Publication Ethics

This section details our commitment to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. It covers policies on authorship, plagiarism, data integrity, and conflict of interest.

Authorship Criteria

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to:

• Conception and design of the study
• Acquisition of data
• Analysis and interpretation of data
• Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content
• Final approval of the version to be published

All authors must agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Plagiarism Policy

We have a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism. All submissions are screened using plagiarism detection software. Types of plagiarism include:

• Verbatim copying: Copying text without attribution
• Paraphrasing plagiarism: Rewriting text without proper citation
• Self-plagiarism: Reusing one's own previously published work without disclosure
• Image plagiarism: Using images, figures, or tables without permission or attribution

Plagiarized manuscripts will be immediately rejected, and authors may be banned from future submissions.

Data Integrity

Authors must:

• Ensure the accuracy and integrity of all data
• Retain original data for at least 5 years after publication
• Make data available to editors upon request
• Clearly identify and justify any manipulation of images

Conflict of Interest

All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest, including:

• Financial interests (employment, consultancies, stock ownership)
• Funding sources and their role in the research
• Personal relationships that could influence the work
• Academic competitors

Conflicts of interest will be disclosed in the published article when relevant.

Corrections and Retractions

We follow COPE guidelines for corrections and retractions:

• Correction: For minor errors that don't affect conclusions
• Expression of concern: When there are serious doubts about data integrity
• Retraction: For seriously flawed or unethical research