Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics offers a sum of terms to exchange ideas and perspectives on ethical concerns arising in various research publication stages, such as planning, implementation, outcomes, and supervision. By providing transparent and comprehensive accounts of ethical issues in research, it aims to promote awareness, challenge assumptions, and facilitate the resolution of complex ethical issues. Readers, authors, reviewers, and editorial team members should follow the ethical policies considered by E-Palli Publishers.

Duties & Responsibilities of Editors

• The editorial team aims to shape the scientific journal environment, such as ethical publishing practices, inform those involved in the editorial process, and foster informed decision-making by editors, so the integrity of our publications is upheld.
• The journal editors should have the full authority to reject/accept a manuscript if the manuscript reaches publication ethics.
• Editors should ensure that all submitted works are evaluated fairly and objectively.
• Editors should not use their position to influence the outcome of a submission.
• Select reviewers and send manuscripts to those who are aligned with the research topic.
• Decide and advise for choosing and publishing special issues
• Journal editors must keep the information in submitted manuscripts confidential until they are under review or in copyediting or published.
• The Editor-in-Chief, along with other editors and reviewers, is responsible for deciding whether submitted manuscripts should be published or not.
• Reviewers of the journal must remain anonymous, and editors should avoid conflicts of interest.
• Journal editors must prioritize academic integrity and cater to the needs of authors and readers.
• Editors must investigate issues of plagiarism and fraudulent data and publish corrections, retractions, and apologies when necessary.
• Confidential information in submitted manuscripts should only be disclosed to corresponding authors, potential reviewers, editorial advisers, and publishers.
• The editor or editorial board members cannot use unpublished material in submitted papers for their own research without the author's written consent.
• Guest editors are essential in acquiring content and leading the review process for special issue publications in the journal.
• Associate editors should support the journal editor as subject experts, manage assigned manuscripts, obtain peer reviews, request revisions, and recommend manuscript acceptance or rejection.

Duties & Responsibilities of Reviewers

• Reviewers should help the editors to decide whether to publish submitted manuscripts by authors.
• Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of the manuscripts they are asked to review.
• Complying with the written instructions on the journal's expectations for the scope, content, and quality of the review.
• Timely feedback from reviewers is necessary for editors to decide whether to publish a manuscript in time. Notifying the editor immediately if unable to review in a timely manner.
• Reviewers must not use any information obtained from the reviewed manuscripts for personal interest.
• The comments provided by the reviewers should be professional, objective, and technical for each manuscript.
• Reviewers should not review manuscripts with a conflict of interest with any authors, companies, or institutions.
• Reviewers should give unbiased, practical, thoughtful, fair, constructive, and informative feedback on submitted manuscripts.
• Reviewers should discourage the author to cite irrelevant works.
• Notifying journal editors about any possible mistakes or misuse of citations in their manuscripts.
• Informing authors if any cited works have been updated or retracted.

Author’s Responsibilities

• All authors of the submitted manuscript should agree to allow the corresponding author to communicate with the editorial office, review the edited manuscript, and proof.
• Authors are highly encouraged to avoid any misconduct or misleading, or malpractices of the manuscript. If any such thing is found, the journal authority has the right to withdraw of the manuscript and take any decision against the misconduct.
• All authors must be aware that the editor screens submitted manuscripts using Plagiarism Prevention Software, and plagiarism is a severe violation of publication ethics. No plagiarised manuscript will be published in the journal.
• Authorship will be considered when any author listed in the manuscript will have a significant contribution to the research and article.
• People who didn't contribute enough to warrant authorship but still helped should be acknowledged by name, and the funding sources should be acknowledged in the acknowledgment section.
• The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all coauthors have approved its publication and no issues are raised.
• Proper metadata should be given during the submission of the manuscript.
• Corrections of any errors or updates needed by the authors should be informed ahead of the publication of the article. No request or changes will be accepted after the publication.
• Authors should confirm the galley proof sent by the journal production team before publication.
• The author must disclose any potential conflict of interest.
• The author should maintain confidentiality in the publication process.
• Raw data must be provided for editorial review and should be accessible to the public (if applicable).
• Authors must cooperate with editors to retract or correct the paper if necessary.
• Permission must be obtained to include case details, personal information, or images of patients or other individuals.

Plagiarism Policy

Plagiarism constitutes several actions such as copying content directly from external sources without giving credit; copying ideas, images, or data from other sources without giving credit; using content from the author's previous publications without permission or acknowledgment from the editor, except for the Methods section, which can be reused with proper attribution. Using an idea from another source with slightly altered language without giving credit might also be considered plagiarism.

If plagiarism is discovered during the peer review process, the manuscript may be rejected by giving prior notice to the author. If plagiarism is discovered after publication, the article may be corrected or retracted, depending on the situation, and will be decided by the journal editor. All manuscripts submitted for review or already published by the journal undergo screening via the "Turnitin" software.

Conflicts of Interest (COI)

The editorial team members and reviewers will not disclose any information about the unpublished manuscript, and the conflict of interest (COI), which is very much potential, should be disclosed by the author to the editor as early as possible. Authors must declare the conflict of interest (COI) (If any) during the submission of the manuscript.

Any tangible and non-tangible conflict of interest, financial and non-financial, or any personal gain or loss by either side, authors, reviewers, and editors, are not acceptable to the journal. If any reviewers find any sort of COI during the review process, he/she should declare/disclose to the editor.

If any editors or reviewers believe the relationship to the author(s) or the research area of the article may constitute a conflict of interest for any reason, it would be disclosed to the managing editor of the journal.

Guideline followed by the COPE Core Practices.

Human and Animal-Related Studies

Participant Rights and Informed Consent

• Researchers must obtain informed consent from human participants before involving them in studies. This includes providing clear information about the study purpose, procedures, risks, benefits, and their right to withdraw at any time.
• The author should ensure that research involving human participants adheres to ethical standards and guidelines set forth by relevant institutional review boards (IRBs) or ethics committees. Authors should provide documentation of approval from these boards or committees when submitting their manuscripts.
• Authors should take measures to protect the privacy and confidentiality of human participants. Identifying information should be anonymized or kept confidential unless explicit consent has been obtained for its disclosure.
• The author should state that informed consent was obtained from human participants. Additionally, any potential harm to participants should be minimized.

Animal Welfare and Handling

• For studies involving animals, researchers must adhere to ethical guidelines for animal care and use.
• The “3Rs” principle (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) guides ethical animal research. Researchers should aim to replace animals with alternative methods, reduce the number of animals used, and refine procedures to minimize suffering.
• The author should provide details on animal welfare, including housing conditions, enrichment, and veterinary care.
• Research involving animals should adhere to ethical standards outlined in relevant guidelines (e.g., ARRIVE guidelines for reporting animal research). Journals should require authors to provide details about the care and treatment of animals involved in their studies, including housing conditions, handling procedures, and steps taken to minimize discomfort and suffering.

Best Practices for Handling and Training Animals in Zoos and Aquariums

• Zoos and aquariums play a vital role in conservation and education. Ethical handling and training of animals in these settings are essential.
• Evidence-based approaches, positive reinforcement training, and ongoing well-being assessments should be part of animal care programs.