Ethical Norms for Authors
Standards
Authors of original research article should present an accurate account of the actual work performed as well as an objective discussion with its significance. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references for other researchers to replicate the research. All the data should be reported accurately and appropriately in the paper. Fraudulent or intentionally mentioned inaccurate or false statements or plagiarism are not acceptable and amounts to unethical behaviour.
Data Access and Retention
Authors should be ready to provide the relevant raw data f or concerned paper for review, and should also be prepared to provide public access to such data (consistent with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases), and should be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.
Originality and Plagiarism
The authors should take care and assure that they have mentioned entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited, referred or quoted.
Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication
An author must not in general publish the same research article in more than one journal. Submitting or publishing the same manuscript/article to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical practice.
Acknowledgement of Sources
Proper acknowledgment of the work /publication of others must always be given.
Authorship of the Paper
Authorship should be restricted to those who have significant contribution to research in form of the conception, design, formatting, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions in research should be listed as co-authors. Others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication. If study involves more than one center (Multicentric) then all Authors have to submit Annexure M from download section
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be mentioned.
Fundamental errors in published works
When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper
Ethical Norms for Editors
The editorial team of the journal will decide which of the articles submitted should be published. Decision for the same will be guided by the policies and norms of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.
Secrecy
The editor(s) and any editorial staff or publisher must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript of any article to anyone but the corresponding author, reviewers as appropriate.
Fair evaluation
An editorial team will evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, ethnicity, citizenship, or political/religious philosophy of the authors.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest
Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research, partly or completely, without the written consent of the author.
Ethical Norms for Reviewers
- Peer review guides and helps the editorial team in making editorial decisions regarding specific article reviewed and also suggests the author for better quality of the paper.
- Article sent for review must be accessed immediately within stipulated time. Any selected reviewer who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or finds that its prompt review will not be possible should bring to the notice of the editor
- Any manuscripts received for review must be always treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with any unauthorised directly or indirectly.
- Reviews should be conducted objectively without personal criticism. Reviewer should express their opinions clearly with appropriate comments.
- Reviewers should identify relevant published work in respect to citation. Any reference mentioned in article must be accompanied by the relevant citation. References must be in the style suggested.
- Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must not be disclosed and not used for personal interest. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts for review in which they have conflicts of interest due to any reason with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.