Policies & Ethics
Publishing principles and author responsibilities
Peer-review process
Submissions should undergo an initial editorial assessment for scope, completeness, originality, and ethical compliance. Suitable manuscripts may be sent to independent reviewers. Editorial decisions should be based on scholarly merit, reviewer input, and the journal's stated criteria.
Publication ethics
Authors are responsible for originality, accurate reporting, appropriate attribution, and compliance with applicable research ethics. Suspected misconduct should be assessed fairly and documented.
Authorship and contributions
All listed authors should have made meaningful contributions, approved the submitted version, and accepted accountability for the work. Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged with permission.
Conflicts of interest and funding
Authors, reviewers, and editors should disclose relevant financial or non-financial conflicts. Funding sources and the role of funders should be reported where applicable.
Plagiarism, duplicate submission, and corrections
Manuscripts must not be under consideration elsewhere unless the journal explicitly permits it. Allegations of plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, or other misconduct should be handled using a documented process. Published errors should be corrected transparently when warranted.
Copyright, access, and fees
State the applicable copyright agreement, reuse license, access model, and any publication charges clearly on the official journal website before submission. These terms must be consistent across the website, author forms, and published articles.