Publication Ethics

Publication Ethics and Quality Control

This statement explains the ethical behaviour of all parties involved in publishing an article for its journal (the author, editors, peer-reviewers, and the publisher). This statement is based on internationally accepted Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors curled from different websites of journals, publishers, and international indexing agencies such as Lifescience Global Journal, African Journals Online and the Committee for Publication Ethics.

DUTIES OF THE EDITORS

The journal has its own Editorial Board. The approach of this publication is that knowledge is a continuum and a unity. It tries to avoid erecting barriers between discipline whore; in reality, no barrier exists. To ensure the generalizations and interrelationships within disciplines and the interdisciplinary conglomerates that make up life, a member of the Editorial Board in this journal may be a member of another journal.

Decision on the Publication of Articles

The Editor-in-Chief of this Journal is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The Editor-in-Chief may be guided by the policies of the journal's Editorial Board and subjected to such legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The Editor-in-Chief may confer with other editors or reviewers to decide.
 
Fair play

Manuscripts shall be evaluated solely on their intellectual merit without regard to the author’s race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy. The journal employs a single-blinded technique in the peer-review process to ensure quality assurance. 

Confidentiality

The Editor-in-Chief, editors, and other editorial staff must not disclose information about a submitted manuscript to another person except the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial consultants, and the publisher.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used by anyone who has a view of the manuscript (while handling it) in research without the express written consent of the author(s).

DUTIES OF REVIEWERS
Importance of Peer Reviewing

Peer review is essential in formal scholarly communication and lies at the heart of the scientific method. Peer review assists the editors in making editorial decisions and communications with the author and supports the author in improving the paper. Peer Reviewers need to recognize the
importance of their roles and commit to contributing high-quality work to publishing scholarly research.

Promptness

A selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a paper or knows its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse from the review process. If a selected referee agrees to review a paper, they should then adhere to timelines set by the editor.

Confidentiality

A paper received for review must be handled as a confidential document. It must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.
 
Standards of Objectivity

The reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Study Ethics

Reviewers are encouraged to comment on ethical questions and possible research misconduct raised by submissions (for example, unethical research design, insufficient detail on patient consent, or protection of research subjects, including animals).

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers are encouraged to be alert to redundant publications and plagiarism. Reviewers should identify relevant published works not cited by the author(s). Any statement, observation, derivation, or argument previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. Reviewers should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

An unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer's research without the written consent of the author(s). Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

DUTIES OF AUTHORS
Reporting standards

Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed and an objective discussion of its significance. Data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behaviour and are unacceptable.

Data Access and Retention

Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review and should be prepared to provide access to such, if practicable, and should in any event, be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.
 
 Originality and Plagiarism
 
Authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the works or words of other works, they must be appropriately cited or quoted.
 
Multiple Publications

An author should not publish manuscripts describing the same research generally in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to two or more journals concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.

 Acknowledgment of Sources
 
Proper acknowledgment of the works of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential to determine the nature of the reported work.

Authorship of the Paper

Authorship should be limited to those who have significantly contributed to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where others have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.

Corresponding Author
The corresponding author is responsible for communicating with the journal for publication. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Acknowledgment of Funding Sources

The sources of funding for the research that is reported in the article should be duly acknowledged at the end of the article.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

All authors should disclose in their manuscript financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be seen to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All the sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Fundamental errors in published works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her published work, the author should
promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper. However, when retraction is necessary, a statement about the retracted paper must be published, and the COPE Retraction Guidelines must be strictly adhered to in the process.