Publication Ethics Policy

We work hard to advance best practises in the academic community and uphold integrity in all of our publishing endeavours as a globally engaged open access publisher. We adhere to the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors published by the Committee on Publication Ethics and the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly.

All of our publishing activities are guided by the following core ethical values:

• All authors and co-authors must meet the requirements for authorship and make sure that the right credit is given in their manuscript in order to be considered an author. Authors are urged to be as specific as possible when describing contributions to their work.
• Originality: Authors are required to attest that the manuscript they have submitted is their own original work. The piece cannot already be in print or be being considered for publication elsewhere. If someone else's ideas or words are used, they must be properly cited or quoted.
• Data availability and citation: For editorial review, authors may be asked to submit any relevant raw data. They ought to be ready to make such data accessible to the general public as well. Authors are expected to provide data citations in their reference list, just like they are required to cite articles, books, and websites.
• Acknowledgement of sources: The authors should properly acknowledge any work in the manuscript that has been contributed by others.
• Declaration and conflicts of interest: All submissions must include disclosure of all relationships that could be viewed as presenting a potential conflict of interest.
• Reporting standards: Authors of original research papers should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance.
• Human and Animal Rights: A statement of compliance is necessary to demonstrate that protocols were followed in conformity with the ethical requirements of the relevant committee on human experimentation for research that involves human subjects (institutional and national). Authors of studies that detail animal experimentation are urged to state whether the institutional and/or national guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals were adhered to.
• Research ethics: The Institutional Review Board (IRB) must have given its seal of approval and, if necessary, informed permission for the study we publish. According to national and international requirements, clinical trials had to be recorded in clinical trial registries.

Authors’ ethical statement: Authors are responsible for all parts of their work, including complete data access, data integrity, and the quality of the data analysis, and must take all necessary steps to properly investigate and address any concerns regarding the accuracy or integrity of any portion of their work.