PUBLICATION ETHICS
CBRTD PUBLICATIONS is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. We believe that ethical conduct is fundamental to the integrity and trustworthiness of scientific and scholarly publishing. These guidelines outline the responsibilities of authors, editors, and reviewers involved in the publication process.
* Integrity and Transparency: All participants in the publishing process must act with integrity, honesty, and transparency.
* Originality: Submitted manuscripts must be original work and not simultaneously submitted to or previously published in another journal.
* Accuracy: Authors are responsible for the accuracy of their submitted work.
* Plagiarism: Plagiarism in all its forms is unacceptable and will result in rejection. This includes self-plagiarism (republishing one’s own work without proper attribution or significant new content).
* Falsification and Fabrication: Falsification or fabrication of data, results, or any other aspect of a manuscript is strictly prohibited.
* Conflict of Interest: Any potential conflict of interest (financial, personal, or other) must be declared by authors, editors, and reviewers.
* Confidentiality: All submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential documents.
* Accountability: All parties involved in the publication process are accountable for their actions and decisions.
* Originality and Plagiarism:
* Authors must ensure their submitted work is entirely original.
* Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given.
* Authors should cite publications that have influenced the nature of the reported work.
* Any work or words from other publications, authors, or sources must be appropriately cited or quoted.
* Using someone else’s intellectual property without their permission and/or without proper attribution is a serious ethical offense.
* 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 public access to such data (consistent with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Benchmarking), if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.
* Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication:
* An author should not, in general, publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
* Previously published figures or tables must be cited, and permission obtained from the copyright holder.
* Acknowledgement of Sources:
* Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given.
* Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.
* Authorship of the Paper:
* Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution 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 there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.
* 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.
* Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest:
* All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript.
* All 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 own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.
* Hazards and Human or Animal Subjects:
* If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript.
* If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) has approved them. Authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.
* Fair Play:
* Editors should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
* Confidentiality:
* Editors and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
* Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest:
* Editors will recuse themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.
* Publication Decisions:
* The editor is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published.
* The editor may be guided by the policies of the journal’s editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.
* The editor may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.
* Review of Manuscripts:
* The editor should ensure that each manuscript is initially evaluated by the editor for originality, relevance, and adherence to journal scope and policies.
* The editor should ensure that peer review is conducted in a fair, unbiased, and timely manner.
* Editors should select reviewers who have expertise in the relevant field and no conflicts of interest.
* Investigations:
* Editors should take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred.
* In cases of alleged or proven scientific misconduct, fraudulent publication, or plagiarism, the editor, in conjunction with the publisher, will take all appropriate measures to clarify the situation and amend the article in question. This includes the prompt publication of an erratum, clarification, retraction, or apology.
* Contribution to Editorial Decisions:
* Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author, may also assist the author in improving the paper.
* Promptness:
* Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.
* Confidentiality:
* Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.
* Standards of Objectivity:
* Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
* Acknowledgement of Sources:
* Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors.
* Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation.
* A reviewer 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 Conflict of Interest:
* Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the paper.
* Unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research without the express written consent of the author.
* Identification of Unethical Behavior: Misconduct and unethical behavior may be identified and brought to the attention of the editor and publisher at any time, by anyone.
* Investigation: An initial decision should be made by the editor and publisher whether the allegation/concern has sufficient merit to warrant an investigation.
* Severity: Minor misconduct might be dealt with without the need for wider consultation. In all cases, the opportunity should be given to the author to respond to any allegations.
* Outcomes: Depending on the severity of the misconduct, actions may include:
* Issuing a warning to the authors.
* Retracting the published article.
* Refusing to consider future submissions from the authors.
CBRTD PUBLICATIONS is committed to following the guidelines and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) whenever applicable.
This policy will be regularly reviewed and updated as necessary.