To ensure the integrity of research manuscripts and the publishing process, the journal continuously investigates allegations of publication misconduct, both before and after publication. If malpractice is discovered at any time (even after the publication), the journal will take appropriate actions, such as issuing a correction or retraction, to make sure the conformance to the ethical standard is met by all parties involved.

Authors must comply with best practices in publication ethics, specifically with regard to authorship, duplicate submissions, originality and plagiarism, acknowledgment of sources, fabrication, digital image manipulation, competing financial interests, disclosure and conflicts of interest, hazards to human or animal subjects, and fundamental errors in published works. In addition, authors should present their work with sufficient detail and references in a clear and objective manner so that replication of the research is possible. Authors are obliged to provide retractions or corrections of any mistakes, in case of detection.

Editors must treat manuscripts in confidence, ensure a fair and unbiased peer-review of manuscripts for publication, and declare any competing interests. They must guard the integrity of the publication by pursuing suspected or alleged research and publication misconduct and issuing corrections and retractions when needed. Editors should also follow rigorous editorial policies that not only promote the transparency and objectivity of peer review but also prevent reviewer and editorial misconduct.

Reviewers must contribute to editorial decision-making with standards of objectivity, promptness and confidentiality. Any invited reviewer with conflicting interests or lack of expertise regarding the manuscript to be refereed should notify the editor and excuse itself from the review process. The review, conducted in a comprehensive and objective manner, should be reported with clearly stated observations with supporting evidence that can facilitate the editor's decision-making process as well as help authors to improve their manuscripts.

Plagiarism Detection

The journal does not tolerate any type of plagiarism. We reserve the right to use plagiarism detecting software (Turnitin) to screen submitted papers.

Retraction Guidelines

The journal adheres to the COPE Retraction Guidelines. Retraction is a mechanism for correcting the literature and alerting readers to articles that contain such seriously flawed or erroneous content or data that their findings and conclusions cannot be relied upon. If only a small part of an article reports flawed data or content, authors may be invited to rectify the issues by a correction. Complaints and appeals shall be directed to the Journal Editors.

Journal Editors will consider retracting an article if:

• They have clear evidence that the findings are unreliable;
• It constitutes plagiarism;
• The findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper attribution to previous sources or disclosure to the editors, permission to republish, or justification (ie, cases of redundant publication);
• It contains material or data without authorization for use;
• Copyright has been infringed or there is some other serious legal issue (e.g., libel, privacy);
• It reports unethical research;
• It has been published solely on the basis of a compromised or manipulated peer review process;
• The author(s) failed to disclose a major competing interest that would have unduly affected interpretations of the work or recommendations by editors and peer reviewers.