Publication Ethics

1. Commitment to Ethical Publishing
Biosciences Reports is committed to maintaining high ethical standards in the publication process. The journal follows best practices in academic publishing to ensure transparency, integrity, and accountability in all aspects of the submission, peer review, and publication processes.

2. Responsibilities of Authors
Authors submitting manuscripts to Biosciences Reports are expected to:

  • Ensure originality: Manuscripts must be original and not under consideration elsewhere. Authors should not submit previously published work without proper citation.
  • Correct and accurate data: Authors must ensure that the data presented in their manuscripts are accurate and authentic. They should not manipulate or falsify data.
  • Proper attribution: All sources, including previous research, theories, and data, must be appropriately cited. Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could influence their research or manuscript.
  • Ethical approval: For research involving human subjects, animals, or any biological materials, authors must provide proof of ethical approval from relevant committees or institutions.

3. Responsibilities of Reviewers
Reviewers play a crucial role in the peer review process and are expected to:

  • Confidentiality: Reviewers must keep the manuscript and its contents confidential. They should not discuss the manuscript with others unless authorized by the editor.
  • Constructive feedback: Reviewers should provide honest, constructive, and objective feedback, helping to improve the quality of the manuscript.
  • No conflicts of interest: Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could affect their impartiality in evaluating the manuscript.
  • Timeliness: Reviewers are expected to complete their reviews within the agreed time frame, ensuring that the peer review process moves forward efficiently.

4. Responsibilities of Editors
Editors are responsible for overseeing the entire publication process and are committed to:

  • Editorial independence: Editors will make publication decisions based on the scientific merit of the manuscript, free from bias or external influence.
  • Fairness and transparency: Editors will ensure that all manuscripts are reviewed fairly and without discrimination based on gender, nationality, or other personal characteristics.
  • Handling of conflicts of interest: Editors will ensure that conflicts of interest are disclosed and managed appropriately. If an editor has a conflict of interest with a manuscript, the manuscript will be handled by another editor.
  • Plagiarism and misconduct: Editors will investigate allegations of plagiarism, data fabrication, or other forms of academic misconduct thoroughly and take appropriate action when necessary.

5. Handling of Misconduct
Biosciences Reports has a zero-tolerance policy for academic misconduct, including plagiarism, data fabrication, and unethical authorship practices. In cases of suspected misconduct:

  • The editorial board will investigate the matter thoroughly.
  • Appropriate actions will be taken, including retraction of the article, formal notification to the author's institution, and banning the author from submitting future work to the journal if necessary.

6. Publication Transparency
Biosciences Reports commits to transparency in the publication process:

  • Corrections and retractions: If an error is found after publication, authors are required to submit corrections. If a serious error, ethical issue, or misconduct is identified, the article may be retracted, and a notice will be issued.
  • Acknowledging errors: Authors, reviewers, and editors are responsible for acknowledging and correcting any errors identified in the publication process.

7. Ethical Guidelines for Research
The journal adheres to ethical guidelines in research practices and expects authors to comply with standards of ethical behavior set by relevant institutions and international bodies in their respective fields. These include but are not limited to:

  • Ethical treatment of human and animal subjects.
  • Respect for intellectual property and originality.
  • Ensuring accuracy and reliability of results.

8. Conflict of Interest
Biosciences Reports requires that authors, reviewers, and editors disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could affect the objectivity of their work. All financial and non-financial interests related to the manuscript must be disclosed during the submission process.

9. Acknowledgement of Sources
Authors must give proper credit to the contributions of others by citing relevant works. This includes acknowledging sources of funding, data, and contributions of individuals or institutions that were involved in the research but are not authors.

10. Compliance with Legal Standards
All manuscripts must comply with relevant laws, including those pertaining to intellectual property rights, data privacy, and research involving human or animal subjects.