Ethics of ArticlePublishing
This section is designed to help everyone engaged in the journal publication process; namely, editors, authors, and manuscript reviewers and referees.
We are confident that unambiguous and consistent guidelines will enhance the quality of published research, and ensure a process is in place to respond to a situation where ethics may have been transgressed.
Editors
We ask editors to make every reasonable effort to ensure the following criteria are taken into account for those submitted manuscripts they deem worthy of consideration by peer review.
• Unbiased consideration should be given to each manuscript, judging each on its merits without regard to the race, religion, nationality, sex, seniority, or institutional affiliation of the author.
• Manuscripts should be dealt with and processed with reasonable speed and efficiency.
• Editors have sole responsibility for the acceptance or rejection of a manuscript. While an editor may seek guidance via peer review, she or he may reject a manuscript without review if considered inappropriate for the journal.
• The peer-review process must be confidential and rendered anonymous.
• Conflicts of interest must be declared.
Authors
Authors must present an accurate account of the research performed, and offer an objective discussion of its significance.
• The article must contain sufficient detail and reference to public sources of information to permit the author's peers to repeat the work.
• Authors must cite all relevant references.
• Authors must identify any hazards inherent in conducting the research.
• Authors must declare conflicts of interest.
• Authors must avoid fragmenting research to maximize the number of articles submitted.
• Authors must not submit the same or similar articles to any other journal or publication medium.
• While an experimental or theoretical study may sometimes justify criticism of the work of another scientist, in no circumstances is personal criticism appropriate.
• "Co-authors" are defined as any person who has made a significant scientific contribution to the work reported, and who shares responsibility and accountability for the results.
• We require that, prior to publication, authors sign a set of warranties to these effects via a Copyright Transfer Form.
Referees and Peer Reviewers
We ask referees and peer reviewers to make every reasonable effort to ensure the following criteria are taken into account for those submitted manuscripts they have agreed to peer review:
• Unbiased consideration should be given to each manuscript, judging each on its merits without regard to the race, religion, nationality, sex, seniority, or institutional affiliation of the author.
• Manuscripts should be dealt with and processed with reasonable speed and efficiency.
• The quality of the manuscript, and its experimental and theoretical work, its interpretations, and its exposition, will be judged objectively.
• The peer-review process will be kept confidential.
• Conflicts of interest must be declared.
• Referees' judgments must be explained and supported. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported must be accompanied by the relevant citation, and unsupported assertions must be avoided.
• While the review of a manuscript may justify criticism, even severe criticism, under no circumstances is personal or malicious criticism of the author appropriate or acceptable.
