Publication Ethic Statement

Publication Ethic Statement Our ethical principles are based on COPE's Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

Editorial Responsibilities

Publication Decisions: The editor holds the authority to accept, reject, or request revisions for the submitted work. These decisions must always be guided by the work's validity and its significance to the scholarly community and readers. The editorial board's policies and relevant laws concerning libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism should serve as the editors' guidelines and limitations. They may also seek input from additional editors or reviewers when making these choices. Editors must take full responsibility for everything they publish, ensuring the quality of the content they disseminate and upholding the integrity of the public record.

Manuscript Review: The editor is responsible for ensuring that each manuscript undergoes an initial assessment for originality. The peer review process should be conducted fairly and thoughtfully. The journal's guidelines for authors should outline the peer review procedures, specifying which sections of the publication are subject to peer review. The editor should select appropriate peer reviewers who possess sufficient expertise and avoid any potential conflicts of interest.

Fairness: The editor must ensure that every submitted manuscript is evaluated based on its intellectual content, without any consideration of the authors' sex, gender, race, religion, nationality, etc. Upholding editorial independence and integrity is essential in making impartial judgments. As editors wield significant influence over publications, it is crucial to maintain an unbiased and fair process.

Confidentiality: The editor must ensure the confidentiality of all information related to submitted manuscripts. Any potential breaches of patient confidentiality and data protection must be carefully addressed. This includes obtaining legally valid consent for the research and, when applicable, consent for publication. Editors should also provide clear guidance to reviewers on handling submitted material in confidence.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: The editor must not use unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted work for their own research without the author's written permission. Editors should abstain from making decisions on papers in which they have a conflict of interest.

Author Responsibilities

Reporting Standards: Authors should present their work's significance, originality, and clarity, as well as the study's validity and relevance to the journal's scope. The manuscript should include sufficient detail and references to allow others to replicate the research. Review articles should be accurate, objective, and comprehensive, while editorial opinions or perspective pieces should be clearly identified as such. Serious issues identified during the review process should not be tolerated.

Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that their work is entirely original. The manuscript should not be submitted to multiple publications simultaneously unless co-publication has been agreed upon by the editors. Proper acknowledgment and referencing of relevant previous work and publications, both by other researchers and the authors themselves, is essential. Any directly quoted text from other researchers' publications should be cited appropriately within quotation marks. Plagiarism in all its forms is unethical and unacceptable publishing behavior.

Authorship of the Manuscript: All listed authors must meet the criteria for authorship and be willing to take public responsibility for the content. The relevant field's standards should be followed to determine who should be listed as contributors.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Authors should disclose any relevant competing interests as early as possible, generally by submitting a disclosure form at the time of submission and including a statement in the manuscript. This disclosure should cover any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of the manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat information about submitted manuscripts as confidential and privileged until authorized by the editor.

Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should ensure that authors have properly acknowledged all sources of data used in their research. They should also identify any relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors and ensure that appropriate citations are provided.

Objectivity: Reviewers should conduct their evaluation of submitted manuscripts objectively, expressing their views clearly with well-founded arguments. Their reviews should be constructive and provide feedback to help authors improve their work. Reviewers should specify which additional investigations, if any, are essential to support the claims made in the manuscript under consideration and which will merely strengthen or extend the research.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: Reviewers must maintain confidentiality and refrain from using privileged information obtained through the peer review process for personal gain. They should decline to review 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 associated with the papers.

Promptness: Reviewers should respond promptly and agree to review a manuscript only if they can meet the proposed or mutually agreed time-frame for providing the review. If they anticipate any delays, they should inform the journal promptly and, if necessary, suggest an alternative reviewer.