Publication Ethics

We the Chief Editor, Editorial Board Members and Reviewers take the quality of the articles submitted for consideration for publication very seriously. We encourage submission of research, review, short and long articles by new and seasoned researchers. To help avoid any misunderstandings between the author or authors and the Journal Editor, we have adopted the ‘Core Practices’ of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).

To summarise:

i) Allegations of Misconduct

Any allegations of misconduct will be considered with due diligence and in confidence by the Editor and an appointed team. Documentary evidence will be sought and all concerned parties will be given the chance to defend themselves. A clear case of any form of misconduct will result in the full retraction of the paper and the banning of the author or authors. Whistle blowers will not be liable to any penalties.

ii) Authorship and Contribution

Only those who have actually contributed to an article should be listed as an author. Also the author order should reflect the order of contribution to an article. We discourage and take seriously the malpractice of Professors or Supervisors listing their names in first order over their students or even omitting the names of their students. Articles written by more than two authors need to provide a statement of their contributions. This is to avoid the practice of ghost authors getting their names published with zero contributions.

iii) Complaints and Appeals

All complaints against the journal and its associated team at all stages of the publication process shall be taken seriously and considered without prejudice. They will be considered by the core team members and those who are not being complained against. Also any threats against the journal and its members will be referred to the relevant national law agencies as we value the safety and sanctity of all our members.

iv) Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests

A clear statement of no conflict of interest is required by the contributing authors. Full declaration of the source of funding must all be provided. Decision making will be moved to those where is no conflict of interest, be it the editor, reviewer or publisher. Family and or organisational affiliations must be declared if there are any with any journal member, before the paper is considered for review.

v) Data and Reproducibility

All authors should follow and show evidence of compliance of their institutional, national and international ethical guidelines regarding research involving human, animal and environmental data. This extends to accessibility of data and its independent verification thereof. Protecting the confidence of sensitive subject should also be maintained including full compliance with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

vi) Ethical Oversight

All sensitive information must only be disclosed by its proper anonymisation and full consent of all the parties involved. All research undertaken with living things must be obtained ethically. Any financial sponsors must be clearly stated. Full reverence to human and animal subjects must be given and shown to have been given.

vii) Intellectual Property

Papers should not be plagiarised and we also take self-plagiarism seriously. Prior work must be cited. All submissions will be checked for plagiarism and similarity. Papers must also not be submitted to more than one journal simultaneously. Infringement of these conditions upon discovery will result in automatic withdrawal of the paper for consideration. Repeat offenders will be barred from further submissions for a period of time to be determined by the editor of the journal.

viii) Peer Review Process

The journal follows a single-blind review process using an online reviewing platform. Any divergence of views will be given the chance to be addressed by the authors. If there still persists any disagreements, then additional new reviewers will be sought. We respect both the authors and reviewers and will not tolerate any disrespectful behaviour from either party. Quality reviewers are sought and selected based on their experience.

ix). Post-publication Discussions and Corrections

Publication is a two-way process between the authors and the journal and is not considered final upon publication of the paper. The authors and the journal both have the right to correct any errors after publication. The author(s) may need to retract the paper for a valid reason and this will be respected.