Publication Ethics

          Publication ethics are compulsory for publication in the Journal of Current Science and Technology (JCST). It is therefore important to agree upon standards of ethical behaviors for all parties involved in the process of manuscript publication: the journal editors, the authors and the peer reviewers. The publication ethics guidelines adhere to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Ethics of Journal Editors

Conflicts of interest: Editors recuse themselves from the review process when they have a conflict of interest or personal stake in the publication of a research work.

Confidentiality: The editors of the Journal of Current Science and Technology (JCST) use a double-blind peer-review process. Neither the authors nor the reviewers know each other's identity. The editors are obliged to preserve confidentiality and shall not disclose the contents of the manuscript nor the identity of the author throughout the review process. Comments, information or ideas obtained through the peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be quoted or referenced by an editor without the express written consent of the author.

Objectivity: Decisions on publication are made objectively after reviewing the submitted manuscript and the peer reviews. The importance of the article's contribution to the existing research in its field, the quality of articulation of the argument, and the strength of the evidence provided are critical factors in the decision to publish.

Publication Decision: Journal editors will not accept articles which have been published (except in the form of an abstract) or are being considered for publication by another journal. Papers being considered here should not be submitted to other journals. The Editor-in-Chief should select reviewers based on the content and scope of the submitted manuscripts, reviewers’ area of expertise, and freedom from conflict of interest. The editors are responsible for deciding which articles should be published. The editors are 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 editors may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Ethics of Authors

Accuracy: Authors of papers that report on original research should present an accurate study performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper which presented the results clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation. Conclusions should be based on the evidence presented in the paper and not on personal opinions.

Authorship: All authors must have agreed to the submission and to the order of their names on the title page. They must also have agreed that the corresponding author may act on their behalf throughout the editorial review and publication process.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All submissions must include disclosure of all relationships that could be viewed a potential conflict of interest. The corresponding author must confirm that the corresponding author has final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication and has full access to all the data in the study.

Originality and Plagiarism: Research articles submitted to the JCST must not be previously published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors of original articles should present an accurate account of the conducted research as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper.

The authors should ensure that they have written an entirely original work, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, the authors must appropriately cite or quote. Authors should acknowledge ideas as well as previously published results by citing those works in the paper and listing them in the references. Any attempt of plagiarism, data fabrication/falsification, citation manipulation will result in the rejection of the submitted manuscripts.  JCST reserves the right to use plagiarism detecting software to screen submitted papers at all times.

Research Involving Animals or Humans or Biodiversities: If the research work involves the use of animals or human participants/volunteers, the authors should ensure that all procedures performed comply with relevant laws and institutional guidelines.

Authors must include the statement which shows approval from the Ethics committee for the experiments/clinical trials involving human subjects. Authors must state the approval code in the manuscript.

All funding sources must be disclosed in the acknowledgments and any conflicts of interest should be stated.

Ethics of Reviewers

Confidentiality: Reviewers have to respect the confidentiality of the review process. They should not discuss aspects of the work under review with other researchers until when the article is published. Unpublished materials disclosed in a manuscript under review must not be quoted or referenced by a reviewer without the express written consent of the author, requested through the editor. Information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantages.

Conflicts of interest: If the reviewer realizes that he or she has been involved in the research described, knows the researchers involved in the research, or for any reason cannot give an objective review of the manuscript, the reviewer should inform the editors and decline the review. Conflicts of interest can include competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the paper under review.

Objectivity: Manuscripts should be reviewed objectively in the context of the reviewer’s expertise in the field. The importance of the article’s contribution to the existing research in its field, the quality of articulation of the argument, and the strength of the evidence provided are critical factors in reviewing the quality of a manuscript. Personal opinions without evidence should not be used as criteria for review decision.

Acknowledgment of sources: Reviewers should identify importantly relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. A reviewer should also inform the editor any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Plagiarism

          JCST does not tolerate plagiarism, manuscript or data manipulation. All articles are screened using the “Turnitin” software. Plagiarism is suspected when the percentage of similarity is higher than 30%. The Editor-in-Chief will be informed. Clear plagiarism (use of large portions of copied text and/or data) results in rejection while minor copying of short phrases leads to a polite notification to the authors for re-writing. If plagiarism is detected during the review process by any means, all processes will be immediately withheld. The Editor-in-Chief will contact the corresponding author and/or all the authors for explanation. Rejection of submission will occur once the explanation is unsatisfactory or the authors admit guilt. After publication, the article will be retracted if plagiarism is proven. All the authors’ institutions will be contacted to explain the retraction and inform the expected future behaviors. The retraction will be officially announced as early as possible in the journal.