Publication Ethics Policy

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

1. Introduction

SciNex Journal of Advanced Sciences (SJAS) is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity in scholarly publishing. This policy outlines the ethical responsibilities of all parties involved in the publication process: authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher. Our practices align with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommendations, and other relevant international standards.

2. Journal Responsibilities

2.1 Editorial Independence

  • The editorial decisions are based solely on the academic merit, originality, and relevance of the work to the journal's scope, without regard to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, citizenship, or institutional affiliation.
  • The Editor-in-Chief and editorial board members have full authority over the entire editorial content and publication schedule.

2.2 Confidentiality

  • Editors and editorial staff must treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential documents.
  • They must not disclose any information about submissions to anyone other than corresponding authors, reviewers, potential reviewers, and the publisher as appropriate.

2.3 Conflict of Interest

  • Editors must declare and avoid any conflicts of interest regarding submitted manuscripts.
  • Editors will recuse themselves from handling manuscripts in which they have personal, financial, or professional interests.

2.4 Publication Decisions

  • The editorial board is responsible for deciding which submitted articles should be published.
  • Decisions are made based on validation of the work's importance, originality, clarity, and relevance to the journal's scope.

2.5 Ethical Oversight

  • The journal has procedures for handling ethical complaints and appeals, regardless of when the original publication was approved.
  • Editors will pursue suspected or alleged misconduct in accordance with COPE flowcharts.

3. Author Responsibilities

3.1 Originality and Plagiarism

  • Authors must ensure that submitted work is original and has not been published elsewhere in any language.
  • Proper acknowledgment of others' work must always be given. Plagiarism in any form constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
  • All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection software (Turnitin). Similarity above 15% (excluding references) may result in rejection.

3.2 Data Access and Retention

  • Authors may be asked to provide raw data in connection with manuscripts for editorial review and should be prepared to retain such data for at least five years after publication.
  • Where possible, datasets should be deposited in publicly accessible repositories, and accession numbers or DOIs provided.

3.3 Authorship Criteria

  • Authorship should be limited to those who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study.
  • All contributors who meet these criteria should be listed as co-authors.
  • The corresponding author must ensure that all co-authors have approved the final version of the paper and agreed to its submission.

3.4 Conflict of Interest Disclosure

  • All authors must disclose any financial, personal, or professional conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript.
  • All sources of financial support should be disclosed.

3.5 Fundamental Errors in Published Works

  • When authors discover significant errors or inaccuracies in their published work, they must promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate to retract or correct the paper.

3.6 Simultaneous Submission

  • Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

3.7 Human and Animal Subjects

  • For studies involving human participants, authors must include a statement that the research was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by an institutional ethics committee.
  • For studies involving animals, authors must confirm that institutional and national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed.
  • Authors must include the ethics committee approval number and date in the Methods section.

4. Reviewer Responsibilities

4.1 Contribution to Editorial Decisions

  • Peer review assists editors in making editorial decisions and may help authors improve their papers through constructive feedback.

4.2 Confidentiality

  • Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.
  • Reviewers must not share or discuss the content with others without explicit permission from the editor.

4.3 Objectivity and Constructiveness

  • Reviews should be conducted objectively, without personal criticism of the author.
  • Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

4.4 Conflict of Interest

  • Reviewers must declare any conflicts of interest (financial, institutional, collaborative, or other relationships with authors) and decline to review if such conflicts exist.

4.5 Promptness

  • Reviewers should complete reviews within the agreed timeframe. If unable to do so, they should promptly notify the editor.

5. Research Integrity and Misconduct

5.1 Definition of Misconduct

  • Research misconduct includes but is not limited to: fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, inappropriate authorship, duplicate publication, and unethical research.

5.2 Handling Allegations

  • When ethical concerns are raised about a submitted or published manuscript, the editor will follow COPE guidelines to investigate.
  • This may involve contacting the authors' institution, funding bodies, or other relevant parties.

5.3 Outcomes

  • Possible outcomes include: correction, retraction, expression of concern, or reporting to employers/institutions.
  • Retracted articles will remain online with a clear "RETRACTED" watermark and explanation.

6. Copyright and Licensing

6.1 Copyright

  • Upon acceptance, authors grant SJAS the right to publish, distribute, and archive the article.
  • Authors retain copyright of their work.

6.2 Licensing

  • All published articles are open access and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
  • This allows others to share and adapt the work, provided proper attribution is given.

6.3 Archiving

  • The journal uses CLOCKSS and Portico for digital preservation to ensure long-term accessibility.

7. Complaints and Appeals

7.1 Procedure

  • Complaints should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief at: editor-sjas@journalscinex.com
  • Appeals against editorial decisions should be made in writing with a detailed justification.

7.2 Response Time

  • The journal will acknowledge complaints within 5 working days and aim to resolve them within 30 days.

8. Post-Publication Corrections

8.1 Corrections

  • Errors that affect the interpretation of an article but do not invalidate it will be corrected via an erratum.

8.2 Retractions

  • Articles may be retracted if they contain seriously flawed or erroneous data, constitute plagiarism, have been published elsewhere, or involve unethical research.

8.3 Expressions of Concern

  • An expression of concern may be issued if there is inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct, or if an investigation is ongoing.

9. Advertising Policy

9.1 Standards

  • The journal does not accept advertisements that conflict with its editorial policies or academic integrity.
  • Advertisements must be clearly distinguishable from editorial content.

10. Revenue Sources

10.1 Transparency

  • The journal's primary revenue sources are article processing charges (APCs) and institutional support.
  • This does not influence editorial decisions.

11. Publisher's Responsibilities

11.1 Commitment

  • SciNex Publishers is committed to ensuring that editorial decisions are not influenced by commercial interests.

11.2 Support

  • The publisher will support the journal in implementing this ethics policy and addressing violations.

12. Contact Information

For questions or concerns regarding publication ethics, please contact:

Ethics Committee Chair
SciNex Journal of Advanced Sciences
Email: ethics@scinexpublishers.com
SciNex Publishers, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan

 

Appendix: Compliance with International Standards

This Publication Ethics Policy has been developed in accordance with the following internationally recognized guidelines and principles:

  1. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
    We adhere to COPE's Core Practices and follow their flowcharts for handling ethical issues.
    Available at: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices

  2. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations
    For biomedical research, we follow the "Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals."
    Available at: http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/

  3. World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) Editorial Policies
    We incorporate WAME's recommendations on publication ethics policies.
    Available at: https://wame.org/editorial-policies

  4. Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) Principles of Transparency and Best Practice
    As an open access journal, we comply with DOAJ's criteria for transparency.
    Available at: https://doaj.org/bestpractice