, they can request an extension, subject to approval from the Chief Editor or Editor(s).
Editors with Editorial Board Members
i. Chief Editors are responsible for selecting qualified editorial board members who can actively contribute to the journal's operations and management. They should provide clear guidelines on the roles and responsibilities of board members and consult them on enhancing the journal's direction and addressing challenges.
ii. Chief Editors and/or Editors must ensure that editorial board members receive appropriate training and the necessary technological tools to perform their editorial duties effectively.
iii. Editorial board members should play an active role in the journal's development, support its growth, and serve as ambassadors. They are expected to promote the journal and review any tasks assigned to them.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Chief Editors and Editors must maintain confidentiality regarding any manuscript under review and refrain from using its data for personal advantage. They must also avoid any personal or financial interests that could influence their professional judgment in the evaluation of a manuscript. If a conflict of interest arises, they are obligated to disclose it and recuse themselves from making editorial decisions related to the manuscript in question. Although Chief Editors and Editors may submit manuscripts to the journal for consideration, they must clearly declare this in the submission and refrain from participating in the review process or making any editorial decisions regarding their own work.
Timeliness of the Publication Process
Chief Editors and Editors are responsible for overseeing the entire publication process, from manuscript submission to final publication or rejection, ensuring that each stage is completed in a timely manner. They must ensure that each issue is published on schedule, monitor the performance of reviewers and editors, address any backlog of accepted manuscripts, and provide swift responses and decisions.
Errata, Retractions, and Clarifications
Following the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines, the journal will promptly publish errata, retractions, or clarifications when necessary, especially if competing interests arise after publication. A direct link between the original article and the errata or the corrected articles will be provided for all online journals.
Duties and Chief Responsibilities of Authors
Authorship
The journal defines an author as someone who has made substantial contributions to the design, execution, and interpretation of the research, in addition to writing the manuscript. All individuals who have significantly contributed should be listed as co-authors. Every co-author who has contributed appropriately must agree to the manuscript submission. Any requests for adding or removing authors, whether before or after publication, must be approved by the Chief Editors or Editors. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all authors have consented to and approved the manuscript submission to the journal.
Author Responsibilities
Authors are expected to present their results in a clear and honest manner, ensuring that data is not fabricated, falsified, or manipulated. The methods should be described in enough detail for others to replicate the findings. If authors identify any errors in their published work, they must promptly inform the Chief Editor or Publisher, so corrections or retractions can be made if necessary. Authors are responsible for submitting only original and new work, avoiding the submission of previously published material or simultaneous submissions to other journals. They may submit their work elsewhere only after receiving a formal rejection or approval to withdraw from the journal. Authors must make meaningful contributions to the research and take responsibility for any shortcomings in their work.
Research Misconduct
- Plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification of data are considered research misconduct. Authors must refrain from these actions in their submitted manuscripts.
- All articles submitted to the journal are screened for plagiarism and AI-generated content. The journal uses Turnitin for this process, and any plagiarism above 15 percent is not acceptable.
- Any instances of plagiarism or research misconduct will be reported to the Chief Editors, and an investigation will be conducted with the help of the Publisher.
Image Manipulation
- Manipulating images in a way that alters results or compromises their integrity is prohibited. Enhancements for clarity, such as adjusting brightness, contrast, or color balance, are allowed as long as they do not obscure or distort the original data. Any improper manipulation of images may lead to rejection of the manuscript and further investigation.
- Any images suspected of manipulation will be reviewed by the Chief Editors, and primary data may be requested for comparison. Manipulated images may lead to the manuscript being rejected and considered as research misconduct.
Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publications
i. Authors using previously published figures, data, or copyrighted materials must:
- Acknowledge the sources in the manuscript.
- Obtain permission from the original publisher.
- Cite the original work and the copyright holder in the figure or table caption.
ii. Authors must confirm that their manuscript has not been submitted or published elsewhere (except for preprint servers).
iii. Submitting or publishing the same essential research in more than one journal simultaneously is unethical.
iv. Authors may submit or publish a similar manuscript as part of a thesis, lecture, or abstract.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
i. Transparency is crucial in research and publication. Authors must disclose any financial or personal interests that could influence their professional judgment.
ii. Failure to disclose conflicts of interest may undermine the journal’s credibility. All authors must declare any conflicts of interest during manuscript submission.
Availability of Materials and Data Access
i. Upon acceptance of the manuscript, authors must agree to make sample materials and data available to the scientific community for non-commercial purposes. This may include biological samples, sequence data, statistical data, etc.
ii. Manuscripts must provide sufficient details for other researchers to replicate the work. However, authors' legitimate interests will be protected, and appropriate agreements may restrict the use of materials or data.
Biosecurity, Animal Use, and Research Permits
- The journal discourages the use of infectious agents or materials that could be used as biological weapons and may evaluate such manuscripts.
- Research involving animals or humans must comply with the relevant laws. Authors must obtain approval from Institutional Animal/Human Ethics Committees and provide documentation upon request.
- Research involving biological resources must be accompanied by permits from the relevant government department. The permit number or reference must be mentioned in the methods section.
- Authors must ensure informed consent was obtained for human subjects and respect their privacy rights.
