Publication Ethics

Publication Decisions
The editorial board is responsible for deciding which submitted manuscripts should be published. Decisions are based on scholarly merit, reviewer recommendations, and legal considerations related to libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. Editorial decisions are made without regard to authors’ nationality, ethnicity, political beliefs, race, or religion.

Confidentiality, Disclosure, and Conflicts of Interest
Editors must not disclose information about submitted manuscripts except to relevant parties in the review process. Unpublished materials may not be used without written consent from the author. Funding sources and the role of funders must be transparently disclosed.

Author Relations
Editors ensure that peer review is fair, unbiased, and timely. Policies are in place to manage submissions from editorial board members, and clear guidance on authorship criteria is provided.

Reviewer Relations
Reviewers are encouraged to identify ethical concerns, potential misconduct, redundant publication, or plagiarism. Reviewer contributions are acknowledged, and those who provide discourteous, poor-quality, or late reviews may be discontinued.

Quality Assurance
Editors take reasonable steps to ensure publication quality and ethical compliance, including research approval by appropriate bodies. Errors or misleading statements are corrected promptly and transparently.

Contribution to Editorial Decisions
Reviewers assist editors by providing objective, well-argued evaluations that help authors improve their manuscripts. Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate.

Qualification of Reviewers
Reviewers should decline assignments if unqualified or unable to review promptly. Manuscripts with conflicts of interest must not be reviewed.

Confidentiality
All manuscripts received for review are confidential. Information obtained through peer review must not be used for personal advantage.

Acknowledgment of Sources
Reviewers should identify relevant uncited work and notify editors of any substantial similarity or overlap with other published works.

Reporting Standards
Authors must present accurate, objective accounts of their research and retain raw data for at least two years after publication. Fraudulent or inaccurate statements are unethical.

Originality, Plagiarism, and Concurrent Publication
Submitted works must be original, with proper acknowledgment of others’ contributions. Plagiarism and multiple submissions of the same manuscript are unacceptable.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
All financial or substantive conflicts of interest and funding sources must be disclosed.

Authorship of the Paper
Only those who have made significant contributions should be listed as authors. All co-authors must approve the final manuscript and its submission.

Fundamental Errors in Published Works
Authors must promptly inform the editor of significant errors and cooperate in correcting or retracting the publication.