Reporting Guidelines
|
Guideline |
Type of Study |
Source |
|
STROBE |
Observational studies including cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies |
https://www.strobe-statement.org/index.php?id=available-checklists |
|
CONSORT |
Randomized controlled trials |
|
|
SQUIRE |
Quality improvement projects |
https://www.squire-statement.org/index.cfm |
|
PRISMA |
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses |
|
|
STARD |
Studies of diagnostic accuracy |
|
|
CARE |
Case Reports |
|
|
AGREE |
Clinical Practice Guidelines |
https://www.agreetrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/AGREE-Reporting-Checklist-2016.pdf |
Article-processing charges (APC)
Indian Authors are required to pay a minimum of 4,750/- INR per manuscript .
Foreign Authors are required to pay a minimum $55 per manuscript .
| Indian Authors | Foreign Authors | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| APC [INR] | 4000 | APC [USD] | $55 |
| 18% GST | 720 | No Tax | No Tax |
| Total | 4720 INR | Total | $55 |
APC Waivers: We believe APCs should not hinder quality publication. Corresponding authors may request waivers from the Editor-in-Chief.
The Journal doesnot any fees for withdrawal.
Authors coming from the countries included in the “United Nations list of Least Developed Countries” are entitled to ask for a waivers.
- Authors should apply for discounts after receiving the acceptance letter.
- All applications are subject to approval by the publisher/editor in chief.
- Discounts may not be transferred to a different author or journal
Please note all the invited papers will not attract any APC.
Reviewer Suggestions
The journal follows a double-blind peer review process. Authors can suggest suitable reviewers for their manuscript and may request exclusion of individuals with potential conflicts of interest. However, the final decision on reviewers is made by the editors.
Confidential Process
All communication between the authors and the journal, including email exchanges and reviewers' reports, must be treated as confidential. Authors are prohibited from posting any confidential materials on websites or publishing them without the journal's prior permission, regardless of whether the manuscript is accepted or rejected.
Duties and Responsibilities of Reviewers
Peer Review Ethics
- The journal operates under a double-blind peer-review process. The Chief Editor/Editors will select and appoint potential reviewers, ensuring that they possess relevant expertise in the field, are willing to provide full cooperation, and have adequate time to review the assigned manuscript. Reviewers' comments will assist the Chief Editor/Editors in making publication decisions and guide authors in improving the quality of their manuscripts.
- Reviewers must evaluate all submissions objectively, fairly, and professionally. When recommending the acceptance of a manuscript, reviewers should ensure that the manuscript meets the following criteria: originality, significance, importance to the research community in the field, relevance to scientists in related disciplines, and the support of its conclusions by evidence. Reviewers must also verify that the methods are clearly explained and that all relevant works are properly cited.
- Reviewers should refrain from making comments or statements that are offensive, libelous, or discourteous. They must adhere to the guidelines set by the journal concerning the scope, content, and quality of their review and comply with the publication policy established by the Publisher.
- Reviewers must meet the deadlines set for reviewing a manuscript. Typically, a manuscript should be reviewed within two weeks. If an extension is needed, it must be approved by the Editors. Reviewers may also be asked by the Editors to provide further feedback on a revised manuscript.
- Reviewers must maintain confidentiality throughout the peer-review process. All communication between reviewers and journal editors, as well as any manuscript received for review, must be treated as confidential and should not be disclosed or discussed with anyone at any stage.
Disclosure and Conflict of Interest
- A conflict of interest exists when a reviewer has a financial or personal interest that could influence their professional judgment regarding the manuscript. Potential reviewers whose research competes with that of the authors will not be appointed.
- Reviewers must disclose any potential financial or personal conflicts (if any) to the Editors before agreeing to review a manuscript. The Editors will decide whether to disqualify reviewers with such potential conflicts.
- Reviewers may choose to decline to review any manuscript if they feel there is a conflict of interest or if they lack the necessary knowledge to conduct a fair and thorough review.
Copyright and Licensing
This journal is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), allowing non-commercial sharing, adaptation, and distribution, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s), provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
Authors are required to submit the Open Access License Agreement Form along with their manuscript. By signing this form, the author agrees to the following:
- Authors retain the copyright to their article.
- Authors grant exclusive commercial and publishing rights to the Publisher.
Authors are also permitted to deposit the final electronic version of their article in an institutional or centralized subject repository after publication. They must provide a link to the published article on the journal's website and attribute the journal and Publisher as the original source of publication, ensuring correct citations are provided.
Handling Publication Malpractice or Research Misconduct
The Journal adopts the U.S. Public Health Service's definition of research misconduct (42 CFR Part 93, June 2005), which includes:
-
Fabrication: Creating false data or results and reporting them.
-
Falsification: Altering research materials, equipment, or data to misrepresent research.
-
Plagiarism: Using another person's work, ideas, or data without proper credit.
Research misconduct excludes honest errors or differences of opinion. The Journal also follows the COPE, WAME, and ICMJE guidelines for journal editors and publishers.
Any research misconduct complaints should be directed to the Chief Editors. The Journal adheres to COPE’s Ethical Oversight Flowcharts to handle issues like plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated data, authorship disputes, and reviewer misconduct. Research misconduct must be supported by compelling evidence and intentional or reckless actions. If misconduct is found, the corresponding author will be notified for comments, and peer review may be requested. The author’s institution may also be informed for investigation.
For clear plagiarism, the manuscript may be rejected or revised, while published articles may face retraction or corrigendum. Respondents have access to all related materials and may appeal the decision within 30 days.
The Journal will correct or amend peer-reviewed articles through erratum, corrigendum, retraction, or addendum. Sanctions for serious misconduct may include article retraction or submission bans. Investigation reports may be published on the journal’s website, with identities of those involved in misconduct anonymized.